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Will Your Religion Save You?

Rom. 2:17- 3:8
but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the
heart by the Spirit and not by the written code. This person’s praise is
not from people but from God.
(Rom 2:29)

R
emember that cute little story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”
where a couple of conmen convinced the king how fine his
new clothes were - even though he was naked?

Isn’t Religion a lot like that? You want to impress God… you want to
put on your best “clothes”. But, there’s really nothing there. Oh, deep
down, you know that. You know that those clothes that you’d like to
think are beautiful, that you’re really the same dirty guy in filthy rags.
Your life isn’t really changed. But, you’re not willing to admit it… after
all, everyone around you is telling you how wonderful you look.

You see, faith and religion can be direct opposites. Religion is man trying
to do what he can to get to God; to make himself acceptable to God. Be
careful of religion. It can be deadly!
Romans In Focus

Bible Knowledge Won’t Do It (2:17-24)

Careful what you lean on.
The Jews of Paul’s day took great pride in being Jews… God’s Chosen
People. They were the one people on earth to receive God’s law.
They relied (leaned) on the law. (sounds like a good thing?) But, not
necessarily in the sense that the law was something to be obeyed (put
into practice) but they leaned on the fact that they possessed it.

“Brag about your relationship with God” Not a personal relationship…

but just that they were born into the family of Abraham. Jewish thought
- Jews go to Heaven…Gentiles go to Hell

Don’t lean on the fact that you were born into a Christian home, that you
come to church faithfully, that you can quote Bible verses, or anything
else.

Only lean on Jesus. No backup plan. The ONLY real question is “Have
you been born again” - “Do you have a personal relationship with
Jesus?” - God doesn’t have any grandchildren, only children.

Practice what you preach.

These Jews knew the law well. In fact, they were eager to teach it
to others… to show other people where they were going wrong. The
problem was that they didn’t practice what they preached.

If you compare some key statistics from active church members and
the rest of American society, you’ll find something surprising and
depressing… we’re no different. When talking about alcohol abuse,
drug abuse, teen pregnancy, we’re not much different than everyone
else in the same socio-economic level. That shouldn’t be… we know
better. As a whole, Christians don’t practice what we preach.

One of the reasons why the non-churched say they don’t go to church:
“The church is filled with hypocrites.” I can’t argue. Now, in a sense
everyone is a hypocrite. Not many (Christian or non Christian) can
say that they always live up to whatever standard they choose to live
by. But, we are called to live a higher standard and when we live like
everyone else, we’re harming the cause of Christ and we’re responsible
for keeping those people away.
Ritual Won’t Do It (2:25-29)
Jewish men not only boasted of their possession of God’s law, they also
were proud of their circumcision. They felt it was a seal that guaranteed
their acceptance by God.

In our day cans and bottles have labels on them to indicate what is
inside. Circumcision was a label and implied that the Jew was obedient
to God. However if he was not completely obedient the label was not only
worthless but deceptive. The contents of the can are more important
than the label.

Real Circumcision = obedient heart

Ritual = an outward expression of an inward reality.

Now, we’re gentiles and we don’t rely on circumcision to show our

relationship to God. But, we do have a ritual that’s similar: Baptism. Just
as Jews can think that their salvation is secure because they’ve gone
through circumcision, we can be in danger of relying on our baptism.

People Fail - God is Faithful (3:1-8)

“Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater”
So the Jews natural question to Paul would be:
“Ok, if what you say is true, does that mean that being a Jew means
nothing? Is there no advantage to being a Jew?”

Paul’s answer: “Much in every way!” “They have been trusted with the
very words of God!”

We’re so familiar with the O.T. stories that we’re not awestruck anymore.
But try to think about it as if you’ve never heard the story before:

The all-transcendent Creator of the universe decided that He wanted to

make Himself known to these lowly beings constructed from dirt. He
chooses one man and miraculously gives him a son, who becomes a
family, who become a nation. He calls these people His very own and
gives them His very word to show them how to draw close to Him. And
Romans In Focus

by His plan, they were the people through who all other men would find
Him. Beyond this, He actually becomes one of them in order to pay the
penalty for their rebellion against Him. And Through that incredible act,
He draws ALL men from ALL time to Himself.

Is there any advantage to being a Jew? Oh Yes. Is there value in religion?

Yes, if it’s the product of a right heart.

God is faithful in His promises

Another question goes like this: “If God had certain plans for the Jewish
people and many were unfaithful, is God’s plan nullified? Is God done
with the Jewish people?
Paul’s answer is that God IS faithful. He is faithful to His word no matter
what men do. God ALWAYS keeps His promises.

God is faithful in His judgment

Question 3: “If the contrast between our (Jews) unfaithfulness allows
God’s grace to shine, isn’t He unjust not to take that into account?”
“How would people know the extent of God’s kindness if it weren’t for
our rebellion?” We read many O.T. stories of how God lovingly and
patiently dealt with the rebellion of the Jews.

Paul’s concise answer is “God is perfectly just in punishing even sins of

the Jews.

Conclusion - We ALL are Guilty (3:9-20)

just as it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one,
(Rom 3:10)

Paul has shown convincingly that each of the 3 categories are equally
guilty before God, the heathen, the moral person, and the religious
person. He concludes by quoting a collection of O.T. passages to drive
home his point that EVERYONE is guilty.

As we read this section, try to read it like you’ve never read it before.
It’s about YOU, it’s about ME. Can you honestly say you see yourself in
these words?
The law was never meant to make us good… it’s to show us how bad
we are.