who "will render to each one according to his deeds":
Truth to Learn
Everyone’s works will be judged by God.
Behind the Words
The word translated “render” is apodidōmi, which is made up of apo, meaning “from” and didōmi, meaning “to give.” Hence, it means “to give away” or “to hand out.”
Meaning Explained
By itself, today’s verse makes little sense, but when tied in with the previous verse it makes a lot of sense.
5But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6who "will render to each one according to his deeds":
Today’s verse is actually a quotation taken from the Psalms (Psalms 24:12 and Psalms 62:12). The day of wrath and judgment that is talked about in verse 5 is the judgment of the unrighteous (the unsaved.) This will occur at the Great White Throne Judgment spoken of in Revelation 20:12-15:
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, stand before the throne. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death. And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life, he was cast into the Lake of Fire.
The “if” clause in the last verse (Rev 20:15) is expressed as a first class condition in the Greek, implying that it is true. So this could be paraphrased as: And no one was found having been written in the Book of Life, each was cast into the Lake of Fire. This is part of the evidence that believers will not be at this judgment; only the condemned unsaved will be there.
Paul, in Romans 2:6, is expressing what will happen at this judgment as well. Notice in the Revelation passage that the dead are judged according to their works. That’s exactly what Paul is saying in today’s verse: God will render His judgment to each person according to his (or her) works.
Those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior and Lord will not appear at the Great White Throne Judgment. Our names are written in the Book of Life, not because of our works, but because of belief in His work (on the Cross). That is not to say that our works won’t be judged. They will be judged at the Bema Seat (the judgment seat of Christ) mentioned in Romans 14:12 and 2Corinthians 5:10, where we will be rewarded for our good works.
Application
Just because you have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior doesn’t mean that you don’t have to be actively doing godly works. We all need to be busy building up the body of Christ, doing the deeds He has called us to do. Get to work for Him!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2017 Will Krause. All rights reserved