Sermon 8

I'm A True Jew! Are You?

Romans 2:17-29

If anybody knew about Jews, it had to be Paul. Philippians 3:5-6 - Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. Galatians 1:14 - I profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. If anybody had earned the right to evaluate and analyze the Jewish religion, it was Paul.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul specifically points his finger at his fellow Jews in 2:17-3:8. He has already said ...

"Ignorance is no excuse for the Gentiles", 1:17-32.

"Moralists are not exempt from guilt", 2:1-16.

But what about the Jews? Surely, if anyone is good enough to go to heaven, privileged enough to be exempted from the wrath of God, it would have to be God's own chosen people. After all, God had delivered His law to the Jews. It had been preserved and passed down by Jews for centuries. They were the possessors and custodians and teachers of God's righteous law. And the Jews were in a special covenant relationship with God. That covenant had been established with Abraham the father of the Jewish nation. God had promised to bless all the nations of the earth through the nation that would come from the loins of Abraham. And this covenant had been sealed with circumcision. In the ancient world, circumcision was uniquely Jewish, not done for medical purposes but as a symbol and reminder of God's covenant with Abraham and his descendents. God had a special relationship with the Jewish people and if anyone would be exempt from the wrath of God and would be good enough to go to heaven, surely it would be the Jews.

What Paul had to say is summarized clearly in Romans 3:9 - 10. He proves that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, that there is none righteous, not even one! Bad people are under the wrath of God, even if they are ignorant about Him. Good people are under the wrath of God, too. Even God's own chosen, covenant people are sinners and under the righteous wrath of God. Here's why:

Hebrew Pride, 2:17-20.

According to Paul, the Jews were guilty of the sin of pride. They thought that being a Jew was enough. They rested in the fact that they were the custodians of God's law. They boasted in their relationship with God. They claimed to know God's will, to have learned right and wrong from the law and to always lean toward the right. they considered themselves to be guides to the blind, lights to those in darkness, instructors of the foolish, teachers of the immature and through the law to have in their possession the embodiment of knowledge and truth. There sin was pride. God hates pride, Proverbs 8:13. God resist the proud, James 4:6. Malachi 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that ... all the proud ... shall be

stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. The pride that the Jews had in their own Hebrew heritage kept them from seeing their need.

Hebrew Hypocrisy, 2:21-24.

A second sin of which the Jews were guilty was hypocrisy. While they might teach and preach against stealing, adultery and idolatry were they keeping the commandments which they taught? While with their lips they might boast in God's law, with their lives they dishonored God by breaking His law.

Paul quotes (v. 24) from the Old Testament - Isaiah 52:5. He reminds them that, according to God, they had failed to live righteously before the Gentiles. They were so quick to condemn the Gentiles but so slow to confess that because of their sinfulness and rebellion they had given Gentiles a reason to mock the name of God.

With the privilege of possessing, preserving and preaching God's law comes the responsibility to practicing what you preach. The Hebrews were historically hypocrites.

Hebrew Ritualism, 2:25-27.

It seems typical of mankind throughout history to regard religion as primarily a matter of ceremony and ritual. "I am a religious person if I go through certain religious rituals and ceremonies." The ritual upon which the Jew rested his standing with God was circumcision. (Paul will have much more to say about that in chapter 4).

But here he makes the point that circumcision is an outward act which symbolizes an inward reality. The ritual has no value without the reality. It is like one who puts on a wedding band as he makes a marriage covenant with his bride. The ring itself is nothing but a symbol. It has great value if the vows are kept, but it is an empty sham if the vows are violated. If you are not going to be a faithful and loving husband, why wear a wedding ring? While you can be faithful husband without a wedding ring and you can be a righteous person without circumcision. But the symbol without the reality is worthless. it is not religious rituals that give one a right standing with God - not christening or communion or confession or confirmation; not walking a aisle, taking a preacher's hand, joining the church or even being baptized. You can be baptized until the tadpoles all know your Social Security Number, but that is not what makes you good enough for heaven. God is not looking for external rituals. He is looking for an internal relationship.

A True Jew, 2:28-29.

A true Jew is one inwardly. Jewishness is not proven by outward indicators. True circumcision is not what happens to you physically at birth. It is what happens when your heart is changed, not by the letter of the law, but by the Holy Spirit of God who convicts us of sin and by whom we are born again.

I am not a Hebrew and I never will be. But I am a Jew, a true Jew, a Jew in the sense of verse 29. My heart has been changed by the Holy Spirit. I've been born again.

My friend, if a Jew with all his spiritual privilege, his possession and knowledge of God's law, his heritage of a covenant relationship with God, his zeal for the rituals and ceremonies of his religion cannot be declared righteous by these things, then neither can you or I. The message of the gospel, the good news, is that what you and I can never earn, God has provided as a gift. If you have come to the point where you acknowledge that you have nothing to commend you to God, nothing which merits your eternity in the presence of God, then accept the righteousness of Jesus Christ by faith. Trust in His sacrifice in your place, and in His righteousness in place of yours, and you will have eternal life.