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.
Therefore, having shown how both the moral Jew and the moral Gentile alike will be brought before God’s great tribunal in the end times and have no basis for any sense of well-being and security apart from Christ (Rom. 2:1–16), Paul now focuses exclusively on those who have knowledge of the law of God. With having greater light and blessings than those who do not have the scripture, the apostle now points out, that greater privilege makes people more accountable to God, not less, as those who misunderstand grace. In Romans 2:17-29 through the tool of the law of God, people are confronted with Examining the Heart. In this examination the law brings 1) Inward Conviction (Romans 2:17-20), 2) Outward Failure (Romans 2:21-24) and requires a matching of the 3) Inward to the Outward (Romans 2:25-29).
First, the law of God calls for Examining the Heart and brings:
1) Inward Conviction (Romans 2:17-20)
Romans 2:17-20. 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—(ESV)
The minor prophets repeatedly warned their fellow Jewish countrymen about arrogant boasting in their heritage as God’s chosen people, which caused many of them to think they could sin with impunity. As the heirs of God’s promise to Abraham, many believed they were automatically protected from judgment. But Micah declared that wicked, corrupt Jews who presumptuously said, “Is not the Lord in our midst? Calamity will not come upon us,” would one day find their holy city of Jerusalem “plowed as a field” and left “a heap of ruins” (Mic. 3:11–12). Pride in their being the chosen people of God made some Jews absolutely blind to reality, not only religiously but politically (cf. Mt. 3:7-9, Jn. 8:31-56). The name “Judah,” from which “Jew” is derived, means “praise” and, therefore, whenever a Jew rejoices in aspects of his Jewishness he needs to be thinking about whose praise he desires and what praise, if any, he will ultimately receive from God (Briscoe, D. S., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1982). Romans (Vol. 29, p. 71). Thomas Nelson Inc.).
• Countless people since the time of Christ have considered themselves safe from God’s judgment simply because they have been born into a Christian family or have been baptized or belong to a church or have made a profession of faith. Some people consider themselves Christians virtually by default. According to Scripture, however, a person who is raised in a Christian home and trained in a Christian environment is not saved by such a heritage, valuable as it is. Nor does baptism, or any other Christian rite in itself, possess or bestow any spiritual benefit. Apart from true faith held by the person receiving it, no ritual or ceremony has any spiritual value whatsoever.
The second false religious security Paul mentions is knowledge of God’s Law, which in this context represented what we now refer to as the Old Testament. This Law represented not only the Pentateuch, the five books of the Mosaic law, but also what were called the writings (Psalms, Proverbs, etc.) and the prophets. This Law encompassed all of God’s revelation until that time: His revelation about His covenants, His blessings, His cursings, His warnings, His promises, His rites and ceremonies, His moral standards, and His teaching about Himself and about humanity and the plan of redemption. Taken by itself, this statement by Paul might seem to have been a commendation. But as he soon makes clear (see vv. 21–25), it was a strong indictment, because the Jews did not live up to the Law they knew so well and praised so highly. Most Jews of that day were proud and self-righteous about their heritage and had come to rely upon their knowledge of the Law and their boasting in God as means of satisfying the Lord. But since it was impossible for anyone to keep all of God’s law perfectly, some of the rabbis began teaching that merely learning the facts of the Law was sufficient to please God. Weakening the purpose of the law still further, some taught that the mere possession of it, in the form of written scrolls, was sufficient. Still others taught that Jews were safe from God’s judgment simply because, as a people, they were the specially chosen recipients and custodians of God’s Law. The only way for sins to be forgiven, now that Christ has come, is through the death of Christ. Thus, those who now adhere to the Mosaic covenant have no means to obtain forgiveness of sins, for the OT sacrifices are now passé. The only means of atonement is the cross of Christ. Old Testament believers, however, were saved in the same way as NT believers, in the sense that they exercised the obedience that comes from faith. Salvation has always been by faith, but now the fulfillment has come of what the OT promised (Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Romans (Vol. 6, p. 138). Baker Books.).
Please turn to Jeremiah 7
When ungodly Jews would boast in God it was really a means of boasting in themselves, in the unique privileges and blessings they thought were theirs by right rather than by grace. The Old Testament makes its purpose quite clear, and it repeatedly warns against Jews placing their trust in outward ceremonies and objects, even those, such as the priestly sacrifices and the Temple, which God had ordained. We see this through Jeremiah, recorded in Jeremiah 7:
Jeremiah 7:1-15. The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the LORD. 3 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’ 5 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice one with another, 6 if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever. 8 “Behold, you trust in deceptive words to no avail. 9 Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’—only to go on doing all these abominations? 11 Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the LORD. 12 Go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and when I spoke to you persistently you did not listen, and when I called you, you did not answer, 14 therefore I will do to the house that is called by my name, and in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. 15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim. (ESV)
• In other words, spiritual safety and security was not in the Temple but in God Himself and in faithful obedience to the divine truth and righteousness which His Temple represented.
Back in Romans 2:18, it is the self-righteous, presumptuous who are satisfied simply to know (God’s) will, without obeying it. They knew what God required and what He forbade, what He commanded and what He prohibited, what He approved and what He disapproved, what He rewarded and what He punished. But rather than saving them, such knowledge becomes a judgment against such a presumption, when people refuse to live by it and refuse to accept the remedy for such failure.
There is also a failure when willing to approve what is excellent/the things that are essential. Dokimazo (approve) carries the idea of testing in order to prove the value of something, such as precious metals. In other words, those with the law have not only to know what was right and wrong but to discern what was the most important part of God’s law.
The people of God were also continually instructed from/out of the Law. Katecheo (instructed) is the term from which catechism is derived. It had the general meaning of oral instruction of any sort but was especially associated with teaching by repetition. Both at home and in the synagogues, Jewish boys in particular were systematically and thoroughly instructed from/out of the Law. Not only rabbis but also many other Jewish men memorized large portions of the Old Testament, which they often recited in public as a demonstration of piety. Why the switch from obedience to pure knowledge? It is ironic that ancient Jews considered wisdom to consist of acting according to the knowledge one had, whereas the ancient Greeks simply equated wisdom with knowledge. Without discernment, believers will begin to even conform their thought patterns from the information around them. The experiment of the past two years of the constant information cycle of fear and withdraw has had many unwittingly conforming to the message. Those who possess the law, yet fail to faithfully heed its commands—thereby undermine the law’s purpose (Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ro 2:21). Lexham Press.).
In verse 19 we see that the people of God not only felt secure in what they knew but also in what they taught. Considering themselves to be the most religiously wise, they naturally thought themselves to be the most competent teachers of the spiritually unwise, namely the Gentiles, who did not have the benefit of God’s written revelation (cf. Matt. 23:15). In Romans 2:19–20, Paul mentions four specific areas in which many people of God dangerously consider themselves to be spiritually superior to others. First, Paul said, “You are sure/confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind.” Knowledge can lead one to consider themselves superior to the spiritually blind. But because of their arrogant pride and blatant hypocrisy, Jesus charged them with being “blind guides” (cf. Matt. 23:24–28). Religious arrogance takes one from being a helpful guide to one in desperate need of guidance themselves.
Second, Paul notes that the people of God considered themselves to be a light to those who are in darkness. Actually, that was precisely the role God had intended for Israel. He had called His people to be a spiritual light to the Gentiles (Isa. 42:6). God intended that through them that “all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:3). Jesus directly has put us here to be “the light of the world” and charges us to put our light on a lampstand, where it can be seen and will do some good. He says in Matthew 5: “Let your light shine before others in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven,” (Matt. 5:14–16). That has always been God’s intention for His people. He gives them light not only for our own spiritual benefit but also for the spiritual benefit of the rest of others, before whom we are His witnesses.
Third, it is self-righteous pride in verse 20 to simply be an instructor/corrector of the foolish. Again, the primary focus was on the Gentiles, even the wisest of whom most Jews considered to be foolish in the area of religion. Fourth, the self-righteous religious thinks of themselves as a teacher of children/the immature. The idea is that of teaching very small children, in this case, children in the Jewish faith. In light of the context, it is likely that the term children/the immature here represents Gentile proselytes to Judaism, who needed special instruction. They not only needed to learn God’s law but also needed to rid themselves of the many pagan ideas and practices in which they had been brought up. Knowing what ought to be taught is only one part of being an effective teacher. Practicing what is taught is the clearest test of a teacher. (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1992). Romans (p. 55). Tyndale House Publishers.)
Through God’s unique revelation of Himself and of His will to the people of God, they have in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and truth. Morphos¯is (embodiment) has the basic meaning of an outline or sketch. The word can also be translated as “semblance” or “appearance,” because throughout this passage Paul emphasizes the religious superficiality of most of the religious of his day. He uses the same word in 2 Timothy 3:5, where he warns of people in the last days who will hold “a form [morphosis] of godliness, although they [will] have denied its power.” In both passages the idea of counterfeit is implied. The Jews did indeed through the Law have the revelation of divine knowledge and … truth, but their understanding, teaching, and exemplifying of it had become so encrusted with rabbinical tradition that God’s true Law was generally unknown and disregarded. Special privileges like having the law do not guarantee having righteousness (Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1999). Nelson’s new illustrated Bible commentary (p. 1427). T. Nelson Publishers.)
Illustration: Martin Luther endured torment when he was in the monastery at Erfurt Germany. Luther had come to the monastery from the university where he had already distinguished himself as a brilliant student of jurisprudence. To the monastery he brought a keen analytical ability to dissect law, and he used this ability to examine the law of God in great depth and detail. The more he studied the law, the more troubled he was in his conscience. Luther was terrified by the law of God, not because he was neurotic but because he was perceptive, as Paul himself was in his expert understanding of the righteous demands that God imposes upon his people (Sproul, R. C. (2009). Romans (p. 68). Crossway.).
Our problem is that we fail to feel the weight of the law. We are so hardened in our sin and so accustomed to our corruption that we give our attention not to the law of God but to the social customs of our culture, and we measure ourselves in conformity to those customs rather than against the standard of God’s perfect righteousness. However, as Paul later wrote to the Corinthians, in 2 Corinthians 10:12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. (ESV).
Second, the law of God calls for Examining the Heart and shows:
2) Outward Failure (Romans 2:21-24)
Romans 2:21-24. 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.” (ESV)
Another area of false security we now see in verse 21 relates to what most of the religious do in response to the law they claim to know and teach. Paul here contends that their understanding and teaching not only fell far short of God’s law but that they themselves disobeyed it. Even when they taught the truth, they taught it hypocritically. Just as Satan sometimes disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14), false teachers sometimes teach the truth for their own selfish and perverse ends. The hypocritical religious of Paul’s day would often teach others the truths of God’s Word but would fail to teach them to themselves. Even less would they obey those truths themselves. Such people are typified by the scribes and Pharisees, of whom Jesus said, “They say things, and do not do them” (Matt. 23:3). The great twentieth-century British preacher D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones shows how this applies to us as professing Christians: “As you read your Bible day by day, do you apply the truth to yourself? What is your motive when you read the Bible? Is it just to have a knowledge of it so that you can show others how much you know, and argue with them, or are you applying the truth to yourselves?… As you read … say to yourself, ‘This is me! What is it saying about me?’ Allow the Scripture to search you, otherwise it can be very dangerous. There is a sense in which the more you know of [the Bible], the more dangerous it is to you, if you do not apply it to yourself.” (. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Romans Chapters 2:1–3:20, pages 147–149 as cited in Keller, T. (2014). Romans 1–7 for You (C. Laferton, Ed.; pp. 55–56). The Good Book Company.)
Paul now mentions three areas of spiritual and moral hypocrisy: stealing, adultery, and sacrilege. He denounces the hypocrisy when he says: “While you preach against stealing, do you steal? Despite the clear pronouncements of the Mosaic law against theft, it was very common in ancient Judaism as well with the unrighteous today. Isaiah rebuked those who “turned to their own way, each one to his unjust gain” (Isa. 56:11). Ezekiel denounced those who “have taken bribes to shed blood; … taken interest and profits, and … injured [their] neighbors for gain by oppression” (Ezek. 22:12). Amos wrote of those who stole by making “the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger” and by cheating “with dishonest scales” (Amos 8:5). Malachi accused his fellow Jews even of robbing God by withholding some of the tithes and offerings owed to Him (Mal. 3:8–9). The idea that one should not steal is a generally accepted standard of human behavior, but it is just as generally broken. We should not think that we have kept this commandment just because we have not forced our way into another person’s home and walked off with his possessions. We steal from God when we fail to worship him as we ought or when we set our own concerns ahead of his. We steal from an employer when we do not give the best work of which we are capable or when we overextend our coffee breaks or leave work early. We steal if we waste company products or use company time for personal matters…We steal from our employees if the work environment for which we are responsible harms their health, or if we do not pay them enough to guarantee a healthy, adequate standard of living. We steal when we borrow something and do not return it. Finally, we steal from ourselves when we waste our talents, time, or money (Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, pp. 253–254). Baker Book House.).
The second area of hypocrisy in verse 22 is related to sexual sin. You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? As with stealing, the clear implication is a condemnation of those who practice the very evil they condemned in others. Many Jewish men tried to circumvent the Mosaic command against adultery by divorcing their wives and marrying another woman to whom they were attracted. But Jesus declared that divorce and remarriage on any ground other than sexual infidelity results in adultery just as surely as if no divorce is involved (Matt. 5:32; 19:9). Adultery can even be committed without the physical act. “Everyone who looks on a woman to lust for her,” He said, “has committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). The biblical standard is purity before marriage and fidelity afterward. There is hardly an area of our cultural life so in opposition to God’s standards. The media use the lure of sex to push materialism and glamorize the pursuit of pleasure. Television fills our living rooms with sex-filled advertisements, and its programs are increasingly explicit in portraying immoral sexual relationships and practices. Movies are worse…At one time people would defend high sexual standards, even though they often did something quite different on the side. But today we do not even hold to the morality. “If it feels good, do it!” That is the cry of our age and the practice of the great majority (Boice, J. M. (1991–). Romans: Justification by Faith (Vol. 1, p. 254). Baker Book House.).
The third area of hypocrisy related to sacrilege. You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? The root word behind bdelusso (abhor) means “to stink, to reek.” Although Israel had fallen into idolatry repeatedly during the period of the monarchies, since the Babylonian exile Jews have never practiced that evil to any significant degree. During the Greek and Roman occupations after their return from Babylon, Jews developed a strong abhorrence for anything remotely resembling idolatry. Because some Caesars had declared themselves to be gods, Jews even loathed handling Roman coins, because Caesar’s image was inscribed on them (cf. Matt. 22:19–21).
Please turn to Exodus 25
Therefore, the reference to rob temples may have referred to Jews who robbed their own Temple in Jerusalem. They often, as many unfortunately do today, robbed God by withholding part of their tithes and offerings. Through our Wednesday, mid-week series entitled: “God in Our Midst”, we are considering the Tabernacle that God established to dwell with His people. Here in the beginning of Exodus 25, we see God’s directives for contributions for the Sanctuary:
Exodus 25:1–9. The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, that they take for me a contribution. From every man whose heart moves him you shall receive the contribution for me. 3 And this is the contribution that you shall receive from them: gold, silver, and bronze, 4 blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, goats’ hair, 5 tanned rams’ skins, goatskins, acacia wood, 6 oil for the lamps, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, 7 onyx stones, and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece. 8 And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. 9 Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it. (ESV)
• We show what we actually value in the way we spend money. When God directly led His people, giving as 33.3%. Moving forward in directing a tithe, giving was 10%. Fast forward to the Great Depression, it was 3.3%. Now giving today among Christians is 1-2.5%. One of the first signs of spiritual decline is the withholding of spiritual offerings. (email from Bob Franquiz of the Amplify Group: Tue, Aug 2 at 9:34 a.m)
The indictment of verse 24 makes clear that the question now in verse 23 was rhetorical. Many hypocritical religious people were blatantly breaking the divine Law they so proudly boasted in, and in doing so, they brought dishonor to God. Every sin dishonors God. David confessed, “Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight” (Ps. 51:4). Sin committed by those who claim God’s name dishonors Him the most. Quoting Isaiah 52:5, Paul strongly rebuked the hypocritical in verse 24 by declaring “For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” The principle applies even more strongly to Christians, because they not only have greater spiritual light through the New Testament but have greater spiritual resources to obey that light through the indwelling Holy Spirit. When a believer falls into sin, their witness is ruined and the name of His Lord is tarnished before the world. Those who claim to be Christians but persistently live in sin give evidence that they carry the name of Christ in vain. And because there is no difference between their standard of living and that of the world, the Lord’s name is blasphemed (cf. Ezek. 36:17–20). It is not boasting in the law that brings honor to God but obedience to it (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 166). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.).
Quote: The late theologian-apologist Francis Schaeffer saw a worrisome connection between Paul’s words to the Jews and the contemporary (North)-American church: “Again we must admit, this is surely how God looks at much of Christendom today. Claiming to be under the umbrella of Christendom, claiming to have some sort of special blessing because the bells ring in the cathedrals, because (in the United States) great numbers of people go to church, and yet we commit blasphemy against God as we turn from the clear teaching of His Word. It is a sober truth and we must face it: if we have the Bible, if we enjoy all the blessings it brings, and yet by our lives bring shame upon God’s name, we are guilty of the greatest irreverence.… When the man with the Bible treats it as an external thing only, it causes the man without the Bible to dishonor the God of the Bible. Surely, then, the man with the Bible is justifiably under God’s wrath” (Schaeffer, p. 61 as quoted in Boa, K., & Kruidenier, W. (2000). Romans (Vol. 6, pp. 83–84). Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
Finally, the law of God calls for Examining the Heart and requires:
3) Matching the Inward to the Outward (Romans 2:25-29).
Romans 2:25-29. 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)
Proceeding to a third type of false security now in verse 25, which was the outward act of circumcision, in which many Jews placed their trust, Paul clarifies the true significance of that rite. God had instituted circumcision as a mark of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants, declaring that “every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your generations” (Gen. 17:10–12). No doubt this surgery was symbolic of the sinfulness of man that was passed from generation to generation. The very procreative organ needed to be cleansed of a covering. So, man at the very center of his nature is sinful and needs cleansing of the heart. This graphic symbol of the need for removing sin became the sign of being a Jew. But as important as circumcision was as an act of obedience to God and as a reminder to Jews of their covenant relation to Him, the rite had no spiritual power. Circumcision indeed is of value, Paul explains, only if you obey/practice the Law, that is, live in obedience to God’s will. To the faithful, obedient Jew, circumcision was a symbol of God’s covenant, His blessings, His goodness, and His protection of His chosen people. But if you break/are a transgressor of the Law, Paul warned, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision, that is, valueless. A Jew who continually transgressed God’s law proved that they have no more saving relationship to God than a pagan Gentile, whom Jews often referred to as the uncircumcised. But Circumcision minus obedience equals uncircumcision, while uncircumcision plus obedience equals circumcision (Stott, J. R. W. (2001). The message of Romans: God’s good news for the world (p. 93). InterVarsity Press.)
Please turn to Jeremiah 9
Important as it was, circumcision was only an outward symbol. And rather than freeing Jews from God’s law, circumcision made them even more responsible for obeying it, because that ritual testified to their greater knowledge of their sin, of God, and of His will in regard to them. We see Jeremiah’s explanation here in Jeremiah 9
Jeremiah 9:23-26. 23 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, 24 but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” 25 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh— 26 Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.” (ESV) (cf. Gal. 5:3).
• When God redeems a person there is an inward change. For the redeemed, our outward actions should match an inward change. Yet if all our efforts are for mere outward compliance, then the inward spirit is neglected and atrophies. All righteous outward actions result first from an inward heart attention, cultivation, change and nurturing. If our outward words or actions do not glorify God, there must first be Examining of the Heart.
On the other hand, Paul continues in verse 26, “So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?” The apostle’s point is that the substance of pleasing God is obedience to His will, of which circumcision is but a symbolic reminder. Therefore, in verse 27, sincerely keeping the precepts/requirement of the Law because it is God’s will is of great value, whereas circumcision without obedience is of absolutely no value. “Then he who is physically uncircumcised”, that is, a Gentile, keeps the Law, God will look on him just as favorably as on a circumcised Jew who keeps His law, thereby, counting the believing Gentile’s uncircumcision as if it were true circumcision. Paul’s next devastating salvo at the religious one who puts a false trust in their privileges, is the declaration that the obedient Gentile who is physically uncircumcised not only pleases God but figuratively will sit in judgment on the disobedient religious, who though have the written code/letter of the Law and physical circumcision but break/are a transgressor of the Law. It is not that such Gentiles will perform the actual judgment, which is God’s prerogative alone, but that their faithful obedience will stand as a rebuke to the faithless disobedience of the hypocritical religious. To the Philippian Gentile church Paul said that the unsaved and disobedient Jews who rejected the gospel of grace were “dogs, … evil workers, … [and] false circumcision” (Phil. 3:2). Theologian Charles Hodge wrote, “Whenever true religion declines, the disposition to lay undo stress on external rites is stressed. The Jews when they lost their spirituality supposed that circumcision had the power to save them.” Apostasy always moves the religious focus from the inward to the outward, from humble obedience to empty formality (Hodge, C. (1882). A commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (New Edition, pp. 99–100). Louis Kregel.).
Beginning now in verse 28 Paul summarizes his demolition of false trust. First, he reiterates that religious heritage, wonderful as it is, has absolutely no spiritual benefit if it stands alone: For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly. As John the Baptist had pronounced many years earlier, God could raise up physical descendants of Abraham from stones if He so chose (Matt. 3:9). Making much the same point, later in his epistle Paul contends that “they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel” (Rom. 9:6). Second, Paul reemphasizes the truth that ceremony is of no value in itself, saying, nor is circumcision outward and physical/in the flesh. Putting those two truths together, the apostle now concludes in verse 29 that the true child of God, epitomized by the faithful Jew, is the person who is one inwardly. The true mark of God’s child is not an outward symbol, such as circumcision, but a godly condition of the heart. What matters to God is a deep, inward, secret work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. (Stott, J. R. W. (2001). The message of Romans: God’s good news for the world (p. 94). InterVarsity Press.).
Finally, Paul restates the truth that mere knowledge of God’s law has no power to save a person. Salvation comes by the Spirit of God Himself working in a believer’s heart, not by the mere letter of His Word, true as it is. The praise that true believer, receives is not from man, who are more inclined to ridicule God’s people than to praise them. The true believer’s reward of praise comes directly from God, our heavenly Father. God’s Word is surgical. It is meant to pierce hearts. If God has spoken to you and revealed your need and your heart is troubled, there is hope for you (Hughes, R. K. (1991). Romans: righteousness from heaven (pp. 69–71). Crossway Books.).
(Format note: Some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 145–163). Moody Press.)
