Romans 2 cont'd
Again I address you religious Jews. You claim that you have spiritual security by your knowledge of the Mosaic code, God is on your side, you know his will and you have a superior philosophy of life based on divine revelation. You are confident that you are the divinely chosen moral governors of the earth- guides to the spiritually blind, a light of truth in the midst of the world's dark deception, instructors to the foolish, teachers of the uninstructed and the ones entrusted with the scriptural blueprints of ultimate knowledge and truth.
You then who presume to instruct others, why don't you listen to your own words? You preach to others to not steal, but you are thieves yourselves. You condemn adultery in others, but you're guilty of it yourselves. You say you hate idolatry, but you put many things ahead of God himself. You claim to honor the commandments of scripture, but you dishonor their Author by violating them. Indeed, the Gentiles ridicule the precious name of the God of Israel because of you Israelites, just as the prophets of old have said.
Being Jewish has its advantages if you're not a religious hypocrite. Yet, if you are playing a religious game, do you think that God sees you as a true Jew? If a Gentile wholeheartedly embraces the truth God has revealed to him, isn't he more "Jewish" in God's sight than you, even though he hasn't embraced Jewish religious rites and customs? Indeed, such non-Jews, ethnically speaking, will end up judging you ethnic Jews who violate your own stated convictions. For true "Jewishness" is not a matter of ethnic origins, outward religious rites, or scriptural knowledge. True Jewish-ness is a matter of the heart- an inner "spiritual circumcision". It has to do with spiritual reality, not religious formality, and it causes a person to become a "God-pleaser" rather than a "man-pleaser".
Comments:
In the "fallen-ness of our weak and independent humanity, it seems that we tend to "flesh out" in two extreme ways. And...I think this is the point that Paul so earnestly makes as we piece the last part of Romans 1 with Romans 2. We tend toward living for the thrill and buzz of pushing beyond the boundaries associated with temporary pleasures and become addicted to those experiences to the point that we sabotage our relationships and revert to mere brutes...or...we see through that ugliness of this way of life and gravitate to a moral religious system/code that enables us to rise above living by such carnal passions. We associate ourselves with a culture that has a reputation of being "connected to God" and seek to overcome being unspiritual. Or...maybe we are simply born into such a culture and our group's accepted way of life is based on this kind of religiously-based "moralism".
The classic problem with the latter condition, however, is that just as the moral character of the pagan cultures devolve over time into more twisted forms, religious/moralistic cultures and their step-children tend to devolve into self-righteousness, judgmentalism, externalism, image projection, cultural and ethnic pride, hatred and the hypocrisy that is encoded in denial. A far cry from being "connected to God" in a genuine and vital way.
This was the general condition of first century Judaism and the apostle pulls no punches as he lays bare the hypocritial moralism that was present within its ranks. I think he is saying, "The flesh is flesh...whatever form it may take...and we human beings must be somehow lifted out of our "fleshliness" because we can't do it for ourselves. History and sociology have proven this fact." He has been writing "hard" to reveal that both the irreligious and the religious are in the same basic boat and in desperate need of a Savior.
This section of Romans 1 and 2 is indeed the "bad side of the good news", but it sets the stage for hearing about the most amazing Divine Surprise the world has ever known...the Gift of Jesus the Christ...to a world that is spiraling down into the mire of humanly energized religion(s) and irreligion.
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