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Romans 2:17–20
Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God (Rom. 2:17).
Paul now focuses squarely on the Jews to deal with yet another inadequate excuse that might be offered at the judgment. His purpose is not to critique the Jews per se, but to point out a tendency of a particular type of people, a type of which the Jews were the supreme example in their day—the ultra-religious.
To show the kind of thinking to which religious people are prone, Paul presents a list of claims the Jews could make. Dr. James M. Boice breaks this list down into spiritual “advantages” and “privileges.” The advantages, he says, are: “1. God has given us His law. 2. He has entered into a special relationship with us. 3. Because we have been given His law, we know His will, and 4. We approve only the most excellent of human moral standards.” The privileges, he adds, are: “1. To be a guide for the blind, 2. To be a light for those who are in the dark, 3. To be an instructor for the foolish, and 4. To be a teacher of infants.” At first glance, these seem to be the worst sort of boastings. However, Boice provides a valuable caution. He notes that, “so far as they go, each [boast] is absolutely true.” God entered into a truly unique covenantal relationship with Abraham, the father of the Jewish people. He then gave them His law, His special revelation. The law gave the Jews a true knowledge of God’s will. And it provided them with a normative yardstick by which they were able to evaluate any human moral standard. The Jews, therefore, were equipped to fulfill the privileged task of enlightening the nations. So while all of the above may be “boasts,” we must admit that they are boasts in good and valuable things, gifts of God to His beloved people.
However, Paul is arguing in this chapter that nothing is an adequate shield against the just judgment of God except the Gospel, and even the advantages and privileges conferred upon the Jews are no exception. All the Jews’ religion will not save them from the wrath of God. They are no different from other men—in and of themselves, they can only treasure up wrath for themselves. But by the grace of God, they may be transferred to the path of those whose lives are marked by “patient continuance in doing good.”
In tomorrow’s study, Paul will show the shortcomings of the Jews’ belief that possessing the law of God will shield them from judgment.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
Are you trusting in your “religion” to excuse you from judgment? “Today the person who fits this category could be an ardent Fundamentalist, any churchgoing Protestant … a devout Catholic, or some other variety of ‘religious’ individual,” Boice writes. Never trust your religious heritage for salvation; remember, God judges impartially.
For Further Study
- Deuteronomy 10:17
- Matthew 23:3
- Acts 10:34