Paul declares even Jews Guilty before God Part 2
Romans
2:21-24 You, therefore, who teach another,
do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you
steal? You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who
abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who make your boast in the law, do you
dishonor God through breaking the law? For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,”
as it is written. NKJV
The Jewish
race had become blinded to their condition in sin under the cover, cloak, and covenant
that God made with Abraham and supposed that just by the mere fact of being
born a Jew into a Jewish family automatically made them right with God. In the
mind and understanding of every Jew was no guilt before God, which belonged
only to the pagan or Gentile not privy to the Law of God. They supposed that it
was by their having received God’s Law made them right with God. The reality
and fact that they too were transgressors of the Law of God never brought them
under conviction of sin and never showed them that they did not measure up to
God’s Holy standards. They were under the illusion that having the Law of God
is what saved them.
Paul quickly transitions from his sarcastic
elevation of their knowledge of God’s Law, their view of the Law’s excellence,
and their confidence in their understanding of God’s will and Law by asking them
5 very piercing, penetrating, and poignant questions designed to immediately
bring them down into the truth about themselves and down to earth with all the other
sinners even the pagan Gentiles. The first question from Paul was whether they
taught themselves first out of God’s Law before they endeavored to teach the
Gentiles. This first question resonated deep into the heart of Paul because Paul
being a member of the Sanhedrin (before his conversion to Christ) was one of
the top Jewish Rabbis responsible for teaching God’s Law to others. Paul
discovered in his own heart (after his encounter with Christ) that though he
supposed himself to be keeping the Ten Commandments outwardly, he found the 10th
commandment to reveal the truth of sin in his heart and life (Romans 7:7-11). Paul strained at being
obedient outwardly to God’s Law, but inwardly (where God sees and knows truth)
Paul lusted or desired to commit all manner of evil. Paul wanted these Jews in
Rome and elsewhere in the world to understand that God does not see as we human
beings see sin and rebellion.
The recorded History of the Jewish people clearly
showed that they were as guilty of breaking God’s Law as the Gentiles and
therefore, stood just as guilty before God and subject to His eternal judgment
in hell if they did not repent of their sins from the heart and turn to the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. As we stated in Part 1, the Jewish Nation was
led by many wicked men who served as king and consequently set the tone for the
people and they all from the king down often went into spiritual adultery and
in so doing making the Law of God of no effect in their lives. They suffered
the consequences often of their sin and rebellion as documented by practically
every one of the Old Testament Prophets especially the Prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 44:1-6). The Jews in times
past as spoken by the Lord through the Prophet Jeremiah were exceedingly
corrupt. The case was no different in the time that the Apostle wrote this
letter and it may have been even worse. We know that the religious rulers
turned the Temple of God into a den of thieves as our Lord exclaimed to them (Matthew 21:12-13) by their turning it
into a shopping mall selling and buying right in the place built to honor God
and commune with Him. The Jewish rulers were thieves of the highest order even
to the point of robbing widow’s houses (Luke
20:46-47).
The Apostle Paul being a former Pharisee and Rabbi
in the Sanhedrin surely was acquainted with many of the Jewish people and his
fellow rulers of the Jews being guilty often of committing adultery. As we said
in a recent and previous Volume of the study in this book of Romans, that it
may have been entirely possible that the man caught in the act of adultery with
the woman brought to our Lord Jesus Christ was one of Paul’s fellow Pharisee
rulers in the Sanhedrin and that’s why he was not brought. We know for sure
that whoever he was he was a Jew certainly as was the woman. It was also
entirely possible that our Lord wrote down the names of every woman each of the
men standing around had committed adultery with in their present or past. The
Jewish rulers were not only guilty of robbing God in tithes and offerings (Malachi 3:8), but they also offered Him
blemished, lame, and sick animals in the temple for their sin sacrifices (Malachi
1:8). They often robbed Him of the first fruits which was to be offered up to
Him in thanksgiving. Therefore, their boasting in God’s Law was null and void
because they continually dishonored His Law all the while thinking themselves
to be free men (John 8:33) all due
to Abraham.
Finally Paul accuses them of dragging the Name,
Nature, and Character of God through the mud by their abominable lifestyles
indulging in all these sins of the flesh and spirit right in the presence of
the Gentile blaspheming God’s Name before them. Their Fathers before them were
greatly guilty of doing such evil in front of and with the pagan allowing God’s
named to be reproached (Isaiah 52:5
& Ezekiel 36:22-23). God is Holy and His Command to His people is to be
holy (Leviticus 11:44-45). Likewise
the person who claims to be a Christian (a follower of Jesus Christ) and lives
a life constantly, continually, and callously indulging in sexual impurity,
theft, idolatry, and other corruptions (raised by Paul with these questions)
certainly cannot belong to our Lord Jesus Christ and need to test themselves in
the light of God’s Word (2 Corinthians
13:5). Now as we said in Part 1 today any one that Names the Name of Jesus
Christ is first saying that he or she has been bought and purchased by His
Blood and belong to Him not only as son or daughter, but is also His purchased
property and the responsibility of the person for the remainder of their
earthly life as a pilgrim, sojourner, and alien can be summed up from the
following passage of Scripture:
1
Corinthians 6:15-20 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?
Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a
harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is
one body with her? For “the
two,” He says, “shall
become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with
Him. Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body,
but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not
know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom
you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price;
therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s. NKJV
“You want to mess up the minds of your children?
Here’s how - guaranteed! Rear them in a legalistic, tight context of external
religion, where performance is more important than reality. Fake your faith.
Sneak around and pretend your spirituality. Train your children to do the same.
Embrace a long list of do’s and don’ts publicly but hypocritically practice
them privately... yet never own up to the fact that its hypocrisy. Act one way but live
another. And you can count on it - emotional and spiritual damage will occur.”
Chuck Swindoll
“If men’s religion prevails not to conquer and cure
the wickedness of their hearts, it shall not always serve for a cloak. The day
is coming when hypocrites
will be stripped of their fig-leaves.” Matthew Henry
“There are two sorts of hypocrites: ones that are deceived with their outward morality and
external religion; and the others are those that are deceived with false
discoveries and elevation; which often cry down works, and men’s own
righteousness.” Jonathan Edwards
“The fanaticism which discards the Scripture, under
the pretense of
resorting to immediate revelations is subversive of every principle of
Christianity. For when they boast extravagantly of the Spirit, the tendency is
always to bury the Word of God so they may make room for their own falsehoods.”
John Calvin
“The hypocrite’s
joy destroys his sorrow; his faith and false confidence destroys and excludes
his repentance; his fear destroys his love; and his pretended love to God
destroys his fear of Him.” Ralph Erskine
“Because there is one hypocrite, men set down all the rest the same. I heard one man say
that he did not believe there was a true Christian living, because he had found
so many hypocrites. I
reminded him that there could be no hypocrites if there were no genuine Christians. No one would try
to forge bank notes if there were no genuine ones.” Charles Spurgeon
If
you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this
from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear
Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I
believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from
the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn
from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control
of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you
Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus
Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and
Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple
I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader,
Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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