The judgement of Christ is drawing near. How will we be judged before Him? Romans 2:2-16 describes God's judgement for us.

1. According to truth (2:2,3): Nothing is hidden from God. He sees everything and knows the truth about each of us.

2. According to impenitent hearts (2:4,5): An unrepentant or hard heart despises God's goodness, treasuring up the wrath of God as the judgement. A repentant heart, on the other hand, is grateful for God's patience and abides in Christ, practicing a lifetime of repentance, which produces confidence before Him at the judgement (1 John 2:28).

3. According to our deeds (2:6-15): The "doing good" referred to in 2:7 is not an attempt to gain merit with God. Rather, it is the unity of intentions with actions, faith with works. Even unbelievers are rewarded for good works, apart from spiritual understanding (2:14,15).

(a) "Doing good" means seeking God's glory (2:10), not our own glory

(b ) Good intentions alone, or faith without works, will not save (2:13). Simply to hear and not do is religion without reality. Those with true faith, "the doers" of the truth, practice virtue from pure and repentant hearts (James 1:21-27).

( c) "By nature" (v. 14) people are inspired by and cooperate with God's grace. Therefore good deeds are natural to us, whereas evil deeds are contrary to nature. Because we all fail we need God's mercy (3:9-19). The presence of God's law in our conscience (2:15) condemns anything we do contrary to human nature. Even those outside the Body of Christ have an internal law from God, the natural law written in their hearts, according to which God will judge them.

(d) Those who are condemned choose to reject God. There is no automatic, fated condemnation: God's just judgement of us is based on our exercise of free will. Although sin impairs our powers it does not destroy God's image in us or our free will.

4. By Jesus Christ (2:16): In the day of judgement we are not judged directly by God the Father, whom we cannot see, but the incarnate Son whom we do see, Christ Jesus (Acts 17:31; see John 3:16-21, 35, 36). Christ will judge on the basis of the light He Himself has given to each of us (John 1:9) and our response to His light (John 3:16-21).

Excert from: The Orthodox Study Bible, pp 1523, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 2008.