Grace For The Journey
What is the value of religion? An interesting, and somewhat disturbing poll was reported in the “National Weekly Edition” of The Washington Times. It was conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Some of its results . . .
- 80% of Americans rank religion as “beneficial;”
- But 65% also say that religion bears a “great deal” or a “fair amount” of blame for wars and conflicts.
- 61% believe that children need religious training to grow up morally upright;
- But half of them argue that belief in God is not necessary for adult morality.
- 67% said that America is a “Christian nation,” but 75% said that “many religions can lead to eternal life.”
Obviously, Americans are confused about just what Christianity is and the role that religion has played in American society. That should not be surprising given the often contradictory way that religion, especially Christianity, is portrayed in the public arena. While our President and popular sentiment call for and seek God to bless America, liberal lawyers continue to use our judicial system to keep any reference of Him out of our public schools. Most charitable institutions have been started because of religious motivations and Sunday church attendance is higher in the U.S. than any other western nation, yet TV and film commonly portray any “Christian” character they might include as either a nerd, a moron, or a psychopath.
At the same time, we continue to hear from our government that Islam means “peace” and holds no responsibility for the terrorism in the U.S., Israel, Sudan, Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, etc. etc. etc. Here is what you are not hearing . . .
Islam does not mean “peace.”
It means “submission.”
The beliefs of Islam are at the heart of the terrorist actions and war done in its name, and that is why you do not hear Islamic leaders condemning them.
Instead they blame the U.S., Israel, and whoever else is not Islamic. I don’t know about you, but I am glad that . . .
God does not decide truth
Based on opinion polls, slanted
News reports, or propaganda.
I am also glad that God
Has revealed Himself in the Bible
So that you and I can also know
The truth and follow it instead of
Opinion polls, slanted news reports, or propaganda.
There is only one opinion that is important,
And it is not yours or mine . . . It is God’s.
This is true on the subject of religion as it is for any other issue the Bible addresses. In Romans 2:17-29 Paul addresses the subject of religion and whether it could establish a person in righteousness.
We have already seen in Romans 1 and the first part of Romans 2 that “the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (1:18). Paul then proceeds to demonstrate the righteousness of God as revealed in His wrath upon such ungodly and unrighteous men. God has made Himself evident to men in such ways that all men are without excuse (1:19,20), yet men do not turn to God. They continue to seek their own way
through life.
Some follow the path of what I call the immoral unrighteous. Paul describes them and their descent into depravity in 1:21-32. These are the people who are obviously ungodly and unrighteous. They think themselves to be wise, but they have become fools (1:22). They exchange the worship of God for the worship of something He has created (1:23,25). God judges them by pulling back His restraining hand and giving them over to their sinful desires. Emotion and desire take control. As they continue their downward spiral, they involve themselves in increasing debauchery including degrading passions of which homosexuality is an example. Their actions are against all common reason because of the natural consequences of their sin including all sorts of medical problems and a shortened life span, yet the ungodly continue in their pursuit of fulfilling their passion regardless of the consequence to themselves or others. The spiral can continue downward to the point that God gives them over to depraved minds that can no longer discern right and wrong. Their sinful practices are obvious and Paul lists some of them out in 1:29-31. Though they are still aware that those who practice such things are deserving of death, they not only do them, but give hearty approval to others who practice them (1:32). These are those who are obviously ungodly and unrighteous.
Next, Paul deals with the group I refer to as the moral unrighteous in 2:1-16. These are the people who have a moral code and condemn those who practice such flagrant sins as the immoral unrighteous. The only problem is that they do the same things. They are just not as flagrant and are better at hiding their sin. Their hypocrisy condemns them for in condemning those who are flagrantly sinful they establish that they know right from wrong. When they do the same thing, even if it is to a lesser degree, they condemn themselves. There is also the matter of their conscience. While they may not have received the Law of God as had the Jews, yet God did place within their hearts a basic understanding of what is right and what is wrong. When they do wrong in violation of their own conscience, they also condemn themselves. God is impartial and His judgement will be based on the very sinful actions these people have done. God is righteous in His wrath upon all the ungodly including the moral unrighteous. They do not meet God’s standards. They do not even meet their own.
But what about those who have received the Law of God and are doing their best to follow it? Does God’s wrath extend to them as well? What about those who are religious? And specifically, what about the religious Jews who have received God’s law? No group had received as much information about God as they did. No group is more religious than they were. Paul addresses them in 2:17-29 and the principles of what he says here could be applied to any religious person or group.
The Religious Jew.
Verses 17-20 state, “But if you bear the name ‘Jew,’ and rely upon the Law, and boast in God, and know [His] will, and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth.”
Genetic Heritage – Verse 17.
The term “Jew” is derived from “Judah,” the name of one of Israel’s sons and the tribe that come from him. It was also the name given to the Southern kingdom that formed after the Hebrew nation split into two kingdoms during the reign of Solomon’s son, Reheboam. But during and after the Babylonian captivity it came to be the common reference to the whole race that traced its lineage through Jacob, to Isaac, to Abraham. The term “Jew” is a name they proudly wore for it marked this heritage and marked
them as God’s unique and specially chosen people. The many years of persecution they have endured has never changed that. It is still an honor.
The problem that developed is that many Jews
Thought that this special relationship
That they had with God as His chosen people
Gave them an automatic pass into heaven.
The fact that they had not fulfilled their purpose in God calling them as His chosen people, which was to proclaim God to all nations and in that way fulfill the promise that the descendants of Abraham would be a blessing to the rest of the world (Exodus 19:6; Genesis 12:3), nor had they lived according to God’s commandments, did not worry them. They thought God would let them into heaven simply because they were Jews. This lead to them becoming arrogant, proud and prejudiced.
The ancient prophets had warned them of this many times, but they did not take it to heart. Moses had warned them that they were to walk with “circumcised hearts” (Deuteronomy 10:16) in obedience to the Lord’s commands or there would be punishment (Deuteronomy 27, 28). Isaiah (47-48), Jeremiah (7:4-12), Amos (9:10), Micah (3:11-12), Zephaniah (3:11-13), all warned of the foolishness of believing their genetic heritage would protect them in the day of the Lord’s wrath. The soul that sins, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4) regardless of who the father was.
The Jews have a special relationship with God because they are descendants from Abraham, but that in itself will not save them. John 1:12-13, makes it clear that salvation is not based in anyway upon genetic heritage, but upon faith in the Lord Jesus Christ – “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, [even] to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Those in our own time that believe that their heritage will somehow save them, make a very serious error.
There is no second hand faith in heaven,
So regardless of the faith and piety
Of your parents or grandparents,
That is insufficient to get you to heaven.
Even if you were born to Christian parents,
You were born as a sinner, not a Christian.
Covenant Heritage – Verse 17.
Another aspect of the Jew’s heritage was that many trusted with a false security in the covenants that God had made with them as a people. They had God’s Law and boasted in God; yet, none of those covenants, Abrahamic, Mosaic, or Davidic would save them automatically. The Law required circumcision as a sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:1-14), but circumcision could not save them. Whatever advantage they gained from the covenants also increased their responsibility. Certain aspects of the
covenants were unconditional on God’s part, but for the individual, there were conditions by which either blessings or curses would come. They boasted in God because of their special covenant relationship with Him, but they erred in thinking that this meant God belonged to them.
In certain aspects of Christianity today, there is a view that salvation can be based in a supposed covenant. This is very similar to the idea of a genetic based salvation, but of shorter inheritance value. For example, many of those in Reformed traditions believe that the children of believers who die in infancy are saved based in the idea that God has made a covenant with the parents that covers their children. They do not believe that children of unbelievers are saved. Some Puritans held that this covenant would extend down two generations and could even skip an ungodly intervening generation.
Roman Catholicism holds to something similar in believing that infant baptism grants salvation to the child. Supposedly, the faith that the child lacks is replaced by the faith of the church. But again, people are not born of God by blood or the will of the flesh or by the will of man, but only of God Himself.
Being born to Christian parents and raised in a Christian homes is a great privilege and asset, but it cannot save, and neither can any Christian ritual. A baptized infant is a wet baby, but not a saved baby.
Religious Instruction – Verses 18-20.
The Jews could also boast in their religious instruction and some thought that their great knowledge of God’s Law would save them. Paul describes them here as those who “know [His] will, and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth.” All these things are good, but they in themselves cannot make a person righteous and save them.
The Law gave the Jews the knowledge of God’s will and even what was most important to Him. This knowledge should have qualified them for their claims in verses 19 & 20, but . . .
Knowledge must be put
Into practice to be of value.
Knowing and doing are two different things. They should have been “guides of the blind.” This refers to leading those who were ignorant of God’s will, which would have been especially true of the gentiles. However, when you do not follow what you know, you become “a blind guide leading blind people” which is exactly what Jesus said of the Pharisees (Matthew 23:24-28). The Jews were to be a light to those who were in darkness (Isaiah 42:6-7), but again knowledge without application is like having a candle and no means to get the wick to catch on fire. The potential is there,
but it is worthless for illuminating the darkness until the wick is burning.
They should have corrected the foolish, which the Gentiles were considered to be, but how do you correct someone when you are being even more foolish? They were also to be teachers of the immature which would include both young Jews and Gentile proselytes. These people needed to know God’s law and will, but what happens when the teacher does not apply the knowledge? They make the proselyte twice as much of a son of hell as themselves (Matthew 23:15).
They had the Law of Moses
Which was the embodiment
Or appearance of the knowledge
And truth of God to that point in time,
But they did not actually follow what it said.
Paul points out their hypocrisy in verses 21-24.
Religious Hypocrisy – Verses 21-24.
The evidence of this is verses 21-22, “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one should not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?”
It is not just that they fell short of
Understanding God’s law themselves,
But even worse, they would not obey
What they did know and they
Would not practice what they preached.
They would teach others, but
They were failing to teach themselves.
It should not surprise us that they, and those who have followed in the same path in our own day, can lecture and impart the truth without following it themselves. There are many reasons that people might preach, and not all of them are honorable. Remember that even Satan will disguise Himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).
Paul gives specific examples. They correctly taught that it was wrong to steal, and yet they would steal themselves. The prophets had to rebuke even the national and religious leaders for this on a regular basis. The Jews were not to charge each other interest or usury (Exodus 22:5), but they often did anyway (Ezekiel 22:12). They would steal by using false weights and balances (Amos 8:5). They would seek after dishonest gain (Jeremiah 22:17) and without compassion they would rob and plunder even from widows and orphans (Isaiah 10:2). They even would dare to rob God by withholding their tithes (Malachi 3:8-9). This had not changed even in Jesus time, for Jesus accused the religious leaders of the same things – devouring widows’ houses (Mark 12:40), and robbery (Matthew 23:25).
They taught that adultery was wrong and would at times even seek to enforce the Mosaic law concerning it (John 8:3-5). However, their practice of easy divorce for any reason multiplied divorce in the land – Divorce and remarriage for any cause other than sexual sin multiples adultery (Matthew 5:32; 19:9).
Idolatry is an abomination before God (Deuteronomy 27:15) and so it is right that they abhorred it, yet they themselves robbed temples. This could be a reference to robbing their own temple in Jerusalem such as in withholding tithes (Malachi 3:8-9) or some other means, but since the reference is to “abhorring idols” being set in contrast to “rob temples” it is probably something else. One possibility is that in contrast to the Mosaic command to destroy any graven image that came under their control (Deuteronomy 7:25), they were seeking to make a profit from them. In Acts 19 the town clerk of Ephesus defended Paul and his Jewish associates that they were not robbers of temples or blasphemers of their God. That suggests that such was practiced enough by Jews that these particular ones had to be defended against the possible charge. Destroying a pagan temple out of obedience to God’s command is one thing, plundering it for personal gain is quite another. That may be what Paul is referring to here.
The consequence of this religious hypocrisy is stated in verse 23 and 24, “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,’ just as it is written.” The reference here could to be to a number of passages because the name of the Lord had been blasphemed many times because of the disobedience of the people. David’s sin with Bathsheba gave the enemies of the Lord and occasion to blaspheme the name of God (2 Samuel 12:14). The multiplied sins which resulted in God’s judgment of both Israel and Judah also caused the name of God to be blasphemed at their deportation (Isaiah 52:5; Ezekiel 36:17-23).
All sin is an affront to God and an attack on the holiness of His name because all sin is contrary to the purposes for which God made man. David understood that all sin was against God. That is why in his confession of his multiple sins related to his adultery with Bathsheba in Psalm 51:4 that he said it was “against You, You only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight.” However, the sin of those who profess to know God and proclaim His ways to others is even more grievous because it causes
more people to blaspheme Him.
The word “blasphemy” means “to speak reproachfully of or revile or speak evil of God;” it is to “slander and dishonor the very character of God;” it also encompasses “living in disdain of God’s commands.” The Jews boasted in the Law of God, but they did not keep it themselves. The result was that not only were their own actions blasphemous, but it gave reason for the Gentiles to disdain God’s commands. What reason
would there be for them to heed God and His commands when His people do not do so? If those who proclaim the name of the Lord do not respect Him, why should anyone else? If God chastised them for their sins, the Gentiles would turn from God reasoning that if God causes His own people to suffer in such ways, why would they want to serve Him. If God withheld His chastising, then the Gentiles would claim that either God was not strong enough to control and correct His people, or that He approves of their sin and is therefore evil Himself. In either case, their sin caused God’s name to be blasphemed.
But don’t think this is a truth just for the Jews.
In many ways this is even more true
Of those who profess to be Christians.
We have both greater knowledge of God
Through the New Testament and greater
Resources available to us
Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
When a Christian falls into sin,
Not only is his own testimony damaged,
But the name of our Lord is also stained.
This is serious and one of the reasons for church discipline. It begins as an effort to restore a believer who stumbles into sin, but it if the correction is not heeded, it ends with a pronouncement that this person is not a Christian and in that way seeks to reduce the blasphemy against God they have caused. Never take your own sin or the sin of other believers lightly.
I need to add here that the greater the position of leadership and public exposure a Christian has, the greater the damage caused by his sin. That is why there are such strict standards and judgments upon those who would be leaders in the church. All of us can think back to pastors, both obscure and nationally known, that have caused great blasphemy of God through their sins. That is a reason I am always in need of your prayers on my behalf that I would never cause shame to the name of the Lord.
Outward Verses Inward Religion – Verses 25-29.
For the most part, though there were many exceptions, the ancient Jews and those of Jesus’ time lived an outward religion. The same is true today of professing Christians. Paul deals with this false ceremonial religion and the true religion of the heart in verse 25-29.
Circumcision and the Law.
Paul first exposes the true relationship of the ceremonial practice of circumcision and God’s Law. In Verses 25-27 he says, “For indeed circumcision is of value, if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. If therefore the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And will not he
who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter [of the Law] and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law?”
Circumcision was a ceremonial practice that was to be a sign that the person was in the Abrahamic and Mosaic covenant relationship with God. But as Paul points out, this ceremonial practice is of no value if it is not joined with the practice of God’s law. If you are a transgressor of the Law, that is, disobedient to God’s commands, then your ceremonial actions are worthless. Paul even points out that the person who does obey God is in a better position even if they have not had the benefit if the ceremonial actions.
This same principle is still true and it applies to Christianity. Many Christian sects are heavy with traditions and ceremonies resulting in many people thinking those rituals will save them and give them a relationship with God. Circumcision never saved any Jew, and Baptism, Communion, or any other church ritual practice has ever saved one Christian. I hate to admit it, but I have baptized and served communion to people who later demonstrated they were not followers of Christ. All their baptism did was get them wet, and their partaking of communion gave them no benefit. In fact, it only increased
their condemnation.
Ritual is of no benefit unless
It is accompanied by obedience.
Ritual is supposed to be an
Outward sign of an inward reality.
Paul points this out in verses 28,29.
Circumcision and the Heart.
Verses 28-29 state, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.” Moses had told the people this when he recounted to them the Law of God. In Deuteronomy 10:12-13 Moses said, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, [and] to keep the Lord’s commandments and His statutes which I am commanding you today for your good?” Moses added in verse 16,”Circumcise then your heart, and stiffen your neck no more.”
A true relationship with God
Has never been based
On outward rituals, but
Rather on an inward reality.
Outward religion seeks to keep the rituals and gain the praise of men. “So and so is such a good person, see how faithful they are at coming and practicing the rituals of our religion.” God’s law is approached with a defense lawyer’s attitude, “How can I interpret and manipulate this law to my favor so that my client is not guilty.”
But salvation and life in God is not outward.
It is a matter of the heart that will express
Itself outwardly in obedience to the leading
Of the Spirit of God because of the desire
To please God had have His praise.
You can be religious and still
Be very ungodly and unrighteous.
It all boils down to this?
Are you religious,
Or
Do you have
A relationship with
The living God?
There is a big difference between the two. The former is outward and gains the praise of men but causes God to be blasphemed. The later arises from an inward reality of faith in Jesus that saves from sin and brings praise from God. Do you have religion or a relationship? Which do you want?
This is Grace for your Journey …
Rest and Rejoice in this eternal truth!
Pastor Terry
Ephesians 4:7 – “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”
Hebrews 4:16 – “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
pastorterryjdavis 