Bobservations' Column
Titled - "Check for Motes"
Written by - Pastor Bob Lawrenz
Romans 2 has much in common with Matthew 7, as we shall see. From last week’s message, one cross reference from Numbers 23 stands out: “How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed? Or, how shall I defy, whom the Lord hath not defied?”
Do we view things from God’s point of view, or do we see things only from our personal perspective. God’s grace (unmerited favor) is bestowed upon His own seemingly without measure. If we are too worldly minded, then this is a maddening situation! It might seem like God follows critical race theory, except we know He judges everyone according to His Word. Our problem is our own human hearts, as wicked as they are, according to Jeremiah 17:9,10.
God is much more gracious, much more forgiving, and much more loving than we are, even to His enemies. It begs the question, do we want to be more Christ-like? Then we must adopt the mind of Christ, and let it displace our limited and selfish minds. Issues will never be about us; they will always be about Jesus.
“But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you.” - Matthew 5:44
Bobservations' Column: Audio Version
Sunday Morning Audio Message:
Romans 2:17-29 - "Check for Motes"
Our text for today is Romans 2:17-29. The main theme of Romans is “the righteousness of God” and how that righteousness becomes ours through faith in Christ. This is the most vital message in the world because it results in eternal life for those who believe it and eternal damnation for those who don’t.
In this New Testament letter, Paul systematically explains the gospel – the good news of how God rescues sinners and reconciles them to himself through Jesus Christ his Son. So, if you’re not a Christian, this message is for you. Believe it, and God will forgive your sin, change you from the inside out, and grant you the gift of eternal life. If you already are a Christian, this message is for you too. Even as believers, we need to keep going back to the gospel – remembering it, reviewing it, diving more deeply into it.
So, the message of Romans is for all of us! All of us! As we read the second half of chapter two, keep in mind the context. Paul has already declared in chapter one, verses 16 and 17, that God’s righteousness is revealed through the gospel. How? By the power of God as he makes sinners right with him through faith in Christ. That’s the good news. But after declaring the good news, Paul delivers the bad news. The bad news is that our sin made the gospel necessary. Just as the gospel reveals the righteousness of God, so our sin reveals the wrath of God. God’s wrath stems from his righteousness. It is God’s intense hatred toward all sin. Though the ultimate outpouring of God’s wrath will occur at the Final Judgment, even now God reveals his wrath to some degree by handing people over to their sins and allowing them to suffer the consequences of their rejection of Him. In Romans 1, Paul describes the awfulness of human depravity in the 3rd person: “they.” But in chapter two, Paul shifts to the 2nd person and confronts those who are quick to condemn other people for their sins while failing to acknowledge their own.
Specifically, Paul addresses the self-righteous Jew who thinks he’ll get a pass on Judgment Day because of the privileges God has given him. But Paul shows that this is not the case at all if these privileges are not accompanied by obedience from the heart.
That’s the primary point Paul makes in the second half of Romans chapter two. Paul begins by exposing the conceit and hypocrisy of the self-righteous person, then Paul explains the nature of true conversion, which is heart surgery by the Holy Spirit.
In Romans 2, Paul removes the mask of moralism to expose the conceit of the self-righteous. Privilege leads to pride when we see our blessings as a tribute to our goodness rather than God’s grace. Such was the case with the self-righteous Jew that Paul confronts in Romans 2:17-24. Paul begins by listing their privileges, which led to a certain perception on the part of the Jews, that was inconsistent with their practice.
However, despite their privileges – which Paul does not deny – and their perception of themselves in light of these privileges, Paul confronts them head-on for their hypocrisy.
Throughout this section, Paul takes the self-righteous Jew to task. But this text applies to all self-righteous people. Many people think that by keeping the Ten Commandments, they can merit righteousness before God. The problem is that one must do so perfectly one hundred percent of the time. Scripture says, “whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10). Paul wants the self-righteous Jew, along with every other moralistic person to know that they have failed along with everyone else to meet God’s standard of holiness.
The bad news is that true and perfect righteousness is not possible for man to attain on his own; the standard is simply too high. The good news is that true righteousness is possible for mankind, but only through the cleansing of sin by Jesus Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. We have no ability to achieve righteousness in and of ourselves. But Christians possess the righteousness of Christ, because “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is an amazing truth. On the cross, Jesus exchanged our sin for His perfect righteousness so that we can one day stand before God and He will see not our sin, but the holy righteousness of the Lord Jesus.
Sunday Morning Audio Message:
Key Words and Definitions with Reference:
Jew (2:17) - Previously called Hebrews and Israelites, by the first century "Jew" had become the most common name for the descendants of Abraham through Isaac. "Jew" comes from "Judah" (meaning "praise"), one of the twelve tribes and the designation for the southern half of Solomon's kingdom after his death. From the time of the Babylonian captivity, the whole race bore this title. Their great heritage, however (cf. Genesis 12:3), became a source of pride and complacency (cf. Jonah 4:2; Micah 3:11,12; Matthew 3:7-9; John 8:31-34, 40-59), which led to judgment instead of "praise."
The Blind . . . Babes (2:19, 20) - Because they possessed the law, the Jews were confident that they were spiritually superior teachers: guides to blind pagans (cf. Matthew 23:24-28), light (cf. Isaiah 42:6), wise in God's ways, and able to teach babies (Probably a reference to Gentile proselytes to Judaism).
Doest Thou Commit Sacrilege? (Do You Rob Temples?) (2:22) - May refer to fraudulently skimming funds from money given to the temple or withhold part of their temple tax or offerings (cf. Malachi 3:8-10). More likely, however, it refers to the common practice - in direct violation of God's command (Deuteronomy 7:25) - of looting pagan temples and selling the idols and vessels for personal profit (cf. Acts 19:37) under the pretext of religion.
It Is Written (2:24) - Quoted from Isaiah 52:5. When Isaiah wrote, the name—the reputation—of the God of Israel was sneered at by other nations because His people were being oppressed. In contrast, Paul now says God is dishonored by Israel's own actions. By breaking the law of Moses, they give God a bad name among the Gentiles. Seeing that the Jewish people break their own God-given law while looking down on others, the Gentiles respond by speaking blasphemously about Israel's God.
This highlights an important point which applies to believers in Christ, today. When those who claim to be Christians behave in un-Christ-like ways, it dishonors God. Non-believers see those sins and blame them on the faith. As Paul made clear earlier in this letter, that's not a valid excuse for rejecting the truth (Romans 1:18–20). However, those who claim the name of God need to be extremely careful about the kind of reputation we create in this world.
The point Paul is building up to is that nobody can keep the law of Moses perfectly (Romans 3:10). Everyone breaks it, somehow and somewhere, bringing dishonor to God. Everyone deserves God's judgment as a result of their sin. The law only helps to reveal sin, so salvation must come from another source. That source is faith in Christ (Romans 3:22–25).
Circumcision (2:25) - As a religious rite, circumcision was required of all of Abraham’s descendants as a sign of the covenant God made with him (Genesis 17:9–14; Acts 7:8). The Mosaic Law repeated the requirement (Leviticus 12:2–3), and Jews throughout the centuries have continued to practice circumcision (Joshua 5:2–3; Luke 1:59; Acts 16:3; Philippians 3:5). Circumcision symbolized the need for a profoundly deep cleansing, a cutting away of the flesh, and repentance to reverse the effects of sin.
Uncircumcision (2:25) - A Jew who continually transgressed God's Law had no more of a saving relationship to God than an uncircumcised Gentile. The outward symbol was nothing without the inner reality.
Uncircumcision (2:25) - A Jew who continually transgressed God's Law had no more of a saving relationship to God than an uncircumcised Gentile. The outward symbol was nothing without the inner reality.
Counted as Circumcision? (2:26) - God will regard the believing Gentile as favorable as a circumcised, believing Jew.
Outwardly (2:28) - This refers to physical descendants of Abraham who have been properly circumcised (cf. 9:6; Matthew 3:9).
He is a Jew (2:29) - A true child of God, the true spiritual seed of Abraham. (See Romans 4:16; Galatians 3:29).
Circumcision is that of the Heart (2:29) - The outward rite is of value only when it reflects the inner reality of a heart separated from sin unto God. (See Deuteronomy 19:16; 30:6).
Spirit . . . Letter (2:29) - Salvation results from the work of God's Spirit in the heart, not mere external efforts to conform to His law.