Can you explain how glory, and honour, and peace come to every man that "worketh good" (Rom 2.10)? Is this contrary to justification by faith?
It is should be clear that those whom Paul describes as working good are believers. It is not an unbeliever trying to work good in order that he may be justified before God. This idea would contradict Paul’s teaching in this very epistle that a man is not justified by works. It is important to see then that the subject of the passage from vv.6-11 is not the means by which we may obtain eternal life, but rather God’s judgment upon man that does evil, or His reward of glory, honour, and peace for the believer who gives essential evidence of the genuineness of faith and of the possession of eternal life. In no way does the teaching here clash with the teaching of the rest of the New Testament that eternal life or justification is conditional on the exercise of faith.
What then does the phrase, "worketh good", mean? The man who works evil has the nature and capacity to do this, but the man who works good - a believer - has the nature and capacity to do good. This is lacking in the unbeliever. The believer’s doing good is not his effort to gain the boon of justification, because he has it, but by the Spirit who indwells him he has the power to do good and thereby give evidence that he is justified. One may illustrate this by referring to John 5.29. There the Lord is speaking of two resurrections, one resulting in judgment and the other resulting in life. Believers take part in the resurrection of life and are characterised as those who practised good, whereas those who have no life are described as "they that have done evil", and their end is a resurrection of judgment. Now the practising good is the same thought as the "worketh good" in Romans 2.10. Thus, only the believer has the capacity to do good in the eyes of God. It is not a believer’s works that will give him a place in the resurrection of life and neither is it his works that will bring to him glory, honour, and peace; it is faith in Christ alone that will bring these blessings – a faith made evident by "doing good" or "working good".
John J Stubbs
Are saints in fellowship in an assembly when they have regularly been absent for many months, even years, from certain assembly gatherings such as the prayer meeting?
It is wise to return to first principles when considering an issue of this nature; so we read, "And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2.42). The apostles’ doctrine was the basis of the fellowship; the other two "meetings" specified were for "the breaking of bread" and for "prayers".
It should be appreciated that no one gathering of the Lord’s people is more important than another. Howbeit, there is a sense in which the Lord’s Supper gives character to every other meeting of the assembly.
There can be certain apparently valid reasons for believers not regularly attending the assembly meetings during the week. There are believers well-advanced in years who find it difficult to attend a meeting in an evening. Others may suffer from a chronic illness which limits their ability to "get out to a meeting". There may be a sister in fellowship whose husband is not saved and who has the responsibility of bringing up young children.
However, no doubt the questioner has in mind other believers "in fellowship" who seem to have no desire to join with fellow saints for the teaching of the Word of God or for prayer. Indeed some have simply "got into the habit" of not attending the regular mid-week meetings; the thought never seems to enter their minds.
Such believers need to be given encouragement by the elders in the assembly; Paul exhorts "comfort (i.e. encourage) the feebleminded (i.e. the fainthearted), support the weak" (1 Thess 5.14). The writer to the Hebrews says, "Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner (i.e. custom, habit) of some is" (Heb 10.24-25). Perhaps the following questions need to be addressed: i) have the prayer meetings lost their vitality? ii) is the appropriate spiritual food being provided for the Christians?
Whilst a believer who is not attending any of the assembly gatherings could not be said to be "in fellowship", it is difficult to form a judgment in the case of those who come only to certain meetings. The Lord Himself is the assessor. It is the responsibility of those who are enjoying the gatherings of the Lord’s people to try to convey to those who are the subject of this question what they are missing by absenting themselves.
David E West
