Romans 2.23-Paul's Fifth and Final Rhetorical Question that Exposes Jewish Hypocrisy
Wenstrom Bible Ministries
Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom
Tuesday September 11, 2007
Romans: Romans 2:23-Paul’s Fifth and Final Rhetorical Question that Exposes Jewish Hypocrisy
Lesson # 63
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 being the recipients of the Law.
In Romans 2:17-29, Paul destroys their false security, which was based upon six privileges God had given to them.
These privileges did not produce obedience in the Jews but rather arrogance towards their relationship with the Gentiles.
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 Jew and in Romans 2:20c, Paul teaches that this arrogance is based upon “having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth.”
In Romans 2:21, Paul poses two rhetorical questions to the self-righteous, unsaved Jew, which exposes their hypocrisy.
Sunday morning we noted Romans 2:22, which records Paul posing two more rhetorical questions to the self-righteous, unsaved Jew, which exposes their hypocrisy.
This evening we will study Romans 2:23, in which Paul poses a fifth and final rhetorical question to the self-righteous, unsaved Jew, which exposes their hypocrisy.
Let’s read Romans 2:17-29 and then concentrate on Romans 2:23.
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 2:23.
Romans 2:23, “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?”
“Who” refers to the unsaved, self-righteous Jew.
“You boast” is the verb kauchaomai (kauxavomai) (kow-khah-om-i), which means, “to express an unusually high degree of confidence in someone or something being exceptionally noteworthy,” thus, “to boast.”
We noted this word in Romans 2:17 where it appeared in this passage with reference to the unsaved, self-righteous Jew boasting in his unique covenant relationship with God.
Romans 2:17, “Now, if-and let us assume for the sake of argument-you do identify yourself by the name ‘Jew’ and you do rely upon the Law and do boast in a relationship with God.”
In Romans 2:23, the verb kauchaomai is used intransitively and in the deponent middle voice with the prepositional phrase en nomou, “in the Law.”
The verb kauchaomai is used to express the Jews unusually high degree of confidence in their being the recipients and custodians of the Old Testament Scriptures, which is designated by the term nomos, “Law.”
The word refers to the Jew priding himself in his possession of the Law and is used to express the unsaved Jews’ total and absolute confidence in and dependence upon his possession of the Law.
The Jews thought erroneously and arrogantly and presumptuously that their being recipients of the Law would provide them security from eternal condemnation.
Romans 2:23, “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?”
“In the Law” refers to the entire Old Testament Scriptures and not just the Pentateuch since in context, Paul is mentioning the privileges that God gave the Jews’, which they boasted of.
Therefore, their boast would be regarding the entire special revelation they received from God and not just the Pentateuch.
In Romans 2:23, the noun nomos, “Law” is used by way of the figure of “metonymy” where the Law or Old Testament Scriptures are put for the “possession” of them.
The apostle Paul not only dealt with this arrogance in Israel but also the prophet Jeremiah also had to address this problem among his people in his day.
Jeremiah 8:8-9, “How can you say, ‘We are wise, for we have the law of the LORD,’ when actually the lying pen of the scribes has handled it falsely? The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the LORD, what kind of wisdom do they have?”
When speaking to Jewish Christians in the first century who were raised under the Mosaic economy and were exposed to the legalistic teaching of the Judaizers, James teaches his readers that being in possession of the Law does not please God but rather obedience to the Law does.
The Judaizers were both regenerate and unregenerate Jews who taught strict adherence to the oral traditions of the Rabbis (Mk. 7), which are now, documented in the Mishna and the Talmud as well the 613 mandates found in the Mosaic Law.
James 1:22-27, “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man's religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
Romans 2:23, “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?”
“Through” is the preposition dia (diaV), which is used with the genitive form of the noun parabasis, “breaking” to denote the instrumentality or the means by which the unsaved Jew dishonored God.
Therefore, it denotes that the unsaved Jew’s breaking of the Law was “the means by which” he dishonored God resulting in the Gentiles blaspheming the person of God (See Romans 2:24).
“Your breaking” is the noun parabasis (paravbasi$) (par-ab-as-is), which means, “transgression” and is used with reference to the “transgression” of the Law by the unsaved, self-righteous Jew.
Romans 2:23, “You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?”
“Do you dishonor?” is the verb atimazo (a)timavzw) (at-im-ad-zo), which is composed of the alpha prefix a, “without” and the verb timao, “to honor,” thus the word literally means, “to cause to be dishonored and disrespected.”
In Romans 2:23, the verb atimazo is used with the articular accusative form of the noun theos, “God” as its direct object.
“God” is the articular accusative masculine singular form of the noun theos (qeov$), which refers to the second member of the Trinity, namely the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The definite article preceding the noun theos indicates that the Lord Jesus Christ is in view here since the article indicates that God is “well-known” to Paul’s unsaved Jewish readership since he is referring to the God who manifested himself to their forefathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The Son of God is that member of the Trinity who manifested God to men.
In context, Paul has been addressing the conduct of the unsaved Jew in Romans 2:21-22 with several rhetorical questions that expose their hypocrisy.
Romans 2:21, “Then, you who do teach another person, do you ever teach yourself? You, who do publicly proclaim (the Law) as a herald in a dignified and authoritative manner: don’t steal, do you steal?”
Romans 2:22, “You, who do command: Don’t commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who do abhor idols, do you rob temples.”
The rhetorical questions imply that the Jew did not practice what he taught the Gentiles and did steal, commit adultery and rob pagan temples for personal profit.
Therefore, the verb atimazo means, that the unsaved Jews’ transgression of the Law “caused” God “to be dishonored or disrespected” by the Gentiles.
The Jews were the elect nation of God who were to represent God and proclaim salvation to the Gentiles and reflect God’s holiness to the Gentiles.
Exodus 19:5-6, “Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
Leviticus 11:44-45, “For I am the LORD your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Leviticus 20:26, “Thus you are to be holy to Me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine.”
However, their conduct caused them to fail to reflect God’s holiness in their lives since Paul teaches in Romans 2:1 that they committed the very same sins that the Gentiles were guilty of.
Therefore, the unsaved Gentiles would say to themselves why follow the God of the Jews when they do not obey Him.
The same thing happens during the church age where the believer’s conduct can cause the unsaved to blaspheme the name of Jesus Christ.
Colossians 4:5-6, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”
1 Peter 2:12, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.”
The church age believer is a royal ambassador for the Lord Jesus Christ who has the responsibility to reflect the character of Christ to the unbeliever through his words and actions.
2 Corinthians 5:20, “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
1 Peter 1:14-16, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior because it is written, ‘YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY.’”
At the moment of salvation, every church age believer receives two royal commissions: (1) Royal Priesthood representing oneself before God in prayer and the study and application of the Word of God (2) Royal Ambassadorship representing the absent Christ before the unbeliever.
The church age believer represents the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Lord Jesus Christ who is now absent from the earth because He sits at the right hand of God representing us before God the Father as our High Priest.
As royal ambassadors, believers are responsible for “witnessing” to the unbeliever, which is communicating God’s plan of salvation to unbelievers on a personal basis in two ways: (1) The example of your life (2 Cor. 3:3; 6:3). (2) Your words (2 Cor. 5:18-21; 6:2).