Romans 2: 17 - 29

17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; ¹⁸ if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; ¹⁹ if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, ²⁰ an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth – ²¹ you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? ²² You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? ²³ You who boast in the law, do you dishonour God by breaking the law? ²⁴ As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’

²⁵ Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. ²⁶ So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? ²⁷ The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a law-breaker.

²⁸ A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ²⁹ No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.

How is Your Heart?

As we noted a few days ago, Paul addresses both Jews and Gentiles in this letter to the Romans, and sometimes he uses an argument that compares the two. In this chapter he addresses the Jews and talks about the ‘outward’ signs of being a Jew, compared to the ‘inner attitude of the heart.’

When Jesus had conversations with the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law, he frequently pointed out their hypocrisy – they looked good on the outside, following Jewish traditions and the Law of Moses, but inside they lacked true faith in God and they cared nothing for other people. On one occasion, Jesus compared them to ‘whitewashed tombs’ (Matt. 23: 27) – they ‘look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.’ That was quite a stinging attack!

In his own way, Paul is saying a similar thing here. He is suggesting that some wear the title ‘Jew’ as a badge of honour, almost. They have the outward sign (circumcision in men) and they have the law of Moses which they are proud of, but when it comes to it, they willing break the law of Moses. It is hypocrisy again that Paul is speaking of: ‘You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?’ (v. 21 and 22).

Meanwhile, there are Gentiles, who do not have the outward signs of being a Jew, nor the written law, who yet obey the law! This whole section is giving an illustration of the teaching Paul is leading to – namely that what goes on in the heart is far more important than our words, actions, religious observance, and so on. Again, Paul is largely re-stating a teaching we are familiar with in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus spoke in Matthew 5 about two of the sins from the Ten Commandments – murder and adultery. (We might call these two the ‘big sins’, although, as we know, no sin is ‘bigger’ than any other). And Jesus astonished his hearers by saying that just thinking about sin or adultery are as bad as actually committing them! Hatred takes place in the heart, and is as bad as murder. Lust takes place in the heart and is as bad as adultery.

How is your Christian faith? Are you a good Christian on the outside, looking the part, going to church (in a building or on Zoom) and saying all the right things? What is the state of your heart? Is there true obedience to God, love for your fellow people – or is their hatred, gossip, slander and so on in your inner attitude to other people? You and I need to take care and examine ourselves, and check that we are not hypocrites, or ‘whitewashed tombs’.

 

Prayer

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Amen. (Psalm 139: 23 - 24)