How Do We Know We Are Saved By the Evidence of Our Work?
7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Romans 2:7-10 (NIV)
Yesterday, we went through the consistency in Scripture that we are not saved by our work. But work could be an indicator that we are saved by God’s grace. In Romans 2:7-10, Paul presents several indicators that can help us evaluate our spiritual standing and the genuineness of our salvation by Jesus.
The first test, as mentioned in Ro. 2:7, is “persistence in doing good.” This means that living a godly life has become a consistent pattern in our daily lives. It’s not about sporadic acts of kindness or occasional good deeds, but rather a sustained commitment to living according to God’s principles.
The second indicator is the desire to “seek glory, honor and immortality.” These are qualities that come from a life lived in relationship with God. When we seek these things in the right place—in God himself—it demonstrates that our hearts are aligned with His will. We are not doing good deeds for our own sake or to gain recognition from others, but because we want to become more like God in His character.
On the other hand, Ro. 2:8 reveals two warning signs that indicate a person is not right with God. The first is “self-seeking,” which refers to a spirit of self-will or self-glorification. This can manifest in both irreligious and religious contexts. Whether we pursue our own desires through licentious living or through moral, upright behavior, the root issue is the same: it’s about us, not God.
The second warning sign is “rejecting the truth and following evil.” This involves an unwillingness to learn from God’s truth. It’s a lack of teachability, a refusal to submit to truth outside of our own convictions and desires. Both irreligious and religious people can fall into this trap. Religious individuals may be willing to listen to God’s commands about how to live, but they may ignore the truth that they cannot keep those commands perfectly.
In Ro. 2:9-10, Paul reiterates the teaching of the previous verses, emphasizing that God does not show favoritism. Judgment is impartial, and what matters is not our family or cultural background, but how we choose to relate to God.
So, how do we know we are saved by the evidence of our work? For sure it’s not about earning our way to heaven through good deeds. Instead, it’s about the consistent pattern of our lives. Do we persistently seek to do good and align our hearts with God’s character? Do we humbly submit to his truth and allow it to shape our lives? These are the indicators that our faith is genuine and that we are truly saved by grace.
Reflecting on the positive and negative indicators of genuine faith discussed in this passage, what changes would you ask God to make in your life to more clearly demonstrate the reality of your salvation by grace?
[The ideas for this week’s materials on Romans 2:1-16 were drawn from Tim Keller’s book “Romans 1-7 for You“]
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Lord Jesus, the change that I would ask You to make in my life is the visible fruit of Your Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. My personality is so task-oriented that loving would not be the first impression I would make; neither is joy nor enjoyment (as my handle Buzzk!ll on Discord). I thank You for Your shaping and molding over the years and I pray that You will help me to keep saying Yes to You, and saying No to Sin. That way I would have even more confidence on the Day of Grace. Amen
When Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment, He replies, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these,” (Mark 12:29-31). So, for me, the changes that I would ask God to make in my life to more clearly demonstrate the reality of salvation by grace would be the condition and motivation of my heart. I continually pray that He would remove self-seeking from me, in whatever way that would manifest itself. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous says, “selfishness- self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of all our troubles.” This is why the third step requires that we turn our will and our life over to God’s care, and, in the third step prayer, we ask that He “relieve us from the bondage of self.” So, I continue to ask God that He would transform and mold my heart, that I would “do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider others as more important than myself,” (Phil. 2:3). That I would truly and sincerely love Him and love others. That He would increase and I would decrease. Amen.
I’m not at the point where I’m persistently doing good yet. I’m still finding myself doing good only as much as I’m comfortable. I still feel hesitant in involving myself in the messiness of other people lives – which sometime is necessary if you want to be involved and help people at a deeper level. My intention is not self seeking but I can’t be sure – even I don’t know my own heart – God knows it though and I have found that He will often reveal to me what’s in my heart. I think this is very helpful because it help me to recognize when what I’m doing is not in line with Him.
I remember when I was studying meditation, one of the hardest part of meditation is entering the correct mental state. You don’t know what that state feels like so it is hard to enter it. However, once you recognize it you can always get back to that state and it gets easier and easier. So I feel that the Lord is revealing to me how to recognize that state where your “deed” is seeking glory, honor and immortality instead of being self-seeking.