Heart Reliance

If you have a Bible, go ahead and turn with me to Romans 2.

We're continuing our march through Romans, and today we find ourselves at Romans 2, verses 17 through 24.

Romans 2:17–24

Romans 2, 17 through 24.

This is God's Word.

You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?

While you preach against stealing, do you steal?

You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?

You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

You who boast in the law, dishonor God by breaking the law.

For as it is written, the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your Word.

We thank you that it shows us that we need Jesus.

We pray that you might remind us of this fact,

and that you would impress upon our hearts our need of Christ.

And it's in his name that we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

So what does a pastor do during the week?

So this week, I'll tell you, Matthew and I and 50 to 100 of our closest pastor, elder, nerd friends

spent the day in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which I don't think many, I don't know if anybody's from Cheyenne.

You're not going there on vacation, okay?

But 50 to 100 of our closest pastor and elder friends met from across Wyoming, Montana, Colorado,

for the morning and late into the evening.

And I wish I could tell you that it was riveting, that it was worshipful,

that it was up-building at every single point.

And if I did that, I would be lying to you.

It was interesting.

Now, at every moment, at all times, worshipful.

It was not.

It was exciting.

It was not.

Encouraging?

Sometimes.

But for the entirety of it, it was not all those things.

But at some points, it was.

And for those brief moments, even when there was debate and argument and disagreement,

because surprise, Christians disagree.

Look at Paul and his missionary buddies.

They disagree, and they go different ways.

It was all those things.

But sometimes in the midst of disagreement and boredom, I was reminded of the fact that we are doing God's work.

And in the midst of that, if we forget what we're doing and why we're doing it,

that a presbytery meeting or a meeting of the wider church can look a lot like Congress if we forget what we're doing.

Now, what do I mean by that?

Like I am straight taking C-SPAN in the early morning to my brain.

It is not exciting.

In fact, it's anything but.

Now, for us, why is it like Congress?

It's like Congress because we use the same form.

Because surprise, Congress is kind of based on our church government, as I've informed somebody I work with.

We also use that really weird thing of Robert's Rules, where we make motions and we second them.

We have committees that do work and then bring things to the floor.

And if you're confused about that, let's reference your childhood or maybe for some of you.

Schoolhouse Rocks, I'm Just a Bill, How Bills Get to Capitol Hill.

It's the same thing in Presbyterian church government.

Now, what makes the work of the church in the Mountain West different than Congress?

I'll tell you this.

It has the same process, yes.

There are people in suits.

Yes, there's disagreement.

There's debate.

And even for a time, we broadcasted our meetings on TV, just like C-SPAN, except for we had very few people tune in on Zoom.

But if we miss the fact that we are here for God, then it looks just like Congress.

If we forget, as we were reminded at the very end of the meeting, it can look a lot like Congress and a lot less like church if we forget the essential element that it's about God.

If we lose that fact, then it's just like Congress.

We lose who we are in the midst of all these other things.

Paul tells us this morning in this text, the Jews, God's people, forgot who they are.

They forgot an essential element of their identity.

They forgot that they had to rely upon God.

They forgot God in the midst of all these things that are good, but along the way, they lost who they were.

Just like if the church forgets the promise, not just of the Great Commission, to go and do these things, but if they forget who God is.

He is the person that brings them together.

He is the one that upholds them, that informs all that they're doing.

We can't forget that.

You might be saying, I see in this text, did they really forget?

Hold on here.

They had God's law, right?

They had his promises.

They had his signs.

All those things made them better than those unruly, ungodly Gentiles that were outside the walls.

Right?

That's what made them great.

How did they forget these things?

They had all those things, but they forgot it was about God himself.

In fact, Matthew made this reference earlier.

These first few chapters of Romans are doing that very thing.

They're showing God's people that they are just like everyone else.

They need God.

They can't do it on their own.

Even if they have all these things, that they're just like the Gentiles.

Those people that don't have the promises, don't have the land, don't have the signs,

that don't have the law.

Paul is showing them without God, they got nothing.

So this morning we're going to see, because of sin, the law can't save.

That might seem obvious to us, but it wasn't obvious to them.

And we're going to make the argument, it's not often obvious to us.

Even if you're a Jew, even if you're a Christian, even if you're a Gentile, even if you're us,

even if you have God's word, we can't forget that we need God.

And because of sin, we need a Savior.

And as we examine that this morning, we're going to look at something to take you back

to elementary school, a conditional phrase, an if and then.

If something happens, if X happens, then Y will happen.

Okay?

So first we're going to look at all these ifs.

And if you're reading along as I was reading the text,

you see that word repeated over and over again.

If.

As you've been watching through Romans, if you have been with us for any amount of time,

Paul is not giving any free passes to anyone.

Jew, Gentile, doesn't matter.

Sin is not just a Gentile problem, it's also a Jew problem.

It's in every person that's ever lived for all time, then and now and to come problem.

Look with me at verses 17 and 18.

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent,

because you are instructed from the law.

There's this whole big list.

And it starts with if, but if applies to all of these things.

If you call yourself a Jew.

That seems obvious.

Jew is God's people, right?

But remember, it's a full range of terms.

It's a full range of meanings for one term.

It could be somebody that's from Judea.

It could be somebody that's part of God's people.

And if you remember back when we studied judges, right,

the identity factor was not that you were a Jew, but you were a what?

A tribe member.

You were a Benjamin.

Benjaminite.

You were of the tribe of Judah.

Those things were important.

But now those terms have collapsed and coalesced around just being God's people.

But even still, it was a badge of honor because in worshiping God, you could assign a name to yourself.

That's pretty cool.

If you call yourself a Jew.

That's how he starts.

Then he goes on and says, if you rely upon the law, if you rest upon the law,

if your being has definition in the law,

if that is your security blanket, is that your comfort and sweet support?

Is the law the thing that you treasure most?

Are you resting and receiving upon the law?

And if you boast in God, if you glory in God,

glorious in God as another version has put it.

It's kind of a good term.

The irony is when we read boasting, and if you read the rest of the New Testament,

you're kind of keyed into what Paul will say at different points.

You're boasting in Christ.

Boasting not in yourself, but boast in the Lord.

And when you even hear that term, it should point us to the rest of Scripture.

Not just what Paul has said, but when Paul's readers were hearing this,

they were thinking back.

They were thinking back to something from Jeremiah 9

that gives us a fuller picture where he says this,

let not the wise man boast in wisdom,

let not the mighty man boast in his might,

let not the rich man boast in his riches,

but let him who boasts in this,

that he understands and knows me,

that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love,

justice, and righteousness in the earth.

Boast.

Boast.

Boast in God.

At this point, there's kind of a hint to the careful Jewish reader.

He knows that maybe there's something going on here.

Paul is not just extolling all these great things about what's going on.

Boasting.

Got it.

I have the law.

I'm a Jew.

And he goes further.

Knowing his will, or knowing the will.

That's kind of a euphemism or shorthand for having the scriptures.

He's alluding to this Jewish obsession,

and rightfully so, with God's word.

But not only that, they've studied it,

and they can discern the difference between good and evil.

They can approve what's excellent,

and then they can challenge what is not, what is not good.

They're applying God's law, kind of just like us as Christians.

They're exegeting, they're squeezing out every last drop

of what's important for application.

That's a big list so far.

And if you haven't gotten it,

Paul is using these sets of lists in this text

to explain something, really just to overwhelm us.

And that's the point.

It's a lengthy list, but why is it so long?

Yes, Paul, I get it.

I'm a Jew.

I get it.

I depend on the law.

I get it.

I boast in God.

I know your word, and I apply it.

I know the difference between good and evil.

Okay, okay, I get it already.

When I was a kid, I was pretty strong-headed.

Stubborn is probably a better word.

Sometimes they'd get me in trouble,

and I would come to my parents or my grandparents,

and I would lay out a plan for doing something.

Now, sometimes I would think through every little detail, right?

And I'd present that plan to them.

And then sometimes I would come with kind of a half-baked plan,

which is okay sometimes,

but I would know that I'm going to muscle my way through it,

whatever it was, right?

For how I was going to accomplish a list of chores,

how I was going to make money,

how I was going to start a business,

how I was going to clean my room.

That was a one-pointer with a lot of muscle,

or not a lot of muscle.

And at every turn, my dad would respond,

or my grandfather would respond with,

we'll see, or if he had questions about it,

he would say, that ain't going to work.

And my response in both those situations

would be two things almost simultaneously.

I would look around and say, okay, what am I missing?

Did I miss a detail in my plan?

And then almost a half a second later,

my thought would be, I'll show him.

I'll get it done.

The Jews at this point are checking around to see,

are they missing something here?

Paul is listing out this list,

and they're looking around.

Did I miss something?

Why is he doing this?

He should know that.

We know that.

But then at the same time,

they're doubling down as well.

Yeah, that's right.

That's who I am.

That's my identity.

But that's just the first list of ifs.

The second is this.

Look in verse 19 with me.

And if you are sure that you yourself

are a guide to the blind,

and a light to those who are in darkness,

an instructor of the foolish,

a teacher of children,

having in the law the embodiment

of knowledge and truth.

So we pivoted in this list.

It's gone from things in relation to God

to kind of things that are related laterally.

They're still about God,

but it has an application to other people.

It's an expansion on this list.

A guide to the blind.

Yeah, I have eyes that can see.

I have God's word, so I know.

Not only do I know his will,

but I promise to be a beacon of light,

to show people that are lost in darkness

what the right way is.

A standard bearer.

A city on the hill.

An example.

A paragon of virtue.

Okay.

Not ignorant,

but enlightened because of his word.

We're kind of building steam again.

A teacher of the foolish.

Instructing children.

Whether those are actual children

or children of the faith.

People that are unwise.

I know all this, right?

Because I have God's word.

Because I have the law.

Because I have knowledge and truth.

Okay, now we feel that.

The Jewish reader has kind of been drawn

into this trap.

And something's going on.

They don't know it yet.

It's like, I'm not a music person,

but I think this is the right term.

Tempo.

How fast something is going.

Right?

It's rising and rising and rising.

And so someone that's musically uneducated like me,

I can't keep up anymore.

Or when I'm running,

I'm on that treadmill,

and I'm going faster and faster,

and I know that I can kind of keep up,

but it better stop soon,

or I'm going to end up behind me

because that treadmill is going to spit me out.

Something is rising.

Something is mounting in Paul's argument.

And we need some relief.

Because these lists are long,

and there's a lot there.

And you might be thinking,

hey, why have I gone kind of point by point

through this list?

Because if we don't,

we miss the sense Paul is trying to communicate

that it's overwhelming.

There's a sense in which everything is about everyone

but the most important thing.

God.

These aren't bad things in and of themselves at all.

Right?

Let's review.

God's people.

Okay.

Yeah, that's really important.

Holiness is important.

Yeah, of course.

We should prize his law, his word.

Obviously.

Those aren't bad things.

But when we depend upon them for life,

that's when we've misstepped.

If we reduce the Christian life or following God

down to these things,

that is where we miss the mark.

There's a very famous Dutch theologian that says,

hey, about this,

when we try to keep the law,

what we're doing is saying to God,

we don't need you.

When we try to keep the law and we don't worship God,

we exchange the gift for the giver.

When we keep the law apart from Christ,

when we think that we can do it,

that's human sin par excellence.

Now, a Christian is called to keep the law,

obviously.

Right?

It's a guide for Christian living.

The law tells us what holiness looks like.

But when we do it,

and we think we can achieve eternal life,

that's where we've misstepped.

Human sin to the uttermost.

We do the same things even in our day,

except for we don't have that badge of the name.

We depend on things like our skills,

our degrees,

the titles before our name,

or those little letters that come after.

What we have in our bank account,

our membership in this church,

that's a good thing.

Coming to worship,

that's a good thing.

But that is not Jesus.

That is not God.

That's how we worship God.

That's how we commune with him.

But when we exchange God

for these things that are good,

and the things that he uses for us to know him,

it's not him itself.

And that's what Paul's readers are doing.

They're exchanging God for his good gifts,

for the things,

the means by which we know him,

and worship him.

Those are all the ifs.

Okay, what about the then?

If you look at the end of verse 20,

and the beginning of verse 21,

most Bibles will have this long dash,

right,

because he's building that tempo again.

He's gaining speed.

The pace is increasing,

and we need a relief.

If,

and then he has that dash,

and then everything that follows.

You then who teach others,

do you not teach yourself?

While you preach against stealing,

do you steal?

He's giving some relief,

but is he really?

The thens that follow the ifs

aren't X,

then Y.

It's honestly more burdensome.

Now they know that trap

that they've been drawn into.

They have to examine their own hearts

before that law

to see if they really are keeping the law.

Because we know,

because of sin,

the law can't save them.

We know that.

Look with me at the end of

verse 21.

Or sorry,

excuse me,

verse 20.

It's building,

building,

building,

building,

having in the law

the embodiment of knowledge and truth,

and then there's no relief.

These questions that come

are even more burdensome,

and they know that the trap

has not just been set,

but it's been closed on them.

Paul is talking about something different.

He's not commending them,

he's condemning them.

And he's doing it in the ways

that are honestly the most painful for them.

He realizes that in these verses,

in these verses,

the things that separated them

from all those dirty,

nasty people outside

were in fact true of themselves.

Look at teaching, right?

He's talking to them about teaching.

He's pointing back to that earlier part,

their knowledge of their law.

They're resting in the law.

They were the ones that were guides to the blind.

They taught children.

Paul is making the point

that if you're teaching,

you have to practice what you preach.

It's not the old critique

that we've heard in our day,

that if you can't do,

then teach.

He's saying,

no,

you only teach when you do.

You only practice what you preach.

That's how it should work.

Any parent is helpfully reminded about this

when you get into the far reaches

of your expertise.

Like,

I am not an astrophysicist,

right?

I don't know everything

about the biology of Colorado.

I don't know every tree

and every plant.

And what do I hear?

The constant refrain is,

Dad,

do you really know

what you're talking about?

Paul is asking them,

do you really know

what you're talking about?

Do you really understand

God's law?

Do you really understand

who God is?

Or is it more like this?

When Jesus said

to those crowds,

to the scribes and Pharisees

that sit on Moses' seat,

so do and observe

what they tell you,

but not the works they do,

for they preach,

but do not practice.

They teach,

but they don't know.

It's not just teaching, though.

It's stealing,

adultery,

robbery.

He's building this case

again against them.

The Jews,

the scribes,

the Pharisees,

anyone who thought

their salvation

came from keeping

God's law,

do they actually keep it?

And the answer is,

what?

Absolutely not.

And those things

that they very much

hated about other people

and they would point out

and say,

we're better than you,

those are the things

that they do.

Those are the things

that they're disgusted

by in other people,

but they do themselves.

They hated their neighbor's sin,

but it was their own sin

that did this.

And as if that list

couldn't grow enough,

look at verse 23.

You who boast in the law

dishonor God

by breaking the law.

It's clear now,

not only do you fail

to keep the law,

but you dishonor God

in the process.

It's clear now

that they're actually

the reason

that those people

outside,

the Gentiles,

all those other nations,

didn't worship God

himself.

Look at verse 24.

For as it is written,

the name of God

is blasphemed

among the Gentiles

because of you.

So when all those nations

were looking at Israel

and saying,

hey,

yeah,

that captivity,

that's not going

really well for you.

That really stinks.

You know,

all those promises

that you're supposed

to have,

I don't really see them

come to fruition.

That wasn't the thing

that testified

against the God

of all the universe.

It was the actions,

it was the conduct

of the Gentiles.

That is the thing

that made those other nations

look at them

and say,

that's not for me, man.

I'm not sure that's real.

It was their hypocrisy.

There's a very famous quote

that says,

missions exist

because worship does not.

If we re-engineer that

for here,

worship doesn't exist

because holiness

doesn't exist.

God's people

aren't

acting like God's people.

Now,

if we're honest,

we hear this critique

a lot in the modern day.

If it's your non-Christian

neighbor,

your family member,

whatever,

they have a fine-tuned

eye for hypocrisy

because it's on display.

And we see these

very famous failings

of so-called Christians

or so-called celebrity Christians.

Christians,

and we see them

and they say,

look, look at that.

And they're right.

Or they see those things

in our lives

and they say,

you're not like

what God's word

says you should be like.

And they're right.

But they're not

completely right.

Because the thing

that marks out

a Christian

is realizing

that God's law

shows us

our need for Jesus.

He shows us

that we can't do it

on our own.

That we need a Savior.

Paul is saying

that same thing

as Jesus said,

practice what you preach.

But in practicing,

remember God Himself.

The law is not all bad

as we've seen

because the law

is the one

that shows us

our need of Jesus.

It shows us

that we need a Savior.

It shows us

that even when

we're a Christian

and we're living

by faith,

we are actually

more sinful

than we originally thought.

The law

is a really bad means

to earn salvation

because we are sinners.

Because we have sinned

and continue to sin.

It ain't gonna work.

And if we place ourselves

in the position

of this Jewish opponent,

right,

that Paul's writing to,

we realize

real quickly

that that holiness

we're called to

as Christians,

we fail to do.

That holiness

that we think,

that right living

that's gonna earn us heaven,

it ain't gonna happen.

It ain't gonna work.

But we need something more.

We need Jesus.

Now to the one

who works,

his wages

are not counted

as a gift

but as his due.

And the one

who does not work

but believes in him

who justifies the ungodly,

his faith

is counted

as righteousness.

Paul is making

this giant case

that sin

applies to everyone,

both Gentiles,

both Jews,

to everyone.

Because blessed

are those

whose lawless deeds

are forgiven

and whose sins

are covered.

Blessed is the man

against the whom

the Lord

will not count his sin.

because of sin

the law cannot save.

If that's true,

if you call yourself holy,

if you love God's word,

if you worship

the one true God

and you teach it to others,

if you know the gospel,

if you think it's true,

all those ifs,

then you know

that you failed

to keep the law perfectly.

Then you know

you need something else.

Then you know

you need a redeemer.

Then you know

that you're actually

more sinful

than you thought.

But you're more

delivered from sin

than you could ever imagine

in Jesus.

You know you need

something else.

You know that you need Christ.

But God shows

his love for us

in that while we were

still sinners,

Christ died for us.

That is a great comfort

because the law

cannot save us.

It points us to

Christ

and shows us

our need of him.

Let's not forget

it is about him.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you

for this reminder

from your word

about our need

of Jesus.

We pray that you

would work that

into our hearts,

that you would use

the law as a guess,

as a guide

for Christian living,

as a guide

for what is holiness.

But Father,

we would see more

and more

how we fall short

and more

and more

how we need

to cling to Christ

in faith

for righteousness.

And may you show

that to us

even now

in this meal

that you have set

before us.

And we pray this

in Christ's name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Yeah.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.