(7) The Jews and the Law – Romans 2:17-29

17If you are a Jew, you are relying on God’s law for your special relationship with Him.  You boast that all is well between yourself and God.  18 Yes, you know what He wants; you know right from wrong because you have been taught His law.  19 You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a beacon light for people who are lost in darkness without God.  20 You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God.  For you are certain that in God’s law you have complete knowledge and truth.  21 Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself?  You tell others not to steal, but do you steal?  22 You say it is wrong to commit adultery, but do you do it?  You condemn idolatry, but do you steal from the pagan temples?  23 You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it.  24 No wonder the scriptures say, “The world blasphemes the name of God because of you.”  25 The Jewish ceremony of circumcision is worth something only if you obey God’s law.  But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than an uncircumcised Gentile.  26 And if the Gentiles obey God’s law, won’t God give them all the rights and honors of being His own people?  27 In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will be much better off than you Jews who are circumcised and know so much about God’s law but don’t obey it.  28 For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the Jewish ceremony of circumcision.  29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God.  And true circumcision is not a cutting of the body but a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit.  Whoever has that kind of change seeks praise from God, not from people.

The problem that Paul saw in the Roman Church was that they didn’t have a clear understanding of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  The Jews wouldn’t let go of their legalistic, rules based, faith-plus-works religiosity, and the Gentile Christians were stuck on first base.  They all knew and believed that their Salvation was secure through faith in Jesus Christ, by the Grace of God, but, they didn’t know where to go from there.  In verses 17-27, Paul hammers on the fact that we honor God by obeying His law, and conversely, we dishonor God by disobeying His law.  It’s not about the law, it is about honoring God with our actions.  Paul nails the Jewish Christians in verse 24 when he recites Isaiah 52:5… “The world blasphemes the name of God because of you.”  They were an embarrassment to both Jews and Christians!

But the Jewish Christians didn’t see it that way.  They thought that they were the ones that everyone should look towards as the example of how to be righteous.  They thought that they were the ones with all of the answers.  And the truth is that they did have all of the answers in the writings of Moses and the Prophets.  But, Paul was quick to point out that they needed to learn that truth before they could even think about teaching others.  They thought that simply being a Jew put them ahead of everyone else.

For the Jews, it was not only about the law but the promise that they are, and always will be, God’s chosen people.  God made that promise to Abraham, and repeated it several times through the prophets of the Old Testament.  Most Christians like to think that the Jews forfeited their right as the chosen people when they rejected Christ on the cross.  But that is just not true.  God, by nature, is unchangeable (Malachi 3:6).  His promise to Abraham was not conditional.  (Genesis 17) When God makes a promise, He keeps His promise.

But, God’s promise to Abraham was based on Abraham’s faith in God (Genesis 15:6).  Abraham was not subject to the law, since God didn’t give the law until Moses brought the Jews out of slavery in Egypt five hundred years later.  And now, at the time of Paul’s letter, which was nearly two thousand years since Abraham, Judaism had been reduced to nothing more than a legalistic form of religion.  It was all about the law, and all the Jews knew was the law.  That, and God’s unconditional promise to Abraham that they held onto so tightly.

If we take a quick look at the Book of the Revelation, we see that the first three chapters are about the Christian Church here on earth.  Jesus Himself, gives comfort, guidance, instruction, praise and rebuke, in the form of seven letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor.  Chapters 4 – 20 focus on the Jewish nation – God’s chosen ones – and show how God will raise up the Jewish people to bring about His plan for the destruction of evil, and the fulfillment of all prophecy.  But, during this time of the Great Tribulation, the Jews eyes will be opened to the truth of the gospel message that Jesus is their long awaited Messiah.  And, through this new revelation, the Jewish people will recognize Jesus as the fulfillment of the law, just as Jesus told them, “Don’t misunderstand why I have come.  I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets.  No, I came to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17 NLT)

Whether you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God or not, everyone must agree that His presence in this world changed everything.  He literally turned the belief system of this world upside down.  The world tells us that we don’t need God, that happiness is our ultimate goal.  That the strong survive, the poor are losers, and those who care about others are weak.  The world tells us that if we obey the law, we are good – in fact, most believe that we are good enough to go to heaven.

Paul never missed the opportunity to point out the obvious sinfulness of man.  He rebuked the Jewish Christians who had this world view.  They walked around looking so holy and pious, but Paul knew the sins they hid in their secret life.  They counted on these facts: (1) They were Jews, (2) outwardly, they appeared to follow the letter of the law, and (3) they believed in Jesus Christ as their savior – in that order.  Paul must have blown them away when he said that the lawless Gentiles were better off than the devout Jews.  And, although he used the law as the sounding board, Paul was really pointing out that the Gentiles were better off because they had their priorities straight.  Their faith in Jesus Christ was the #1 priority in the life of the Gentile Christians.  Prior to their conversion, The Gentile believers had no real God.  They had no law.  Jesus was everything to them.  Conversely, for the Jewish Christians, Jesus was just the icing on the cake of their legalistic religiosity.

In Genesis 17:11, God instructed Abraham to circumcise all of the males in his household, “…as a sign that you have accepted the covenant.”  Circumcision was intended to be an outward sign of an inward commitment to God.  It was a decision that was not to be taken lightly.  And now at the time of Paul’s letter, circumcision was nothing more than a ceremony that was performed on Jewish boys on the eighth day following their birth.  It had lost its meaning.

The Jews had lost sight of the fact that God’s promise to Abraham was based on his faith.  In verse 28, Paul points out that they are not “true Jews” simply because they were born of Jewish parents, or that they were circumcised, it was based on their personal profession of faith.

Have you made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ?  At the age of forty, I was asked this very question.  And, when I searched my soul, I had to answer no.  I grew up in the church, and I took my faith for granted.  I was no different than the Jewish Christians in Rome.  My salvation was based on the fact that I was a Roman Catholic, not on my faith in Jesus Christ.  How would you answer the question?  Have you made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ?  There is only one correct answer.  If you can’t answer “yes”, then do it right now – It is all about faith in the atoning sacrifice, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We talk about honoring God with our actions, and that the world should see Christ in the way we live.

I received one of those joke e-mails in the past that I thought was pretty telling…  A police officer (supposedly) noticed a car being driven recklessly.  He was alarmed to see that there were kids on board.  Assuming the worst, he pursued the car and pulls it over.  With gun drawn, he carefully approached the driver’s side of the vehicle.  Suspecting that the vehicle was car-jacked, he ordered the driver out of the vehicle with hands in the air.  A young woman emerged from the driver’s seat.  Confused, the officer asked for ID, to find that she is the owner.  The woman asked why she was pulled over.  The officer replied, I saw the Christian fish and the “I love Jesus” bumper sticker and assumed that the car was stolen…. I didn’t think a Christian would be driving like that.

Study Questions

Is Christ the #1 priority in your life?

One of the favorite responses from Christians and non-Christians alike is, “I live by the Ten Commandments – that’s all I need.”  They don’t realize that the first, and most important, commandment is to put God first in every part of our lives.  There should be nothing that comes to our mind before God in any situation.  If the truth be known, He’s usually the last.  People say, “Well, we’ve tried everything else – all we can do now is pray.”  Next time, they should try praying first.  Will you?

Do we honor God with our actions? 

If you were arrested and charged with being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?  That’s something to really think about.  Does the world around you know that you are Christian?  And by that I mean, do you bear the fruits of the Holy Spirit in the way you live your life?  If those you come in contact with were to describe your attributes, how many of the following list would they put next to your name?  Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.