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Romans Lesson 5 (2008)

SELF-CONFIDENT JEWS ALSO ARE IN TROUBLE
(Who is a true Jew?)

Romans 2:17-3:8
Key Verse: 2:29

“A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”

A man brought his boss home for dinner for the first time. The boss was overbearing, arrogant and dominating. The little boy in the family stared at his father’s boss for most of the evening, but did not say anything. Finally, the boss asked the little boy, “Why do you keep looking at me like that, sonny?” The little boy answered, “My daddy says you are a self-made man.” The boss was amused and proudly admitted that indeed he was a self-made man. The little boy said, “Well, if you are a self-made man, why did you make yourself like that?” In today’s passage, Apostle Paul points out the chronic problem of the self-righteous Jews and redefines the true identity of a Jew. Verse 29 reads, “A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.” Since most of us are not Jews, we may think that today’s passage is irrelevant to us who are Christians. However, we can learn something as very crucial as Christians about what we should not overlook in our lives.

First, A True Jewish Person (2:17-29)

Throughout history, it has been the faith of the Jewish community that they were special in the sight of God. It is true that God chose them out of all nations so that they might obey Him fully and become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation for the rest of the world. (Ex 19:5,6) They were very self-confident about their ethnicity and religious heritage. They felt superior over to the Gentiles. Their confidence was mainly based on two things, the Law of Moses and circumcision as evidence of their special relationship with God. However, they were overconfident about their relationship with God so that they blindly rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ. So in verses 17-27, Paul, in an attempt to break down their false security in the flesh, deals with their attitude toward the law (17-24) and circumcision (25-27). He was saying that knowledge of the law is useless if not combined with obedience, and physical circumcision is meaningless if not combined with circumcision of the heart.

Read verses 17-21. “Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are 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 infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth – you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?” Indeed the Jews were instructed, taught and trained by the law of God so that they could instruct, teach and train others. But the problem was that they thought that mere knowledge of the law would be considered righteous before God and qualify them to be leaders. They thought that the more they knew about the law of God, the better they were. Yet, they didn’t bother to teach themselves. In verses 22-24, Paul challenges their hypocrisy.

Look at verses 22-24. “You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’” According to Paul’s earlier claim in his letter, God’s wrath is being revealed against all godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. Obviously, Paul included the Jews in his claim. How did the Jews suppress the truth of God? It’s mainly by their willful disobedience as recorded in verses 22-24. For example, In Paul’s time, there were far more Jews in Egypt and other parts of the world than in Palestine. Many of them were merchants and businessmen, who dealt with the Gentiles. The Jews were spread out due to many different reasons, including their exile in history. However, it might have been God’s wisdom to spread the Jews to every corner of the world, so that they could reveal God’s glory through their godly lives among the Gentiles. However, although most Jews appeared to be religious and holy, they were different in their practical lives. As Paul says in verses 22-24, the Jews among the Gentiles engaged in all kinds of sinful activities. They committed adultery, cheated in business and were very greedy for money. In fact, the religious Jews were no better than the ungodly Gentiles. They sinned in secret. Worst of all, they were extremely exclusive and judgmental of other races. The Gentiles were disgusted with their pride and hypocrisy and spoke against the name of the God of Israel. (24)

Circumcision was another symbol of ethnic identity of a Jew. Originally, when God commanded Abraham to circumcise, it was a sign and seal of the covenant He made with Abraham. Abraham was circumcised as the token of his obedience and act of faith. However, most Jews, including even some pious Jews in history, took great pride in the ritual of their physical circumcision itself as if the physical circumcision meant a permanent membership in God’s covenant. (1 Sam 17:36) But that was a great misunderstanding. Look at verses 25-27. “Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. If those who are not circumcised keep the law’s 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 code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.” Paul is saying that the true sign of God’s children is obedience and the circumcision of the heart, not physical circumcision or knowledge of the law. Therefore, those who rely on the knowledge of the law and physical circumcision have no true foundation of their salvation and cannot escape from God’s judgment. Paul undermined the foundation of their false security based on their ethnicity and religion.

In fact, so many people are easily misled by false religions that seem to offer them a sense of security. Why? It’s because by nature, we human beings are inclined to depend on something outward, visible and solid. Unfortunately, many people put their trust in their religion and gain a false sense of security. However, superficial religions, no matter how nice they appear to be, cannot save us from God’s coming judgment. What matters to God is the inward, invisible and secret work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

Paul redefines the identify of an authentic Jewish person in verses 28-29. Read verses 28 and 29. “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by th written code. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.” According to Paul, the authentic Jews are not those who practice superficial religion but those whose hearts are humble, open and being transformed by the work of the Spirit in their hearts. Paul’s redefinition of the true identity of a Jew was radical and extremely challenging to those who desire to remain in their religious comfort zone. But Paul, who was a former Pharisee, dared to challenge and undermine the very foundation of Judaism. It’s no wonder that the Jews in his time were eager to persecute him and were determined to get rid of him. Likewise the self-confident Jews, Christians may become self-confident in their church attendance and in following rituals. But the authentic Christians are not those who received water baptism and attend church regularly on Sundays. Many people put their confidence in the flesh, such as money, fame, intelligence, human achievement or even religious achievement. But the true Christians are those who are inwardly being transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit.

Second, God’s Faithfulness (3:1-8)

Apparently, the Jews were outraged by Paul’s declaration that there is no fundamental difference between being Jews and Gentiles before God and that the knowledge of law and circumcision do not guarantee their salvation and identity as God’s people. Their possible objections are recorded in verses 1-8. Although they seem to be hypothetical questions, they might also be the actual arguments which Jews had raised during Paul’s preaching in their synagogues in order to undermine Paul’s teaching of the gospel. Paul now responds to their objections in a dialogue that defends the gospel he preached.

What are the objections against Paul’s teaching? The first objection is in verse 1. “What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew? What value is there in circumcision?” Paul elaborates on this issue later in chapters 9-11. However, his brief summary in verse 2 is, “Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.” Here, the very words of God refer to the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible is called “Tanach” or “Tenak”, which has three subdivisions: Torah (the five books of Moses), Nevi’im (Prophets) and Ketuvim (Writings). The Gentiles had only general revelation from God while the Jews had special revelation through the prophets, the Hebrew Bible. The Jews thought that they had security based on their ethnic identity. But according to Paul, they had a greater responsibility as Bible instructors, not security. They were entrusted with the very words of God. No other nation had been given such a privileged responsibility as the custodians of God’s words. But they failed to follow God’s purpose.

Look at verses 3 and 4. But what if some Jews fail to respond to God’s calling because of their lack of faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God’s faithfulness? These might be Paul’s hypothetical questions based on the objection that his teaching nullifies God’s faithfulness. Paul answers it in an interesting way. “Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a liar.” What did he mean by that? What he meant is that if God’s people are unfaithful to their call, God still remains faithful. He will fulfill his promise to Israel no matter what. Paul quotes from the Scripture in order to prove his point. “As it is written: ‘So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” This is a part of what King David wrote in Psalm 116:11. David was unfaithful to God when he committed adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, whom David had killed. David hid what he had done. But God sent His servant Nathan because God loved him. David acknowledged that he had sinned in the sight of God, so that God’s word might be proved right and his verdict justified. David was saying that God was faithful and just even when he was unfaithful and unjust.

Now the Jews didn’t sit back. They challenged Paul in a different approach. They objected that Paul’s accusation on the Jews impugns God’s justice. What is their logic? Look at verses 5-6. “But if our unrighteousness brings out God’s righteousness more clearly, what shall we say?” They admit that the failure of the Jews is accurate. But they are arguing that even so, if their failure can glorify God by making his righteousness even more clearly, why should they be judged. If they were helping God out by serving as a bad example, isn’t it unfair of God to punish them?” Paul’s answer is “Certainly not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world?”

Paul was a great defender of the gospel because he was a careful listener of all the voices of his opponents. Look at verses 7-8. But someone might say, “If my falsehood (dishonesty) enhances God’s truthfulness and so increase his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner? In fact, Paul was accused that he was false promoting God’s glory by saying “Let us do evil that good may result” which means “The more we sin, the better it is!” It was a distortion of the gospel. Paul said that those who say such things deserve to be condemned. The self-confident Jews also are in big trouble.

These days Christianity has an image problem. Many people, especially people who have been wounded by painful experiences in the church, think that Christians in general are self-righteous, judgmental and hypocritical. We don’t like such criticism. But we have to admit that in fact many self-righteous Christians can be a stumbling block to non-believers. Many people think that Christians are out of touch with the world. The message of the gospel is considered not as good news but as yesterday’s news or as good news only for those who are religious. Who should be blamed? Why has Christianity become a mockery to the world? One of the main reasons is that many Christians have become so superficial. During the post-Christian era, many Christians became Sunday Christians or nominal Christians. The term “Christian” didn’t mean much. So some people began to call themselves “born-again-Christian”s. Yet, even that term has become a mockery among unbelievers because many of those who claim to be “born-again-Christian”s are often found to be hypocritical. These days, we tend to say that we are real Christians, true Christians, genuine Christians or authentic Christians.

Based on Paul’s view of an authentic Jew, who is the authentic Christian? The authentic Christian is not someone who puts their confidence in their religious affiliation and practices and any type of flesh. What matters to God is not that we are baptized, how long we have been in the membership of a Christian church, or whether are a Catholic, a Jew, a Protestant, Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopal or an Evangelical. What matters to God is who we are in the sight of God. A true Christian is one inwardly, not outwardly. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but Spirit gives birth to spirit. Self-confidence in the flesh is very harmful. May the Lord help us not to put any confidence in our flesh no matter how noble and attractive it is. We are to be a new creation. We need to circumcise our hearts through sincere repentance based on God’s words. We are to be constantly transformed by the constant work of the Holy Spirit in us

 
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