Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 2:7
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life:
7. to them who by patient continuance, &c.] More lit., to those who according to patience of (i.e. in) a good work seek, &c.; i.e., who, in that method, by that path, seek for eternal bliss. “ Patience ” here, as often in N. T., practically means active patience, perseverance. (Cp. Luk 8:15; Heb 10:36; Heb 12:1). “ Work ” is here, as often, used in the singular as a summary of the Christian’s whole course of obedience.
It is very remarkable to find here, in the first pages of this great Treatise on Gratuitous Salvation, the distinct mention of the blessed result of “ good work.” (See specially, by way of contrast, Rom 4:2; Rom 4:6, Rom 11:6; and also Eph 2:9-10.) It must be remembered that St Paul expressly teaches that man’s knowledge and love of God in this life, and by consequence its practical results, are as much His gift, a gift perfectly free and special, as is the bliss of the life to come; and that the two are inseparably connected. Divine mercy gives the “patient continuance in well-doing” as well as the “glory, honour, and immortality.” It is most true that the just freedom of Scripture language frequently leaves this connexion out of explicit statement; but this whole Epistle tends to remind us that it is among the very foundations of truth.
seek ] As a traveller on his homeward road seeks for (aims at, moves toward) his home. Cp. Heb 13:14.
glory ] The heavenly state, on its side of exaltation; the dignity of the vision and the likeness of God. See ch. Rom 5:2 for its deep connexion with His presence: it is “the glory of God.”
honour ] Often associated with “glory.” See 1Pe 1:7 for an instructive parallel. St Paul here speaks of “perseverance in good works;” St Peter there of the “fiery trial” of faith; both as preliminary to the Master’s welcome.
immortality ] Lit. incorruptibility. Same word as 1Co 15:42; 1Co 15:50; 2Ti 1:10. (E. V., “immortality.”) It indicates perpetuity not merely of existence but of purity and power, the immortality of heaven. See further, next note.
eternal life ] On these two most weighty words we can only summarize thus. (1) “ Life,” beyond question, may, and very often does, mean more than bare existence. A “lifeless” tree, or body, yet exists, though in another state than before. In regard of spiritual life, it is clear that existence may be strong and conscious where there is no such “life.” See Joh 6:53; Eph 2:1. Existence, to be in this sense “life,” must contain happiness and holiness, whether in the germ (as here), or in maturity (as hereafter). (2) “ Eternal.” Much has been written on the Greek of this word; aionios. But its connexion with duration, in derivation and usage, is certain. For N. T. usage in this respect, see e.g. 2Co 4:17-18. And it is equally clear that its ruling idea is duration unending in respect of the period referred to. If used e. g. with regard to the present world, or a human lifetime, it naturally means unending while that world, or lifetime, lasts. When applied to the unseen and ultimate world, it appears equally naturally to mean unending while that world lasts. “ Everlasting ” is thus no arbitrary equivalent for it, for both words have much the same consistent elasticity of meaning.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To them – Whoever they may be.
Patient continuance – Who by perseverance in well doing, or in a good work. It means that they who so continue, or persevere, in good works as to evince that they are disposed to obey the Law of God. It does not mean those who perform one single act, but those who so live as to show that this is their character to obey God. It is the uniform doctrine of the Bible that none will be saved but those who persevere in a life of holiness, Rev 2:10; Mat 10:22; Heb 10:38-39. No other conduct gives evidence of piety but what continues in the ways of righteousness. Nor has God ever promised eternal life to people unless they so persevere in a life of holiness as to show that this is their character, their settled and firm rule of action. The words well doing here denote such conduct as shall be conformed to the Law of God; not merely external conduct, but that which proceeds from a heart attached to God and his cause.
Seek for – This word properly denotes the act of endeavoring to find any thing that is lost, Mat 18:12; Luk 2:48-49. But it also denotes the act when one earnestly strives, or desires to obtain anything; when he puts forth his efforts to accomplish it. Thus, Mat 6:33, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, etc. Act 16:10; 1Co 10:24; Luk 13:24. In this place it denotes an earnest and intense desire to obtain eternal life. It does not mean simply the desire of a sinner to be happy, or the efforts of those who are not willing to forsake their sins and yield to God, out the intense effort of those who are willing to forsake all their crimes, and submit to God and obey his laws.
Glory and honour and immortality – The three words used here, denote the happiness of the heavenly world. They vary somewhat in their meaning, and are each descriptive of something in heaven, that renders it an object of intense desire. The expressions are cumulative, or they are designed to express the happiness of heaven in the highest possible degree. The word glory doxan denotes properly praise, celebrity, or anything distinguished for beauty, ornament, majesty, splendor, as of the sun, etc.; and then it is used to denote the highest happiness or felicity, as expressing everything that shall be splendid, rich, and grand. It denotes that there will be an absence of every thing mean, grovelling, obscure. The word honor ( timen) implies rather the idea of reward, or just retribution – the honor and reward which shall be conferred in heaven on the friends of God. It stands opposed to contempt, poverty, and want among people. Here they are despised by people; there, they shall be honored by God.
Immortality – That which is not corruptible or subject to decay. It is applied to heaven as a state where there shall be no decay or death, in strong contrast with our present condition, where all things are corruptible, and soon vanish away. These expressions are undoubtedly descriptive of a state of things beyond the grave. They are never applied in the Scriptures to any condition of things on the earth. This consideration proves, therefore, that the expressions in the next verse, indignation, etc. apply to the punishment of the wicked beyond the grave.
Eternal life – That is, God will render eternal life to those who seek it in this manner. This is a great principle; and this shows that the apostle means by their deeds Rom 2:6, not merely their external conduct, but their inward thoughts, and efforts evinced by their seeking for glory, etc. For the meaning of the expression eternal life, see the note at Joh 5:24.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Rom 2:7-10
To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life.
Contrasts
I. In aim.
II. In conduct.
III. In result. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
Well-doing
I. The supreme duty of life. Well-doing. Man only lives as he is active, and he only lives rightly and happily as he acts well. Well-doing does not mean the well-doing of one faculty, but of all faculties, not in one sphere of life, but in all spheres; it means doing everything from the right principle, supreme love to God.
II. The supreme duty of life requires continuance. Patient continuance. He that does not do well always, at all times, in all circumstances, does not do well at all. A man is either under the sovereignty of the right principle or not. If not, whatever he does is wrong-doing; if he is, whatever he does is right. As a man thinketh in his heart so is he. Hold on to the principle, be ever loyal to it.
III. Continuance in the supreme duty calls for patience. Patient continuance is well-doing. Patience, because there are so many forces that obstruct, so many circumstances that try, so many agencies that are hostile. Resist the devil, etc. (D. Thomas, D. D.)
Well-doing
Good work, as the Greek has it–not works, but lifelong work. Consider this–
I. Negatively. It is not–
1. Well-knowing.
2. Well-promising.
3. Well-professing.
4. Well-abstaining.
II. Positively. It is well-doing; good.
1. As to the matter–prescribed by God and according to His will (Mic 6:8).
2. As to the motive–done for Gods glory and pleasure (1Co 10:31; Col 3:23).
3. As to the manner–carefully, earnestly, heartily (2Co 9:7; Rom 12:11; Col 3:23).
4. As to its essential element–love (Mat 22:37-39; Rom 13:10).
5. As to its example–Christ (1Pe 2:21-23).
III. Relationally. Well-doing is agreeable.
1. To the nature God has given us.
2. To the relation in which we stand to God and our fellow men.
3. To the rule God has given us in Scripture.
Conclusion:
1. Well-doing is the effect of grace alone (Rom 3:12; Eph 2:9).
2. Man is renewed in Christ for this purpose (2Co 5:17; Eph 2:10).
3. Believers are required to abound in it (Col 1:10; 1Ti 6:18).
4. Well-doing alone will be rewarded. Well done thou good and faithful servant. (T. Robinson, D. D.)
Patient continuance in well-doing
As the sun never leaves off shining, though clouds sometimes obscure its light, so we must never cease to do well, even to our enemies and persecutors.
The reward of patient effort
If we look back to the history of efforts which have made great changes, it is astonishing how many of them seemed hopeless to those who looked on at the beginning. Take, e.g., the effort after the unity of Italy. Look into Mazzinis account of his first yearning, when he was a boy, after a restored greatness and new freedom for his country, and of his first efforts as a young man to rouse the same feelings in other young men, and get them to work towards a united nationality. Almost everything seemed against him; his countrymen were ignorant or indifferent, governments hostile, Europe incredulous. Of course the scorners often seemed wise. Yet you see that the prophecy lay with him. (George Eliot.)
Perseverance: its value and effects
It is only by slow stages that we can rear a monument whose proud boast it shall be that it is oere perennius. The constant dropping of water, says one proverb, hollows out the stone, and another that he who goes slowly goes long, and goes far. No work is well done that is done by fits and starts. Steadfast application to a fixed aim is the law of a well-spent life. When Giardini was asked how long it would take to learn the violin, he replied, Twelve hours a day for twenty years. Alas! too many of us think to play our fiddles by a species of inspiration. The Leotards and Blondins–what painful diligence must they have exhibited! The same adherence to a settled purpose might assuredly have made them benefactors of mankind had they been animated by a nobler impulse. In music, take the examples of Malibran and Pasta; in painting, of Titian and Raffaelle; in letters, of Lord Lytton and Carlyle; in science, of Laplace and Faraday; and you will find that the great results which have surrounded their names with imperishable honour, were wrought out by the most wonderful constancy of labour, and the most heroic energy of patience. Nothing can be greater mistake than to suppose that genius dispenses with labour. What genius does is to inspire the soul with a power to persevere in the labour that is needed; but the greater geniuses in every art invariably labour at their art far harder than all others, because their genius shows them the value of such patient labour, and aids them to persist in it. (W. H. D. Adams.)
Good works must be continuous
No grace, no, not the most sparkling and shining grace, can bring a man to heaven of itself without perseverance; not faith (which is the champion of grace), if it be faint and fail; nor love (which is the nurse of grace), if it decline and wax cold; nor humility (which is the adorner and beautifier of grace), if it continue not to the end; not obedience, not repentance, not patience, no, nor any other grace, except they have their perfect work. It is not enough to begin well except we end well. Manasseh and Paul began ill, but ended well; Judas and Demas began well, but ended ill. (T. Brooks.)
The constancy of holiness
Holiness consists not in the rushing of intense resolve, which, like Kishon, sweeps everything before it, and then subsides, but in the constant flow of Siloahs still waters, which perpetually make glad the city of our God. Holiness is no blazing comet, amazing nations with a transient glory; it is a fixed star that, with still, calm radiance, shines on through the darkness of a corrupt age. Holiness is persevering obedience; it is not holiness at all if it be occasional zeal and sensational piety. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The permanent determination to realise goodness
The notion of patient continuance is emphasised here, not only in opposition to the idea of intermittent moral efforts, but to indicate that there are great moral obstacles to be met on this path, and that a persistent love of goodness is needed to surmount them. The apostle says literally; perseverance in good work. In verse 6 he had used the plural. He now comprehends this multiplicity of works in the profound principle which constitutes their unity–the permanent determination to realise goodness. What supports a man in this course is the good which he has constantly before him: glory, an existence without defilement or weakness, resplendent throughout with the Divine brightness of holiness and power: honour, the approbation of God which forms the eternal honour of its object: incorruptibility, the absolute impossibility of any wound, interruption or end to this state of being. The and between the last two substantives, shows a certain degree of emotion; the accumulation of terms arises from the same cause. In all human conditions there are souls who contemplate the ideal here described, and which, ravished with its beauty, are elevated by it above every earthly ambition and the pursuit of sensual gratifications. These are the men who are represented under the figure of the merchant seeking goodly pearls. For such is the pearl of great price–life eternal! This last word, laden, as it were, with all Divine riches, denotes the realisation of the ideal just described; it worthily closes this magnificent proposition. (Prof. Godet.)
The beatitude of patient courage
I. The ideal Christian life. Patient continuance in well-doing.
1. The feverish ambition which must see its name in the newspaper and be congratulated in public meetings, is in great danger of exhausting its reward before the day of judgment (Mat 6:2-5). Happier far is he who hears with glad surprise the Masters Well done, and finds that the work which was unnoticed on earth was seen and remembered in heaven.
2. Spasmodic effort, brief fervour followed by long languor, wins no enduring honour either in this world or the next. Steady, brave, unremitted work is that which pays best, both here and hereafter. How many teachers have for years toiled on receiving scant recognition on earth, yet day by day preparing for that time when their pound shall have gained ten pounds! There was a teacher at East Grinstead who for fifty-seven years had been present at his post twice every Sunday with few exceptions. He has in his class the grandchildren of those he once taught. He does not remember a single occasion on which he has been late. It would be hard to find a more apt illustration of patient continuance in well-doing.
3. Patient continuance means more than patience, perseverance, endurance. It is heroic patience, strong both to bear and to do, which, like love, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things and never faileth. There are many short cuts to success in Christian work, but this is the only true way. Let us seek it earnestly, and tread it consistently.
II. The reward.
1. What they seek they win. Eternal glory, the honour that cometh from God, a life that knows no decay, these are the objects of Christian ambition, and they who patiently seek shall find them. God giveth to such eternal life–not simply unending life, but life in all its glorious fulness. This is the end of patient Christian toil.
2. There is way which to the natural man seemeth dull, hard, uninviting, unhonourable, but the end thereof are the ways of life (Pro 14:12). The loftiest end is reached by the lowliest path.
3. Eternal life, with all its unutterable joy and glory, awaits the faithful Christian worker in every field. It is not well to dwell exclusively upon the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him, but it is surely well ever and anon to glance upward for a moment to that crown which the man with the muck rake neither sought nor saw. These things are made known to us, not that we may become careless or boastful, but that we may be strengthened and heartened. (A. E. Gregory.)
High life
I. The grandeur of the aim.
Seek for glory, honour, immortality. What great words these! Some wish to take them out of the vocabulary, and out of human life–they deride such ideas. But we need them, and cannot get on without them. We go into the fields, and there grows a modest simple daisy. But think what a costly flower it is! It owes its shape to the action of the vast terrible law of gravitation working through all the realms of space; to refresh it the ocean must yield its virtue; to vivify it the electrical forces must sweep through the planet; to colour it millions of vibrations must shoot through the light ether; to build it up, unfold it, perfect it, it requires an orb ninety-five millions of miles away, five hundred times bigger than all the planets put together–a million and a half times bigger than the earth itself. Vain little daisy, will not less than this do for you, says the sceptical critic. No; less will not do. So man may seem a poor creature in infidel eyes, but if he is shut out from large ideas and hopes he loses the fulness of life and happiness. Take these words, glory, honour, immortality, out of the vocabulary, and what is the effect on–
1. Character? It is all very well to attempt to shut men up to beef and beer, but we shall never get large, strong, beautiful life out of that. It is certain that where these words have been most laid to heart, the rarest, purest graces have bloomed. Some horticulturists hold that roses grow best on their own roots. I am quite sure that Gods roses grow best so; and whenever they are severed from their own roots, grafted into some wild briar of the wilderness, and planted on secular ground, the moss rose of the garden becomes the dog rose of the hedge. No; you only get noble, tender, pure, beneficent character out of a lofty faith and a glorious hope.
2. Experience? Will the spirit of man be content without these words? No, say the men of the world, but they can find glory, honour, immortality within the worldly life. Can they? Glory means solidity, reality, durability; have they these? Certainly not. According to their philosophy, man is a soap bubble, and, pricked by death, where is he? Honour, have they that? If you take the soul out of man he is but one of the beasts which perish, and social honours are his golden shoes, his jingling bells. Is this honour? Immortality, have they that? Yes, fame. Fame! a deaths head decked with a fading wreath. No, they have not these things, they have only the words. There is no lofty, luminous character, no rich, satisfying experience, except as we recognise our share in the Divine and the eternal. To them who seek glory, honour, immortality, eternal life. God goes beyond our utmost ideas. In the lips of men these words shrink to nothing, but God fills them to overflowing with glorious meaning. Aim at the highest. When a great ideal slips out of a mans soul he begins to rot; only as he cherishes grand thoughts does he find rest to his soul, and come to the stature of a perfect man.
II. The simplicity of the pathway. By patient continuance in well-doing. There is something quite startling between the aim and the condition. Well-doing. Men have sought glory, etc. in many strange paths, but the true plain path is here–well-doing. Not brilliant doing in trade, war, scholarship, but well-doing. Doing the work of life with a willing mind, a loving heart, with both hands earnestly–diligence in getting good, being good, doing good. In this world all the grand prizes go to a few brilliant people. It was so at school. The brilliant boys carried off the prizes. It is the same in the big world, which likes genius, brilliance, audacity. But what a blessing it is to us, the dim million, to know that God recognises patient merit, and that the grandest prizes of all are kept not for the brilliant, but for the faithful. God recognises–
1. The greatness of simple character. We are apt to overlook great character in humble guise, but God does not. We look at the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. I do not want anybody to tell me about the man who spoke prose for forty years without knowing it. Scores of men speak poetry for forty years without knowing it, nay, act splendid poetry without knowing it, and God shall surprise them with a splendid reward. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, etc. Thousands of lowly men think but little of themselves and their doings, but God knows their measure and shall surprise them with glory, honour, immortality beyond their most glowing dream.
2. The greatness of simple duty. The cynic loves to show how mean splendid things are when critically examined. Such substances as clay and flint form the basis of nearly all the precious stones. But so far from showing the meanness of magnificence, he shows the magnificence of meanness. So men of a certain temper love to show how all the business of life is vulgar and insignificant; but if our daily tasks are viewed in regard to the will of God, the fashioning of our character and destiny, they are solemn and momentous. Angels and shopkeepers, archangels and manufacturers, belong to the same celestial hierarchy as they stand before Gods face and do His bidding. There is no difference, for God is no respecter of persons.
3. The greatness of simple suffering. One of our writers said the world just now wants heroes. It altogether depends what kind of heroes they are. Some of these make a great stir for small advantage. The most illustrious of heroes are often those of obscure life. All around us simple people bear uncomplainingly the most bitter suffering; nobly resist the most terrible temptation; sustain with silence the heaviest burdens. Gordon flashed a splendid figure on the imagination of the world, but there are many Gordons unknown to fame, but who are known to God, and shall not lose their appropriate reward. Conclusion: Let us be content with our place and work however coarse and common. If we cannot be flowers of the garden, of the aristocracy of flowers, let us be flowers of the grass, very beautiful in the eyes of Him who makes the grass to grow upon the mountains. It is not in brilliance that we shall be saved, but by pegging away in simple, honest work. But let us feed our soul with high beliefs and hopes. Let us talk to ourselves all the day long about glory, honour, immortality, eternal life; so shall our path of life, however lowly, be a royal pathway, brighter and brighter, to a perfect day! (W. L. Watkinson.)
The Christians great aim
I. The object of the Christians pursuit. A triple crown–a crown of glory and honour and immortality. But does not this reduce their virtue to a thing of hollow utility? No; as will appear if we consider their motive, which is that they may east their crowns at Jesus feet. They seek–
1. A glorious position–glory, majesty. The inhabitants of heaven are all glorious within, and all glorious without.
2. The highest praise, honour. Courtiers have spent years to insinuate themselves into the favour of their king; while vast numbers have not spent an hour in seeking the smile of God. And yet to have the approbation of the highest potentate of earth, is nothing compared with the approbation of the King of Glory.
3. To hold this position and this praise in perpetual possession. There is here a contrast between the things of earth and of heaven. Here, the leaf must wither and the flower must die; there, the leaf is evergreen and the flower amaranthine.
II. The means employed to obtain this object.
1. There is the performance of good works. This universe is an infinite conjugation of the verb to do. And it is either conjugated ill or well. By the Christian, it is conjugated well.
2. The patient performance of good works. Good doing in this world is climbing the steep, often with bleeding feet. Hence, Christians require the Divine virtue of patience; and patience is true heroism.
3. Perseverance in the performance of good works. Our life must resemble the sun in his commencement, continued course, and consummation. We must travel onward and upward to the perfect day of knowledge, of purity, of joy.
III. The object obtained by the means employed. Those who seek in the way described not only find what they seek, but much more–eternal life. This life is–
1. Pure.
2. Progressive.
3. Permanent. (J. Dunlop.)
Seeking for glory, honour, and immortality
How?
1. As one who feels the want of those blessings (Luk 15:14; Ecc 1:2; Jer 2:13).
2. As one who discerns their surpassing excellence and worth (Mat 13:44; Php 3:7-8).
3. As one who is willing to strive for them in the appointed and proper way, and to accept them upon the terms offered (2Ti 2:5; Isa 55:1).
4. As one who is prepared to make any self-sacrifice, brave all dangers and oppositions, and never to be deterred by failure (Act 21:13). (C. Neil, M. A.)
Glory,
or splendour, is here as often elsewhere in Scripture, specified as the distinguishing characteristic of that celestial state in which the holy find their everlasting award. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Mat 13:43; cf. Rom 5:2; Rom 9:23; Eph 1:18; 1Ti 3:16; 2Ti 2:10; Heb 2:10; 1Pe 5:1; 1Pe 5:4; 1Pe 5:10). On earth the righteous may have their lot in the midst of the mean accompaniments of poverty. In heaven everything around as well as within them will be lustrous and glorious. (J. Morison, D. D.)
Honour
This is another fold of the manifold excellency of the heavenly state. It is kindred to glory. Its idea, however, has more of relativity about it. One may be absolutely glorious. God from everlasting was so. But one can have honour only when others esteem and prize and praise. Hence the connection of the Greek word () with price (see 1Co 6:20; 1Co 7:23; Mat 27:6; and compare the German preis, and the English prize and praise.) Relative honour as well as essential glory awaits the holy. They will bask in the Fathers approbation and complacency. Angels will rejoice in their companionship. They will be kings unto God, and will reign with Christ (Rev 5:10). (J. Morison, D. D.)
Immortality
naturally looks back to glory and honour, and contrasts the permanence of the celestial with the fleeting shadows of the terrestrial. The inheritance is incorruptible. The diadem that encircles the brows of the glorified heirs is amaranthine. It fadeth not away. (J. Morison, D. D.)
Labouring for eternity
There, exclaimed an artist, on finishing a perishable work on perishable material, it is done!–and it has been thirty years in doing! We labour for eternity; and shall we think a life long to devote to endless results? (A. Reed, D. D.)
Working for eternity
Apelles, the Grecian painters when asked why he touched and retouched his pictures with so much care, answered, Because I paint for eternity.
But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation, and wrath.–
Factiousness and its punishment
I. The character described.
1. Factious.
(1) The expression is literally those who are of a factious spirit. Descent or parentage is suggested as in him who is of faith, them who are of the circumcision (cf. also Gal 4:10; Joh 18:37)
, and in children of light, etc. (Eph 2:2-3; Eph 5:8; 1Pe 1:14; 2Th 2:3). In all such expressions the outstanding idea derived from the universally recognised law of like begetting like, is that of predominant characteristic.
(2) The word itself denotes a spirit of faction, but always with a vile implication of interested and selfish aims. The apostles reference, therefore, is not to mere political sectarianism, or national bigotry. His mind has before it the conception of Gods vast moral empire. Faction in it is opposition to the monarch of the universe; opposition that springs from a base desire to gratify the lower principles of the nature. It is in fact a covert kind of rebellion; only it is rebellion animated by the most ignoble aims.
2. The factious are disobedient to the truth. Such, indeed, is implied in their factiousness. The truth is personified as a lady or mistress who ought to be obeyed. The truth is disobeyed when there is a wilful refusal to have the life, at once in its inner thoughts and feelings, and in its outer acts, conformed to the rule which it embodies. The rule is imperative. For moral, religious, evangelical truth is revealed just in order that the living mind may live in conformity with it, and thus in consonance with the will of Him whose voice truth is.
3. The factious while disobedient to the truth are obedient to unrighteousness–the counterpart idea which is the complement of the preceding clause. The lawful sovereign of the soul being disobeyed, subjection is transferred to a usurpers sway. Unrighteousness has doubtless its usual import as the antithesis of moral rectitude, and is not to be regarded as doctrinal error. It is the case, however, that just as the truth received is the kernel of that of righteousness, without which no one can be meet to enter into the kingdom of heaven; so unrighteousness is a husk within which will be found the primal seed of error.
II. Its punishment.
1. Wrath and indignation from God. The one word reverberates on the other. The two are an intensification of the idea of each.
2. The suffering of tribulation and anguish. (J. Morison, D. D.)
The mercenary spirit
Contentions is mistranslated on the supposition that it has something to do with –strife–whereas it comes from , a day labourer, a hireling. The word is used of those who canvass for office, and form cabals and parties to accomplish their ends. Hence, in the largest sense it will signify those who labour for their own private and selfish ends; and it is remarkable that this should be contrasted with the patient continuance in well-doing, as containing in itself every form of evil. The words would be properly translated, those who are of a mercenary spirit. (Bp. Thirlwall.)
Obedience to unrighteousness, i.e.,
revolting against what is good, and becoming slaves to what is evil. Here a striking contrast is indicated between that contentious spirit which disobeys the truth, and yet obeys unrighteousness. The one denotes an extraordinary haughtiness, and an exceeding boldness, and the other extreme meanness and servility of soul. They who do not choose to serve God as their legitimate sovereign become the slaves of a master who is both a tyrant and usurper. (R. Haldane.)
Indignation and wrath
mark the greatness of Gods anger proportioned–
1. To the dignity of the Sovereign Judge of the world.
2. To the authority of those eternal laws which have been violated.
3. To the favours which sinners have received.
4. To the unworthiness and meanness of sin. (R. Haldane.)
Tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil.—
Tribulation and anguish
Tribulation means pressure, which, when extreme, as in various modes of torture, causes excruciating pain. Anguish means straitened room–straits–the source of utter despair and ruin when one is pursued by an invincible antagonist. The latter is stronger than the former (cf. 2Co 4:8)
–in every way troubled and hard pressed, but not reduced to absolute straits. Here the one term simply intensifies the other; and the two in union are a representation of the award of woe which hangs over the persistently wicked. They represent the award as it terminates in the persons judged; whereas indignation and wrath represent it as it emanates from the Judge. (J. Morison, D. D.)
The punishment of sin
I. Its nature.
1. Tribulation. By–
(1) Exclusion from Gods presence and the bliss of heaven.
(2) Confinement to the society of the devil, his angels, and wicked men.
(3) The absence of all that can afford comfort and pleasure.
(4) The presence of all that can occasion misery. Outer darkness: furnace and lake of fire; undying worm; bottomless pit, are its emblems.
2. Anguish. From–
(1) Experience of Gods anger.
(2) Sense of abhorrence of all holy beings.
(3) Consciousness of moral loathsomeness and corruption.
(4) Working of uncontrolled passions and ungratified desires.
(5) Sense of all being self-caused and justly deserved.
(6) Inability to escape or obtain mitigation.
(7) Knowledge that all is everlasting.
II. Its characteristics.
1. Universality. Every soul that doeth evil.
2. Suitability. The soul–
(1) The chief seat of suffering as the chief agent in sinning.
(2) Especially capable of realising the Divine anger.
3. Impartiality. The Jew first and also the Gentile. (T. Robinson, D. D.)
The retribution of sin mercifully revealed
I do not accept the doctrine of eternal punishment because I delight in it. I would cast in doubts, if I could, till I had filled hell up to the brim. I would destroy all faith in it, but that would do me no good; I could not destroy the thing. I cannot alter the stern fact. The exposition of future punishment in Gods Word is not to be regarded as a threat, but as a merciful declaration. If, in the ocean of life, over which we are bound to eternity, there are these rocks and shoals, it is no cruelty to chart them down; it is an eminent and prominent mercy. (H. W. Beecher.)
The law of consequences
After a service in a place where the people had been a good deal bewildered by a young preacher, who accepted only so much of the Bible as suited his whims, and who was wont to make merry over the idea of future punishment, a man stepped up to me and said in a bantering voice: Bishop, do you believe in hell? I said, Are you anxious to know what I think of hell? Yes, said he. Well, said I, the best answer I ever heard came from a poor negro woman. She had a young niece, who sorely tried the poor soul. The more she struggled to keep this wilful charge in the right way the more she seemed to wander. One day, after hearing a new preacher, the niece came bounding into the room and said: Aunty, I aint gwine to believe in a hell no more. Ef dar is any hell, I jest wants to know where dey gets all de brimstone for dat place; dats zactly what I would like to know. The old woman fixed her eyes on her, and with a tear on her cheek, said: Ah, honey darlin, you look out you dont go dere, for youll find dey takes dere own brimstone wid em. I then said, Is there any other question in theology you would like to ask? No, said he. And he went home, I hope, with a new idea that sin brings sorrow and that to be saved we need deliverance from sin. Some men carry their own brimstone even in this world. (Bp. Whipple.)
The end of sinful pleasures
Be assured, a serpent lurks at the bottom of guilts sweetest pleasure. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
But glory and honour and peace to every man that worketh good.–
Glory, honour and peace
This is the echo of verse 7. Peace is added in contrast to anguish. He who is pursued by an antagonist with whom he cannot cope in strength, he who while thus pursued, finds himself shut in within some strait place, either on land or sea, can have no repose of spirit. But in heaven there are no foes to pursue, and no straits into which to he pursued. Honour and glory shall be enjoyed in uninterrupted peace. On earth, says Chrysostom, whatever good things a man has, he has with many troubles, even though he be rich and powerful, or even a king. Although, too, he may have no dissensions with others, he has them often with himself: there is war within his own thought. But in heaven all is reversed. There is calmness and freedom from trouble, and genuine peace. (J. Morison, D. D.)
The blessings God has in store
I. Their nature.
1. Glory.
2. Honour.
3. Peace.
II. Their objects. Those who work good.
III. Their impartiality. (J. Lyth, D. D.)
The glory of heaven
We know not, and never shall know until experience strips the bandages from our eyes, what new methods of participation of the Divine nature, and new possibilities of intimacy and intercourse with Him may be ours when the veils of flesh and sense and time have all dropped away. New windows may he opened in our spirits, from which we shall perceive new aspects of the Divine character. New doors may be opened in our seals, from out of which we may pass to touch parts of His nature, all impalpable and inconceivable to us now. And when all the veils of a discordant moral nature are taken away, and we are pure, then we shall see, then we shall draw nigh to God. The thing that chiefly separates man from God is mans sin. When that is removed, the centrifugal force which kept our tiny orb apart from the great central sun being withdrawn, we shall, as it were, fall into the brightness and be one, not losing our sense of individuality which would be to lose all the blessedness, but united with Him in a union far more intimate than earth can parallel. (A. Maclaren.)
The glory of heaven
The glory of heaven is such that it can never be fully known till it is fully enjoyed. And yet if heaven were ever made crystally transparent to you, if ever God opened you a window into it, and then the eyes of your faith to look in by that window, think what it is that you there discovered, what inaccessible light, what cherishing love, what daunting majesty, what infinite purity, what overloading joy, what insupportable and sinking glory, what rays and sparklings from crowns and sceptres; but more from the glances and smiles of God upon the heavenly host, who forever warm and sun themselves in his presence; and when you have thought all this, then think once again that all your thoughts are but shadows and glimmerings, that these are dust and ashes in the eye of your faith that makes all these discoveries come infinitely short of the native glory of these things, and then you may guess, and somewhat near, what heaven is. (Bp. Hopkins.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. To them, &c.] In this manner will God, in the great day, dispense punishments and rewards:
1. He will give eternal life to them who, in all the trials and difficulties of the present state, have persevered in well doing-seeking for and expecting glory, honour, and immortality.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
What he had laid down in general, he amplifies more particularly.
Patient continuance; or perseverance in well doing, which implies patience: see Mat 10:22; 24:13; Heb 10:36.
Immortality; or incorruption: he adds this to show, that the
glory and honour he speaks of was not such as the Gentiles usually sought, who made worldly glory the scope of their actions; but it was eternal in the heavens, and such as never fades away.
Eternal life; i.e. God will render eternal life to such: the word render must be supplied out of the former verse.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7-10. To them who, c.Thesubstance of these verses is that the final judgment will turn uponcharacter alone.
by patient continuance inwell-doing, &c.Compare Lu8:15: “That on the good ground are they, which in an honestand good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruitwith patience” denoting the enduring andprogressive character of the new life.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
To them who by patient continuance in well doing,…. These words are descriptive of one sort of persons, to whom God will render according to their works; and must be understood not of the Gentiles, the best and most moralized among them; for they sought after worldly things, after human wisdom, and popular applause, and not after God, his honour and glory, nor after immortality, which is only brought to light by the Gospel; nor of the pharisaical Jews, who sought for righteousness by the works of the law, and honour and glory from men, and not from God; nor of any unregenerate persons, but only of such who have the true principles of grace implanted in them, whether Jews or Gentiles: now the things which these men seek after are
glory; not the glory of this world, nor any from the men of it; but the glory of God and Christ; to be glorious within and without, by the grace and righteousness of Christ here, and to enjoy eternal glory with him hereafter.
Honour; not that which Adam had in innocence, and did not abide in; but that which is, and abides with Christ, and which all the saints have, and shall have.
Immortality; not the immortality of the soul, which is common to all; but the incorruption of the body, or the glorious resurrection of it to everlasting life at the great day, or the incorruptible crown, and never fading inheritance of the saints in light. The manner in which these things are sought is, “by patient continuance in well doing”; by doing good works, and by doing these good works well, from a principle of faith and love, and with a view to the glory of God; and by patiently enduring reproaches and sufferings for well doing, and by persevering therein: not that these things are to be had, or are expected by the saints to be had for the sake of patience and well doing; yet they may be sought for, and looked unto, as an encouragement to well doing, and continuance therein; and though not “for”, yet “in” well doing there is a reward. These words do not express that for the sake of which glory is had; but only describe the persons who seek, and the manner in which they seek for it, to whom God will render
eternal life, which he of his rich grace promised them before the world was, and of his free favour has put into the hands of Christ for them, and which, as a pure gift of grace, he bestows on them through him.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
To them that seek ( —). Dative plural of the articular present active participle of with on the one hand.
Eternal life ( ). Accusative case object of above.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Eternal life. Supply He will render.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) To them, (tois men) To the ones (those) on one hand, He will render in contrast with rebellious rejectors of GodSuffer for Christ and Gods righteousness-have glory awaiting, Rom 8:18.
2) Who by patient continuance in well doing, (kath hupomonen ergou agathou) Who by endurance of fin) good work, meaning life-work, by steadfastness in well doing, perseverance, and upright living in the Work of the Lord, 1Co 15:58; 2Co 4:16-18.
3) Seek for glory and honour and immortality, (doksan kai Timen kai aphtharsian zetousin) seeking glory and honor and incorruption, that is to glorify the Lord, both now and in the future life, as revealed in obedient service and life to Jesus Christ, Gal 6:9; Eph 3:21.
4) Eternal life, (zoen aionion) life eternal, Glory, honor, and immortality accompany and complement eternal life, which one receives when he is saved, just as the judgment and wrath of God accompany those who reject God, his righteousness, mercy, and announced judgment against sin, denying, and speaking lightly of Divine Love, Rom 1:18; Rom 1:31; Joh 12:25-26.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
7. To them indeed, who by perseverance, etc.; literally, patience; by which word something more is expressed. For it is perseverance, when one is not wearied in constantly doing good; but patience also is required in the saints, by which they may continue firm, though oppressed with various trials. For Satan suffers them not by a free course to come to the Lord; but he strives by numberless hinderances to impede them, and to turn them aside from the right way. And when he says, that the faithful, by continuing in good works, seek glory and honour, he does not mean that they aspire after any thing else but the favor of God, or that they strive to attain any thing higher, or more excellent: but they can not seek him, without striving, at the same time, for the blessedness of his kingdom, the description of which is contained in the paraphrase given in these words. The meaning then is, — that the Lord will give eternal life to those who, by attention to good works, strive to attain immortality. (66)
(66) It has appeared to some difficult to reconcile this language with the free salvation which the gospel offers, and to obviate the conclusion which many are disposed to draw from this passage — that salvation is by works as well as by faith.
To this objection [ Pareus ] answers, that the Apostle speaks here of salvation by the works of the law, not indeed as a thing possible, which he subsequently denies, but as a declaration of what it is, that he might thereby show the necessity of a gratuitous salvation which is by faith only. And this is the view which Mr. [ Haldane ] takes.
But there is no need of having recourse to this hypothesis: for whenever judgment is spoken of even in the New Testament, it is ever represented in the same way, as being regulated in righteousness, according to the works of every individual. See Act 17:31; 2Co 5:10; Col 3:24; Rev 20:12; Rev 22:12.
It will be a judgment, conducted according to the perfect rule of justice, with no respect of persons, with no regard to individuals as such, whether high or low, much or little favored as to outward privileges, but according to what their conduct has been, under the circumstances of their case. The rule, if heathens, will be the law of nature; if Jews, the law which had been given them. Judgment, as to its character, will be still the same to those under the gospel; it will be according to what the gospel requires. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) To them who.Before the words eternal life, at the end of the verse, we must supply He will render. The phrase glory, and honour, and immortality is practically equivalent to eternal life. Those who honestly seek for this life shall find it. The stress is upon the words by patient continuance in well doing, From the point of view of rhetoric, no doubt exception might be taken to the tautology; but St. Paul was far too much in earnest to attend carefully to the laws of rhetoric, and it is just this spontaneity which is in great part the secret of his power.
Patient continuance.A single word in the Greek, but rightly translated in the Authorised version, by (according to, by the rule of) patience (persistence or perseverance) in well doing (literally, in good work). In English we should naturally say, in good works, but the Greek, here as frequently, by the use of the singular and by the absence of the article, puts the abstract for the concrete, so covering every particular case.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Patient continuance in well doing When it is said that faith or well doing will save a man, it is not meant that one act of faith or of well doing will save a man for ever. Whether it is added or not the proviso is always implied that there be no apostasy, but a patient continuance in well doing. If there be not this, then all this past righteousness goes for nothing. (Eze 33:13. See our work on “The Will,” pp. 306-8.)
Glory and honour and immortality To incite this “ O man ” to a holy ambition to rise from his impenitent wickedness, the apostle offers these three divine prizes, of which the earthly correspondent objects are but vain shadows.
Glory The divine splendour in the heavenly abode in which the blessed resident is surrounded.
Honour The plaudit “well done,” and the renown of having well fought the battle of life.
Immortality By the two previous blessings the happy candidate is encompassed, but this third impregnates his very essence and person with endless youth, vigour, and beauty.
Eternal life This noun is the objective of the verb render; the previous three nouns, of the verb seek.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and incorruption, eternal life,’
For God will in that day render to those who by patient endurance in well-doing seek for glory (from God) and honour (in God’s eyes) and incorruption, eternal life. In view of the reference to incorruption, ‘glory’ here may have in mind heavenly splendour. But his picture here is of the ideal man whose whole heart is set on well-doing in the expectation of glory and honour from God, and of final incorruption. Such a man lives only to please God. His whole heart is set on God. He never strays from his course for an instant. His only concern is what is good and true and will please God. Such a one will receive eternal life. We notice, of course, that he is a believer, for only a believer would think in these terms. But he is also a dream of what man ought to be. He is the pattern that destroys all our hopes. For there is only One Who has ever truly lived like this from the cradle to the grave, only One Who by doing so has deserved eternal life, and that is our Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Paul is therefore depicting a life which is outside the range of all but One. He is describing the ‘impossible’. The ones who come nearest to it are Christians who live in the Spirit, but they will be the first to say ‘ sinners, of whom I am chief’ (1Ti 1:15).
‘Eternal life.’ That is, the life of the age to come. It is not just speaking of living for ever but of having life more abundantly (Joh 10:10). In referring to this as a theoretical possibility Paul is following in the footsteps of His Master, for Jesus also, when asked how a man might receive eternal life, answered, ‘if you would enter into life, keep the commandments’ and listed a number of them including ‘you shall love your neighbour as yourself’ (Mat 19:16-19), before making the young man realise that it was a hopeless ideal by calling on him to put it into practise.
In considering all this we must recognise what Paul is doing. He is not outlining the way to eternal life which he expects anyone to strive to achieve, but is building up his case that all men are equally sinful in God’s eyes. On the basis of this what he is describing is to be seen as in fact impossible. All these experienced legalists will immediately acknowledge that such men do not exist. The ones who will come nearest to the ideal are those who, abandoning any hopes in their own works, have received God’s righteousness and salvation.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 2:7. By patient continuance Patient, in this verse, seems to be opposed to contentious in the next: the former referring to the patience of Christians under Jewish persecutions, the latter to the bitter persecuting spirit of the Jews. See Locke.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Rom 2:7 . To those, who by virtue of perseverance in morally-good work seek to obtain glory and honour and immortality, eternal life sc [611] . Consequently . . contains the standard, the regulative principle, by which the seeking after glory, honour, etc. is guided, and , [612] which is not with Beza to be connected with , is the genitive of the object to which the refers (1Th 1:3 ; Polyb. iv. 51, 1; Theophr. Char. 6, 1); while . . . is an exhaustive description of the future salvation according to its glorious appearing (2Co 4:17 ; Mat 13:43 ), according to the honour united with it (for it is the prize of victory, 1Co 9:25 ; Phi 3:14 ; 2Ti 4:8 ; Jas 1:12 ; 1Pe 5:4 , the joint heirship with Christ, Rom 8:17 , the reigning along with Him, 2Ti 2:12 ), and according to its imperishableness (1Co 15:52 ff.; Rev 21:4 ; 1Pe 1:4 ). Paul presents the moral effort under a character thus specifically Christian , just because he can attribute it only to Christian Jews and Gentiles; and hence he is only able to give his description of this first half of the subjects of future judgment, notwithstanding the generality of his language, in the Christian form, in which alone it really takes place. In keeping with this is also the , i.e. eternal life in the kingdom of the Messiah, Rom 5:21 , Rom 6:22 f.; Gal 6:8 . The above construction of the words is already followed by Theophilus, a [613] Autol. i. 20, ed. Wolf , and by most expositors, including Tholuck, Rckert, Kllner, de Wette, Olshausen, Philippi, Maier, van Hengel, Umbreit. The objection raised against it by Reiche and Hofmann, that according to the analogy of Rom 2:6 . . . must contain the standard of the , and cannot therefore belong to , is untenable, because . . . , though attached to , nevertheless does contain (indirectly) the standard of ; so that there remains only an immaterial difference, which however is in fact very consonant to the lively versatility of the Apostle’s thought. Still less weight attaches to the objection, that to seek glory and honour is not in itself a praiseworthy thing; for the moral tenor of the . . [614] (comp Mat 6:33 ; Joh 5:44 ) is most definitely assured by . . . Utterly unfounded, in fine, is the objection of clumsiness (Hofmann); the symmetrical fulness of Rom 2:7-8 , has a certain solemnity about it. Reiche and Hofmann, following Oecumenius, [616] Estius, and others, arrange it so that to . . . they supply , whilst is to be combined with . and regarded as an apposition or (Hofmann) reason assigned to , and . . . is the standard of . Substantially so also Ewald. No syntactic objection can be urged against this rendering; but how tamely and heavily is the . subjoined! Paul would have written clearly, emphatically, and in harmony with the contrast in Rom 2:8 : . . . . . .
[611] c. scilicet .
[612] The singular without the article indicates the thing in abstracto; the rule is for every given case: perseverance in good work . The idea that the work of redemption is referred to (Mehring, in accordance with Phi 1:6 ), so that . . ., would be equivalent to , ought to have been precluded by the parallel in ver. 10. Comp. ver. 2.
[613] d refers to the note of the commentator or editor named on the particular passage.
[614] . . . .
[616] , . . But there is no ground whatever for the assumption of a hyperbaton, in which Luther also has entangled himself. Very harshly Bengel, Fritzsche, and Krehl separate . . from what follows, and supply ; and then take . as apposition to . , but make . likewise dependent on .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
Ver. 7. Who by patient continuance ] Or, by suffering persecution for righteousness’ sake. Gordus the martyr said, “It is to my loss, if you bate me anything in nay sufferings.” Maiora certamina, maiora sequuntur praemia, , , saith Ignatius. Much pains hath much gains.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
7, 8. . . ] To those who by endurance in good works seek for glory and honour and immortality (will He render) eternal life: but to those who are (men) of self-seeking, and disobey the truth, but obey iniquity (shall accrue) anger and wrath , &c. The verb , Rom 2:6 , should have two accusatives, representing the two sides of the final retribution, . and , &c. But the second of these is changed to a nominative and connected with understood, and made the first member of the following sentence, . . . being opposed to it. Thus also two datives belong to , viz. . , and . To belong . . . . . as its accusatives, and . . . as its adverb. This, as De Wette remarks, is the only admissible construction: in opposition to ( ) cum. and Beza, who divide . . from . ( iis quidem qui secundum patientem expectationem qurunt boni operis gloriam ), ( ) Bengel, Knapp, Fritzsche, Olsh., and Krehl, who take . as meaning ‘ those who endure in good works ’ (as c [8] does . those who endure , absol.), and . , as in apposition with it, ( ) Photius (in cum.), Luther, and Estius, who take it, . ., . . ., ( ) Reiche, who takes , ‘ to the one ,’ alone, and makes . parallel to , representing the rule of judgment , taking the rest as ( ).
[8] cumenius of Tricca in Thrace, Cent y . XI.?
, sing. of moral habitude in the whole, the general course of life and action (see reff.).
, absolute imparted glory like His own, see Mat 13:43 ; Joh 17:22 : , recognition, relative precedence , see Mat 10:32 ; Mat 25:34 : , incorruptibility : so the aim of the Christian athlete is described, 1Co 9:25 , as being to obtain .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 2:7 . : cf. the collective “life-work”: S. and H. in Rom 2:15 : “by way of stedfastness in well-doing”. = the glory of the future life, as revealed in the Risen Saviour. = honour with God. “proves that the goal of effort is nothing earthly” (Lipsius). comprehends all these three: as its counterpart, in Rom 2:32 , involves the loss of all. is governed by .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
by = according to, as in Rom 2:2.
patient continuance = patience.
in well doing. Literally of a good work.
glory. See Rom 1:23.
immortality = incorruption. Greek. aphthartis. Here, 1Co 15:42, 1Co 15:50, 1Co 15:53, 1Co 15:54. Eph 6:24. 2Ti 1:10. Tit 2:7.
eternal. App-151.
life. Greek. zoe App-170.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
7, 8. . . ] To those who by endurance in good works seek for glory and honour and immortality (will He render) eternal life: but to those who are (men) of self-seeking, and disobey the truth, but obey iniquity (shall accrue) anger and wrath, &c. The verb , Rom 2:6, should have two accusatives, representing the two sides of the final retribution,- . and , &c. But the second of these is changed to a nominative and connected with understood, and made the first member of the following sentence, … being opposed to it. Thus also two datives belong to , viz. . ,-and . To belong . . . . . as its accusatives, and . . . as its adverb. This, as De Wette remarks, is the only admissible construction: in opposition to () cum. and Beza, who divide . . from . (iis quidem qui secundum patientem expectationem qurunt boni operis gloriam),-() Bengel, Knapp, Fritzsche, Olsh., and Krehl, who take . as meaning those who endure in good works (as c[8] does . those who endure, absol.), and . , as in apposition with it,-() Photius (in cum.), Luther, and Estius, who take it, . .,- …,-() Reiche, who takes ,-to the one,-alone, and makes . parallel to , representing the rule of judgment, taking the rest as ().
[8] cumenius of Tricca in Thrace, Centy. XI.?
, sing. of moral habitude in the whole, the general course of life and action (see reff.).
, absolute imparted glory like His own, see Mat 13:43; Joh 17:22 :-, recognition, relative precedence, see Mat 10:32; Mat 25:34 :-, incorruptibility: so the aim of the Christian athlete is described, 1Co 9:25, as being to obtain .
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 2:7. ) sc. ; comp. the following verse; for (see Act 25:23,) is employed here nearly in the same sense as , next verse; save that implies a something natural to the sinner; , a something supervenient [not natural, but super-induced]. You will see the difference, if you interchange the particles with one another: . In this view, and stand in apposition, the conjunction being omitted by the figure asyndeton.[26]- , patience in work) so the patience of hope, 1Th 1:3; , patience, includes, in this passage, obedience, steadiness, and that, too, with submission.-, in work. There is great force in the singular number here (well-doing.-Engl. Vers.; the good work is referred to, of which), Php 1:6; Rev 22:12.-, glory) The construction is, () , to those who seek for glory, etc. (he will render) life. Pure love does not exclude faith, hope, desire, 1Co 15:58.-, to them that seek) Whereas thou, O Jew, thinkest, that thou hast no need of any seeking [Industry is requisite.-V. g.]
[26] Beng. construes it to them who are animated by () patient continuance in well-doing, even those who seek glory, etc.-ED.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 2:7
Rom 2:7
to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life:-[Paul now divides mankind into two great classes-those who obey God and those who obey unrighteousness. To the first class God will render eternal life; to the second, wrath and indignation, tribulation and anguish.] Those who seek for glory and honor and incorruption, through faith in doing the will of God, shall receive eternal life. Glory denotes the highest happiness and distinction which the saved will attain; honor, the esteem in which they shall be held; and incorruption is the freedom from suffering and decay and absolute exemption from sin and impurity. God only has incorruption and immortality. Man is eternal in existence, but will be given immortality as the reward of his seeking it.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
patient: Rom 8:24, Rom 8:25, Job 17:9, Psa 27:14, Psa 37:3, Psa 37:34, Lam 3:25, Lam 3:26, Mat 24:12, Mat 24:13, Luk 8:15, Joh 6:66-69, 1Co 15:58, Gal 6:9, 2Ti 4:7, 2Ti 4:8, Heb 6:12, Heb 6:15, Heb 10:35, Heb 10:36, Jam 5:7, Jam 5:8, Rev 2:10, Rev 2:11
glory: Rom 8:18, Rom 9:23, Joh 5:44, 2Co 4:16-18, Col 1:27, 1Pe 1:7, 1Pe 1:8, 1Pe 4:13, 1Pe 4:14
immortality: 1Co 15:53, 1Co 15:54, 2Ti 1:10
eternal: Rom 6:23, 1Jo 2:25
Reciprocal: Gen 4:7 – If thou doest well Lev 26:3 – General Num 29:25 – General Deu 5:33 – walk Deu 11:27 – General Deu 28:1 – will set 1Sa 12:14 – If ye will 2Sa 22:25 – recompensed Neh 5:16 – I continued Job 23:11 – his way Psa 106:3 – doeth Psa 111:10 – his praise Pro 13:21 – righteous Pro 21:21 – findeth Ecc 7:8 – the patient Isa 33:15 – that walketh Eze 3:20 – and his Eze 18:5 – if Eze 18:22 – in his Dan 6:20 – servest Amo 5:14 – Seek Mat 7:7 – seek Mat 10:22 – but Mat 13:21 – dureth Mat 19:16 – eternal Mat 25:46 – the righteous Mar 10:17 – eternal Mar 13:13 – but Luk 6:47 – doeth Luk 11:9 – seek Luk 21:19 – General Joh 8:31 – If Joh 12:43 – the praise of God Rom 2:10 – glory Rom 5:2 – the glory Rom 11:22 – if thou Rom 12:12 – patient 1Co 4:5 – praise 2Co 4:17 – far Phi 2:12 – work Phi 4:1 – so Col 1:11 – unto Col 1:23 – ye continue Col 3:24 – ye shall 1Th 1:3 – and patience 1Th 1:10 – wait 2Th 1:4 – your patience 2Th 1:8 – and that 2Th 2:10 – they received 2Th 3:4 – that 2Th 3:13 – ye 1Ti 4:16 – continue 2Ti 2:10 – with Tit 1:2 – hope Heb 12:1 – with patience Jam 1:3 – patience Jam 1:12 – the crown Jam 1:25 – and 1Pe 4:19 – in 2Pe 1:6 – patience Rev 1:9 – in the Rev 2:3 – hast patience Rev 2:26 – keepeth
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2:7
Rom 2:7. Eternal life will be rendered to one class of persons. They are the ones who seek for glory, honor and immortality. They are to do this seeking by patient continuance in well doing.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 2:7. By endurance, perseverance, steadfastness, rather than patience, is the idea of the word, and the preposition in the original points to the standard according to which the action is performed.
In good work. The singular is used to express the character as a unit. (Well-doing obscures the correspondence with works, Rom 2:6.) The whole phrase qualifies the verb.
Seek for glory and honor and incorruption. Future salvation is thus described as the object of pursuit; it is glory, because of its splendid manifestation; honor, because it is a reward; incorruption, because it is eternal. Whether any who are not Christians have thus sought, is not declared by the Apostle; comp. Rom 2:14.
Eternal life. This is what God will render to the class just spoken of. The phrase is distinctively Christian.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Vv. 7, 8. To them who, by patient continuance in well-doing, seek for glory and honor and immortality, [to such] eternal life: but for them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, [for such] wrath and indignation!
The Jews divided men into circumcised, and consequently saved, and uncircumcised, and consequently damned. Here is a new classification, which Paul substitutes, founded solely on the moral aim.
There are two principal ways of construing Rom 2:7. Sometimes the three words: glory, honor, immortality, are made the objects of the verb: will render (Rom 2:6), understood. The phrase: patient continuance in well-doing, is thus taken to qualify the pronoun , to them, and the last words: …, become merely an explanatory appendix: to wit, to them who seek eternal life. The meaning of the verse thus taken is: to them who live in patient continuance in well-doing [He will render] glory and honor and immortality, [to wit, to those] who seek eternal life. But this construction is very forced. 1. The subordinate clause: in continuance, is rather the qualification of a verb than of a pronoun like . 2. The participle would require the article , and would make a clumsy and superfluous appendix. The construction, as given in our translation, is much more simple and significant. The regimen , literally, according to the standard of patient continuance in well-doing, corresponds with the seek, on which it depends; seeking must be in a certain line. And the weighty word eternal life, at the close of this long sentence, depicts, as it were, the final and glorious issue of this long and laborious practice of goodness. This accusative is the object of the verb: will render, understood (Rom 2:6).
The notion of patient continuance is emphasized here, not only in opposition to the idea of intermittent moral efforts, but to indicate that there are great moral obstacles to be met on this path, and that a persistent love of goodness is needed to surmount them. The apostle says literally: perseverance in good work. In Rom 2:6 he had used the plural works. He now comprehends this multiplicity of works in the profound principle which constitutes their unity, the permanent determination to realize goodness. What supports a man in this course is the goal which he has constantly before him: glory, an existence without defilement or weakness, resplendent throughout with the divine brightness of holiness and power; honor, the approbation of God, which forms the eternal honor of its object; immortality (incorruptibility), the absolute impossibility of any wound or interruption or end to this state of being. The ands, , before the last two substantives, show a certain degree of emotion; the accumulation of terms arises from the same cause. In all human conditions there are souls which contemplate the ideal here described, and which, ravished with its beauty, are elevated by it above every earthly ambition and the pursuit of sensual gratifications. These are the men who are represented under the figure of the merchant seeking goodly pearls. For such is the pearl of great price, life eternal! This last word, laden as it were with all divine riches, denotes the realization of the ideal just described; it worthily closes this magnificent proposition.
But is it asked again, where, in this description of a normal human life, are faith and salvation by the gospel to be found? Does Paul then preach salvation by the work of man? The apostle has not to do here with the means whereby we can really attain to well-doing; he merely affirms that no one will be saved apart from the doing of good, and he assumes that the man who is animated with this persistent desire will not fail, some time or other, in the journey of life, to meet with the means of attaining an end so holy and glorious. This means is faith in the gospela truth which Paul reserves for proof at a later stage. He that doeth truth, said Jesus to the same effect, cometh to the light, as soon as it is presented to him (Joh 3:21; comp. Rom 7:17). The love of goodness, which is the spring of his life, will then lead him to embrace Christ, the ideal of goodness; and, having embraced Him, he will find in Him the triumphant power for well-doing of which he was in quest. The desire of goodness is the acceptance of the gospel by anticipation. The natural corollary of these premisses is the thought expressed by Peter: the preaching of the gospel before the judgment to every human soul, either in this life or in the next (1Pe 3:19-20; 1Pe 4:6). Comp. Mat 12:31-32. And if the apostle has spoken of patient continuance in this pursuit, it is because he is well aware of that power of self-mastery which is needed, especially in a Jew, to break with his nation, and family, and all his past, and to remain faithful to the end to the supreme love of goodness.
The other class of men is described Rom 2:8. The regimen can without difficulty serve to qualify the pronoun ; comp. the construction or , Rom 3:26; Gal 3:7. The meaning is: but for those who are under the dominion of the spirit of contention.
The word , contention, does not come, as has been often thought, from , disputation, but, as Fritzsche has proved, from , mercenary; whence the verb , to work for wages, then, to put oneself at the service of a party. The substantive therefore denotes the spirit which seeks the victory of the party which one has espoused from self-interest, in contrast to the spirit which seeks the possession of the truth. Paul knew well from experience the tendency of Rabbinical discussions, and he characterizes it by a single word. The term truth is here used abstractly; but Paul has, nevertheless, in view the concrete realization of this notion in the gospel revelation. Unrighteousness, which he contrasts with truth (exactly as Jesus does, Joh 7:18), denotes the selfish passions, vain ambitions, and unrighteous prejudices, which lead a man to close his eyes to the light when it presents itself, and thus produce unbelief. Unrighteousness leads to this result as certainly as moral integrity leads to faith. Jesus develops precisely the same thought, Joh 3:19-20. The words wrath and indignation, which express the wages earned by such conduct, are in the nominative in Greek, not in the accusative, like the word eternal life (Rom 2:7). They are not, therefore, the object of the verb will render, which is too remote. We must make them either the subject of a verb understood (, will be, there will be), or, better still, an exclamation: for them, wrath! The three Byz. Mjj. follow the psychological order, indignation and wrath! First the internal emotion (indignation), then the external manifestation (wrath); but the other two families present the inverse order, and rightly so. For what is first perceived is the manifestation; then we pass upward to the feeling which inspires it, and which gives it all its gravity. is the emotion of the soul; comprehends look, sentence, chastisement.
Why does the apostle once again repeat this contrast of Rom 2:7-8 in Rom 2:9-10? Obviously with the view of now adding to each term of the contrast the words: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, which expressly efface the false line of demarkation drawn by Jewish theology.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
to them that by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life:
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
7. To those who according to patience of good work, seek honor, glory and immortality, eternal life. This world is probationary. We must decide between the animal and the angel. If we live for the angelic element of our nature, we will go up and live with the angels when we go out of this world. If we live for the animal of our nature, we will go down and live with the demonized animals in the world of woe; we will all reap what we sow.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 7
Eternal life; he will render to them eternal life.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
2:7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for {d} glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
(d) Glory which follows good works, which he does not lay out before us as though there were any that could attain to salvation by his own strength, but, he lays this condition of salvation before us, which no man can perform, to bring men to Christ, who alone justifies the believers, as he himself concludes; see Rom 2:21-22 .