Introduction
I consider
it a great benefit to be challenged not only by unbelievers who seek to
discourage me but also by believers who seek a deeper understanding of their
faith and pastors who remind me that the Gospel is always bigger than my
limited knowledge and understanding. I am also deeply moved when pastors from
other countries contact me seeking prayer and encouragement. When I sit in my
office preparing lessons every week surrounded by countless theological
resources, I often forget that there are many pastors trying to do exactly what
I am doing—teaching those who will listen, about God revealed in the person of
Jesus Christ and the salvation hope that is available through his death and
resurrection, yet they do so with very few of the resources I have at my
disposal. Nevertheless, this week I had the opportunity to communicate with a
pastor ministering in an extremely poor country who I am familiar with and
consider a friend. I know his heart and his deep desire to share Christ’s love
with those in his community. Furthermore, I know that he is passionate to see
that those given to his care mature in their Christian faith and walk. As is
the case in the life of all pastors from time to time, he was discouraged that
he wasn’t making much progress; at least not in his mind. But I see something
different, I see him caring for those in need, I see him love his wife and children,
and I see him sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ to those in his community
who are broken and hurting; I see a good man. Even though he may not see it, I
can see that he is Honoring God.
I got to thinking about what it
means to honor God and the way many of us (especially me) can at times deceive
ourselves into thinking that we are Honoring
God when really we are just pursuing our own agendas. For example, we think
that speaking out against abortion is Honoring
God yet we fail to provide support
and assistance, when needed, to mothers who don’t chose to abort a child. We
think that speaking out against homosexuality is Honoring God yet we fail
to make clear that it is the sin not the sinner that God hates. We think that pursuing
issues of social justice is Honoring God yet we ignore the fact that Jesus
came to save and transform oppressors in the same way as those who are
oppressed. We think that speaking out against the decaying morality of our
culture is Honoring God yet our own lives seldom reflect the
image of Christlikeness envisioned in the Scriptures. We think that telling
others about Christ is Honoring God yet we are seldom concerned about
whether or not new believers ever become mature Christians in accordance with
Scripture. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that these things don’t honor God.
I’m saying that pursuing one while neglecting another negates or diminishes the
honor we seek to bring God. When we define the Gospel that honors God as narrowly
comprising just one or a few of these matters as representing the Gospel in its
entirety, God is not honored as he should be. God is not properly honored
because the Gospel then becomes an agenda; a cause to be pursued as opposed to
a relationship to be entered into. It is only when we are transformed on the
inside that our actions on the outside are Honoring
God. As always, favoring God or
seeking God’s favor through our actions or as a result of our position as
opposed to seeking a transformative relationship with God is nothing new. This
was also a common problem with the Biblical Jews and something that both Jesus
and his disciples often railed against. Let’s look at one such instance:
Subject Text
Romans 2:17-29
17Now you,
if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your
relationship to God; 18if you know his will and
approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19if
you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are
in the dark, 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants,
because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—21you,
then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against
stealing, do you steal? 22You who
say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who
abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23You who brag
about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24As
it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
25Circumcision has value if
you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you
had not been circumcised. 26If those
who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded
as though they were circumcised? 27The 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.
28A man is not a Jew if he is
only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29No,
a man is a Jew who 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.
Context
Paul is
writing this letter to the Christians in Rome while he was in Corinth on his
way to Jerusalem where he planned on delivering a collection to the poor Christians
there. It seems clear that the Roman Christians are primarily Jewish yet a few,
no doubt, are Gentile. Much of the letter revolves around life lived under the
Law as opposed to life lived by the Spirit. The overall thematic context of the
letter is important to recognize. The major themes of Paul’s letter to the
Romans includes: Sin, Salvation, Growth, Sovereignty, and Service.
Ø
Sin—Sin is the refusal or failure to conform to
God’s will and instruction for our lives. All have sinned either through their
outright rebellion against God or by simply ignoring Him.
Ø
Salvation—Sin is the sign that clearly points to
the need for salvation. However, salvation is not something we deserve or have
earned. It is something God has graciously offered us because Christ has paid
the penalty for our sins. In order for the Good News of God’s gift of salvation
to actually be “Good News,” we must humble ourselves and accept that Jesus died
for our sins and if we believe that then our sins will be forgiven.
Ø
Growth—It is through the power of the Holy
Spirit that we are sanctified. Sanctified (“set apart”) in the sense that we
are set apart from sin and now have the power to grow in Christlikeness. It is
because of the personal relationship with Christ and the power of the Holy
Spirit that we are set free from the demands of the Law and the fear of God’s
punishment to live in an ever growing relationship with Christ.
Ø
Sovereignty—The path to salvation and the power
to grow in Christlikeness has been mapped out by God from the very beginning. With
the inauguration of the New Covenant in Jesus Christ, salvation and growth in
our relationship with God is now available to all humanity regardless of race,
gender, status, or religious pedigree.
Ø
Service—When the object or our service is God,
our service becomes honoring and our outward actions of service become a
reflection or our inward transformation by the Holy Spirit. Our service and our
obedience are not motivated by seeking God’s favor but are instead motivated by
our deep gratitude for what God has done for us through Jesus Christ and in us
by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Text Analysis
In vv. 17-20
Paul is restating what Jews believed about themselves as God’s chosen people
and what many Gentiles believed about Jews. Specifically, that the Jews had
received God’s law and were thus set apart as specially favored and blessed by
God. To a certain extent, this is true but only within specific parameters. And
those parameters included perfect obedience to God’s law—both in word and in
spirit. However, with the designation of being God’s “chosen people” comes the
added responsibility of guiding people to a knowledge of God, being a light
that shines into the darkness of people’s lives so that they can more clearly
see their need for God and teaching people to overcome their ignorance about
God. “The Jew, as characterized by Paul, possesses in the law ‘the embodiment
of knowledge and truth;’ this fits him to be a guide to the blind and a light
to those who are in darkness.”[1]
The context
of Paul’s argument presumes that Paul’s depiction of the Jews in vv. 17-20 is accurate.
Paul, therefore, moves on in vv. 21-23 to challenge his readers to consider if
their lives, in fact, reflect who they claim to be. In other words, do they
practice what they preach? They claim to be teachers of the law, but are they willing
to be taught themselves especially if it is God who is the Teacher (Isa 54:13;
Jn 6:45)? They rightly tell people not to steal but are they blind to their own
theft (Mal 3:8-9)? In their righteous indignation, they command the people not
to commit adultery, but do they refuse to recognize the many forms (spiritual
and physical), both overt and subtle, of adultery in their own lives (Hos 4:14;
Mt 5:27-30)? While the Jews bragged about having the Law, they were still
guilty of breaking the Law which is why there was a sacrificial system in the
first place! So was there grounds to brag about having received the Law when
they were, in fact, guilty of breaking the Law (Jam 2:10; Gal 3:10)? Paul’s
point is that the Jews are guilty of committing the very sins they are warning
some against committing and
condemning others for committing. In
doing so, their hypocrisy brings dishonor to God according to v. 23. “Even the
covenant people brought God’s name into dishonor on account of disloyalty and
disobedience.”[2]
If
dishonoring God weren’t bad enough, the behavior of the Jews gave the Gentiles
license to blaspheme God! This is no surprise to us is it? How many countless
people have rejected God in our own day because of the sinful behavior of Christians?
Well it was no different in Paul’s day. When the Jews, who claimed to be
special people chosen by God, behaved the same way as everyone else, it
necessarily reflected poorly on God who supposedly set them apart from all the
other people. In v. 24, Paul is quoting Isaiah 52:5 when her refers to the
blaspheming of God’s name. Although the reference in Isaiah is the result of “Pagan
oppression of Israel, Paul creates an ironic twist by attributing this
blasphemy to Israel’s sinfulness in the midst of pagans.”[3] It is true that Israel was
a chosen people. However, their ultimate purpose was not to somehow possess God
for themselves and boast about how special they were to have been chosen by
God. Instead, they were supposed to be a signpost pointing the surrounding
nations toward God—not just in their words but in their deeds as well. However,
their own sin has obscured their intended purpose. “Israel, whose special
vocation it was to sanctify God’s name by its obedience and so promote the
glory of God’s name, is actually the cause of its being dishonoured.”[4]
Circumcision
was a sacred act performed on the physical body symbolizing the Jew as different
from the peoples of the surrounding nations. Therefore, Paul uses this
opportunity to address the matter of circumcision in vv. 25-27 not just as a
ritual observance, but the spirit of the ritual. “Although this is a complex
passage, its fundamental point is clear: it is no use for Jewish Christians to
impose a standard upon Gentile Christians which the Jews have historically not
been able to keep. The reason for this is that doing the ‘just requirements of
the Law’ and keeping it ‘inwardly’ and ‘spiritually’ are what matters before
God, not boasting in the possession of the Law and the outward marks like
circumcision.”[5]
Paul makes his point clear in v. 27 when he proclaims that those who obey the
Law yet are uncircumcised will condemn those who have been given the privilege of
carrying the label of being a people chosen by God and marked in their bodies by
circumcision.
I think it
is important to remember when we read vv. 28-29, that the words are coming from
a Jew of the highest order. Paul was, in his own words, “Circumcised on the
eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of
Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee (Phil 3:5).” And do you know what all
this outward pomp and pedigree produced? Let’s review: Before Paul became the
Paul we have come to know and love through his letters, he was complicit in the
murder of Stephen and an ardent persecutor of the Church; hunting down and
putting Christians in prison with fervent diligence. It was only after his
encounter with the risen Christ that Paul experiences and inward transformation
into the type of person who could honor God irrespective of his religious pedigree,
any outward sign or other qualification. “The basic contrast in these verses is
an ‘inner’/‘outer’ contrast; a contrast between what can be seen with the eye
(physical circumcision, Jewish birth) and what only God ultimately sees (the
changed heart; ‘true’ Jewishness). The contrast between outward circumcision
(done ‘in the flesh’) and circumcision ‘done to the heart’ is well known in the
OT and Judaism. From the earliest history of Israel, God called on the people
to display the kind of inner transformation that could be called a ‘circumcision
of the heart.’”[6]
It is
important to understand what Paul is
and what Paul is not saying in these
verses. Paul is not saying that the
Law and circumcision are irrelevant in and of themselves. Paul is saying that “Despite their historic
advantages, Jews have no special claim on God’s favor, no ‘pull’ with the
judge, as it were. Mere possession of the Law does not distinguish the Jew from
the Gentile in God’s sight, but doing what is right gives distinctiveness. Possession
of the Law is no unique privilege or ground for boasting, since it has not been
accompanied by obedience…All those who obey God’s law, whether through
observance of Torah or submission to the law written on the heart, are
circumcised in the inner being and are approved by God. In so arguing Paul
builds on the stance of the prophet Jeremiah, who argued that circumcision of
the heart has the greatest value to God (cf.
Jer 4:4; Rom 2:25-29).”[7]
Application
When I
first entered seminary, I thought I had God figured out. I had been a Christian
my whole life and thought that seminary would fill in a few of the technical
details that I lacked. Instead, seminary taught me that I wasn’t missing a few
technical details, I needed to scrap everything and start over. What I needed
most wasn’t to improve my theological expertise, I needed to learn how to
change me. Why did I come to that conclusion? I didn’t want people to turn away
from God because of me; I didn’t want people to “blaspheme God’s name” because
of me. I wanted people to fall in love with God because of me; I wanted my life
to be a model of Honoring God, but I
realized that I needed what Paul called a circumcision of the heart. Is that
what you need as well? Let’s take a closer look at the problem and how unbelievers
are emboldened in their continuing efforts to “blaspheme the name of God.”
“Americans today are more devoted to seeking spiritual
enlightenment than at any previous time during the twentieth century. Yet, at
this moment of optimum opportunity, Christianity is having less impact on
people’s perspectives and behaviors than ever. Why is that? Because a growing
majority of people have dismissed the Christian faith as weak, outdated, and
irrelevant.
“Increasingly,
the stumbling block for the Church is not its theology but its failure to apply
what it believes in compelling ways. The downfall of the Church has not been the
content of its message but its failure to practice those truths. Christians
have been their own worst enemies when it comes to showing the world what
authentic, biblical Christianity looks like—and why it represents a viable
alternative to materialism, existentialism, mysticism, and the other doctrines
of popular culture. Those who have turned to Christianity and churches seeking
truth and meaning have left empty-handed, confused by the apparent inability of
Christians themselves to implement the principles they profess. Churches, for
the most part, have failed to address the nagging anxieties and deep-seated fears
of the people, focusing instead upon outdated or secondary issues and proposing
tired or trite solutions.
“The
profound practical irrelevance of Christian teaching, combined with the lack of
perceived value associated with Christian church life, has resulted in a
burgeoning synthetic faith. Having been exposed to basic Christian principles
at various times in their lives, and perceiving all truth to be relative to the
individual and his or her circumstances, Americans have taken to piecing
together a customized version of faith that borrows liberally from any
available and appealing faith.
“Most
Christians…have fallen prey to the same disease as their worldly counterparts
(See survey illustration above). We think and behave no differently from anyone
else. This problem is compounded by the fact that the individuals in positions
of Christian leadership generally do an inadequate job of leading God’s people.”[8]
I wonder,
are those words and the results of Barna’s survey as painful for you to read as
they were for me? It is such a terrible dilemma that we find ourselves in. Sincere
and devout Christians fear speaking out against sin because they realize that
they are sinners themselves. Sincere and devout Christians commit themselves to
the service of others yet statistics show that unbelievers serve equally as much.
Sincere and devout Christians are engaged in the political process to transform
the culture in the same way as unbelievers. So what is it, then, aside from
being saved (which obviously doesn’t motivate unbelievers to become believers) that
sets the believer apart from unbelievers? It is obedience to Christ’s commands
and example in ALL areas of our lives; in our words and in our deeds. You see, the downfall
of many Christians is that they identify one particular area of the Christian
faith (i.e. Creationism, Sin and Salvation, Heaven and Hell, Evangelism,
Missions, Personal and Cultural Morality, Social Justice, etc.) and build their
primary understanding of the Gospel around that one area while relegating
everything else to matters of secondary concern. This was not the way of
Christ. Christ always spoke out against sin when it was needed. Christ always
went out of his way to confront those who needed to hear his offer of
salvation. Christ always opposed the culture of his day when it acted in
opposition to God’s Law and will. Christ always served those in greatest need.
Christ was ever the teacher. Christ was always a faithful friend. Christ always
put the needs of others above himself. Christ never sought the place of
prestige and prominence. Christ always made the things of God (i.e. prayer,
sacrifice, service, fasting, humility, solitude, etc.) a priority against the
things of this world (i.e. comfort, ease, self-service, praise, prestige,
power, riches, physical fulfillment, etc.). I am convinced that if each
Christian committed their lives to imitate Christ in ALL they do, many
unbelievers in the world would be compelled to follow Christ and the voice of the
Church would become relevant once again. When we allow our lives to be
transformed by the Spirit living within us so that we can daily be transformed
into the likeness of Christ in our words and
deeds, it is then that we will be Honoring
God as he deserves to be honored.
[1] Colin
Brown, ed., New International Dictionary
of New Testament Theology, Vol. 2, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing
House, 1986), p. 216.
[2] David
A. deSilva, An Introduction to the New
Testament—Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formations, (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 2004), p. 135.
[3] Douglas
J. Moo, Romans—The NIV Application
Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000), p. 95.
[4] C.
E. B. Cranfield, Romans—The International
Critical Commentary, (New York, NY: T & T Clark, 1975), p. 171.
[5] Gerald
F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, Daniel G. Reid, eds., Dictionary of Paul and his Letters, (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1993), p. 540.
[6] Douglas
Moo, The Epistle to the Romans—The New
International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: William
B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1996), p. 174.
[7] deSilva,
Intro to the New Testament, p. 609.
[8] George
Barna, The Second Coming of the Church,
(Nashville, TN: Word Publishing, 1998), pp. 5-7.
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