We have come to expect packaging to be true and honest. If a can is labeled “green beans,” we do not doubt the label’s truthfulness. We would be utterly shocked if we opened that can and found beef stew instead. Integrity of inside and outside is at the heart of today’s application from Romans.
Paul continues to build the argument that all are guilty before God. He next turns and looks specifically at his kin, the Jewish people. “Now if you call yourself a Jew, and rely on the law, and boast in God, and know his will, and approve the things that are superior, being instructed from the law, and if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness, an instructor of the ignorant, a teacher of the immature, having the embodiment of knowledge and truth in the law—” (Romans 2:17–20, CSB) That’s like the label on the can.
But then Paul opens the can. “You then, who teach another, don’t you teach yourself? You who preach, “You must not steal”—do you steal? You who say, “You must not commit adultery”—do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? For, as it is written: The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” (Romans 2:21–24, CSB) The expectations don’t line up with reality.
This is nothing new. Jesus also pointed out the stark difference between the label and the contents. “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27–28, CSB)
Many who heard Paul and Jesus’ pointed declaration probably shrugged their shoulders and thought, “So what? We are the circumcised children of the Abrahamic covenant. We have the Torah and the Temple. We can trace our ancestry to the sons of Jacob/Israel.”
Paul answers, “Circumcision benefits you if you observe the law, but if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision…For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter. That person’s praise is not from people but from God.” (Romans 2:25–29, CSB)
Paul is not striving to separate but to gather. To his Gentile/Roman audience, “So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the very words of God. What then? If some were unfaithful, will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? Absolutely not! Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar, as it is written: That you may be justified in your words and triumph when you judge.” (Romans 3:1–4, CSB) Paul is leading towards the conclusion that all are guilty before God, Jew and Gentile alike.
What application do you see in this? Let’s swap out Jewish for whatever denomination or church group you call home. We can make the same mistake and boast in the outward while the inward is still corrupt. We can boast in our doctrine and practices. Put faith in the sacred participation in baptism and communion. Point to the good works of charity. And take comfort in our attendance and tithing. Those are all good, but if we are not inwardly changed and reborn in Christ, none of those things matter. Our faith is not in our practice of the outward. Our practice comes from our faith in Jesus. If our lives do not reflect an inward change, then something is terribly wrong.
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