The second half of chapter one dealt
with humanity in general, mostly referring to Gentiles. The Jews who heard Paul’s
condemnation would've likely pumped their fists and proclaimed “Amen,
brother!” But then Paul turned to the religious man, specifically the observant
Jew. It was common for Jewish people to think they were righteous before God
because 1) They were descended from Abraham, and 2) They had the Law of Moses. 3)
They were circumcised. Adherence to the Law was symbolized by circumcision,
which is why Paul’s legalistic opponents made such a big deal over it. In fact,
the very idea that one could be declared righteous before God without being
circumcised would be literally unthinkable to them.
Now, we need to look at this
realistically. Quite frankly, the Jews of Paul’s day tended to take the
Scriptures a lot more seriously than they do today. I’m fairly certain I know
the Old Testament (or Hebrew Scriptures, if you prefer) a lot better than just
about 90% of the Jewish population in America. I certainly take the Scriptures
a lot more seriously.
Therefore, the idea that the main
issue confronting Jews today is legalism, like it was in Paul’s day, just isn’t
so. There are some Orthodox and
Conservative Jewish people, but they’re the minority.
So I’d like to take some of the
things which Paul addresses in today’s passage and apply it as much as possible
to a group of people who supposedly do take the Bible seriously. I’m
talking about Bible-believing Christians, otherwise known as Evangelicals.
Does it apply?
Paul accused the self-righteous Jews
of his day—trying to convince them that they need a Savior—by showing that
their self-image was completely unjustified. They really did see themselves as “a guide for the blind, a light for those who
are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children.”
They saw themselves as vastly superior to those filthy Gentiles who routinely
indulged in idolatry, sexual immorality, violence, etc.
How’s your self-image? Do you see yourself as superior to the non-Christians around you? Do you look at their behavior and say “Wow, thank
God I’m not like that!”?
Paul has some harsh and piercing
questions for you, really for all of us: “You, then, who teach others, do you
not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say
that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?” And if you
aren’t committing the exact same sins that others do, do you look in pride upon
them because of that? I promise, if you let the Holy Spirit examine you, if you
cry
out Psalm
139:23-24 to him, he’ll point out something that needs attention. We all tend to be harsher towards people who indulge in sins to which we're not particularly attracted. And that can lead us to somehow act as if we somehow needed the blood of Jesus less than they do, that our sins aren't quite as serious as theirs.
Remember, Jeremiah told
us that our hearts incline towards wickedness, that we’re masters of
self-deception. I can’t count how many times I’ve ranted and raved against
someone who’s committed a traffic “sin” against me (like not paying attention
when the light changes at a red light), and then catch myself later doing the
exact same thing or worse. As the old saying goes, sins are like headlights:
Yours are a whole lot more glaring than mine.
And what’s the result of this? Among
other things, Paul mentions something that should chill the heart of every Jesus-loving
believer. By his grace, may this never be said of me or you: “God’s name is
blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you!” Nothing bolsters the antagonism
towards Christianity--both among honest seekers and enemies of the Message—than
Christians who are caught in an egregious sin, especially while they're displaying a self-righteous attitude like we see here. My friend, there’s nothing that
turns people away from following Christ faster than this sort of thing.
The world is watching, and the Devil
laughs while we hand him more ammunition. Let’s not, shall we?
Please Lord Jesus, please please please.
Don’t let the Enemy use me to turn someone away from you.
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