He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.
– Romans 2:6–8
Wow, these are humbling, sobering, and exciting verses, all wrapped in one. Humbling because they remind us that how we live today will affect our eternity. Just let that soak in. How we live today will affect our eternity.
Romans 2:6–8 Clarifies Our Expectations Regarding Eternal Life
Romans 2:6, God will render to each one according to his works. And obviously, we know in the gospel that we are saved from our sin by grace through faith in Christ, not of our own works. It’s not our own doing. It’s trusting in the person and the work of Jesus.
At the same time, the Bible clearly teaches us that our works are important. Our works on Earth affect our reward in eternity or lack thereof. There are many verses throughout the New Testament where God tells us that He is storing up reward for those who are faithful by His grace in their works. So, that’s exciting on one hand to think about. There’s a way I can live today that will yield fruit in eternity in others’ lives and in my life. That’s pretty awesome.
And at the same time, it’s sobering. For those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. Again, the ultimate picture of this is the following. Those who do not trust in Jesus and His righteousness will experience the holy just, wrath and fury of almighty God. What a sobering picture! This leads us to share the gospel today with urgency with people around us. At the same time to flee sin all the more in our lives, if that is where sin leads.
Romans 2:6–8 Encourages Us to Fix Our Eyes on Eternity
Even for those of us who know that our eternity is sealed by the blood of Jesus, why would we give ourselves to sin today casually? Why would we flirt with sin in any way? Let’s run from it. Not rationalize it, run from it. Not flirt with it, flee from sin today. Knowing that our lives, our works today, will affect our lives in eternity.
Oh God, we fix our eyes on you in light of Romans 2:6–8 as the ultimate judge. You’re the one who sees all and knows all in ways that we are humbled. Oh God, you see our every thought. You know our every desire, every word, our every deeded. God, we pray, help us to do good today, according to your Word, by your grace, by the power of your Spirit in us. Help us by patience, in well-doing to seek your glory and your honor. And to live in a way that yields fruit forever.
God, help us to do that today with our words, our thoughts, with our desires. Help us to live like we are focused on reward in heaven from you. And God, we pray that you would give us urgency to share the gospel with people around us today who don’t know the truth or who were not obeying the truth of Jesus.
Prayer for the Allu People
God, we pray that you would use our lives to lead others to Jesus, that there might be fruit in eternity in the form of other people because of what we share today with somebody. Lord, we pray this for the peoples of the world, for the Allu people of Indonesia. God, we pray knowingly, right now, as they’re totally unreached by the gospel, no known followers of Jesus, that they all, all of them, when they die, will experience your wrath and fury, if nothing changes. God, we pray that something would change.
We pray that the gospel would spread to the Allu people of Indonesia. They would be saved, they would know and have eternal life in Jesus, and that by the power of your Spirit, your grace in them, you would produce good work that resounds to your glory through them. God, we pray in light of Romans 2:6–8, please help each of us today to live on this Earth for reward in eternity. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
