“But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth - you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’” Romans 2:17-24
Paul’s words are fighting words! Here, he speaks strongly to Jewish people who are using the Old Testament Law as a reason for them not to follow Jesus as the promised Messiah. Yet, they all failed at the Law. Paul had just shown in the previous section that the standard for salvation is perfection, yet none have achieved that, and no one is even able to. Paul asks in Romans 2:21-22, “You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” Paul then concludes this thought by saying in verses 23-24, “You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, ‘The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’” The very thing that the Jews were boasting about, they had not even upheld (both individually and culturally). Paul hammers this home in verse 24 by quoting Isaiah 52:5, where the Israelites were called out for poorly reflecting on the character of God through their disobedience, which resulted in their exile to Babylon.
John Barry puts it well by saying, “Obedience and action are more important than ethnicity.”
1. How have you seen the name of God blasphemed by someone who claims to be a Christian yet does not live in a way that reflects that true character of God?
One of the great tragedies of church kids (kids whose parents are generally believers and have been involved in church their whole life) is that they think that because they have been in church their whole life, that is good enough for God. Furthermore, there is a tendency that because they have grown up in church, they know the stories, and they have heard hundreds of messages that cause them to believe they are morally superior to others. I can point this finger at church kids because that is my story. However, everyone needs to be saved, even church kids. No one is grandfathered into the Kingdom of Heaven.
2. What things might people give for reasons other than the Gospel for why they believe they are saved?
3. Why is this dangerous?
Just recently, news broke of a well-known reformed pastor, preacher, and teacher who had a moral failing due to an inappropriate relationship with a woman other than his wife. This man was renowned for his teaching ability and knowledge of the Word; yet, he still fell. I did not know him personally, but I wonder how all his knowledge affected him. Did he think he was too good to fall? Did he feel he was strong enough to fight off the temptation of Satan? A pastor who knew him well mentioned that this pastor was known for traveling all around the world to teach, and almost always, he traveled alone. We must always remember, “There, but for the grace of God, go I” (John Bradford). In 1 Corinthians 8:1, we read, “‘Knowledge’ puffs up, but love builds up.”
4. How have you seen the study of God’s Word lead someone to be puffed up instead of leading them to love others better?
5. Why is it easy to point fingers at others instead of first examining ourselves?
Romans 3:25-29 adds, “…whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also.”
Paul is expecting a rebuttal from his Jewish readers. He gets out in front of it by jumping right into one of their most sacred acts of keeping the Law: circumcision. This idea of circumcision of the heart is foretold many times throughout the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6; Jeremiah 4:4; 9:25–26; Ezekiel 44:9). Ezekiel prophecies that when the Messiah comes, followers of Him will receive the Holy Spirit and be made new, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Paul, as the prophet to the Gentiles, was communicating to Jewish people that they also needed this promised Messiah to be saved from their sins. For those Jews that rejected Christ, the Old Testament Law and their Jewish heritage was a stumbling block. How, then, do we correctly interpret the Law?
Marvin Pate, in his commentary on Romans, shares Martin Luther’s three metaphors for the Law to help us interpret it today, “The Law is a mirror that shows sinners who they really are before God. The Law is a hammer that crushes human arrogance when humans see who they are before God. But the Law is also a mask: behind this mask is the mercy of God, to which the Law drives the sinner and the saint.”
6. How is the Old Testament Law like a mirror? What mistake were Jewish people making at this time in regard to the Law revealing their shortcomings instead of their strengths?
7. How is the Old Testament Law like a hammer?
8. How has God used your failures and sins to bring Himself glory?
9. How is the Old Testament Law like a mask?
Romans 3:1-8 says, “Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, ‘That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.’ But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come? - as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.”
Being given the Old Testament texts (“the oracles of God”), the Israelites were entrusted with much. As a result, much was expected of them. However, they failed and disobeyed over and over. Even though they were not faithful, God is still faithful in keeping His promises to them. Paul then borrows from Psalm 116:11, saying, “Let God be true though every one were a liar.” Even when we fall short, our unrighteousness acts as yet another opportunity for the Lord to show His faithfulness to us. That is the beauty of the Gospel! It is not about us measuring up, but about the truth that Christ has already measured up to the perfect standard of the character of the Father!
10. How do you find yourself trying to measure up instead of reminding yourself of the Gospel and the work of Christ?
John Piper talks about the idea of preaching the Gospel to yourself daily. When you think of how much you talk to yourself, is it generally positive or negative? If I am honest, I am usually negative in my own mind. However, the call of the Christian is to have the mind of the Psalmist that we see in Psalm 42:11, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.”
11. When was the last time you hoped in God? What does it look like for you to preach the Gospel to yourself daily?