Romans 2:1-4; 17-29 The Moral Condition of the Jew

“You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’ “ Rom. 2:23-24

Romans 2 begins with a Jew making an observation of those nasty people in chapter 1. I can hear him remark, “Those people in chapter 1 are a bunch of idolatrous, perverts!” Then Paul addresses this Jewish observer:

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” V.1

The Jews at this time had an advantage over everyone else. They not only had the truth of God revealed in nature but they had a written, revelation from God, Himself. I’d say that is quite a privilege! The Jews had a relationship with God like no other. They knew his will; they could talk about God from a position of authority and superiority. They even marked their bodies (i.e. circumcision) to identify their selves as having a special relationship with God.

But the problem for the Jews was the same problem for the Gentiles. There was something in their nature that acted completely contrary to the teaching of the written revelation.

“you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?” v.21-23

Whatever anti-God bias was in the Gentile pagan, also resided in the Jew and resides in us from birth. As I’ve already said, just as a dog barks and a pig oinks, people have a built in nature to oppose God. The dark backdrop of humanity’s condition before God is further crafted in Romans 2.

How does God respond? That’s coming in the next email.