Now think, is Paul referring to Christians or non-Christians when he says God will give eternal life to those who persist in doing good?

If we say "Christians," then we are claiming that Christians gain eternal life by persistence in doing good. Is this true? Not by faith alone but by persistence in doing good?

If we say "non-Christians," then we are claiming that non-Christians gain eternal life by persistence in doing good. Is this true?

If we agree with Paul that God will give to each person according to what he has done, then we are claiming that eternal life can be gained only by persistence in doing good. So the idea of "saved by faith alone" is out the window.

At this point you may be ready to think about other things, because it appears from what we are saying Christians have to do good to gain eternal life, and also that non-Christians can gain eternal life by doing good.

Ah, but did not Paul in Chapters Two through Five of the Book of Romans tell us we can become righteous and thus gain eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ apart from persistence in doing good? If this were true Paul would be denying what he had just stated in Chapter Two.

The truth is, Paul never taught that we could gain eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ apart from persistence in doing good. Paul taught that we could gain eternal life by believing in Jesus Christ apart from keeping the Law of Moses! When Paul referred to "works" he was referring to the works of the Law. He was speaking to Jews who were afraid to abandon circumcision, the Sabbath, the dietary laws, and the feast days.

Eternal life always follows righteous behavior. There can be no eternal life where there is unrighteous behavior. For example, no person with murder in his heart has eternal life dwelling in him whether or not he "believes" in Jesus.

Let me give you another verse.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. (Romans 6:22—NIV)

Do you see that eternal life is the outcome, the result of holiness?

Do you believe God wants people who practice righteousness, love mercy, and walk humbly with God, or people who continue on in their sins and self-will, praising God for His "grace" in "saving them?"

But can a person without Christ gain eternal life by doing good? No, and yes.

First of all we must recognize that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Tree of Life, the only source of eternal life. If a person who does not know Christ persists in doing good, perhaps God, who sees his heart, will bring him to Christ, just as God brought Christ to Cornelius because of his gifts to the poor. Then he can receive Christ, as did Cornelius, and gain eternal life. But if he rejects Christ when God has brought him to Christ, then he remains under Divine condemnation. This is what the Scripture teaches.

To be continued.