Romans 2:6--Doug's Tuesday Thought

Romans 2:6
Doug's Tuesday Thought
December 8, 2009

I'm reading through the book of Romans, and I've gotten all the way to chapter 2 so far. It's only taken about 2 months to get through chapter 1, though I haven't commented on it very much. I've got the notes in my journal, and hope to someday get them all transcribed.

Today, though, I wanted to comment on Romans 2:6, where Paul points out that God will judge all people according to their deeds. Verses 7 and 8 tell us that those with evil deeds will get wrath, and those with good deeds will receive blessing. Sounds great, right?

This is theology that most of us would like to stop with. The good get rewarded, the bad get punished. Hurrah! Because I'm good, right?

Well, not so much---you've got to read on into the letter. Paul points out that we're all sinners. We're all bad. None of us get to qualify for Romans 2:8, we're all stuck with Romans 2:7.

What separates from that wrath? What allows us to see Romans 2:8 as more than a mocking “you'll never get this!”?

Christmas does. It's not about a baby or a star or shepherds or wise men...it's about the Grace of God. About His goodness being more than enough for us. Christmas isn't about the naughty/nice list. It's about the list not mattering anymore, because God overwrote with the glory of Christ.

Doug