Romans — Week Three

 ROMANS 2:17-29

MAY 7 / 8, 2022

AUTHENTIC FAITH

VS RELIGIOUS PRIDE

CONTEXT: 

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.”  ROMANS 2:1

The Danger of Religious Pride:

“Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;  if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law;  if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark,  an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth –  you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself?”  (vv. 17-21a)

The Outcome of Hard Hearts:

“You who preach against stealing, do you steal?  You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?  You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?  As it is written: ‘God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.’”  (vv. 21b-24)

The Example of Circumcision 

“Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.  So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised?  The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the  written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker.”  (vv. 25-27)

The Solution to a Hard Heart:

“A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.  (vv. 28-29)

APPLICATON QUESTIONS FROM

ROMANS CHAPTER 2

• Am I ?
• Have I let religion ?
• Does my life evidence ?

FINAL THOUGHT:

“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.”  EZEKIEL 36:26-27 

Outline Fill-Ins: 

Hard Hearts

Hypocritical Lives

The Holy Spirit

Teachable

Harden My Heart

The Spirit of God