Self-righteous Jews are Still Sinners: 2:17-29

Transcript - ROMANS S1 - E7

Recap and Background

So welcome back to Episode 7 of Series 1. If you have been following these episodes, you will see the way that Paul is building up his argument concerning universal human sinfulness. The need for the gospel is the thing that Paul is trying to explain clearly and decisively to all kinds of people. He started out this section, as I have stated before, with these amazing words in Romans 1: 16 - 17.

“For I’m not ashamed of the gospel because it’s the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes, first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. For in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, the righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as as it is written, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

Romans 1:16-17, NIV

Paul was passionate about this gospel truth. In order for people to believe the gospel, one of the biggest things they need is to be aware of the nature of sin and of separation from God - living independently of God - and how serious and significant that is, and how much of a barrier it is. We find it tremendously hard as human beings to accept that we cannot do enough to please God in our own strength so that our eternal destiny is with him, as opposed to away from him. We think in terms of the scales of good and evil in our lives and think if only we can just have more good than evil things then we would be acceptable to God. Paul demolishes this argument completely in this first series.

As previously stated in other episodes, he has explained how people generally have fallen into what he calls idolatry. Idolatry means putting something else in the place of God - money, success, sexual relationships, reputation, physical strength, or power to dominate people. All these things, and many others, are what people often live for. Paul has also pointed out that all the people of the world have had the evidence of creation to show them that there is a God in heaven who has the power to create this amazing world. They also have the reality of the inner sense of right and wrong inside them, which Paul calls conscience, to tell them what is right and wrong. And yet people have not followed their consciences fully. In the last episode, we looked in some detail at the question of conscience. Conscience is not just what society has made us to think about right and wrong; conscience is an inner sense of right and wrong that every human being has. Paul argues decisively that nobody follows their conscience all the time. There are double standards; we are hypocrites; we fail to follow our conscience.

Why the Jews?

In this particular episode, he turns his attention from the Gentile peoples - all the nations of the earth - to the Jewish people. Part of his discussion is about where the Jews fit into the purposes of God. This becomes a major theme of the book of Romans. He is going to talk about why the Jews need the gospel just as much as the Gentiles, despite the privileges they have had through the Old Testament, through God’s special relationship with them and all the laws that he has given them to show them the way they should live. In your country there may not be very many Jewish people. There are a small number living here in the UK, where I live. I have had the privilege of having Jewish friends all my life but they may not form a significant part of your culture, and therefore you may wonder why it is important to understand Jewish people.

First of all, there were many Jews that Paul was writing to in Rome. He was trying to explain the situation to them. The second reason is that there was a conflict in the church in Rome between the Jewish believers in Jesus, and the Gentile believers. They had different outlooks on quite a few things and there were tensions so Paul is trying to address these tensions in his writing. But the most important issue is the fact that many Jews at Paul’s time took the view that they had no need whatsoever of the Christian gospel; they had no need of Jesus Christ; they had everything they needed for salvation. They were in conflict with Paul and as we have studied the book of Acts in Word Online in ‘The Spreading Flame’ episodes, we saw time and again Paul was challenged by Jewish opponents everywhere. ‘We don’t need the gospel; we don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah; we have the way to God - we have the Law of Moses; the covenants and God’s special favour on us. All we need to do is obey the Law and we will be saved’. It is important for Paul to explain why the Jews need salvation as much as the Gentiles.

The Rejection of Jesus as Messiah

Another issue in the background of Paul’s thinking, is the extraordinary situation I explained when we looked at the ‘Life of Jesus’, on Word Online, that although many Jewish people at the time of Jesus were initially enthusiastic about Jesus as the Messiah, and particularly his interesting teaching and his remarkable miracles, very few Jews actually came to be true believers. We found in the Gospels that the Jewish religious authorities, represented by the religious ruling Council, known as the Sanhedrin, headed up by the Chief Priest - the most important religious leader in the country, voted in a formal meeting to recommend to the Romans that Jesus be executed because he was a false messiah. That is how serious their opposition to Jesus was. They then handed Jesus over to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, who had the right to conduct executions on behalf of the state, which the Sanhedrin did not have the legal right to do. They handed Jesus over and he was executed by the Romans, only because the Jews initiated the process. Most of the Jewish people followed the religious leaders and turned away from the Christian message. They didn’t listen to what the Apostles said in Jerusalem. They didn’t like what Paul was doing, travelling around preaching in synagogues all over the Roman world, opening up the Old Testament scriptures and prophecies, and explaining how the prophecies referred to Jesus Christ. Very often Paul was forced to leave the synagogue with a threat of violence or even death. Why was it that God’s chosen people, the Jews, didn’t accept Jesus as Messiah, and what about the Jewish people now?

Some of the people in Rome said, ‘Why should we bother with the Jews anymore? They have completely rejected Jesus. Let us forget about them; they are something to do with the past.’ Paul addresses all these questions in the book of Romans. But here he is particularly addressing the Jewish people who were arguing against him, saying, ‘We don’t need Christianity: we don’t need the gospel, we have the Law of Moses; we have the sacrifices; we have the Temple; we have the priests; we have God’s promises; we have got everything we need for salvation’. Paul, in this episode, is confronting these people.

The Law is Not Enough

Romans 2:17 introduces us to the Jewish way of thinking that Paul is too challenging.

“Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the Law and boasting God;”

Romans 2:17, NIV

We can see from this phrase what they are thinking. ‘You rely on the Law and you boast in God: we have got everything we need thank you very much, Paul. Don’t preach your Christian message here; we are Jews, we have God’s favour and his Law’. These are the self-confident, religious Jews that Paul is challenging. He challenges them very firmly in the next passage,

“If you know his will and approve of what is superior because you’re 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 little children, because you have in the law the embodiments of knowledge and truth - 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 boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed amongst the Gentiles,’ because of you.”

Romans 2:18-24, NIV

Paul is now saying that even the Jews are inconsistent and hypocritical, and they have double standards. Sometimes, they say you shouldn’t steal but they steal, or they say you shouldn’t commit adultery but they commit adultery. He is pointing out that the human heart is still controlled by sin, even if you have the Law of God to guide you. The way that tends to work out is that people look godly on the outside and they act as if they are living for God, but something else is happening behind the scenes; there are double standards. For example, from the Gospels: the Pharisees were the most committed religious sect of Judaism. They were passionate about obeying laws; they loved the Law of Moses and they created many extra laws themselves to add in, to make sure that they stayed on the right track.

They also told everyone else to keep them and they often were in conflict with Jesus. Let us analyse the Pharisees concerning one issue - money. Jesus told the story of a Pharisee and a tax collector going up to the Temple to pray. I have quoted it in other episodes. The Pharisee looks down on the tax collector who he considers to be irreligious. The Pharisee prays to God saying, ‘I give a tenth of my money to you’, whereas the tax collector doesn’t give any money to God. He talks about fasting and other things but let us focus on the money. Outwardly speaking, the Pharisees gave generously into the religious collections. Jesus told a parable about money, and the corrupting power of money, in Luke 16 verses 14 to 15. It says this: “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. And he said to them, ‘You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.’” - meaning material possessions, in this instance. Notice the extraordinary statement here, ‘the Pharisees love money’. They apparently gave money but they also were given lots of gifts because people valued them as religious leaders. They accumulated a lot of money and then, publicly speaking, gave some away but they loved to keep what they had. They loved money. This is just an example of what Paul is saying here; double standards amongst the Jews.

Double Standards in the Church

In religious communities, there are very often double standards operating. This happens in the church as well, and is especially significant when it happens amongst leaders. I had a friend once who led a church in a particular city in our country and his ministry was struggling for various reasons. His behaviour was becoming erratic. When I met him, I noticed that there was alcohol on his breath, quite often, and especially in the mornings. So I sat down with him one day and said, ‘Do you have a problem with alcohol?’ It was a difficult conversation. He denied it completely. I was angry and left the meeting. But subsequently this turned out to be a problem and unfortunately brought his ministry to an end. I had another friend who led a very successful church in a city in the UK, with many hundreds of people in the congregation - a very able leader - but it turned out that he had problems with debt. He had taken to gambling. Ten years later, when he was no longer leading that particular church, it was discovered that he had an addiction to gambling and he lost his ministry and his public role in the church. Double standards can creep in very easily.

Paul is basically saying to the Jews, that double standards have crept into Judaism. They can boast in the Law, and in God’s favour but they are not actually living consistently. So like the Gentiles, in a different context, the Jews are sinners in need of God’s salvation.

Circumcision

Paul then goes on to address one of the major symbols of Judaism which they consider to be very important - circumcision of newborn Jewish boys. This was very important to the Jews and in the next few verses, we see Paul talking about circumcision. The tradition amongst the Jews at the time was that, on the eighth day after a child was born, he would be circumcised. There was a special man in the community who conducted circumcisions. A religious leader - a rabbi, or a synagogue leader - would be present. There would be a religious ceremony: prayers of blessing would be prayed for the child and for the family. The wider family would gather and other friends. The circumcision would be carried out discreetly on the side and afterwards there would be a celebration with lots of food and rejoicing because a child had been born. The child was dedicated into the Jewish faith on the eighth day of his life.

Circumcision in those days was very unusual amongst the communities of the Roman Empire and in other parts of the world. There were very few communities that practised circumcision. It was a mark of Jewish identity and the Jews were very proud of circumcision as a mark of God’s favour. The reason they circumcised their newborn male children was because God had called their forefathers in the Old Testament to circumcise their children as a sign of their relationship with God - first of all Abraham, and then most significantly for the Jews at this time, Moses. It became part of the Law of Moses. Circumcision was a sign of obeying the Law of Moses, the very topic that Paul is debating with the Jews here.

“Circumcision has value If you observe the Law, but if you break the law you have become as though you’d not been circumcised. So, then, if those who are not circumcised keep the laws’ requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you, who even though you have the written codes and circumcision, “are a law breaker.”

Romans 2:25-27, NIV

Paul’s point here is that circumcision is a sign of God’s grace but it is not an assurance of salvation; just because there is male circumcision in Jewish families, does not mean that every member of that family, or that individual person, is going to be saved. It is a sign of God’s grace but it is not a ticket to salvation, according to Paul.

He goes on to say something very radical, which the Jews would have found very difficult to understand;

“A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 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.”

Romans 2:28-29, NIV

This is a very remarkable passage. Paul shows that something much deeper spiritually needs to happen in an individual person than circumcision. He is talking to Jews here and he describes a true Jew as a Jewish person who has moved from the Law of Moses to the gospel. That is the true destiny of being a Jew - is to move from the old covenant of Moses, to the new covenant of Christ. He gives a particular explanation of what that means - circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, not by the written code. Paul introduces the work of the Holy Spirit which he is going to talk about in much more depth, notably in Romans 8. The Holy Spirit can get into the life of a Jewish individual if they believe the gospel and can change their heart; not their body outwardly but their heart inwardly; not by the written code, not by trying to obey the Law of Moses but by the work of the Spirit bringing a completely new life. Paul said this is the offer to the Jews. God is offering them salvation.

This is Paul’s actual personal experience; that is what happened to him. He was a Pharisee; he was a religious Jew; he did obey all the Law of Moses; he had the same pride; he did boast in all the history of Judaism, as much as anybody else in his era. But he suddenly realised that there was something much greater happening, through Jesus Christ. There was a new era coming. The gospel was coming; salvation was coming, and it was for the Jews as well as for the Gentile people, who never had the Law of Moses and didn’t have circumcision and all the rules and regulations. They came because they saw Christ and believed in in his message. The Jews have to let go of the past in order to enter into their future. ‘Such a person’s praise is not from other people but from God’; a Jewish person who accepts Christ receives God’s favour in a remarkable and wonderful way.

Reflections

As we come to the end, we are going to reflect on a few things that are significant. First of all, I want to talk about male circumcision because in our modern world, many cultures have adopted male circumcision: in Islam, in many African nations and tribes, circumcision is central to the culture of those tribes, and some other parts of the world as well. In some churches, circumcision has been adopted - such as in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Some people have adopted circumcision for health reasons. So male circumcision is a real issue in the modern world. Does it bring any particular spiritual favour to those who have been circumcised in an African tribal context, or for health reasons, or through being Muslims in their background? Paul has a very clear answer to this and it comes in Galatians 6: 15. ‘Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is the new creation’ - exactly the same point Paul is making here about the circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, not by the written code. If circumcision is in our culture, we need to make sure that we don’t consider it a requirement for Christian faith; it is not a requirement for Christian faith. The gospel supersedes history and the requirement in the Old Testament.

Another reflection is a difficult topic. Some people link male circumcision with what some call female circumcision, or female genital mutilation, which takes place in different parts of the world and is part of different cultures and traditional practices. We need to be clear that these things are totally different. There is no reference to so-called female circumcision in the Bible. It is not endorsed; it is not from God, and not part of Christianity. It is harmful to women in every case.

My final reflection, as we draw to an end, is to notice how Paul in this passage is preparing the way for telling us a lot about the power of the Holy Spirit. God himself, in person, is working in this world through his Spirit and he can change anyone’s life; he can come in and give us that amazing ability to be born again, to be a new creation, to make a fresh start. Paul had experienced that. That is the driving force behind the argument that he is developing here.

Thanks for listening and I hope to see you for the next episode.