Useful Bible Studies > Romans Commentary > chapter 2
Perhaps we would like to know the nature of God’s judgement. Psalm 96:13 declares that God will judge the world in righteousness (in other words, rightly). Here, Paul explains more clearly what that means.
Firstly, God will be the judge of all people. Nobody will escape God’s judgement. God will be the judge of people from every nation. Whether we consider people to be important or not, God will still be their judge.
Secondly, God will be the judge of each person. He knows each person; and he knows what they have done. He will not punish one person for another person’s wrong acts. His judgement about each person will be right.
Next, God’s judgement will be about the way that people have lived during their lives on earth. God knows their words, thoughts and deeds; he knows their attitudes and their behaviour. He will certainly punish evil people; he will certainly reward those people who have patiently continued to do what is right.
The reward for God’s people is life that never ends. However, evil people will suffer the anger of God.
Paul describes God’s people in verse 7. They are the people who patiently do good work. They desire the true greatness, honour, and life that only God can give. However, Paul does not yet explain how we can join these people to gain this wonderful reward. That is a problem, because we are all guilty of wrong and evil acts. Therefore, we all deserve God’s punishment. Paul explains the answer to this important problem in Romans 5:6-9. When Christ died, he suffered the punishment for us. To join God’s people, therefore, we must confess our evil deeds to God, and we must invite Christ into our lives.
Next part: Nobody has any special advantages when God is their judge (Romans 2:9-11)
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