2:7
So is Paul talking about a real person, ie are there some people who will be given eternal life because they are persistent in doing good, or is he explaining how God's judgement, based on merit, works? I think it is clearly the latter. Paul is addressing the self-righteous Jew, showing how living by the Law ultimately means wrath for all of us. What does it mean to seek "glory, honour and immortality"? We sometimes think it is wrong to seek these things, but the Bible does not actually say that. What matters is how we seek these things. Under the Law it is by "persistently doing good", persistently seeking God's ways. For if you look at the Bible you will see that God gives glory, honour and immortality to the faithful.
2:8
So the seeking of glory and honour is not the problem, rather the method is the problem. Man's way is to be self-seeking and to reject the truth, to follow evil ways. We see this in many spheres of life. In politics it would be considered naive to adopt any other course! In business we too often see the same, but we also see it on a small scale in our own lives too. The end result of this will be wrath and anger from God. Paul is seeking to get the self righteous man to look at his own heart. If you had to stand before God on your own merits how do you think you would fare?
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