How do you reconcile Romans 2:13 with Paul's later statements about justification?
Robert Sungenis answers that Romans 2:13 describes real justification by grace working through obedience, not a hypothetical. He distinguishes works done to put God in debt, which Paul condemns, from works of charity done in grace, which please God, and holds with Trent that justification is a real transformation, as Paul also says faith works through love.
How do you reconcile Romans 2:13 with Paul's later statements that justification is by faith apart from works?
Answer
Romans 2:13 is not hypothetical. Paul is describing real justification by grace working through obedience. The apparent contradiction arises from a failure to distinguish between works of debt and works of friendship. When Paul condemns “works of the law,” he refers to actions performed to earn salvation as a wage owed by God. No one can put God in debt. But when a person acts in charity through grace, those works are pleasing to God and are meritorious in a filial sense. The Council of Trent affirmed that justification is not a legal transaction but a real transformation that makes us righteous. Romans 2 describes the fruits of that grace; Romans 3–4 denies that human effort can initiate it. The same Paul who says “we are justified by faith apart from works” also says “faith works through love.” The Catholic synthesis preserves both truths.