“But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! He will reward each one according to his works: eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness. There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek…. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous.” Romans 2:5-10, 13 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/rom.2.5-13.NET

This section of Scripture, taken alone from all other Scripture, appears to state that men go to heaven based upon their good works. This section of Scripture, taken in context with all of Scripture, makes clear that good works are expected and required of those saved by faith, for they prove that person has received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. A perfect God demands perfect people to live with Him forever. This is impossible since we are born with an imperfect nature that instinctually rebels against God and fights against man. Only Jesus, God in the flesh, lived as a man perfectly before God so that He could offer His perfect life to God as an exchange for the imperfect lives of all humanity. His righteousness, His good works, replace the sinful man’s evil works who come to Him for pardon, seeking reconciliation, through His sacrifice alone, Who is perfect at the cross of Calvary. We are reconciled to God through the perfect works of God and not from any of our supposed good works. When we are reconciled with God, we are to fully embrace the good works of Jesus, which is the reconciliation of the world to Himself through the proclamation of the gospel and the teaching of obedience to all of His commands. It is this work the church is sorely lacking workers to accomplish. Too many sit idle hearing God’s word but doing little to make God known in the world, thus putting into question the validity of their salvation, for they do not engage in the works of God.