Romans Lesson 3: 2.17-29 - INSUFFICIENT
THIS WEEK: We are going to continue our Romans study, starting with the second half of Chapter 2. Today, in Rom. 2:17-29, we'll hear Paul describe two groups of people, with an emphasis on how their sin relates to their knowledge of God's written Law-the Torah-which He gave to the nation of Israel. In Chapter 2:12, he forms the preface for today's lesson where he says, "For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law." Under this verse, Group 1 are the ''Gentiles,'' those who sin apart from the law, while Group 2 are the ''Jews,'' those who sin under the law. After explaining the sinful and lost condition of the idolatrous Gentiles last week, Paul makes it abundantly clear that the Jews will not be exempt from God's judgment either.
Read Rom. 2:17-20 - THE BOAST OF THE JEWISH MAN
17 But if you bear the name "Jew" and rely upon the Law and boast in God, 18 and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth,
Note: Paul had the tendency to write very long, stung together sentences in multiples verse, so that taken one at a time, they sound like incomplete fragments.
v. 17: "But if you bear the name "Jew" and rely upon the Law and boast in God" - The purpose of Paul's question is to expose and discredit the idea that a person can obtain eternal security through his or her ancestral heritage, in this case being a religious Jew. By the same token, if someone says I'm a "Christian" because he or she grew up in a Christian home, went to church, and was even baptized, they are deluding themselves if they have not believed in and confessed-inwardly-Christ as Lord and Savior. The fact is that people who rely on "religion" are just as lost as people who have no religion at all. Jesus said this to His disciples: "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS'" (Mt.7:22-23). The point Paul makes here is that sincere people can be sincerely wrong.
v. 18: "and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law" - In the context of this verse and the next two, what is "essential" is the knowledge of God's will in terms of the moral instruction to which Jews had access through the Law.
v. 19: "and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness" - Israel was chosen by God to be a light to the other nations, i.e., the Gentile world (Isa. 42:6-7; 49:6). Specifically, they were to be the unique vessel of witness to a dark world and of the eventual Messiah. God told Abraham: "And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed" (Gen. 12:3).
v. 20: "a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth" - Here Paul extends the list of benefits enjoyed by Jews under the Law, specifically, that the Jew had "the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth" derived from a far clearer and more detailed form in the Law. Yet, in Chapter 1 we heard Paul say that, even thought they didn't have special revelation like the Jews, the Gentiles are "without excuse" and will be accountable before God because His eternal power and divine nature are known through observing the created world (Rom. 1:19-20). So, here's the bottom line: Even more than the Gentile, the Jewish person is "without excuse" and will be accountable before God.
TRUTH 1: No one can obtain eternal security through ancestral heritage. Paul was referring to religious Jews in these verses, but by the same token, if someone says I'm a "Christian" because he or she grew up in a Christian home, went to church, and was even baptized, they are deluding themselves if they have not believed in and confessed -inwardly-Christ as Lord and Savior. The fact of the matter is that people who rely on "religion" are just as lost as people who have no religion at all.
Read Rom. 2:21-24 - THE INDICTMENT OF THE JEWISH MAN
21 you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? 24 For "THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU," just as it is written.
Note: What's an "indictment"? It's an accusation brought against someone for breaking the law. In this context, Paul is acting in the role of a prosecuting attorney.
v. 21: "you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal?" - The preface, "you, therefore," implies that Paul is getting ready to drawn a conclusion from vv. 17-20. Taking the argument in a different direction, he now proceeds to set up a thesis with four rhetorical questions. The first, "you, therefore, who teach...," serves as a heading which is broken down specifically in the succeeding three questions. Paul isn't objecting to Jews teaching others because that's what they're called to do, their vocation. But notice the comeback: "do you not teach yourself? do you steal?" These statements strongly insinuate that the Jews violated the very laws they were entrusted to teach others, which would make them hypocrites. Talking to His disciples about the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus said: "therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger" (Mt. 23:3-4). Paul does not really clarify his use of the term "steal," but scholars suggest something in the nature of theft by deceit-that the Jews concealed the true intent of the law by preaching it but not living it out in their actions. Again, they were hypocrites.
v. 22: "You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?" - The second and third questions: Do you commit adultery, yet teach in the law that no person should ever commit it? Do you rob temples, even though you say that you hate idols? Both of these questions suggest a "yes" answer. It isn't clear what Paul means by "robbing temples," but the broader point he's making is that the Jews proclaim and teach the Law to others but don't practice what they preach. As Christians, any honest assessment of our own lives reveals that we can't perfectly keep to any moral code; as Paul says in the next chapter, "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE" (Rom. 3:10). So why would devout Jews allow themselves to think they were exempt from God's wrath if they failed to keep the law He had given them? As to "robbing temples" which contained the "idols" they "hated," some scholars have speculated that while not actually robbing temples, Jews might have been "whoring" themselves (adultery) by profiting off the resale of melted-down precious metals taken from idols.
v. 23: "You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?" - The last question. The fundamental reason the Jews, as the people of God, received the revelation of the Law was to bring glory to the name of God. But instead, by their transgressions (i.e., disobedience) of the Law, they have brought contempt and dishonor on His name. In the same way that the Gentiles failed to bring God glory by rejecting the revelation evident from the created order, the Jews failed to honor God by transgressing the Law that had been handed-down to them.
v. 24: "For "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," just as it is written." - Paul nails it right here. Quoting Isa. 52:5, he refers to the time of the Babylonian captivity when God's name had been blasphemed (i.e., cursed) among the Gentiles. Because they had disobeyed and violated the Law, the Jews were dispersed and exiled (you might recall this from our study of Deut. 30 in the previous quarter) and were thereafter despised by the Gentiles. This caused dishonor to God because they were known as His people-they had given Him a bad name.
TRUTH 2: The fundamental reason the Jews, as the people of God, received the revelation of the Law was to bring glory to the name of God. Instead, by their transgressions of the Law, they brought contempt and dishonor on His name. In the same way the Gentiles failed to bring God glory by rejecting the revelation evident from the created order, the Jews failed to honor God by disobeying the Law that He had handed-down to them.
Read Rom. 2:25-29 - THE FALSE ASSURANCE OF RELIGIOUS RITUALS
25 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. 26 So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 And 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? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 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.
v. 25: "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" - First, circumcision was required of all Jewish males as a condition of being under the Covenant. You probably remember from Lk. 2:21 that Joseph and Mary, in accordance with Lev. 12:3, had Jesus circumcised when He was eights days old. Paul's point is that many practicing Jews believed they would be spared from the last judgment because of their circumcision. That would be like me saying I'm a Christian simply because I have a cross tattooed to my forehead! Paul contradicts this notion, saying that any circumcised Jew who failed to keep the law would fall into the category of "uncircumcision"-that is, be subject to the last judgment. Let's pause here. There has been considerable debate among Jewish scholars (of which Paul was one) over what "keeping" the Law really entails: (1) as some argued, simply keeping the "spirit" of the Law, thought not perfectly, or (2) as Paul argued, required perfect conformity with the Law, which is, of course, impossible. According to apostolic interpretation, perfect conformity is plainly required by OT Scripture, thus, no one escapes the final judgment unless their sins are, by grace, forgiven by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
TRUTH 3: According to apostolic interpretation, OT Scripture plainly required perfect conformity in keeping the Law. Since that is impossible, no one escapes the final judgment unless their sins are, by grace, forgiven by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.
v. 26: "So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?" - Taking the analysis a step further, Paul asks the question whether or not an uncircumcised man who keeps the law should be counted as circumcision, i.e. equal in all respects to a covenant Jew.
v. 27: "And 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?" - Here Paul makes a drastic statement: uncircumcised Gentiles who keep the Law will stand at the final judgment and condemn (either by their literal obedience or the testimony of their good deeds) the Jews who had the both the advantage of the written Law and the mark of circumcision. In the sense of a legal trial, Paul isn't suggesting that these Gentiles will be judges but rather, act as prosecution witnesses.
vv. 28-29: "For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 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." - In a striking contrast to the Jewish beliefs of his day, Paul makes nails down the conclusion that true Jewishness and circumcision are not ethnic or physical attributes but matters "of the heart, by the Spirit." What, exactly, is Paul saying to us? In two other places (Rom. 7:6 and 2 Cor. 3:6), he contrasts the OT era of redemptive history with the NT age inaugurated by the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the redemptive work of the Holy Spirit. The "letter" is a metaphor for the Law because it cannot and does not transform anyone, i.e., regenerate them, whereas, the working of the "Spirit" (note, upper case = Holy Spirit), can and does. We need to understand that Paul isn't talking about salvation here but about the convicting work of the Holy Spirit in the life if a believer who has repented of his of her sin and has been saved by faith. A believing Christian, without regard to ethnicity or background, is enabled by the Holy Spirit to live a new life characterized by obedience to God. Do you see that? Unlike the Law, Paul isn't speaking of perfect obedience but of obedience in the form of "good works" that constitute a significant indication of the Spirit's presence.
TRUTH 4: True Jewishness and circumcision are not ethnic or physical attributes but matters of the heart, by the Spirit. While the Law can never transform anyone (i.e., regenerate them), the working of the Holy Spirit can and does. A believing Christian, without regard to ethnicity or background, is enabled by the Holy Spirit to live a new life characterized by obedience to God.
PRAYER: Lord God, our Father in heaven, I offer up praises to you this morning as our Creator and most holy God. I thank you first, dear God, for the love, mercy, and grace you constantly show towards us, both as individual Christian believers and as members of this wonderful church family. I thank You also God for giving us the opportunity to meet together as a class to study and learn from the truth of Your Word. As we continue to study this difficult but important Book of Romans, I pray, Lord, that you will use it to strengthen us in wisdom and understanding as Christian believers and help us to become more effective witnesses for the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I ask all of these things in His Name, AMEN.
