Simple lessons from Romans – part 3
God’s Righteous Judgment
This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets.. – Romans 2:16
What we do (good or evil) will define what we will receive when God judges us: an award or wrath and anger. This might sound like a contradiction to the message of justification by faith (man is justified by faith – Romans 3:28). As James said, “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:17). It is impossible to have faith and do nothing about it. Some people may be tempted to think that James was wrong, but the truth is that even Paul, who taught about justification by faith, also taught about good deeds,
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…but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good – Romans 2:6-11
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do – Ephesians 2:10
As you can see, there is no contradiction in the teachings of faith and good works. Is it possible to touch fire and not get burned? Nor is it possible to have faith and no good works. By faith, we are justified; through good works, those justified demonstrate what they have believed. Good works are a natural consequence of faith. It is perfectly explained by James:
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. – James 2:18
It would be easy to simply say that we believe, and have no responsibility about it. My personal opinion is that if God only purpose for us was salvation, we would go straight to heaven as soon as we are saved. But no, we stay here in this world…and there is plenty of teachings in the bible to show us how to live while we wait for the redemption of our body. We stay here because we have a mission to accomplish.
For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous – Romans 2:13
All this can be summarized in a four-steps process:
- We hear
- We have faith
- We obey
- We do the good works
Is this difficult? Not at all. There are no sacrifices. We just need to do what God already prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).
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