Romans 2:5-13
5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds:
7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:
8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,
9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:
11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;
13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - Romans 2:5-13
2:5 The unrepentant moralist is storing up wrath in a day of wrath. That does not refer to some future day of eschatological wrath. Instead it refers to the very day in which the moralist now lives since this is the day when "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven" (Romans 1:18).
Thus the moralist refuses to come to repentance at the very time when God's wrathfully manifested judgment is evident all around him. His hardness and his unrepentant heart leave him woefully exposed to the righteous judgment of God, which the moralist not only ignores, but which he is actually storing up... against himself. The fundamental truth expressed in this unit (Romans 1:18-2:5) is that all men, the moralist included, are subject to God's wrath as a result of their sinful behavior. This wrath is not eschatological, but a distressing present reality.
2:6 The fundamental principle stated here is simple: God will repay each person according to his works (i.e., he gets what he deserves). He deals fairly with humanity. The following verses elaborate this basic concept. Mankind can expect to receive whatever those works may merit.
2:7 For the first time, Paul refers to eternal life. If God judges men here and now by means of His wrath, He obviously also determines man's future destiny. God will certainly give eternal life to any who deserve it by persisting in good work. Unfortunately, however, no one does this (Rom 3:10, 12). Yet the principle remains true that, if there were someone who did do good persistently (i.e., perfectly) and who was indeed righteous, God would give him eternal life because of that. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught this basic truth (Luke 10:25-28, see esp. "do this and you will live").
The words of Paul in this verse have been absurdly misunderstood as stating a real possibility, contra Romans 3:19-20. What we have here is a statement of principle, not of fact. In principle, God rewards complete obedience to His law with eternal life, but in practice no one ever acquires it that way.
2:8-9 But suppose human beings do not do what Paul has described in v 7 (Romans 1:18-2:6)? If "eternal life" awaits those who persist in "good work," anger and wrath are the portion of those whose character is different. Paul now describes such people as those who are selfish and disobey the truth, but obey unrighteousness instead. This description clearly echoes Romans 1:18-32.
Furthermore, Paul wants to make it clear here (for the first time in the epistle) that God's wrath is directed toward such people whether they are Jew or Greek (Gentile). Indeed, even in the matter of wrath (contrast Romans 1:16), the Jew has priority so that God's manifested displeasure is for the Jew first. Here Paul no doubt thinks of his own race in its present condition of servitude and recognizes in them the selfish character that invites divine judgment (cf. 1 Thess 2:15-16).
With good rhetorical effect, Paul here accumulates terms that serve to elaborate and underline his original word wrath (see Romans 1:18). In v 8 the additional word is the synonym anger (thumos). In v 9, the phrase anger and wrath is replaced by the explicative phrase tribulation and distress. All these words, of course, are expressive of the present experience of mankind as it lives sinfully under the cloud of divine displeasure.
2:10 Paul has already stated the final destiny of those who persist in doing good (of which there are no cases). But now he wants to contrast the present experience that God would award (in contrast to vv 8-9) to everyone who does what is good. The "anger and wrath" (v 8) and the "tribulation and distress" (v 9) which afflict sinful man here and now could be otherwise if man did what was right. In that case men (Jews and Gentiles) could expect God to give them glory and honor and peace.
Of course human beings do indeed at times experience glory, or honor, or peace, but never in the full and consistent measure in which God would give these things if they did what is good. (Paul's statement is comprehensive, and not to be taken as though it could be fulfilled partially.) Once again, as in v 7, Paul is discussing a principle, not an actual reality (cf. Romans 3:12).
2:11 The bottom line of Paul's discussion from vv 6-10 is simple: there is no partiality with God. The twice repeated reminder that the Jew stands first in humanity's exposure to divine wrath (vv 8-9) was designed to underline this basic fact. Whatever the privileges of the Jews (Paul will discuss them shortly), his race does not as a result receive an "exemption" from the wrath God manifests toward the Gentile world (cf. Luke 12:48). Since God is impartial in His present dealings with mankind, it follows that final judgment will be fair as well. To this theme Paul now turns for a treatment that is fuller than the allusion in v 7.
2:12 Jews and Gentiles will someday face the final judgment of God. Yet in dealing with them, God will impartially take account of their differing responsibilities. The outcome of that judgment for the Gentiles is already envisaged in the statement that since they have sinned without the law, they shall also perish [i.e., shall also be eternally condemned] without the law. The Mosaic law will not be an issue in the final judgment of those who have not lived under it (see vv 14-16). By contrast, the Jew who has sinned under the law shall be judged by means of the law. God holds men accountable in accordance with the responsibilities they have, not those which they don't have.
One must keep in mind throughout Rom 2:12-16 that Paul is using what may be called neutral courtroom language. The words as many as have sinned under the law certainly do not imply that some who are under the law may not have sinned (see Romans 3:23). The point is that God will deal differently with sinners inside His law and those outside of it, however few or many they may be.
2:13 Mere hearers of the law will not be accounted righteous before God. On the contrary, in the Day of Judgment it is only the doers of the law who will be justified. It is a bizarre fact that numerous modern expositors have taken this verse to affirm that there will actually be people who will be justified because they are doers of the law. But this view is completely impossible in the face of the plain declarations of Rom 3:19-20.
Paul is simply stating the basic principles of the last judgment. As the account in Rev 20:11-15 makes plain, at the Great White Throne men will indeed be "judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books" (Rev 20:12). If anyone were to merit acceptance before God based on those books, he would be justified. But that acceptance will be granted only to those who have not sinned under the law (cf. v 12), those who are truly doers of the law. James himself tells us, in fact, that, "Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all" (Jas 2:10). Everyone at the final judgment will have his day in court. But then only the doers of the law will be justified. Of these, however, there will be none (Romans 3:20).
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - Doing Good for Eternal Life, Romans 2:6-13
(Salvation) Interpretation: Those who continue to obey the law will be saved or prove they are saved.
Second (Salvation) Interpretation: God's ideal standard for salvation is perfect obedience.
These verses seem to say that eternal life can be obtained or proved by good deeds or keeping the Law. But that view flatly contradicts Paul's assertion in Rom. 3:12 that "There is none who does good" and the subsequent argument that justification is through faith alone, not by keeping the law because no one can keep the law (Rom. 3:20-4:25). Surely Paul would not be so careless.
These verses appear in a discussion about the principles of God's justice and judgment (Rom. 2:2-3, 5). Paul is telling the self-righteous that their judgment of others and themselves is imperfect, but God's judgment is perfect, according to "truth" (Rom. 2:2). According to His principle of absolute and perfect justice, God would give eternal life to anyone who earns it by doing good deeds and keeping the law perfectly. The problem is, as Paul goes on to show, no one can. (His argument builds from Rom. 2:17 to the inclusive statement that "all have sinned" in Rom. 3:23).
These verses do not teach salvation is obtained by good works, but are part of Paul's argument to show that since "There is none righteous, no, not one" and "There is none who does good, no, not one" (Rom. 3:10, 12), justification is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ (Rom. 3:22-24).
How futile it is for people to try to obtain eternal life by their own efforts. They do not understand that God's standard is not 51% obedience or 99% obedience, but 100%. If someone never sinned and always did right, then God would have to be fair and give them eternal life. But we all know that no one on earth fits that description. Thus, we have a problem that God can only solve with a free gift, which is why we are "justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Rom. 3:24). When we could not be perfect, Jesus Christ lived perfectly and fulfilled all the law while paying for our sins through His death on the cross. All we can do is believe in His person, provision, and promise for eternal life.