Romans 2:17-24
17 But if you bear the name “Jew,” and rely upon the Law, and boast in God, 18 and know His will, and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, 21 you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? 24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written. [NASB]
The Gentiles know the heart of God’s Law (i.e., the Ten Commandments) because it is written on their hearts and their consciences testify to it, even though they weren’t given it on tablets of stone directly from the finger of God. But what of the Jews, those who claim the Law as their own, and who pride themselves on being God’s chosen people to whom the mind of God has been revealed? Paul turns to them specifically now.
What follows is essentially hammering home what he has just been saying: you pride yourselves in being Jews, in having the Law, and being teachers, but what are you doing? Are you setting an example, not just to other Jewish Christians, but to the church as a whole, Jew and Gentile? Are you walking the walk, or are you just hypocrites?
“But if you call yourself a Jew,” he says, “and rest in the Law and boast in God, and know [His] will and approve the superior things, having been instructed in the Law…” Is Paul’s tone mocking here? I think there is definitely a critical edge to it, since these are the kinds of things the Jewish Christians would have boasted about. They are Jews, they take comfort (Greek epanapauomai) in the Law (not necessarily obey it), they boast in God, they know the will of God revealed to them in the Law, and they approve “superior things”–things that are of great importance. Further, they have been instructed in the Law. All of these are benefits that were denied the Gentiles.
“You are confident…” (Greek: pepoithas) indicates again that the hope of the Jewish Christians was in their status, and from that position they believed they could be “a guide to the blind, light of those in darkness, instructor of the ignorant, teacher of the immature…” They thought they could set themselves up to instruct the unenlightened, foolish babes in the faith how to live, since the Jewish Christians have all these things given to them in the Law, which is the “embodiment (or “outward form”) of knowledge and truth.” I can’t help thinking that these unenlightened, foolish babes in the faith are supposed to be the Gentile Christians. It seems to me consistent with what Paul is saying that the Jewish Christians would have looked down upon their Gentile brethren this way, and Paul is pointing this out.
This being the case, Paul continues, do these great teachers listen to their own teaching? They say don’t steal, but do they steal? They say don’t commit adultery, but do they heed this themselves? They detest idols, but do they plunder temples? This question seems a little odd: why would Jews plunder temples? Are these Jewish temples or pagan temples Paul is talking about? It’s probable that Paul is addressing here violations of the first commandment in the use of items stolen from pagan temples. This didn’t happen often, but this example serves Paul’s point that while they abhor idolatry, they are not above stealing things used for idol worship and bringing them into their houses, in violation of Deuteronomy 7:26.
I believe verse 23 is Paul’s summation: you who boast in the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law? Of course, it’s a rhetorical question (though, in fact, the Greek would allow this to be a statement, not a question). Surely they do, though they claim to know God’s will and boast in Him. Paul then uses Isaiah 52:5 (preferring the Greek Septuagint (LXX) over the Hebrew here, probably because the LXX version is the one he knows best) to underscore his point, with a touch of irony. In it’s original context, God’s name is being dishonored by the capture of His people by Gentiles. But Paul uses this passage to point the finger at the Jews, saying it is because of their disregard for the Law that the name of God is now blasphemed, or dishonored, among the Gentiles–specifically their Gentile Christian brethren.
Thought from the passage: if you are mature in the faith, that is, you’ve been a Christian for a number of years, how’s your testimony among those who look up to you? Do they see you as a model of how the Christian life is led, honoring Christ in word and deed, and showing His grace to those around you? Let us be sure to watch our lives, and pray for those who are elders in the faith, that they may be faithful teachers, sure guides, and gracious testimonies to lives consumed by the love of Christ.
