God's Judgement According to Works

Introduction

Ignorance is no excuse for breaking the law.

Two Kinds of People

Our text is clear, and it may seem a little hard for us to grasp since we know that we are not justified by works but by grace through faith. I want to establish that this is where Paul is going to go in chapter 3, so we will have to wait for now to get there. It is important for us to understand that we are not getting Paul’s full argument in this text, so I’ll state it right now before we get into the truth presented here in our text.

Paul’s argument goes like this:

All people, both Jew and Gentile, are sinners to be judged by God, either by the revealed law of God or the law which exists in the hearts of those who have no heard it.

All people will be judged by their works, which is what we will get into today.

Since all will be judged by their works and all are violators of the law, all are condemned based on their works which are not in obedience to the law.

Therefore, the only way in which we may be justified is by faith in Christ, to have his righteous works applied to us and our unrighteous works applied to him on the cross.

In other words, all are judged by works but those who believe the Gospel are justified from this judgement by grace through faith.

Now let us get into our text and the part of the argument that Paul is currently taking us through. All are judged by works, both Jew and Gentile, both those who have the written law and those who know the law inherently in their heart. Paul identifies two kinds of people who will be judged by God. Those who work righteousness and those who collect condemnation.

Those who work Righteousness

First there are those who work righteousness, that is, those who seek God. The text tells us this about them and how God judges them. Notice there is no mention about simply keeping the law. That’s not the purpose of the law. The purpose of the law is to condemn, but God judges people’s hearts. So what do these righteous people look like?

They are patient in well-doing. They do what is right even when there are no positive consequences for it visible in the near future.

They seek:

Glory of a heavenly nature, the glory of God manifested to them. Exodus 33:18

Exodus 33:18 ESV

Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”

Honour. They live honourably because the honour given by God is worth more to them than anything. They seek to hear the words “well done, good and faithful servant.

Immortality. They are not captivated by what fades, but by what is steadfast and immovable, an undying life with God.

These are not described among either Jew or Gentile. With or without the law, this is what God expects from people and he does not find it. Romans 3:12

Romans 3:12 ESV

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

Those who Collect Condemnation

Self seeking

Do not obey truth, but rather obey unrighteousness.

These two always go together.

Two Kinds of Law

All who sin are judged, either by the law naturally made known to their hearts or by the written word of the law.

Vs 14-15. The Gentiles have the law by nature and, though imperfectly, know God’s commands and yet do not do them.

Those who know the law and yet do not do it. Paul will elaborate more on this in next week’s text.

Saved by Grace, Judged by Works

Verses 6-7 describe none of us in our natural state.

Verse 8 describes every one of us.

Vs 16. God judges the secrets of men by the Gospel. The Gospel is not only the message that saves, it is a test by which those who truly seek God are made known.