Romans 2.19-Two Jewish Pretensions in Response to Their Privileges
Prairie View Christian Church
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday September 4, 2007
Romans: Romans 2:19-Two Jewish Pretensions in Response to Their Privileges
Lesson # 59
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 2:17.
This evening we will continue to study the twelfth and final principle of divine judgment, which is contained in Romans 2:17-29, namely, that God judges according to reality and without regard of racial background or religious profession.
The Jews erroneously, presumptuously and arrogantly thought that they would enter the kingdom of heaven because of their racial background as Jews and circumcision as well as the privileges that God had given to them such as possessing the Law given to Moses.
In Romans 2:17-29, Paul destroys their false security, which was based upon six privileges God had given to them: (1) Security in their Racial Heritage: “Jew” (Romans 2:17) (2) Security in Being the Recipients of the Law: “Rely upon the Law” (Romans 2:17) (3) Security in their Relationship with God Obtained through the Covenant Promises to the Patriarchs: “Boast in God” (Romans 2:17). (4) Security in their Knowledge of the Will of God Obtained through the Law: “Know His will” (Romans 2:18). (5) Security in their Awareness of Spiritual Essentials that they Obtained through the Law: “Approve the things that are essential” (Romans 2:18). (6) Security in Being Instructed out of the Law: “Being instructed out of the Law” (Romans 2:18).
These privileges did not produce obedience in the Jews but rather arrogance towards their relationship with the Gentiles.
We completed our study of these six privileges last Thursday evening and this evening we will study how this Jewish arrogance and self-righteousness manifested itself.
This arrogance was manifested in four pretensions according to Paul in Romans 2:19-20.
A “pretension” is the laying of a claim to something, a claim to dignity, importance or merit.
In Romans 2:19-20, the apostle Paul lists four pretensions of the Jews meaning they claimed a particular dignity, importance or merit: (1) They believed they were a guide to the spiritually blind Gentiles: “Are confident that you yourselves are a guide to the blind” (Romans 2:19). (2) They believed they were a light to the Gentiles who were in spiritual darkness: “A light to those who are in darkness” (Romans 2:19). (3) They believed they were instructors of the foolish Gentiles: “A corrector of the foolish” (Romans 2:20). (4) They believed they were teachers of the spiritually immature: “A teacher of the immature” (Romans 2:20).
In Romans 2:20c, Paul teaches that this arrogance is based upon “having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth.”
This evening we will study Romans 2:19, in which Paul presents two Jewish pretensions that were in response to their privileges that are listed by Paul in Romans 2:17-18.
Let’s read Romans 2:17-29 and then concentrate on Romans 2:19.
Romans 2:17-29, “But if you bear the name ‘Jew’ and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For ‘THE NAME OF GOD IS BLASPHEMED AMONG THE GENTILES BECAUSE OF YOU,’ just as it is written. For indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.”
Now, let’s look at in detail Romans 2:19.
Romans 2:19, “and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness.”
“Are confident” is the verb peitho (peivqw) (pay-tho), which is used in the active sense in relation to the Jew’s “confidence” that they were spiritual guides to the Gentiles who were spiritually blind.
The idea behind the word is to come to a settled persuasion concerning something or to be persuaded and to not move from it.
It means to be so convinced that one puts confidence in something or someone.
Therefore, the verb peitho in Romans 2:19 indicates that these self-righteous unsaved Jews had come to a settled persuasion that they were spiritual guides for the Gentiles who were spiritually blind and they could not be moved from this position.
They were so convinced that they were that they became confident in themselves.
This verb implies the idea not only of superiority but of self-complacency.
The Jews possessed an attitude of superiority when dealing with the Gentiles and were also self-complacent because they possessed the Law and the Gentiles did not.
“You yourself” is the reflexive pronoun seautou (seautou) (she-ow-too), which indicates that the subject is also the object of the action of the verb and is used to highlight the participation of the subject in the verbal action, as direct object, indirect object, intensifier, etc.
Therefore, in Romans 2:19, the reflexive pronoun seautou, “yourself” indicates that the subject, the self-righteous unregenerate Jew is also the object of the action of the verb peitho, “you are confident in” and highlights their self-confidence.
“Are” is the verb eimi (ei)miv) (i-mee), which means, “to possess a certain inherent characteristic,” thus Paul is reporting that the self-righteous unsaved Jew is claiming to possess inherently the characteristic of being a spiritual guide to the spiritually blind Gentiles.
Romans 2:19, “and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness.”
“A guide” is the noun hodegos (o(dhgov$) (hod-ayg-os), which is from the noun hodos, “way” and the verb hegeomai, “to lead,” thus the word literally means, “a leader on the way.”
In Romans 2:19, hodegos is used of the Jew who arrogantly presumes that he is a “guide” to the spiritually blind Gentiles in the sense that he could lead them to salvation and truth since he has been instructed in the Law.
Instead of being a light to those living in the darkness of heathenism, the Jewish nation had withdrawn from other cultures.
The Lord Jesus Christ used the noun hodegos in condemning the Pharisees who were the leaders of the nation of Israel during His First Advent calling them “blind guides (hodegos) (Matthew 15:1-14; 23:13-24).”
Matthew 15:1-14, “Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ‘Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.’ And He answered and said to them, ‘Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER,’ and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH.’ But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever I have that would help you has been given to God, he is not to honor his father or his mother.’ And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’ After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, ‘Hear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.’ Then the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?’ But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.’”
Romans 2:19, “and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness.”
“To the blind” is the adjective tuphlos (tuflov$) (toof-los), which is used in a figurative sense for spiritual blindness.
This spiritual blindness among the unregenerate Jews in Jesus’ day and among all men, both Jew and Gentile is the result of being deceived by Satan and his cosmic system.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Spiritual blindness is not only found among unbelievers but it is also a condition that is prevalent among believers who are distracted by the cosmic system and living in their old sin nature and are not obeying the Word of truth.
The Lord Jesus rebuked the Laodicean church calling them spiritually blind.
Revelation 3:14-22, “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,’ and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked, I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me. He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
The apostle John teaches that believers who hate their fellow believer are spiritually blind.
1 John 2:10-11, “The one who at any time does divinely love his spiritual brother is abiding in the light. Furthermore, there is unequivocally no cause of stumbling in him. But the one who at any time does hate his spiritual brother is mentally in the darkness. Consequently, he is living in the darkness. Furthermore, he unequivocally, does not know for certain where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
Romans 2:19, “and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness.”
“A light” is the noun phos (fw$) (phoce), which was a term that the unsaved Jew attributed to himself and describes him as one who is an agent of revelation from God or to whom the truth of God has been revealed and who is presumably living according to such truth and thus reflecting the holiness of God in their lives.
This was a lie since they committed the same sins as the unsaved Gentiles according to Romans 2:1.
“In darkness” is composed of the preposition en (e)n), “in” and the dative neuter singular form of the noun skotos (skovto$) (skot-os), “darkness.”
In Romans 2:19, the noun skotos means, “darkness” and is used in a figurative sense describing the unsaved Gentiles living in the spiritual darkness of Satan’s cosmic system and the sin nature, implying that they possess no relationship with God and were not living according to the standards of God’s holiness.
The noun skotos is a “dative locative of sphere” meaning that the Gentiles were living in the sphere or realm of the cosmic system of Satan and sin.
The preposition en is a marker of sphere denoting that the cosmic system of Satan and sin is the “sphere” in which the unsaved Gentiles lived their lives and by implication were living according to the standards of Satan’s kingdom.