Romans Commentary

Ver. 6. — Who will render to every man according to his deeds.

God, as the sovereign judge of men, receives from them their good and evil actions. These He takes from their hands, so to speak, such as they are, and places them to their account, whether they are to His glory or dishonor. Sinners do not calculate upon this righteous procedure. They commit sin without thinking of God, and without considering that He remembers all their actions. There is, however, an invisible hand which is treasuring up all that a man thinks all that he says, and all that he does; not the least part is lost; all is laid up in the treasury of justice. Then, after God has thus received all, He will also restore all, — He will cause to descend again upon men what they have made to ascend to Him. To every man. — The judgment will be particular to every individual; every one will have to answer for himself This judgment of those who are under the law will not receive either an imputation of good or of bad works of one to another, as the judgment of those who are under grace receives for them the merits of Jesus Christ; but every one of the former shall answer for his own proper works. According to his deeds. — That is to say, either according to his righteousness, if any were found in himself righteous, which will not be the case, for all men are sinners, but it will be according to the judgment to require righteousness, — or it will be according to his sins, — in one word, according as every one shall be found either righteous or unrighteous. This signifies also that there will be a diversity of punishment, according to the number or greatness of the sins of each individual, not only as to the nature, but also the degree, of their works, good or bad; for the punishment of all will not be equal, Matthew 11:22,24; Luke 12:47,48. There will not, however, as the Pharisees imagined, and as many nominal Christians suppose, be two accounts for each person, the one of his good works, the other of his sins, — the judgment being favorable or unfavorable to him according as the one or the other predominates; for there will be no balancing this sort. ‘According to his deeds,’ means that, in the judgment, God will have no regard either to descent or to birth, either to the dignity or quality of the person, — or whether he were Jew or Gentile, as to the privileges he enjoyed, or any such thing, which might counteract justice, or turn it from its course; but that it will regard solely the works of each individual, and that their deeds will comprehend everything that is either obedience or disobedience to the law of God. The judgment of the great day will be to all men according to their works. The works of those who shall be condemned will be the evidence that they are wicked. The works of believers will not be appealed to as the cause of their acquittal, but as the evidence of their union with Christ, on account of which they will be pronounced righteous, for in them the law has been fulfilled in their Divine surety.

Ver. 7. — To them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life.

Patient continuance in well-doing. — This well expresses the sense of the original. It signifies perseverance in something arduous. It is not mere continuance, but continuance in doing or suffering something that tries patience. The word is used to signify perseverance, patience, endurance, — a perseverance with resistance to all that opposes, namely, to all temptations, all snares, all persecutions, and, in general, to all that could discourage or divert from it, in however small a degree. It is not meant that any man can produce such a perseverance in good works, for there is only one, Jesus Christ, who can glory in having wrought out a perfect righteousness. He alone is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. But here the Apostle only declares what the Divine judgment will demand according to the law, to which the Jews were adhering for justification before God, and rejecting that righteousness which He has provided in the Gospel. He marks what the law will require for the justification of man, in order to conclude from it, as he does in the sequel, that none can be justified in this way, because are guilty. This shows how ignorantly the Church of Rome seeks to draw from this passage a proof of the merit of works, and of justification by works, since it teaches a doctrine the very contrary; for all that the Apostle says in this chapter is intended to show the necessity of another mode of justification than that of the law, namely, by grace, which the Gospel sets before us through faith in Jesus Christ, according to which God pardons sins, as the Apostle afterwards shows in the third chapter. To pretend, then, to establish justification by works, and the merit of works, by what is said here, is directly to oppose the meaning and reasoning of the Apostle. Seek for glory, and honor, and immortality. — Glory signifies a state brilliant and illustrious, and honor the approbation and praise of God, which, with immortality, designate the blessings of eternal life. These God would, without doubt, confer in consequence of perseverance in good works, but which cannot be obtained by the law. Here we see a condemnation of that opinion which teaches that a man should have no motive in what he does in the service of God but the love of God. The love of God, indeed, must be the predominant motive, and without it no action is morally good. But it is not the only motive. The Scriptures everywhere address men’s hopes and fears, and avail themselves of every motive that has a tendency to influence the human heart. The principles of human nature have God for their author, and are all originally right. Sin has given them a wrong direction. Of the expressions, glory and honor, Dr.

Macknight gives the following explanations: — ’Glory is the good fame which commonly attends virtuous actions, but honor is the respect paid to the virtuous person himself by those who have intercourse with him.’

According to this interpretation, those who are seeking for immortality and eternal life are seeking for the favor and respect of men! Eternal life. — The Apostle does not say that God will render salvation, but ‘eternal life.’ The truth declared in this verse, and in those that follow, is the same as that exhibited by our Lord when the rich young man asked Him, ‘What good thing shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?’ His reply was, ‘If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments,’ Matthew 19:16; and when the lawyer, tempting Him, said, ‘Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? ‘Jesus answered, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind, and thy neighbor as thyself,’ Luke 10:25. The verse before us, then, which declares that eternal life shall be awarded to those who seek it by patient continuance in well-doing, and who, according to the 10th verse, work good, both of which announce the full demand of the law, are of the same import with the 13th verse, which affirms that the doers of the law shall be justified. In all these verses the Apostle is referring to the law, and not, as it is generally understood, to the Gospel. It would have been obviously calculated to mislead the Jews, with whom Paul was reasoning, to set before them in this place personal obedience as the way to eternal life, which, in connection with what he had said on repentance, would tend directly to lead them to mistake his meaning on that subject. But besides this, if these verses refer to the Gospel, they break in upon and disturb the whole train of his reasoning, from the 18th verse of the first chapter to the 20th of the third, where he arrives at his conclusion, that by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in the sight of God. Paul was afterwards to declare the way of justification, as he does, ch. 3:21, 26, immediately after he drew the above conclusion; but till then, his object was to exhibit, both to Jews and Gentiles, the impossibility of obtaining justification by any works of their own, and, by convincing them of this, to lead them to the grace of the Gospel. In conversing with the late Mr. Robert Hall at Leicester, respecting the Epistle to the Romans, he remarked to me that this passage had always greatly perplexed him, as it seemed to be not only aside from, but even opposed to what appeared, from the whole context, to be the drift of the Apostle; and I believe that every one who supposes that the Apostle is here referring to the Gospel will experience a similar difficulty.

I know that the view here given of these verses is contrary to that of almost all the English commentaries on this Epistle. I have consulted a great number of them, besides those of Calvin, and Beza, and Maretz, and the Dutch annotations, and that of Quesnel, all of which, with one voice, explain the 7th and 10th verses of this chapter as referring to the Gospel.

The only exception that I am aware of among the English commentaries is that of Mr. Fry, who, in his exposition of the 16th verse, remarks as follows: — ’He (the Apostle) introduces this statement of the certainty of a judgment to come, of the universal guilt and inevitable condemnation of mankind in the course of justice, in order to show the universal necessity of a Savior, and of that righteousness which was of God by faith. And it seems altogether extraordinary that some expositors should concede the above account of the last judgment to include a description of the Redeemer’s bestowing the reward of the inheritance upon His people, and that of such the Apostle speaks when he says, “To them that, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek glory, honor, and immortality, eternal life;” “Glory, honor, and peace, to every one that doeth good.” For most assuredly this is not the language of the righteousness of faith, but the exact manner of speaking which the Apostle ascribes to the righteousness of the law. To the same purpose Mr. Marshall, in his work on The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, 14th edit., p. 94, observes, ‘They grossly pervert these words of Paul, “Who will render to every man according to his deeds; to them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honor, and immortality, eternal life,” where they will have Paul to be declaring the terms of the Gospel, when he is evidently declaring the terms of the law, to prove that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, and that no flesh can be justified by the works of the law, as appeareth by the tenor of the following discourse.’

I have noticed that from this passage the Church of Rome endeavors to establish the merit of works, and of justification by means of works.

Accordingly, Quesnel, a Roman Catholic, in expounding the 6th verse, exclaims, ‘Merites veritables; necessite des bonnes oeuvres. Ce sont nos actions bonnes ou mauvaises qui rendent doux ou severe le jugement de Dieu!’ ‘Real merits; necessity of good works. They are our good or bad actions which render the judgment of God mild or severe!’ And indeed, were the usual interpretation of this and the three following verses the just one, it must be confessed that this Romanist would have some ground for his triumph. But if we take the words in their plain and obvious import, and understand the Apostle in this place as announcing the terms of the law, in order to prove to the Jews the necessity of having recourse to grace, and of yielding to the goodness and forbearance of God, leading them to repentance, while he assures them that ‘not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified,’ then the whole train of his discourse is clear and consistent. On the other supposition, it appears confused and self contradictory, and calculated not merely to perplex, but positively to mislead, and to strengthen the prejudices of those who were going about to establish their own righteousness. For in whatever way these expressions may with certain explanations and qualifications be interpreted in an evangelical sense, yet unquestionably, as taken by themselves, and especially in the connection in which they stand in this place, they present the same meaning as is announced in the 13th verse, where the Apostle declares that the doers of the law shall be justified.

Ver. 8. — But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteous, indignation and wrath.

Paul here describes the wicked by three characteristics. Their first characteristic is, that they are contentious; that is, rebellious, and murmurers against the Divine laws, quarrelers with God, and indicating their natural enmity against God by disapproving of His government or authority. The second is, rebels against the truth; that is to say, in revolt and at open war against what is true and right concerning God and His will as made known to them, and as opposed to unrighteousness, which God abhors. The third is, obedient to unrighteousness; that is, revolting against what is good, and becoming slaves to what is evil. Here a striking contrast is indicated between that contentious spirit which disobeys the truth, and yet obeys unrighteousness. The one denotes an extraordinary haughtiness, and an exceeding boldness; and the other, extreme meanness and servility of soul. They who do not choose to serve God as their legitimate sovereign, become the slaves of a master who is both a tyrant and usurper. Indignation and wrath. — These two terms united, mark the greatness of the wrath of God, proportioned to the dignity of the sovereign Judge of the world, to the authority of those eternal laws which have been violated, to the majesty of the legislator by whom they have been promulgated, to the favors which sinners have received from Him, and proportioned also to the unworthiness and meanness of the creature compared with God.

Although, when human passions are ascribed to God, we must not suppose that He is affected as we are, yet the expressions employed here show that God will certainly punish the wicked. The Scriptures represent God in the character of a just judge, as well as of a merciful father. The flattering doctrine which insinuates the hope of the final universal happiness of transgressors, both of devils and men, is altogether without countenance from Scripture. The word of God contains the most awful denunciations of the Divine wrath. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. Yet some writers lead sinners to hope that the character of God will secure them from punishment.

Ver. 9. — Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.

Tribulation and anguish. — These two terms denote the punishment, as the indignation and wrath designate the principle on which the condemnation proceeds. They also designate the greatness of the punishment. Upon every soul of man. — This universality is intended to point to the vain expectations of the Jews, that they would be exempt from that punishment, and assists in determining the import of the phrase ‘according to truth’ in verse 2, meaning what is just. It signifies, too, the whole man, for it must not be imagined that the wicked do not also suffer in their body. Jesus Christ says expressly that they shall come forth unto the resurrection of damnation. This refutes the opinion of Socinian heretics and others, who insist that the punishment of the wicked will consist in an entire annihilation both of body and soul. The terms ‘tribulation and anguish’ signify a pain of sensation, and consequently suppose the subsistence of the subject. That doeth evil. — The word in the original designates evil workers, as persons who practice wickedness habitually. The connection of punishment with sin is according to the order of Divine justice; for it is just that those who have offended infinite Majesty should receive the retribution of their wickedness. It is likewise according to the denunciation of the law, whether it is viewed as given externally by the word, or as engraved internally in the conscience of every man, for it threatens punishment to transgressors. Of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile (literally Greek). — In this place, ‘the Jew first’ must mean the Jew principally, and implies that the Jew is more accountable than the Gentile, and will be punished according to his superior light; for as the Jew will have received more than the Gentile, he will also be held more culpable before the Divine tribunal, and will consequently be more severely punished. His privileges will aggravate his culpability, and increase his punishment. ‘You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities,’ Amos 3:2; Matthew 11:22; Luke 12:47. But although the judgment will begin with the Jew, and on him be more heavily executed, it will not terminate with him, but will be also extended to the Gentile, who will be found guilty, though not with the same aggravation.

Ver. 10. — But glory, honor, and peace, to every man that worketh good; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile.

Glory, honor, and peace. — Glory, as has already been observed, refers to the state of blessedness to which those who shall inherit eternal life will be admitted; honor, to the praise and approbation of God, to which is here added peace. Peace is a state of confirmed joy and prosperity. As added to glory and honor, it may appear feeble as a climax, but in reality it has all the value that is here ascribed to it. No blessing can be enjoyed without it.

What would glory and honor be without peace? What would they be if there was a possibility of falling from the high dignity, or of being afterwards miserable? To every man that worketh good. — Happiness, by the established order of things, is here asserted to be the inseparable consequence of righteousness, so that virtue should never be unfruitful; and he who had performed what is his duty, if any such could be found, should enjoy rest and satisfaction. This is also according to the declaration of the Divine law; for if, on the one hand, it threatens transgressors, on the other, it promises good to those who observe it. ‘The man that doeth them shall live in them,’ Galatians 3:12. Since, then, no righteous man could be disappointed of the fruit of his righteousness, it may, in consequence, be asked if any creature who had performed his duty exactly would merit anything from God? To this it is replied, that the infinite majesty of God, which admits of no proportion between Himself and the creature, absolutely excludes all idea of merit. For God can never be laid under any obligation to His creature; and the creature, who is nothing in comparison of Him, and who, besides, has nothing but what God has given him, can never acquire any claim on his Creator. Whenever God makes a covenant with man, and promises anything, that promise, indeed, engages God on His part, on the ground of His truth and faithfulness; but it does not so engage Him as to give us any claim of merit upon Him. ‘Who hath first given to Him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?’ Romans 11:35. Thus, in whatever manner we view it, there can be before God no merit in men; whence it follows that happiness would not be conferred as a matter of right on a man who should be found innocent. It must be said, however, that it would be given by a right of judgment, by which the order and proportion of things is preserved, the majesty of the law of God maintained, and the Divine promises accomplished. But, in awarding life and salvation to him who has the righteousness of Christ imputed to him, God is both faithful and just, on account of the infinite merit of His Son. To the Jew first, and also to the Greek. — When glory and honor are promised to the Jew first, it implies that he had walked according to his superior advantages, and of course would be rewarded in proportion; while the Gentile, in his degree, would not be excluded.

Ver. 11. — For there is no respect of persons with God.

Whatever difference of order there may be between the Jew and the Gentile, that difference does not change the foundation and substance of the judgment. To have respect to the appearance of persons, or to accept of persons, is the vice of an iniquitous judge, who in some way violates justice; but the Divine judgment cannot commit such a fault. Besides, we must never lose sight of the train of the Apostle’s reasoning. His design is to show that the Jews, being, as they really are, sinners equally with the Gentiles, are involved with them in the same condemnation. This is what he proves by the nature of the Divine judgment, which is according to truth, that is, which is perfectly just, ver. 2; which renders to every man according to his deeds, ver. 6; and which has no respect of persons, ver. 11; and consequently it will be equal to the Jew and the Gentile, so that neither the one nor the other can defend himself against its sentence.

The declaration that God has no respect of persons is frequently quoted as militating against the doctrine of election; but it has no bearing on the subject. It relates to men’s character, and God’s judgment according to character. Every man will be judged according to his works. This, however, does not say that God may not choose some eternally to life, and give them faith, and create them unto good works, according to which, as evidences that they belong to Christ, they shall be judged. God’s sovereign love to the elect is manifested in a way that not only shows Him to be just in their justification, but also true to His declaration with respect to the future judgment. The assertion of the Apostle in this place is a truth of great importance, not only with respect to the Jews, but also with respect to the professors of Christianity, many of whom fancy that there is a sort of favoritism in the judgment of God, that will overlook in some what is in others accounted condemnatory.