In this episode, we delve into Paul’s powerful critique of religious idolatry and the common misconceptions drawn from the Book of Romans, chapter 2. Discover how Paul plays ‘the devil’s advocate’ to unravel the profound truths about the law and its implications for both Jews and Gentiles. As we navigate through these theological intricacies, listeners are encouraged to reassess their understanding of the law as a mere moral code and to recognize it as a divine revelation that exposes the depths of our hearts.
00:00:05 Understanding Paul’s Critique in Romans 2
So we’re in this passage in Romans chapter 2 where Paul is critiquing the religious people of the world and talking about the paganism of religion, the idolatry of religion. Now, please excuse my voice. I’m still recovering from the cold. It’s a very raspy voice. But anyway, let’s go. Now, there comes a passage… that has been terribly misunderstood by many Christians, especially those Christians who don’t really know how to read a Bible book. They take verses out of it and build their own context. Well, you can’t do that. You have to learn to understand that an author of a Bible book has a subject, a theme in mind. He has an introduction and a conclusion. It’s like a novel, and yet it’s not a novel, it’s the inspired Word of God. But we need to understand that Paul has a theme, and he’s following through with that theme. So you can’t just dissect a piece of Scripture and build a theology around that, but many people have done. Well, let me explain what I’m talking about. Let’s look at Romans chapter 2. and beginning verse three and do you think this o man you who judge those practicing such things that doing the same that you will escape the judgment of god Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and the impenitent heart you are treasuring up for yourself, you are treasuring up wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each according to his deeds.” Eternal life, to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honour and immortality, but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath. Tribulation and anguish on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek. But glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. For as many as have sinned without the law will also perish without the law. And as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law. For not the hearers of the law are justified in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the law by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and, between themselves, their thoughts accusing, or else excusing them in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. What then, are we any better than they? This is 3 verse 9 now. Not at all, for we have previously charged that both Jews and Greeks, they are all under sin. Now, if you read this passage separately and isolated from its context, it will completely confuse you. When the program’s finished, pull out your Bible and read it for yourself, Romans chapter 2, up to about verse 17, say. And you will get the impression, if you don’t know the context that Paul’s writing in, that this is talking about salvation by the law. I do remember many, many years ago, a preacher, well, a Bible teacher, a Bible teacher on a Sunday morning, giving a teaching on this passage and concluding that if we obey the law, we will be saved. Well, it certainly sounds like that, doesn’t it? And it confuses us. So what’s Paul on about? Well, I used a phraseology yesterday that might have shocked you. I said Paul is playing the devil’s advocate. And what do I mean by that? Well, the point that you need to observe first of all comes out in verse 17. Indeed, you are called a Jew and rest on the law and make your boast in God. So Paul is talking about religious people who rest in the law. And what does that mean really, to rest in the law? It means to have confidence in your moral life. The law is the morality that God has described in the Ten Commandments. And thou shalt not kill. You could say, well, I haven’t done that. Thou shalt not steal. I haven’t done that, except a few items at school as a boy. I haven’t committed adultery. Well, I haven’t done that.
SPEAKER 01 :
And you could check off that list and rest in the law. That is, if you’re stupid.
SPEAKER 02 :
That is, if you’re so ignorant that you don’t realize the depth the law is talking about. Remember, Jesus revealed the depth of the law when he said, you have heard that it is said, you shall not steal. but whoever covets has already stolen. And he goes on applying the law spiritually, deeply within the core of our hearts, doesn’t he? In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 and 6 and 7. And so the law is getting at the core of things. But apparently the Jewish people didn’t somehow see, and especially the Pharisees and Sadducees, didn’t seem to comprehend that. So they didn’t think or realize that there was any contradiction between what the law said and what their hearts felt. They just didn’t take regard for their hearts, it seems. They were dealing with the outward performance and the rituals and the behaviors. And so they didn’t think they had any need for repentance. Look at verse 4. Do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? They didn’t think they needed repentance. They were perfectly in harmony with the law, ritually, behaviorally, outwardly, morally, in many cases at least. But not inwardly. They didn’t look at that. They didn’t realize it. And so what Paul is doing in this passage following on from chapter 5 is playing the devil’s advocate and basically saying, okay, you want the law?
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, go ahead and keep it. And let’s see how you do. Because he’s saying there is no partiality with God.
SPEAKER 02 :
You judge, you religious people, judge the world for their behavior. as idolaters, okay, when you judge them, you’re judging yourself because you’re putting up the same moral standard for them as you are for yourself as you are for them. And so what will happen? Since God shows no partiality, in other words, he doesn’t let you off the hook simply because you have the law.
SPEAKER 01 :
He applies the law to everyone whether they have the law or not.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, you say, how can he talk about the pagans as having the law? Well, because the law is written in their hearts. They know what’s good and evil, and their consciences sometimes excuse them and sometimes accuse them. So he’s saying there really is no difference because the law applies to everybody, both pagan and religious. And what does it do? Well, again, following the argument that Paul’s saying, using, he says, okay, you want the law, then go ahead with the law, because it is only the doers of the law will be justified, not simply those who have the law and hear it, the Jewish people, in other words. It’s the doers who will be justified. Well, what’s Paul saying by that? He’s saying, and will say as the text goes on, that there are no doers of the law. Remember, as I say, don’t pull this passage out of context. Connect it with the whole context. And the context is chapter 3, verse 19 and 20. This is the conclusion of the whole passage. Now we know, well, let’s look at verse 9 first of all. What then? Are we any better than they? That is, are we Jewish people any better than the pagans? No, because they have the law in their conscience and disobey it, and we have the law on tables of stone and we disobey it. So we’re no different. Don’t look down on a non-religious, non-Jewish, or non-Christian person. Because he then makes this conclusion, verse 19, Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth, every mouth, you see, everybody, because the law is in the heart and on tables of stone. Every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore, by the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified by his sight. See, now he’s not playing devil’s advocate. He’s telling the simple truth. If you want the law, go ahead and see how it works for you, because it will judge you. It will condemn you. It will reveal that you are no better than a pagan. but because by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight. Now here’s the humdinger, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. In other words, our moral life will only reveal our sinfulness. Oh yes, we can pretend before the world, we can put on our masks, we can fake it, but we don’t make it. And what happens is that finally we are revealed as broken, that our hearts are as tormented and broken as the pagan heart is. And so you can see where Paul is going with this now. You never, never must separate Romans chapter 2, the middle part there that I described where Paul is playing the devil’s advocate, with Romans chapter 3. Us religious people, we religious people, are broken. And we have to come before the Savior, Jesus Christ. And we have to reveal our brokenness to him and ask for mercy and help and repent of… Don’t get misunderstanding that. Not repenting of our sins, but repenting of our broken humanity, which we have been putting confidence in. Because that broken humanity will never enter the kingdom of heaven. The only humanity that will enter into the kingdom of heaven is a resurrected humanity. And that is why Jesus rose from the dead, on our behalf, to give us incorruptibility, to give us immortality, a new nature, so that we can live in eternity without the drag of this human nature upon us. Thanks be to God. I have to swallow hard and be bold. I loathe fundraising. I know how strapped we all are. I know I’ve called on you so many times, and I may seem brazen. But there’s a life at stake. You may be tired of hearing about Mark in Nigeria, but that’s how life is sometimes for certain people, unremitting tragedy. And I’ve decided I mustn’t worry if I irritate you about this. It’s an emergency. So to the point, 37-year-old Mark is dying and he’s about to leave his 13-year-old son an orphan. His kidney transplant of years ago is failing. But it appears a miracle is approaching if we have the foresight to see it. He was rushed to the hospital the other day, hardly breathing. He’s now on oxygen and a feeding tube. But in the panic, a neighbour who only recently heard of Mark’s crisis has offered his own kidney. He knows he has the same blood type because Mark, years ago, donated blood to him in one of his health crises. So he feels indebted to Mark. So we have a donor, but I don’t have the money for the transplant, which, with the cost of the operation, the hospital stay, post-operative meds, is about $2,000. Can you or anyone help me in this emergency? I know Mark is ready to be with the Lord. He’s a man of strong faith in Jesus, but the thought of leaving his dear boy behind as an orphan, well, it’s just heartbreaking. The boy’s mature. He has wonderful faith. He’s very good at school. He’s intelligent. He has great dreams for the future. He comes home each day and cooks dinner before doing his homework. Please, in all my years, I’ve never sent out a more urgent appeal. Could you stretch yourself for the sake of providing life to a poor man who has faithfully brought up a child? This is an urgent appeal for the cost of a kidney transplant. The donor and the patient, they’re at hand, and so is the surgeon waiting. You can send a donation through faithquestradio.com, or you can send to my P.O. Box 366, Littleton, Colorado, 80160. Forgive me, please, if this email offends you by laying a burden on you, but I simply couldn’t withhold. In text to me recently, the child, this boy, has said to me, it’s okay. After all this crisis, joy will come and rest as well. It’s okay, granddad, he says, everything will be fine. I believe, I have believed in God. Recently, he had no food and said, I’ll be fine, granddad, I do fast sometimes. God will provide soon, I have to believe. I have the belief. I believe in God. There is nothing he cannot do. Yes, I have faith, and I know God will do it and make a way. He has never failed me in one day in this time of difficulty. Good grief, this from the mouth of a thirteen-year-old boy, out of the mouths of bathes and Out of the mouth of babes thou hast perfected praise. I am overwhelmed by such simple trust. I seriously hope to have a childlike faith like this. His faith shows mine up. O Father, do not fail this child’s faith. Please then, friend, even if it hurts, please give. Even if it is a sacrifice to do so, even if I have appealed to you too much already, even if you wish I would shut up. Thank you. God bless you. Cheerio.
