Romans 2: 17 – 29 (NLT)
“17 You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, and you boast about your special relationship with him. 18 You know what he wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his law.19 You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness. 20 You think you can instruct the ignorant and teach children the ways of God. For you are certain that God’s law gives you 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 commit adultery? You condemn idolatry, but do you use items stolen from 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 Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you.”
25 The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value 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 declare them to be his own people? 27 In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess 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 ceremony of circumcision. 29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people.”
Paul describes the Jewish people in verses 17 to 20. They are absolutely certain that they know God and what God wants. They consider themselves “a guide for the blind and a light for people who are lost in darkness.” But God tells them they are wrong. They might talk good, but reality shows they don’t “practice what they preach”.
Isn’t that the way that we think today, those of us who were brought up in the church? Or attend a church on a fairly regular basis? We think we know the truth, and we tend to think people who aren’t part of the Christian faith are sadly mistaken. At times, we can be rather condescending in our attitude toward non-believers.
Verses 21 to 24 ask, Do you practice what you preach? Do you really apply what you know in your own life? Our talk of knowing God, but not really following God’s instructions, brings dishonour to God. Non-Christians around us mock our faith because of what they see. I can remember my fellow teachers talking about another staff member who often talked about his church. They weren’t impressed that he took advantage of class time to talk on his phone outside his classroom door, and also took advantage of the school equipment running off things for his church on the photocopier.
Paul also talks about the Jewish faith ritual of circumcision. This faith practice began with Abraham, as God asked the men to do this as a sign that set them apart as God’s chosen people. But Paul tells them that just because they are circumcised, that doesn’t mean they are close to God. Rituals are only good if they are an outward sign of an inward conviction. So, a Jewish person could be circumcised and be far from God, and a Gentile could be close to God even though he was not circumcised. The value of a ritual is determined by the person’s heart.
This is something that Christians need to think about today. There are many rituals in the Christian faith. For example, a person may have been baptized as a baby, but then really doesn’t take their faith seriously on a personal level. That baptism doesn’t mean they have an automatic ticket into heaven. Or a person could attend church on a fairly regular basis and give generous offerings. That might lead them to think they are just fine in God’s eyes, even though their religious practice is really only 1 hour a week. The rest of the week, God doesn’t really enter the picture at all.
For those of us who were brought up in the church, these verses should make us stop and think. Do we really have a personal relationship with God? Do we really seek to live in a way that pleases God? Do we really show the world around us what God is like? Or do we go along with the church services, baptism, communion, tithing, etc. because that’s just what we’ve always done, and we really don’t have a heart that seeks God.
Our song for today is If We’re Honest by Francesca Battistelli.