Romans 2:9

Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Greek; but glory and honor and peace to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

"To him that worketh not," which Paul was to write in Romans 4:5, must be understood in conjunction with these verses where "worketh evil" and "worketh good" dogmatically are affirmed to be the basis of being saved or being lost. They cover exactly the same ground, but in the reverse order. In the previous two verses, the patient seekers of eternal life are contrasted with them that obey unrighteousness; and in these two verses, the soul that worketh evil is mentioned first and contrasted with him that worketh good. It is as though Paul had written: "Take it either going or coming, the judgment will be based upon what people do, whether or not they obey the Lord." But more appears here in the repeated mention of "the Jew first." This established the sixth principle of judgment, thus:

VI. Greater privilege will only entail greater, responsibility.

Far from having any kind of exemption, the Jew, due to his greater blessings, will actually receive priority in judgment, making either their damnation more severe, or their redemption more glorious than that of others. The same principle was enunciated by the apostle Peter thus:

For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel? And if the righteous is scarcely saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear? (1 Peter 4:17).