Examining The Heart Series

Romans 2:17–29. 17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. (ESV)

As we see the soon coming end of summer, public speculation has risen to what life will be life in the fall. Are we headed into a recession? Will it be severe? Will things like doctor and nurse shortages, inflation, supply chain problems, pandemic and lock down measures and the like be forthcoming? Right now, there is so much uncertainty. The problem with such uncertainty is that people long for economic security, job security, marital security, national security, health security, home security, security of social position, and many other kinds of security. It is the natural impulse of self-preservation to want security. Yet, despite the claims of independence and self-sufficiency that many people make, they know instinctively that, in themselves, they are not completely secure. A measure of economic security can be had from such things as having a long-term work contract, working for or owning a business that has proven to do well even in hard times, or by having a diversified portfolio of investments. A measure of home security can be achieved by burglar alarms, high fences, or watch dogs. A measure of national security can be had from a well-trained, well-equipped military force. But history and personal experience have proved over and over again that such things cannot guarantee absolute security.

When they bother to think about it, most people hope for some form of eternal security. If they do not believe in heaven and hell, they hope death will be the end of existence, that it will usher them into an impersonal, unconscious nothingness, or recycle them through another lifetime in an endless linking chain of lives better than the ones before. But the Apostle Paul has already declared unequivocally that, whether they realize or admit it or not, everyone, even the most worldly non-believers, know something of God’s “invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature” (Rom. 1:18–21). Every person, Jew and Gentile alike, has the witness of heart and conscience, by which they are able to discern basic right from wrong (Rom. 2:14–15). And all people know to some degree that those who do not live up to God’s standards of righteousness are “worthy of death” (Rom. 1:32). Most have this gnawing fear that God is going to judge their sin, that one day they will be held accountable for the way they have lived. And Scripture says they will live and die only once, “and after this comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27).

Far from being cruel and insensitive, the Christian who loves people over their own comfort and discusses these ultimate realities with those headed for judgement does a great service to those they warns. If a person is to be commended for warning a family that their house is on fire or that a bridge they are about to cross might collapse under them, how much more is a believer to be commended when they warn the unsaved of their lostness and condemnation apart from Jesus Christ. No greater kindness can possibly be offered a person than that of showing them the way of salvation. But before one can come to the realization of needing salvation, the unbeliever must first be convinced that they are lost.