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Rom. 2:17-24
We invite you to join us for worship each Sunday morning at 9:30. You can download our service on iTunes or tune in for “The Good Word” each day on AM 1230 WSAL or on Hoosier Country 103.7 FM just after 8am. This section of Romans is perhaps more dynamic, pointed, and aimed straight at Jewish hearts, than any other letter Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He is at a point where he is telling the Jews in no uncertain terms they are as guilty of failure, fraud, and falsehoods before God as any nation can be. One might say in this message Paul is taking no prisoners! We need more preaching like this in our pulpits in America, and the world, today. Here Paul calls sin by the name God gives it – SIN! Notice 1st
- THE FAVOR TO THE JEWS, 17-20. Paul lists 11 ways God’s favor has been shown to the Jews. Anyone who has spent enough time in Bible study to get to Gen. 12 can figure out the Jewish nation is a nation created by God. As one continues to study the OT they learn God created and chose Israel/The Jews, to be His own chosen nation for all eternity. Is Israel a privileged nation among all nations? Absolutely! They were the ones to whom God gave His laws, decrees, precepts, and commands. The favor of God has been shown to them in that they have been taught how to correctly rely on God’s law and live under His blessing; they have been tutored (privately) with the best tutors (Moses, prophets, finally Jesus Himself) to live their daily lives in such a way they can experience the best God has to give. Now, notice how Paul addresses:
- THE FAILURE OF THE JEWS – 2:21-22. Here is a truth you should remember. One of the primary character traits of sin is greed! It shows itself in a person’s daily life as selfishness, arrogance, covetousness, jealously, envy, and slanderous speech! As greed is allowed to remain, even in the smallest inroads of a life, it grows. And as it grows it continually demands more and more because sin can never be satisfied! Watch! As sin grows it continually becomes more ruthless and destructive in its quest for satisfaction. OT history reveals that the more God blessed Israel, the more sinful and as a result, arrogant she became toward God. Israel’s failure was apparent in her fraudulence. Paul’s point here is that: IF you say all these things are really truth in your life, and if all these character qualities are really what you say you are, how come no one sees any evidence of them when they watch you? Watch how Paul so clearly reveals their failure because of:
- THE FRAUD OF THE JEWS! 2:23-24. Paul methodically lists 5 ways that the Pharisees and Sadducees should have been teaching the other Jews and the Gentiles what the life of a real man and woman of God should look like, are guilty of all the same atrocities they condemn others of doing! You remember Paul opened this chapter by telling the Jews they had no excuse for judging others because they themselves were just as guilty of doing everything they accused others of doing, and they were more accountable and responsible because they had received the truth from God Himself! Now in these verses, he is telling them “in what ways” they have defrauded their audiences, both nationally and universally! This is just one passage of Scripture that clearly points out why works of any kind, even keeping the letter of the law, and going through all the motions, which is what these so-called leaders did. The only thing these hypocrites did was to teach people how to disobey and disregard God and His Word. This section of Rom. 2 takes us deeper into the depraved heart of sinful Man and shows us the inner wickedness of sin that dwells deep within the heart of a person, and how desperately we need God’s grace demonstrated in justification. Go ask any one of the number of true men and women of God in this room right now, and you know who they are, and they will all tell you that at the point in their lives they finally gave the control of their life over to God, and let Him run it as He sees fit, they will tell you it was at that same moment life got better! Not perfect, just better, way better! The question is: Will your hard heart cause you to wait one second too long to get over yourself and let God relieve you of all that is keeping you from Him?
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