Pastor’s Pen Pulpit Romans

March 5, 2006 #18 in series

THE HEBREW NEEDS THE GOSPEL

Romans 2:17-3:8

Part One

Possession Without Performance (17-24)

We come now to the third classification of the human race which the Apostle Paul deals with - the HEBREWS or the Jewish people. One man writes that the Heathen had a perverted religion, the Hypocrite had a pretended religion and the Hebrews had a powerless religion.

The Truth About Their Creed or Claims vs. 17-20

In this section, Paul sweeps away with devastating logic, everything the Jew trusted in.

“Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a Guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth….” ( NIV)

They had the name Jew - v.17a. The Jews regarded themselves as priority people and as such, immune from the wrath of God. What they failed to see was that faith and obedience was priority – not their name.

They rested in the law - v.17b. They had a blind trust in the law but the law was foreign to them in terms of their obedience to it. Some people today claim that they know God – but their lives contradict their claims.

They boasted in God – v.17c. The Jews were a unique people and they bragged about the fact that they were the people of God . No other people could make that claim. However, this placed the Jew in a greater position of responsibility to obey God.

They knew God’s will - v.18a. There is no question but what the Jews knew the will of God for them as a people. That will was clearly spelled out for them in the law. There was only one major problem: they just didn’t obey God’s revealed will! It’s highly probable that the church also knows more of God’s will than we practice.

They were instructed in the law - v.18b. The law taught the Jews how to assess moral values. This phrase may be translated “They were able to distinguish the things that really matter.” In other words, the Jew could objectively distinguish right from wrong when it involved questionable things.

They considered themselves to be leaders of others - v.19. They considered themselves to be a light to the morally and spiritually blind. They considered themselves to be looked up to when it involved spiritual truth.

They considered themselves to be teachers of others - v.20. The Jews believed that they were qualified to correct the foolish or untaught.

They possessed the form of knowledge and of the truth of the law - v.20b. “The law gave them an outline of knowledge and of the truth.” (MacDonald)

The Truth About Their Conduct vs. 21-24

“You, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against  stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you  commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the  law, do you dishonor god by breaking the law? As it is written ‘God’s name is  blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’”

Their conduct was inconsistent with their privileges and profession – vs. 21-23.   This section is quite convicting. Paul asks them a series of questions which, for the most part, are self condemning. Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse says it much better than I could. “In other words, God makes the formal charge that these highly privileged people made no attempt to practice what they preached, though they were extremely proud of the fact that they knew what truths should be preached and knew enough to preach them. The result was that the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled. The name of the true God was blasphemed among the Gentiles (Isa,52:5) because the people that should have been growing in the image of the holiness of God were walking behind a mask of  hypocrisy.”

Only one of the statements really needs comment. Paul writes, “you who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” The Jews were severely punished in the Old Testament for idol worship. When they came back to the land following their captivity period they never worshiped idols again. The thing they did do however was to rob heathen temples of their idols which had great material value - cf Acts 19:37. Some commentators feel that only the rogue Jews committed these temple robberies.

Their conduct was a stumbling block to the Gentile world - v.24. As has already been stated in Isaiah 52:5, these people put a stumbling block before others by their hypocrisy.

Let’ s draw an application. I’m quoting from a well known Bible teacher: “If you bear the name of a Christian, and rest on having the gospel, and boast in God, and know His will, and approve things that are excellent, being instructed out of the Word of God and have the knowledge of the truth, does your life show it? Do we not know teachers who teach others, but refuse to follow their own teaching? And preachers who denounce stealing, but are accused by the world of being themselves money-grabbers?” So it would read, “You who boast in the Word of God, through your disobedience to the Word, do you dishonor God? The name of God is blasphemed among non-church members because of you.”

So folks, it would be profitable for us to take a long look at our lives. Until next time - God bless!