Romans 2: 17-29

Some of you call yourselves Jews. You trust in the Law and take pride in God. By reading the Scriptures, you learn how God wants you to behave and you discover what is right/ You are sure that you are a guide for the blind and a light for all who are in the dark. And since there is knowledge and truth in God's Law, you think you can instruct fools and teach young people.

But how can you teach others when you refuse to learn. You preach that is wrong to steal. Bud do you steal? You say people should be faithful in marriage. But are you faithful? You hate idols, yet you rob their temples. You take pride in the Law, but you disobey the Law and bring shame on God. It is just as the sovereign scriptures tell us, "You have made foreigners say insulting things about God"

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Being circumcised is worthwhile, if you obey the Law. But if you don't obey the Law you are no better off than people who are not circumcised. In fact, if they obey the Law, they are as good as anyone who is circumcised. So everyone who obeys the Law, but has never been circumcised will condemn you. Even though you are circumcised and have the Law, you still don't obey its teachings.

Just because you live like a Jew and are circumcised doesn't make you a real Jew. To be a real Jew, you must obey the Law. True circumcision is something that happens deep in your heart, not something done to your body. And besides, you should want praise from God and not from humans.

To be quite honest, I have found Romans 2 hard going. I am seeking guidelines for living, clear straightforward steps. But Paul launches into what seems a long harangue about the status of Jews and Gentiles in the eyes of God. I don't find this applicable to today's world, the Jews and 'Gentile' christians are so far diverged that all of the above seems redundant. i.e. the Christians have got it right and the Jews have got it wrong because they don't accept that Jesus was the Messiah.

I do like the last two lines of Romans 2, though, that seems contemporary and practical. That true circumcision occurs deep in my heart. I believe I have been circumcised deep in my heart, from the day I started believing in God, which seems to be since I was born. But also, I need to renew that state of circumcision every day, because my belief and faith and trust in God changes as my moods change and circumstances change.

Yesterday, I felt deep despair, because I was overlooked in being commended on my work. There was a over-praising of other team members and even when my position was stated in terms of my role in the team, a big and important part of my work was left out. I feel I have lost face in the eyes of the team and I am an ancillary and not crucial to operations.

John Piper says we must preach God's word to ourselves every day. So in relation to being overlooked, the part of the verse that says 'And besides, you should want praise from God and not humans' applies. I so struggle in Australia to work in mostly white dominated society. They get favour and praise and easy promotion. I struggle and struggle and it is really hard.

In the Enduring Word commentary, there is an analysis of Romans 2:

In Romans 1, Paul pointed out the sin of the most notoriously guilty. He now speaks to those who are generally moral in their conduct. Paul assumes they are congratulating themselves that they are not like the people described in Romans 1.

i. A good example of this mind set is Jesus’ illustration of the Pharisee and the Publican. If we take those figures from Jesus’ parable, Paul spoke to the Publican in Romans 1 and now he addresses the Pharisee (Luke 18:10-14).

ii. Many among the Jewish people of Paul’s day typified the moralist; but his words in Romans 2:1-16 seem to have a wider application. For example, there was Seneca, the Roman politician, moral teacher and the tutor of Nero. He would agree wholeheartedly with Paul regarding the morals of most pagans, but a man like Seneca would think, “I’m different from those immoral people.”

iii. Many Christians admired Seneca and his strong stand for “morals” and “family values.” “But too often he tolerated in himself vices not so different from those which he condemned in others – the most flagrant instance being his connivance at Nero’s murder of his mother Agrippina.” (Bruce)

The bit about the Pharisee and Publican is applicable to the modern world. Definitely, the others in my team see themselves as better than me. No matter how hard I work, there is no praise. But the boast of their works and recieve praise.

In my next post, I will provide you with the analysis of Romans 1 and 2 from the Enduring Word Commentary.

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