“God ‘will give to each person according to what he has done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Romans 2:6-10)

A passage such as this can be quite confusing. At first glance, it appears that eternal life is dependent on what we do. If we persist in doing good, we can expect eternal life. However, if we continually reject the truth and do evil, we can expect God’s wrath. And while this is true, it is only part of the truth, and so we must look at this passage within the context of the Book of Romans to fully understand it.

Throughout this letter, Paul is building the case for faith in Jesus. One of his main points is that the Law (or trying to do good) could never save us, as this was never its purpose (Rom. 3:20). Therefore, the only action that will be rewarded with eternal life is the action of faith not of works. Here’s why: At the pinnacle turning point of this letter in Chapter 3, Paul maintains that we are saved by grace (Rom. 3:23-24) and we are saved through faith (Rom. 3:22). No one will be declared righteous by only observing the Law (Rom. 3:19-20). And finally, the only way we are justified is through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:27-28).

“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed” (Romans 2:5)

A while back, I was struggling with changes that were taking place within my department at work. These changes caused a lot of internal struggles. Finally it got to the point one day, my boss stopped by planning to offer me a raise, but because I was so consumed in self-pity, half way through our conversation I kicked him out of my office.

Needless to say, weeks later I got the raise, but only after a sincere apology and a change in attitude. The issue was my heart, which had been misguided and left unchecked during all of the changes. During this time, I saw only what I wanted to see and dwelt on it. My perception had gotten skewed, I was hurt and unwilling to accept the changes because I felt overlooked and underappreciated.