Sep 3, 2009
Meditations on Romans 2: Obedience Matters
I’m continuing my reflections on the book of Romans with chapter two today…
The second chapter of Romans continues to build the case for equality among the Gentiles and Jews in the Roman church, but at this point Paul is making a negative association that will continue into chapter three. The Jews and Gentiles are equally in trouble when it comes to sin and whether or not they consider themselves God’s chosen people, God recognizes those who are obedient, avoiding both sin and judgment of others.
This passage contains some pretty harsh words for folks who are supposedly saved by faith and secure in their salvation. They have the same sin problems as those who are not believers. They judge others. They are storing up wrath and judgment for themselves. They have stubborn and unrepentant hearts.
And the blow to the jugular? God will one day uncover all of the sin they’re hiding away in their hearts.
None of this is sounding all that pleasant.
I have a feeling that Jews in attendance may have felt a tad smug still after all that Paul said. Perhaps they still thought they had an edge on others because of circumcision: the mark of the covenant. Whatever the case may be, Paul drops a bomb on them by saying that circumcision doesn’t mean a thing if it isn’t paired with faithful obedience.
And if invalidating the mark of Judaism, one of the most hallowed rituals for the past 2,000 years with deep biblical roots, isn’t enough, he goes on to completely redefine circumcision as a spiritual act that the Holy Spirit performs on the heart. It would seem that sin has rendered the old system useless.
However, in the midst of this seeming biblical revisionism and verse after verse of bad news, there is hope that God can save and reform us.
The trouble is that his audience needs to let go of their deeply implanted sins, open themselves to the message of the Lord for them in their current day, and even let go of good, biblical practices in favor of the new things God is doing. We should marvel at the radical nature of Paul’s statement about circumcision. This is a deepening of that ritual to the core of what God intended: an obedient people who were holy as he is holy.
This is a goal for our lives: holiness. When we get that right, we are free to have fellowship with God. And when we have fellowship with God, we have tapped into the very thing we were made for.
