“Judgement & The Law”

Romans 2:17-29

As we finish our study of Romans 2 this morning, we continue to build upon the foundation that has already been laid the last few weeks. Paul has been and continues to talk about God’s judgment, but now in our passage this morning, he does so with the Law of God in view.

Someday untold numbers, both the small and the great, will stand before the Great White Throne, at first disbelieving they are really there. Jesus himself made this clear in Matthew 7:22-23:

“On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’!’” It is difficult to conceive that earnest, sincere religious people will be lost, but this and other Scriptures indicate this is indeed so. Some who believe in the inerrancy of Scripture—some who would fight to the last for the authenticity of the Bible—will be lost! Why? Because they have been lulled by a false religious security which has prevented them from getting to the heart of the matter. Perhaps some of these will even read these words.

Few people were more orthodox than young Saul of Tarsus. “according to the strictest party of our religion I have lived as a Pharisee” was his own testimony to King Agrippa (Acts 26:5). Paul knew all about religious orthodoxy and how it can make a sincere and zealous person the very enemy of Jesus Christ. Paul was not indicting the Jew because he was anti-Semitic. He was a Jew himself, but a Jew wide awake to the perils and pitfalls of religion, even revealed biblical religion, when it is divorced from the person and work of the Lord Jesus.

We have the antidote to such self-deception in 2:17–29, where Paul gives two warnings to religious people like us. First to guard ourselves from the dangers of a false religious confidence and then to guard us from a false security. Let’s take a look [Read v. 17-29]. With help from Kent Hughes’s outline of this passage, I will preach a message titled, “judgment & the law”.

1. A Warning of Overconfidence (v. 17-25)

a. There was a great danger for the religious-minded Jew of Bible times to have this sense of overconfidence. Every Jew realized that in respect to the truth he was privileged far above the rest of the people on the earth.

b. Paul insightfully describes this sense of privilege in verses 17-18.

c. In this one sentence the apostle notes that their sense of privilege had six aspects: First, they were called Jews, which means “praise to Jehovah.” So proud were they of this name that many of the Jews living in Gentile cities used it as a surname. Kody Dowell, Jew.

d. Second, they relied upon the possession of the Law (the Torah) as giving them a unique standing before God. The thought here is not that they saw their special status coming from living by the Torah, but simply from possessing it.

e. Third, they bragged regarding God. Boasting in God can be good if it is for the right reason, but they were boasting because of their being God’s favorites, the true people of God.

f. Fourth, they prided themselves on knowing his revealed will, derived from the Ten Commandments and other Old Covenant Scriptures.

g. Fifth, they discerned the things that were essential. That is, they prided themselves on being able to make superior moral judgments. They were far beyond the ignorant Gentiles!

h. Sixth, they were instructed from the Law. The Law was a light to their feet.

i. These six things were wonderful privileges. But as wonderful as they were, they had a diluding and deceiving effect on the Jews. When they compared their enlightenment with the abysmal theological ignorance of the Gentiles they looked very good. Of course their life seemed acceptable to God in this situation, as we mentioned last week, the hypocrite loves to use the wrong standard of measurement to make himself look better than he really is.

j. We today recognize the spiritual blindness in others. The sword that pierces the heart of the religious Jew also pierces ours. It is easy to imagine we are okay because we know so much more about the Bible than the average person on the street, especially in this day of Biblical illiteracy. I’m sure almost all of us have some kind of Bible app on our phones. We probably have a two or three Bibles each on our bookshelves back home—doing nothing but collecting dust.

k. We know the Bible so well. We can find a verse for everything. Ultimately, it can become very natural to imagine as we look at the dark world all around us that we have a claim on the truth of God—we must be okay, right?

l. Finally, this delusion from privilege can lead to the deadly pride. Whenever a follower of Christ feels superior, he should beware, for such an attitude is not a sign of God’s grace. To come into a position of spiritual privilege only to succumb to self-righteous arrogance indicates that one’s soul is in great danger.

m.Paul concludes this first section by calling them our for the things they are doing—simply put, they are being as hypocritical as humanly possible. Their actions never back up and follow their words. Paul gives a couple of examples and says that they are guilty of these things that they judge others for, but not only that because of the poor example they set, “the name of God is blasphemed” (v. 24).

n. We have all, unfortunately, heard the name of God blasphemed by unbelievers because of immoral actions by those who claim to be believers. We may assume that because we have the truth we are okay, but this is a dangerous presumption. God is not impressed by our religious claims, and neither is the world. What doesimpress God and the world is a religion which produces a new life.

2. A Warning of False Security (v. 25-27)

a. There is another danger, a natural twin to the danger of thinking we are acceptable to God because we have the truth: namely, thinking we are right before the Lord because we are affiliated with his people.

b. The Jews supposed they were secure because they were part of God’s chosen people through circumcision. They believed circumcision somehow secured salvation.

c. Circumcision was of great value if one understood and lived its intended significance. However, if its meaning was disregarded, it was as meaningless as a wedding ring on an adulterer’s finger. Faith and performance gave circumcision its reality.

d. In applying this to ourselves, all we have to do is substitute for the word “circumcision” any of the following: Church membership—baptism—Baptist—Methodist—Presbyterian—and so on. The great mistake of both Christians and Jews when asked about their relationship to God is to cite their religious affiliation as evidence of their relationship. Are you a believe? Of course, I’m a member of First Baptist. Are you a believer? Yes, I have been baptized.

e. None of these answers impress God, they are external, and we know God care about the heart

As Paul concludes the chapter, he gets to the heart of the matter [Read v. 28-29].

It s so easy to be self-deceived by our familiarity with the truth and/or our religious affiliations. But God is not fooled at all. God is never fooled. Some who have the most sound doctrine and theology will be told, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

We all need to go to the heart of the matter. The Old Testament recognized that circumcision was a matter of the heart. Moses said to his people, “The Lord your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live.” (Deuteronomy 30:6).

Jeremiah exhorted his people to deal with their hearts saying, “Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts” (Jeremiah 4:4a).

We must each consider the question, Where does our confidence lie? Does it rest either on our knowledge of God’s Word or our religious affiliation? If so, we are deluded. True salvation is a matter of the heart. Romans 10:9-10 is crystal clear, “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”

God’s Word is surgical. It is meant to pierce hearts. If God has spoken to you and revealed your need and your heart is troubled, there is hope for you.