Romans 2:6

Who will render to every man according to his works.

Those who fancy that Paul's special brand of salvation was by faith without any works at all find here an insurmountable denial that he taught any such thing. On the other hand, it is plainly stated in this passage of holy writ that one of the great principles of eternal judgment is,

IV. God will judge people according to their works. Moreover, Paul's reason for so emphatically stating this principle in the beginning of Romans is apparent. Its inspired author was about to write the great dissertation which would stress salvation by faith in Christ, and was about to include many things in it that are capable of being misunderstood and abused; accordingly, he took caution here at the very outset to guard against those very misapplications of his words which he doubtless foresaw, and which misapplications have become in these present times the basic platform of a so-called "gospel" utterly unknown to Paul, at variance with practically the entire New Testament, and contradictory of Romans 2:6, above. We do not refer to the gospel of salvation by faith, or faith in Christ, or by grace, or by the grace of God, salvation in those terms being Pauline indeed; but reference is made to salvation by "faith alone," "faith only," or by "faith and nothing else." The great Protestant heresy founded upon the theory of an "imputed righteousness" solely as a result of faith alone contradicts Romans 2:6 in this place as well as countless other plain words of scripture.

Romans 2:6 makes it clear that on the judgment day every man will be rewarded according to his deeds. Only the good will be saved; and only the bad will be lost. This was the same doctrine Paul wrote the Corinthians:

For we must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things done in the body, whether it be good or bad (2 Corinthians 5:10).

Also, if Paul's teaching with reference to salvation by faith in Christ had been intended to negate the teaching of this verse, it is inconceivable that he would have thrust this statement into such prominence here. Out of regard to the ages-old conflict of religious views in this sector of thought, and in recognition of their importance, both practically and theoretically, some little space is here devoted to an exploration of this theme.

FAITH AND WORKS

The New Testament declares definitely and positively that a man is justified by faith and that he is justified by works. That this is surely true appears from the following two verses, both of them from the New Testament, and here placed side by side for comparison:

Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1). Ye see that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith (James 2:24).

In the light of the above two verses, it is just as true that a man is saved by works ALONE as that he is saved by faith ALONE; but, of course, the word of God says neither thing. Therefore, any proposition to the effect that man is saved, or justified, by work ALONE, or by faith ALONE, contradicts a plain statement of the word of God. Whatever the correct view may be, it must, of necessity, be one that does not contradict any statement of the scriptures; and from the two verses cited, it is revealed as a certainty that the justification of sinners in Gods sight is contingent upon BOTH faith and works. Significantly, Paul brought both faith and works together in a single text addressed to the Galatians:

For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith working through love (Galatians 5:6).

First, attention is directed to a class of New Testament statements which, upon first glance, appear to contradict James' statement (James 2:24) that men are justified by works; but it must continually be borne in mind that James did not say people are justified by works ALONE. These are statements to the effect that man's salvation is "not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9), "not by works of righteousness which we did ourselves" (Titus 3:5), and "therefore, by the deeds of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Romans 3:20). In all such references to works which are alleged to have no part in justification, different classes, or kinds, of works are in view. Therefore, to determine what kind of work entered into the justification mentioned by James, it is necessary to classify works in the same manner that they were classified by the sacred writers.

Seven classes of works are distinguished in the New Testament: (1) Works of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), the same being principally the indulgence of lusts, passions, etc. (2) The works of Satan, specifically, lying and murder (John 8:44), all sins being in one sense works of Satan, but these being specifically so-called by Christ himself. (3) The works of men, including all human achievements from building of the Great Wall of China to walking on the moon. The works of the law of Moses (Romans 3:20). (5) The works of moral goodness. The moralist follows a path of behavior parallel in many places to the Christian life; but between the two ways there is a river wide and deep, the river of the blood of Christ. Both Cornelius and the rich young ruler are New Testament examples of morally upright persons who were unsaved. (6) The works of human righteousness (Romans 10:3) are those religious activities of people which derive their authority from people alone and not from God, being the ceremonies and doctrines people themselves devised and having not the Creator as their author. Such are the traditions, precepts, and commandments of men denounced by Christ himself (Matthew 15:9). (7) A seventh New Testament classification of works is called the "work of faith" (1 Thessalonians 1:3). This work is clearly in a class by itself and may be defined as any action whatever undertaken or discharged by man in OBEDIENCE to a divine commandment. Here is the key to untangling the most persistent theological problem from the days of Martin Luther and the Reformers until the present.

The doctrine of justification by faith ALONE was first advocated by Martin Luther; but he ran into what seemed an impossible contradiction of his theory in James 2:24, which was said to have raised some question in Luther's mind for a while regarding the canonicity of James. Modern reverberations of the supposed conflict between Paul and James (though actually between Luther and James) have continued to echo through succeeding generations, the wide-spread heresy that salvation "through faith" releases people from the necessity of obeying the Lord's commandments, especially the commands requiring baptism, the Lord's supper, etc.

And how is the problem resolved? Quite simply. Where Paul stated that people are not justified by works, let it be determined which works he meant; and where James wrote that a man is justified by works, let it be determined what kind of works he meant. It is perfectly easy to discover both. Paul, in his repeated affirmations that men are not saved by works, never had reference to the work of faith (No. 7, above); and James never had in mind anything except the work of faith. Thus Paul's teaching was directed against any notion that keeping the works of the law of Moses could save, or any personal morality apart from Christianity could justify. Another type of works which Paul categorically rejected as being the basis of salvation was called the work of human righteousness, and referred to religious practices of mere human authority (No. 6, above). A little diligence on the part of any student will show what a vital distinction this is. James gave examples of how certain persons were justified by works; and in every case, the "work" was an obedient act to a divine command, as when Abraham offered Isaac, etc. That Paul also accepted the principle stated by James that justification is due to such actions of obedient faith is clear from Romans 2:6 in this chapter and from Romans 1:5 and Romans 16:26. In fact, Romans 2:6 here is absolutely equivalent to saying that man is justified by works, not the other kinds, but the works of faith. Romans 2:6 harmonizes absolutely with James 2:24. Therefore, Paul's frequent words, to the effect that people are not saved by works, never have reference to the "work of faith" which he himself announced as one of the glories of the Thessalonian church (1 Thessalonians 1:3). If he had meant any such thing, he never could have written Romans 2:6.

When James spoke of justification by works, he did not refer to any of the works set at naught by Paul, When James stated that Abraham was justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar, that inspired author made it impossible to misunderstand the kind of works that justified Abraham. What kind of work was the offering of Isaac? It was an act of obedience to God's command; had it not been that, it would have been murder, hence a work of the devil; and that is exactly the difference that turns upon the question of who commanded a given action. Specifically, this principle applies to every humanly derived innovation in worship and to all human religious ordinances without divine authority. But for the Christian, the kind of works by which he is justified are, as in Abraham's case, the doing of what God has commanded. Such things as repentance, baptism, the Lord's supper, etc., are thus not acts of human righteousness, nor works of human beings in any sense whatever, but are the work of faith.

Thus there can be no excuse for minimizing the great imperatives of the gospel of Christ on the basis that people are saved by faith, for they are also saved by the work of faith and will be thus judged eternally (Romans 2:6). People are saved by faith when they believe and obey the gospel.

Titus 3:5 has this:

Not by works done in righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.

This passage is frequently cited in support of the view that such acts of obedience as baptism are not necessary, but the specific reference to baptism in the last clauses of that verse proves that the ordinance of baptism, even when submitted to by believers, is not to be considered a work of human righteousness in any sense. It is, on the contrary, a work of faith, having been commanded and required of all people by none other than Christ himself. "Works done in righteousness" is a reference to religious actions outside of God's commands, that is, to works other than those of faith. To set aside one of Jesus' own commands on the basis that such is a work of human righteousness is to ignore distinctions made by the holy apostles themselves.

Therefore, it is not out of harmony with the true teachings of scripture to declare that people are saved by faith and that they are also saved by works, or the work of faith. Note the following passages of the word of God:

If thou wouldest enter into life, keep the commandments (Matthew 19:17).

Men and brethren, what shall we do? ... Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38).

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to work (Philippians 2:12).

Repent and do the first works, or else I will come unto thee quickly and remove thy candlestick out of its place (Revelation 2:6).

Faith without works is dead, being alone (James 2:17).

Then may people trust God, believing in Christ with all their hearts, and obey the gospel. Even when they have done that, and everything else within their power to do, people do not become their own saviour; although, in a sense, those who obey are scripturally said to "save themselves" (Acts 2:40). No amount of righteous living, or of good works, can place God in the position of owing salvation to any person. Salvation is the free gift of Almighty God; but it is also conditional, there being revealed in the New Testament pre-conditions which must be fulfilled by people in order to comply with the terms upon which the free salvation is given. Faith is such a pre-condition; and the obedience of faith is another. Reference to these distinctions will be made throughout this commentary.