Delve into the complexities of Paul’s message to the Jewish people and gentiles as we discuss Romans 2. This episode explores the foundation of the gospel, emphasizing the need for all humans to recognize their guilt before God. We examine how Jewish pride in the law is challenged by Paul’s teachings, highlighting that both Jews and gentiles are equally in need of redemption and salvation.
We unfortunately are not hearing a message that convicts people of their guilt before their Creator. And this is how the Gospel begins that man is in need of redemption.
SPEAKER 01 :
You know, when we’re little kids, we don’t really know right from wrong. But by the time we’re five or six, we do know right from wrong. Why? Because we’ve been taught. That’s what we’re going to be discussing today concerning the law and how it teaches us to follow God’s instructions. We’re exploring Paul’s epistle from the book of Romans. Rabbi is here with me in the studio today. We’re in Romans 2, verse 17 today.
SPEAKER 03 :
Rabbi? Praise the Lord. Good to be with you, Dustin, and God bless you all, our listening audience. And we’re in a section of Scripture that it’s a little hard for me because I feel like a lot of those of you that are listening right now are going to wonder how it’s applicable to you. Because what we find unraveling in Romans 2 is that Paul is speaking to Jewish people, and he’s helping them to realize that they’re guilty before God because they haven’t lived up to the instructions that the Lord gave them. The reason it’s important for all of us to understand this is because it clarifies what the gospel is about. You know, Paul was a preacher of the gospel. Jesus said, this gospel must be preached to the ends of the earth, and then the end will come. And Paul also warned us about other gospels being preached that were not the original apostolic gospel that was given to the church and laid down through Jesus and then delivered once and for all through the apostles. And so the gospel that we oftentimes hear today is a gospel that has man at the center of it. In other words, many people are brought to a relationship with Jesus not to glorify God or not because they feel guilty or contrite about their sin or even convicted of their sin, But they come to God because they’re looking to God to make them wealthy or they’re looking for God to give them a husband or a wife and all these other values that they’re wanting God to bring to them, almost as if God can be reduced to some type of mystical magic genie. And there’s nothing wrong, and I encourage people to look to the Lord for a husband or wife and for every other good thing, because every good gift comes from the Lord. But we need to understand that the gospel, the foundation of it, is not first about what God can do for us, but it’s that we’re guilty before the Lord. And it’s important to realize this because the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And so Paul, as we get into Romans chapter 2, 3, he’s going to be speaking about the fact that, listen, the good news that I’m about to share with you, before you can receive it, you first have to understand you have a problem. And the problem that you have is that you’re guilty before your creator. And as you stand before him guilty, and he’s going to address first Jewish people because they did not live up to the law that they were actually boasting in, and then he’s going to turn his attention to the Gentile that they’re guilty before the Lord because even though they didn’t have the law, they sinned against the Holy Spirit through their conscience because in their conscience they knew the difference between right and wrong. So both Jew and Gentile are guilty before the Lord. And it’s when Paul points out this quagmire that the whole world is in, it’s at this point he introduces a solution. So with that being said, Dustin, why don’t you read for us chapter 2 of Romans, beginning in verse number 17 and continuing through verse 21.
SPEAKER 01 :
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?
SPEAKER 03 :
So what Paul is doing here is he is bringing conviction to the Jewish soul. And it’s interesting, he begins by saying, you that boast in the law. There’s a certain amount of Jewish pride that we have as Jews connected to some type of sense that we’re God’s first covenant people. God called us his firstborn son. Most of the church recognizes that in some way the Jews are God’s chosen people.
SPEAKER 02 :
Mm-hmm.
SPEAKER 03 :
And so there’s a sense of pride within the Jewish personality. It’s Jewish pride, religious pride, ethnic pride, and intellectual pride. And so Paul is kind of coming against these things. And it’s understandable how we as Jewish people could feel a sense of chosenness, because we are, in some sense, God’s chosen people, his first covenant people. Even when we get to the New Jerusalem, the Scripture says that the 12 gates there will be inscribed with the 12 tribes of Israel. And when we get into the book of Romans deeper, which we will, Paul says that Gentiles have been grafted into the commonwealth of Israel, and that when Jewish people come to faith, it’s going to be like life from the dead. for the entire church. So there is a sense of the chosenness of the Jew. But the challenge is, is that we’re as wretched as everybody else. And it’s not us as Jewish people that make us special, it’s God that makes us special. And apart from Him, we’re nothing and we’re criminal, and we’re guilty even as the rest, that all are guilty and have sinned before the Lord, and we as Jewish people needed the Messiah and the salvation through him as much as any Gentile because all of us were dead in our transgressions and sins. Yeah. So this is what Paul is trying to bring to bear here upon the Jewish person. You can’t be thinking that you’re somebody special and not have recognition of how guilty you are and of your need for salvation.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah. If anything here, it seems like he’s challenging the Jew because they had the law and Gentiles didn’t.
SPEAKER 03 :
Right. That’s very true. Remember when Yeshua said, if I would not have come and spoken to you, you’d not have sin, which is a mysterious verse. But that’s exactly, Dustin, the point that you’re making. Yeah, wow. Paul continues here in the 25th verse, “…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.” Now, you think about this because, again, this relates to this religious sense of pride. You know, the circumcised, that we are chosen, we’re special. And Paul said, yeah, that would make you real special if you kept the covenant that was connected to the circumcision, the Mosaic covenant. But if you’re not keeping the covenant, if you’re not keeping the law, your circumcision is not going to save you. It’s kind of what Jesus said in John chapter 8. where Yeshua was revealing himself, and he said, if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed. And they said, we don’t have any, no, we’ve never been enslaved to anybody, they said in John 8, the Jewish people. We’re Abraham’s children. So they were taking pride in their circumcision and their ethnicity and their chosenness as Jewish people.
SPEAKER 01 :
It makes me think about people today, Rabbi, that go to church. When I went to church on Easter Sunday, there was so many people at church. It was like double the normal amount of people there. And these people, because they come to church on Easter Sunday… They think they’re a Christian, and they think they’re following God, but this is exactly what Paul is discussing here, saying like, hey, circumcision, just coming to church on Sunday, like one time for Easter, that’s not enough. You’ve got to have a genuine relationship with God. That’s a great example.
SPEAKER 03 :
Let’s continue on here in the 26th verse. So if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? Basically what Paul is saying here is not that Gentiles are better than Jews because they’re keeping the law internally and Jews aren’t. What Paul is simply saying here is that what the Lord is looking for is what’s actually going on in the inner man. So Paul’s going to get to Gentiles as well. It’s not that Gentiles are keeping the law inside, but Paul is just pointing out here that what God is looking for is the inner sanctification of the soul and the human heart. He goes on and he kind of elaborates in the next verse. He says, “…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 the circumcision are a transgression of the law?” For it is not a Jew who is one outwardly or a circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. I just want to clarify here because I think a lot of people have misunderstood this. Paul is not saying to the Jews here, hey, you’re not the real ones. The Gentiles are because they’re keeping the law. That’s not the point. And unfortunately, some people read that and they develop like hostility towards Jews thinking they’re the chosen ones. But that’s not what’s going on here, because Paul’s going to address the Gentile next. He’s going to say, you’re guilty before the Lord. He’s just coming against Jewish pride and them feeling superior to the Gentile. But next, Paul’s going to get to the Gentile. He’s going to say, you’re guilty too. The whole world is guilty before God. That’s the point.
SPEAKER 01 :
Thank you for tuning in to Discovering the Jewish Jesus. We’ll continue our conversation on Romans in just a minute. But in the meantime, did you know that you can explore our content and teachings from Rabbi Schneider on our website? Just visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com. There you’ll have access to a treasure trove of resources including articles, videos, and study materials tailored to deepen your spiritual journey. Once again, you’ll find these resources online at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. And Did you know that your support, it’s what keeps this ministry going. If you’ve been blessed by our program and you feel led to contribute, you can become a vital part of our mission by making a one-time donation or by joining us as a monthly partner. You make it possible for us to reach people all over the world. Simply visit discoveringthejewishjesus.com. That’s discoveringthejewishjesus.com to donate today. And now back to our message.
SPEAKER 03 :
So let’s just continue on as Paul rolls out the carpet of the introduction of the gospel. In chapter 3, he begins by saying there, then what advantage has the Jew, or what is the benefit of circumcision? Great in every respect. First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God. So Paul begins to say, hey, listen, I’m sharing that the Jew is guilty before God for not living up to the commandment. But Paul is saying there’s still something very sacred about their covenant relationship with the Lord, which is evidence because God gave them the oracles. In other words, the Ten Commandments came to the world through Jewish people. The whole Hebrew Bible was written by Jewish people. The New Testament was written by Jewish people. So the Jews have been entrusted with the oracles of God. So even though they’ve been guilty, and even though they have not lived up to their calling through not keeping the law, we still need to respect the fact that God has a special covenant love towards them. And this is why Paul says next, what then? If some of them do not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? So we look at Jewish people and we see that there’s a lot of problems, but this does not mean that we forsake them and say that the church has replaced them or that God no longer loves them or they no longer have a plan in the outpouring and forward motion of the ultimate return of Jesus. They’re still right in the center of God’s redemptive plan, and we need to respect that.
SPEAKER 01 :
Yeah, it’s really beautiful, really beautiful what God is doing, bringing Jews and Gentiles together, and especially through ministries like Discovering the Jewish Jesus, where, Rabbi, you being Jewish and actually helping a lot of people, Jew and Gentile, to understand the Jewish roots of Christianity. This is really important.
SPEAKER 03 :
Amen. Amen. We’re going to switch gears here in just a minute. But before we switch gears to a new concept, let’s just finish out the concept that we’re in, Dustin. And I’m going to have you read for us, please, Paul’s conclusion to all this that begins in the 10th verse of Romans chapter 3. So this is Paul kind of summing up his whole argument right now that the whole world should be standing before the Lord in fear and trembling, looking for salvation and forgiveness.
SPEAKER 01 :
Romans 3.10, as it is written, The poison of asps is under their lips, whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths, and the path of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.
SPEAKER 03 :
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow. I love that because it keeps centering us back to the crucial message of the gospel. And I said this, I just want to say it again, that we unfortunately today are not hearing a message that convicts people of their guilt before their creator. And this is how the gospel begins. I think we need to really remember this. The gospel begins by Paul pointing out that man is in need of redemption.
SPEAKER 01 :
How does this affect us today, Rabbi? Like, I mean, because we live in such a society that actually, you know, where we don’t point out flaws and we post on social media all the good things and the good parts, and we’re always trying to, you know, build people up, don’t tear them down and things like this. But how should this affect us in our thinking?
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I think that we’re only sanctified as we recognize our guilt. In other words, if we confess our sin, He’s faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Actually, John said that. But think about this. If we confess, there’s, first of all, an awareness of sin. a submission to God’s truth, a confession of sin, and a looking to the Lord to cleanse us from it. And one of the reasons this is so critical as it relates to our experience with our Creator is we cannot walk in fellowship with our Creator without being sanctified. Paul said, “…without holiness…” no man shall see the Lord. Without holiness, no man shall see the Lord. And there’s a holiness that simply comes as a free gift to us because of what Jesus has done, but there’s an experiential holiness as well that comes as we’re sanctified and transformed and conformed to the image of God’s Son, which is God’s ultimate purpose for our life. So if we don’t have an awareness of sin, and an awareness of guilt. We’re not going to look to the Lord. We’re not going to confess so that He would cleanse us and deliver us so that our life would become more and more like His. And this speaks to what I call the law of similarity. In other words, you might have a pet cat. You know, you might love your cat. But, you know, you don’t know what’s going on in your cat’s mind. You don’t really have fellowship with your cat. You might think you do, but you don’t. You know, it’s a different creature because you’re not like your cat. You guys are two completely different species. You can never really know each other. Well, this relates in some respect to God and you and I knowing each other because we only know him truly in a deep way of fellowship and partnership. as we become like him. The church is the bride of Christ. So we need to be convicted of sin and then be cleansed and transformed in order to be able to enter into this deep communion and this bridal paradigm that the Lord’s called us into. You know, a husband and a wife, they can look at each other, they know what each other is thinking. So people are looking for happiness, but there is no happiness outside of relationship. And the ultimate relationship is our relationship with the Lord. So without an understanding of sin and an awareness of it and a cleansing of it, we’ll never enter into this relationship. This is why the gospel is good news, because it helps us to realize our problem and then offers a solution to the problem.
SPEAKER 01 :
And ultimately what I’m hearing is we can’t skip over repenting. Right. We can’t miss the fact that we’ve sinned. We’ve got to confess to keep a right standing with God.
SPEAKER 03 :
What you just said, Justin, it just puts an exclamation mark on all that we’ve said up to this point because the kingdom of God was introduced to the world through John the Baptist. And John the Baptist’s first words were, repent. for the kingdom of God is at hand. And you’ve heard me say this before. The first words of Jesus were, repent. He wasn’t a motivational speaker. He didn’t say, hey, listen, gather at the mountain, and I’m going to teach you the laws of success and principles for getting rich. That wasn’t the first. The first words were, repent, and let your repentance be in accordance with true fruit of righteousness.
SPEAKER 01 :
Wow, wow, that’s powerful. That’s very powerful. So this is what Paul’s doing. He’s taking us through, just like Jesus, just like John the Baptist, saying, repent. What comes next, Rabbi? Well, praise the Lord.
SPEAKER 03 :
The next thing that comes, I love it, is, and it’s a verse that helps us to understand our Judaic roots. Paul says in the 21st verse of Romans 3, but now, apart from the law, So there’s a different method that God is going to bring his gift. Paul says, now apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested having been witnessed by the law. and the prophets. Now, most of our listeners right now have probably, I’m humbly saying, I’m guessing that many of us have not really considered what this verse is saying. Let’s listen to it again. Why don’t you read that for us, Dustin?
SPEAKER 01 :
But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.
SPEAKER 03 :
I mean, I’m just imagining right now that many of us are hearing that, and there’s a big blank in our, what are all those words? What does that mean? What do all those words mean? Tell us what it means, Rabbi. What it means is that the Lord is saying that God’s righteousness and his righteousness is his faithfulness to do what he said he was going to do. So God said to Abraham, through your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed and the righteous shall live by faith. And so the righteousness of God has been revealed from heaven—get it now, Paul says—apart from the law. In other words, God’s righteousness, the way that he did what he said he was going to do, was not by saving people through the law. It’s apart from the law. It is salvation through his Son. And this was witnessed, it was spoken of, through the law— And the prophets. This is why Jesus took his disciples on a journey after he’d been raised from the dead as they were walking on the road to Emmaus. And he brought them through the law and the prophets and showed them everything in the law and the prophets that was about him. So God’s righteousness has been revealed from heaven, not by saving people through the law. No, it was apart from the law. It was by saving people and his son through simple repentance, turning to him and believing in him.
SPEAKER 01 :
So in the Old Testament, Jesus was always there. It was always pointing to him. Yeah.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah. Why don’t you read that next verse from it? Because that’s basically, it keeps on going in that direction.
SPEAKER 01 :
even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe, for there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Amen. Baruch Hashem.
SPEAKER 03 :
Well, I hope all of you are enjoying this today. I feel joy. I don’t know why I feel joy. I just love God’s Word. I love His truth. And His truth strengthens us. And when we get strong, we’ll be happy. So I want to thank you for tuning in and letting me feed you today, along with Dustin, God’s Word as we break bread together. I do want to ask you as I close today, my friends, if you’re being blessed by the ministry, would you lift your heart to the Lord and just say, Father God, I believe in this ministry. That is if you do, of course. And just say, Lord, I know that I’m called to support financially those ministries that are in the earth. preaching your truth according to your word and to support those ministries, Abba, that are feeding me. I guess I’m kind of talking to you and asking you to pray at the same time, but the truth is that God’s word instructs us to support those that are going out for the sake of the truth and those ministries that are feeding us. So if discovering the Jewish Jesus, if Dustin and I are helping you today and strengthening you today, and you’d like us to be able to continue to do what we’re doing, would you please just open up your heart and just say, Holy Spirit, Would you like me to support this ministry and ask them how to do that, what amount? And just go forward and be obedient. God’s always going to reward us for our love and sacrifice to him.
SPEAKER 01 :
Amen. And if God is calling you to support Discovering the Jewish Jesus with the gift of any amount, would you go online right now and give? You’ll find us at discoveringthejewishjesus.com or if it’s easier for you, give us a call at 800-777-7835. And now I’d like to talk with you about the shofar. You know, when I hear a shofar being blown, I’m reminded that God is still calling His people to wake up, to return to Him and listen. It’s a reminder of why this ministry exists. And because of friends like you, that call is still going out to hearts all around the world through these teachings. So I want to ask you, if you would like to help us continue to spread the Word of God to the world through this ministry, would you prayerfully consider becoming a monthly partner today? And when you do, we’ll send you your very own shofar that you can blow as a reminder. It comes straight from Israel. You know, your support, it truly makes a difference. So give today by becoming a monthly partner at discoveringthejewishjesus.com. Now, here’s Rabbi with the Aaronic Blessing. Blessings trump curses.
SPEAKER 03 :
And in the book of Numbers chapter 6, we find the Aaronic Blessing that God commanded Moses’ brother Aaron, the high priest, to speak over the children of Israel. There’s power in blessing, beloved ones. So take part in receiving Father’s blessing upon your life today.
The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift you up with his countenance. And the Lord give you, beloved one, his peace. God bless you and shalom.
SPEAKER 01 :
This program is produced and sponsored by Discovering the Jewish Jesus. And I’m Dustin Roberts. Be sure to come back again tomorrow when Rabbi Schneider and I continue this study in the book of Romans. That’s Friday on Discovering the Jewish Jesus.
