What is Real Belief?
“He will render to each one according to his works” A study of Romans 2:6-8
- What does this mean??!!
“To those who by patience in 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.” …“For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” (Romans 2:7-8 and 13).
Thesis: Belief must be lived out in order to be real.
When it says, “He will render to each one according to his works” it is clearly not a simple “rewards passage” as some might assume. It is not referring to Christians who, having made it into heaven, are then given more honor and responsibility (the “icing on the cake,” so to speak) as a reward for their righteous acts. No, this passage clearly contrasts those who are justified and given “eternal life” with those who are subject to “wrath and fury!” If this final state is contingent upon their works (Rom 2:6), it would appear, at first glance, to support a salvation by works viewpoint. But we know that the same author, i.e. Paul, asserts vehemently in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are saved by God’s grace through faith, not by works. How then can we reconcile these seemingly opposing concepts?
Let us start this discussion with a question: does Paul’s theology in the book of Romans contradict the theology of the book of James? Or do they both agree perfectly with Jesus’ teaching in Mathew?
Now let us examine the meaning of this passage...
In Romans 2, verse 7, Paul introduces the concept that “to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” This is not saying one can earn salvation, but it is what I would call a “real faith” statement. In this passage, Paul is confirming that the gentile who acts righteously is demonstrating his faith, and would therefore be covered (in faith) by Jesus’ blood. Such a hypothetical gentile would thus be justified. Paul is pointing out that simply being Jewish (as a state of being apart from any living heart-obedience to God) does not save. We are (and always have been) saved by God’s grace through faith in Yahweh. But how must we define faith then in this context? Paul clarifies that the one who does not know the Jewish law, and yet acts in faith will be justified over the one who knows the Jewish law and does not follow it. Romans 2:13-16 “13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.” The sense here is that “well-doing” is like the breath of life to the body of “belief.” A body without the rûaḥ (spirit) is dead. Similarly, faith without action is dead. I submit to you that, contrary to everything you may have been taught by modern Protestantism, dead faith is, in fact… nothing! It is not saving faith. Look at James 2:26 “26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.” (see Genesis 6:17, rûaḥ is the breath of life, the spirit that animates the body). Does Paul agree? Let us see…
Romans 2:13-16 “13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”
This then is proof that Paul, in Romans, does not contradict, but rather agrees with James 2:17 that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” For the “works” Paul speaks of here are works of faith! Otherwise, they would be outward only and not salvific. By acting in faith, those whom he speaks of here prove their living relationship with the True God. And that is what saves them. They are connected to the Vine and therefore have eternal life. They follow their God-given conscience, thereby showing the eternal law - which is observable in the fabric of the universe itself (what C.S. Lewis would call “the Tao”) - is written on their hearts. This moral code is described by Paul as honorable, selfless, and patient in well-doing (Rom 2:7). We will see that this faith-action is actually the whole point (rather than being of zero value or “filthy rags” as our misguided teachers preach frequently).
Why do I say this? Let us look back at Biblical history. From the beginning God wanted the sons of Adam to “image” [verb] his Devine nature “on earth as it is [imaged by the spiritual ‘sons of God,’ i.e. - the loyal Elohim] in heaven.” Paul is not laying out a theoretical framework here that no one could follow. (Supposing that “if” someone could do good throughout his life, then he could be saved, while simultaneously assuming that is impossible). No, he is saying that actually it is possible… if one has true faith in the True God. His point throughout Romans is that we are saved by faith. And those who follow their conscience and are led by God are acting in faith. This faith is in the True God. The God whose attributes they can plainly see displayed in creation. Since Jesus is the Word responsible for establishing that created order, they are by nature expressing their faith in Jesus, and would thus be saved from wrath on the day God judges the “secrets of men by Christ Jesus!” (Rom 2:16). How else could he say that “9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good.” Only through the blood of Jesus, and the gift of His Spirit, do we finally have the power to fulfill Adam’s original mission, to subdue the earth until all things under heaven are actually done in accordance with God’s will. And though we carry this out imperfectly, if we act in faith, we know that Jesus completes our deficiency with His perfection.
When we faithfully image [verb] God’s Devine nature on earth, we show ourselves to be part of God’s family and are granted the privilege, through Jesus, to become devine beings ourselves, to be revealed as “sons of God” on earth, and eventually glorified like unto, yet even above the Elohim! (“Do you not know we shall judge angels?” 1 Cor 6:3).
[footnote - The Elohim or, the “heavenly host,” are referred to as the “sons of God” and we were given the right to also be glorified one day as “sons of God.” Jesus is the only Unique Son of God, in that he is the only Elohim that is the eternally existent embodiment of Yahweh. So it is important to note: we will be glorified into a state of being “sons of God” above even the angelic “Elohim,” but we are, and always will be, infinitely inferior to Yahweh Himself.]
Therefore, those who call themselves “Christians” and then presume on God’s kindness by living unrepentant lives are storing up wrath for themselves on the Day of Judgement! - (see Romans 2:5). We cannot be perfect, but living a holy life, staying connected to Jesus and repenting when we sin is vital.
Rather than being completely useless and utterly secondary to belief, heart-action (works flowing from true faith) should actually be understood as the very definition of “belief.”
Let’s explore this further. After careful study of the Bible, it is apparent to me that knowledge and action are linked in the Jewish mind. If you are not convinced, ask yourself, what happened when Adam “knew” his wife, Eve in Genesis 4:1? Answer: she became pregnant! And, what happened in Exodus 2:24 when God “remembered” his covenant with Abraham? He immediately sent Moses to deliver them from Egypt. And when David (in 2 Sam 9) is implied to have remembered his friend Jonathan, he immediately invited Jonathan’s son to dine at the king’s table. And when Abraham “believed” God, he raised the knife to sacrifice Isaac.
Belief is Abraham lifting the knife to slay his son.
There is no separation between thought and action in the Jewish mind. Any need to explain this did not appear to come along until Jews were trying to articulate this to the Greeks and Romans. (Greeks had a way of viewing abstract concepts as separate from action, just as the “forms” were separate from the physical universe https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_forms ). But this seems alien to the Old Testament, and by extension, to the Apostles who quoted it.
So, what exactly is belief?
Belief is obedience inspired by Trust in the Word of God - both his spoken commands, and also the Embodied Word revealed to us in the second person of the Trinity (Jesus). It includes relational devotion, not mere understanding. All those who express this belief by persistence in acting righteously (thereby seeking, in faith, the rewards of glory, honor, and immortality from the One True God) will be saved from God’s eternal wrath by their living faith in Jesus. (Romans 2:7). Our faith is not in our works, but in Jesus himself to make up what we lack. Yes, rigid adherence to a set rules and rituals without any loving faith-connection to God does not save us. (See Hosea 6:6 “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice.” Paul also confirmed this when he said, “for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” - Romans 14:23). But, a life exhibiting no righteous action at all would suggest such a person never truly believed in the first place.
Therefore there is no boasting, there is no earning… but there most certainly is doing! For doing is the act of believing, just as consummation is the act of marriage.
So, we are not saved by outward and empty ritual works when our hearts are not devoted to God, but living heart-action is demonstrative that true belief is active in our lives. Action is the spirit and vibrant energy that animates belief, and belief in Jesus is what saves us from God’s wrath.
In closing, let us not forget that all of this is in the context of a relational connection to Jesus, without which we are powerless to act in faith. All of our faith, all of our action is for love of a person: namely Jesus. For, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)
Below are excerpts from Matthew supporting this thesis both from John the Baptist and Jesus’ own words. Ask yourself, did Jesus consider following his commandments to be optional and secondary, or essential and married to true belief? Emphasis added by me.
John the Baptist:
Mat 3 “8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Jesus:
Mat 6
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.”
Mat. 7:19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” in the context of fruit (words) showing the contents of a rotten heart.
Mat 7:21. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ”
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock”
Mat 12. “35 The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
Mat. 19 “If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”
Matt 5:17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven,”
Mat. 22
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” Note: love is not a feeling, it is an action —> Jesus clarified this in the parable of the Good Samaritan.
Mat 21
“43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits.”
Mat 25
“34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”