Scripture: Romans2:12-29
In our first two considerations of Paul’s letter to
the Romans, he was very intentional in calling the people to faithful living
through the law. But, you may ask –
“what law?”, “which law?” Remember that
Israel only recognized one law – the Law that God handed down to Moses on Mount
Sinai. Of course, over the centuries,
the scholars of Israel had developed their own understanding of what each of
the 10 Commandments required in order to be lived out, and these
interpretations had become just as authoritative as the originals.
And as the years progressed, the “law” became more
and more difficult to live within, and some may even have seen the additional demands
as being oppressive! So the common
everyday man and woman did what they could, and took the failures that remained
to the temple every year and sacrificed for forgiveness.
Last week we read that Paul pointed out to the
people that they had no excuse when they passed judgment on others for doing
the same things that they themselves were also doing! The point is that if one person is judged as
guilty for committing a sin, that same action in your life must also be a sin,
and therefore you are, by your own words, found guilty of sin, too!
Israel had always seen the Law as the one thing that
differentiated themselves from all other people on the face of the earth. The Jews were fond of saying “We at least
have Torah; that sets us apart from the Gentiles.” Unfortunately, they generally didn’t follow
Torah any better than the Gentiles did!
Read Romans 2:12-16
Just to clarify Paul’s intent, those who he
describes as “apart from the law” are the Gentiles, and “those who are under
the law”, are the Jews. He is saying
that since Israel has chosen to follow the expanded Torah, they will be judged
by how faithful they have lived it. And
he also says that at the Judgment, Gentiles will also be judged by the way they
live their lives.
Now before we continue, it may be important to
remember that Paul wrote this letter about 20 years before followers of “The
Way” were forced to break from Judaism. So
does this mean that we are still stuck with Torah today? Not at all.
We have the teachings and preaching of Jesus to guide us, and that
will be the basis for our Judgement when Christ returns to sit in authority
over all people.
Now you may also be wondering about the “laws” (for
lack of a better word) that the United Methodist Church has put in place through
our Book of Discipline. We do our best
to follow its requirements, but we all tend to fail. But what about those who out and out deny its
structure, and refuse to adhere to it unless it suits their purposes? The word of Christ will still prevail over
anything that humanity can devise.
I think the best advise on what to do in this life,
if you have a problem in understanding scripture, is outlined in John Wesley’s
piece “The
Character of a Methodist”, which we discussed in messages earlier this
year. This is good advice, even for those
who are not of Methodist stock.
Paul’s point is that we must live, at the
very least, as though “the requirements of the law [God’s Law] are written
on [our] hearts”, and not just on paper.
Read Romans 2:17-24
How often do we, who call ourselves Christians, claim
that we keep the letter of the law, except that we never even come close to its
heart? It isn’t what we hear
about God’s way, it isn’t how often we read about God’s way in
scripture, it isn’t what we say that we believe - it all centers on how
much we love doing God’s will each and every moment, of each and
every day of this life.
Paul knows what he is talking about. He had been a Pharisee, who saw his
righteousness based in the law, instead of in the love of God! (Philippians 3:1-10) But now he sees how deluded he had been “back
in those days”. He bragged about and
rejoiced in his adherence to the law, and it led him to hate all who had ever
given their lives to Christ. And here he
is, surrendered to Jesus, proclaiming God’s truth in Christ, and seeing the
honor that arrest and beatings can produce when they come from our love of the
Lord.
And in the last few verses of this passage, he
challenges each of us to examine our own life to see just how faithful we have
been living! You know, others are
constantly watching us to see what faith is leading us to do, and to say, and
to be in this world.
Jesus called us to be faithful in Him, regardless of
what the world would have us do and be.
In Matthew 5:14-15,
He tells us 14 “You are the light of the world. A town
built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it
under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone
in the house. Our Lord wants us to be a visible marker for
all who are watching. But in Luke11:34-36, we are warned to be sure “that the light within you is
not darkness”. In other
words, to be sure that the words and witness that we are revealing are righteous
and faithful in every way, and that they haven’t been corrupted by the evil of
this world. If we proclaim that perversions
and wickedness are divine truth, and put them across as the word of God, His
Holy Name will be dishonored in the lives of all who take us as an example of
God’s people, and we may be guilty of leading them away from salvation, and
into destruction. And that will do us no
good whatsoever on the Day of Jesus!
Read Romans 2:25-27
Paul now branches out to the topic of circumcision,
which had been a sign of the covenant that Jehovah God had set in place through
Abraham for the descendants of Israel. (Genesis17:9-14). And what
was the covenant? The Lord had made
Abraham the father of many nations, and in return, the man was called to walk
faithfully and blameless with his Almighty God.
(Genesis 17:1-6) And every male who would either be born into
Judaism or who was brought into the faith, from that day on, was required to be
circumcised as a sign that he would honor the covenant.
It was an outward sign of faith, regardless of
whether you lived in faith or not. I
expect that all of you have seen people wearing a cross. Have you ever wondered whether that person
really knows and believes all that the cross signifies? Do you think that even half of them might be
followers of Christ’s way? Probably
not! If your heart isn’t in it, and if
love of God isn’t the hallmark of your faith, neither a cross hanging around
your neck, or physical circumcision of your body will do anything to grow you
in relationship with the Lord God Almighty.
Read Romans 2:28-29
And here is the punchline – faith has little, if
anything, to do with what the outside of our life shows to others. Outward appearance no longer holds any
meaning in faith, as everything has changed with the arrival of Jesus. At the Last Supper, Jesus told us that the
covenant of God had been renewed and revitalized – that now the symbol of
promise had been changed from our circumcision to the sacrificial gift of
Christ’s blood. (Luke 22:20) It was no longer what we did that made
a difference, but what God had done for us through Christ Jesus. And how do we identify with the blood of
Jesus? Not through fleshly means, but through
the circumcision of our heart! And what
does that mean for us?
It means that we are no longer removing flesh from
our bodies, but rather the incising of worldly influence that inhibits the
spiritual power that comes through the cleansing that faith in Jesus can
bring. It is no longer what we do to
prove God to the world, it is all about what God has done to prove us worthy of
Him by faith. Righteousness comes to all
who have a clean and God renewed heart, and who have allowed the Lord to
trim away all of the putrefied "spiritual flesh" that the world has forced upon our lives.
May the blood of Jesus Christ flood you and purify
you this very day!
