This morning we continue from where we left off in the book of Romans, which is chapter 2 and verse 17. So far we have heard the apostle Paul laying out the principles by which God is going to judge the world, and how because of this, the Gentiles stood condemned. Paul now moves to the second part of his argument which is, how this all applies to the Jews. Let’s take a closer look, and see how what is said this morning, may apply to us…
Vs. 17, 18, 19, 20- Up until this point and time, the Jews could hear what Paul was saying about the Gentiles, and agreed whole heartedly. Yes God is going to judge the world, and yes, the Gentiles do stand condemned. Beginning in verse 17, Paul starts listing all of the privileges that the Jewish nation enjoyed, and these privileges included:
(1.) “Call yourself a Jew”- The Hebrews considered being called a Jew a great honor, and placed immense value on it. The origins of the name however, are not known for certain. They were called the children of Israel until the time of Rehoboam. When the ten tribes were carried into captivity, only two remained the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. The name Jews was evidently given to denote those of the tribe of Judah. The reasons why the name of Benjamin was lost, were probably:
a. Because the tribe of Benjamin was small and without much influence or importance.
b. The Messiah was to come from the tribe of Judah according to Genesis 49:10, and the tribes importance would be proportionate to the significance of that event.
The name of Jews would therefore be one that would suggest the facts that they were saved from captivity, that they had received miraculous protection from God, and that the Messiah was to be sent to that people. This being the case, it is not surprising that they should regard it as an honor to be a Jew, and particularly when they added to this all of the other favors connected with their being the special people of God. As a result, the name “Jew” came to denote all the miracles and special favors of their religion.
(2.) “Rely on the law”- The word “rely” here is evidently used in the sense of trusting to, or leaning upon. The Jew leaned on, or relied on the Law for acceptance or favor; on the fact that they had the Law, and on their obedience to it. It does not mean that they relied on their own works, though that was true, but that they leaned on the fact that they had the Law, and as such were distinguished above others.
(3.) “Relationship to God”- You brag, or glory, that you have the knowledge of the true God, while other nations are in darkness. On this account the Jew felt himself far superior to all other people, and despised them. Now, It was true that only had the true knowledge of God, and that he had declared himself to be their God, Deu_4:7; Psa_147:19-20; but this was not a ground for boasting, but for gratitude. This passage shows us that it is much more common to boast about privileges than to be thankful for them, and that it is no proof of holiness for a man to brag of his knowledge of God. We should have a humble, passionate thankfulness that we have that knowledge, and it should cause us not to despise others, but to desire that they may have the same privilege - this is evidence of holiness.
(4.) “Know His will”- The will or commands of God. And how do they know it? This knowledge they obtained from the Scriptures; and of course in this they were distinguished from other nations.
(5.) “approve of what is superior”- The Greek word translated “approve” here is capable of two interpretations. It can either mean to distinguish, or to approve. The word is usually used to describe the process of testing or trying metals by fire. As a result, it comes to be used in a general sense to try or to distinguish anything; to determine its nature, or quality; Luk_12:56. This is probably its meaning here, referring to the intellectual process of discriminating, rather than to the moral process of approving. If the interpretation of the word “approve” is correct, then this word translated “superior” here means those things that differ from others. This reference then, is to the rites and customs, to the distinctions of meats and days, etc., that were prescribed by the Law of Moses. The Jews would pride themselves on the fact that they had been taught by the Law to make these distinctions, while the entire pagan world had been left in ignorance. This was one of the advantages to which he valued himself and his religion.
(6.) “instructed by the law”- That is, instructed about the one God, his will, and His desires with respect to worship.
(7.) “are convinced”- This expression refers to the full assurance of the Jew that he was superior in knowledge to all other people. It is a remarkable fact that the Jews put their fullest confidence in their religion. Though proud, wicked, and hypocritical, they never doubted their religion. It was one of their characteristics, common throughout all their history, that they had the fullest assurance that God was the author of their beliefs, and that their religion was His design.
(8.) “guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, teacher of infants”- This is a figurative expression which represents a teacher of the ignorant. The blind here refers to the Gentiles, who were looked at this way by the Jews. The meaning is, that they considered themselves qualified to instruct the pagan world.
(9.) “have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth”- Here it means that in their teaching they retained a resemblance, a sketch, or an outline of the true doctrines of the Old Testament. In these verses the apostle concedes to the Jews all that they would claim.
Vs. 21- Beginning in verse 21 Paul in effect says, okay, if you agree that as Jews that you are all these things, that you are superior and closer to God, and teachers of the ignorant, then why do you do the very things that you teach against? The form of a question is chosen because it shows the truth with greater force. He questions them as if it were undeniable that they were grossly ignorant. The 5 specific questions he asks, include:
(1.) “You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?” – If the Jews were the teachers of the ignorant, then it would be fair to presume that they had a fair amount of wisdom themselves. But real wisdom is not only what we know, but how we act on what we know. There is a saying that my dad used to tell me that went like this, “Do as I say, not as I do.” This was the Jews motto, and Paul knew it. This in fact was nothing new, because Jesus addressed this issue as well in Matthew 23: 3-4 which says, “So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.”
(2.) “You who preach against stealing, do you steal?” – Of course the pious Jew would say of course not, but once again we see Jesus saying this in Matthew 21: 13, “It is written," he said to them, "’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ’den of robbers.”
(3.) “You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?” – Well Jesus says in Matthew 19: 9, “I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, and marries another woman commits adultery.” The Jews were guilty of adultery because of unjust divorces.
(4.) “You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?”- idolatry is really making anything more important than God. God should always be the most important thing in anyone’s life, and whenever we push Him aside and make something else number 1, we fall into the sin of idolatry. Matthew 21: 12-13 says, “Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, "’My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ’den of robbers.’” There is no doubt that they placed money ahead of God.
(5.) “You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” – To brag about the law implies that the one bragging holds what he is bragging about in high esteem, which in this case is the law. By bragging about the Law, they proclaimed their conviction that it was from God. By breaking the law, they denied it. And as actions are a true test of man’s real beliefs, their breaking the Law did it more dishonor than their boasting of it did it honor. This is always the case. It matters little what a man’s speculative opinions may be; his practice may do far more to disgrace religion than his profession does to honor it. It is the life and conduct, and not merely the profession of the lips, which does real honor to true religion.
Illustration: A Sucker or a Worker?
One day a peasant drove his sturdy ox through the village on the way to work the fields.
A flea sat on the ox’s nose. At the end of the day, the ox and peasant trudged back through the village, the fields now plowed, and the flea still perched on the ox’s nose.
The peasant and the ox trudged by the villages in silence. The flea, however, bowed grandly to every side, proclaiming "We’ve been plowing."
So what does all of this have to do with us? Well today we are living in a postmodern world, and let me tell you, post moderns look at Christians in the same way as Jews are looked at in this passage. They see us as arrogant, believing that our religion is the only way to get to heaven, thinking that we are the sole bearers of God’s instructions for mankind and that those who do not believe are blind, walking in darkness, foolish, and infantile. They see us as prideful believing that we have the answers to all of life’s struggles, difficulties, and questions. And you know what, they are absolutely right. And let me tell you friends, that’s alright. You see, the problem with Christian’s today is not that we believe that our way is the only way, or that we have all the answers, the problem is the same as what it was for the Jews, that we say these things, and then act in a way that is totally contrary to what we say we believe.
We tell the world to respect the family and train their children, as we adopt the world’s practices of ignoring our children in an attempt to make money enough to buy their happiness. People our kids don’t need or want more stuff, they want a secure and stable home with parents that are willing to give them time. We tell them not to steal because God says it is wrong, and then we steal from God the tithes that He has entrusted to us to build His kingdom. We tell them not to commit adultery because God designed us to be in one relationship for life, and then allow our churches to get into a position where divorce rates are as high in the church as they are in the world. We tell them that they shouldn’t worship idols because God will not tolerate being second in anyone’s life, and then make we make God a matter of convenience where we will spend time doing what God wants only after our needs are taken care of, and it doesn’t interfere with work, family, or recreation. There is a word for all of this and it is called hypocrisy, and brothers and sisters the world can smell it a mile away. We have in our possession all that is needed to give hope to the hopeless, to give joy to the hurting, to give healing to the wounded, and to give life to the dying, and the world is looking for all of these things. But we are our own worst enemies, because we take our greatest possession for granted, and instead of living the abundant life that God has promised to us, we look to the world to provide the happiness that only God can give.
When will it end? Are we doomed to repeat the same sins and mistakes that our forefathers did? Or is it possible, is there, just maybe a chance, that we could live that abundant life, if we decided today, this morning, that from this time forward we will with God’s strength, live our lives in the same way that we say that we believe. What is that kind of a life worth to you? Because for me, I want it so bad I can taste it, a life that will allow the world to see, just how much my Savior means to me.
Illustration: Are You a Good Showcase?
Gutav Dore, the famous artist, once lost his passport while traveling in Europe. When he came to the boundary post between two countries and was asked for his passport, he fumbled about and finally announced, "I have lost it, but it is all right. I’m Dore, the artist. Please let me go in." "Oh, no," said the officer. "We have plenty of people representing themselves as this or that great person! Here is a pencil and paper. Now, if you are Dore the artist, prove it by drawing me a picture." He took the pencil and drew some pictures of a scene in the immediate area. "Now I am perfectly sure you are Dore. No one else could draw like that!" said the officer as he allowed Dore to enter the country. So it is with us. People follow what we do on the stage of life. They look to see if our conduct squares with our profession. Are we drawing the picture of Christ, as it were, or of a different person? What the world wants to see is reality in our actions. It has been said that God has great and wonderful things to display if He finds suitable showcases. Are you a good showcase for Jesus Christ?
