Bible Study Romans Part 54-Outward Signs

Welcome to the program Study in the Chapel.

God's Word is supreme at Chapel Ministries.

We consider it absolutely essential to a proper relationship with God.

We study it, we love it, we rely on it every minute of every day.

The following program is an edited recording of the regular Bible studies we hold, and we decided to share these with you in the hope that you too will be able to find inspiration, encouragement, and ultimately salvation through discovering Christ in Scripture.

Our intention is to travel all the way through the Bible.

It will be a challenging journey, but one that will undoubtedly bring you to a decision.

Through this study, you will be faced with either believing or rejecting what God has said to us.

It is our intention to provide you with enough knowledge to make an informed decision about God and his word.

We strongly encourage you to listen intently and diligently, because though at the moment you may not realize it, these things are truly a matter of life and death.

In fact, these are matters of eternal life and eternal death.

Never treat what God has said lightly.

There's truly nothing more important to you.

Now join us as we seek God's will through his inspired word.

This has been rough, but it has to be said.

And you know, the reason this has seemed so uncomfortable is that we're just not used to being spoken to like this, are we?

The news from our pulpits never reaches such a painful level as what we've been hearing from Paul of late.

In fact, it's rarely painful at all, and that's a real problem.

Our preachers, even if they wanted to, cannot veer off the smooth, friendly, pothole-free path.

They can't afford to upset the congregation, and I mean can't afford to, at least that's what they think.

You see, our churches are no longer places for study, worship, and devotion.

They're profit centers.

These things are run like businesses now rather than somewhere that God can be glorified.

The measure of success is no longer the character of the people, the holiness of the people, the faithfulness of the people toward God.

Now the only measure of success is headcount.

If you're not bringing in the crowds at ever-increasing numbers, then you're failing.

And if you're a preacher under the employee of the major congregations, the problem is worse.

The big churches, especially in America, are struggling with declining membership and have been for decades.

The pressures to reverse the dwindling numbers is so intense and the no-holds-barred approach has been employed.

Now, I don't have to be specific, do I?

You all know me well enough to guess at what I'm hinting at.

Listen, I'm not against filling the sanctuary, but I'm against filling the sanctuary at all costs.

If getting them through the door is your primary goal, well, then you're gonna be forced to cater to the flesh.

The worldly churchgoer wants to be pampered, not scolded.

And it seems like there's no one left but worldly churchgoers, and they'll come through your front entrance if they can go out the same way, but with a smile, no exceptions.

John, why do you constantly remind us of these things?

Why are you so against the feel-good nature of modern preaching?

Listen, because any thorough examination of scripture, the only type of examination of scripture that can be truly effective, if you're not interested in studying the whole Bible, don't bother with any of it.

That's no less dangerous than reading only a portion of a 10-page set of instructions on diffusing a bomb.

Listen, missing one step can lead to destruction.

And if you study the whole Bible diligently, it will reveal, listen to me, that God's more interested in tearing us down than lifting us up.

He wants to purge us of our corrupted, out-of-balance emotions.

And that involves pain, sacrifice, and humiliation.

Listen, if you want to preach a message that pleases the world, you're not going to be preaching out of this book.

Back here in Romans, we read, for the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you as it is written.

Similar to us today, the Jews of Paul's time were not well served by their religious leadership.

They only emphasized certain portions of scripture, again, just like we do today.

They only highlighted those that appealed to the pride of the people.

And so Paul's statement regarding God's name being blasphemed by them must have caught the Jewish crowd of the Roman congregation completely off guard.

Paul is saying that the book the Jews so greatly revered and leaned on for their sense of self-worth actually says that they, of all people, will bring dishonor and shame on the name of God.

This is almost too much for them to process.

Now, Paul wasn't specific as to which scripture told of their betrayal.

There are a few possibilities.

John Gill and others suppose it was this passage out of Isaiah 52, 5.

Now, therefore, what I have I hear, saith the Lord, that my people is taken away for naught.

They that rule over them make them to howl, saith the Lord.

And my name continually every day is blasphemed.

The Cambridge commentary, on the other hand, suggests the reference was to Ezekiel 36, starting at verse 20.

And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.

But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen whither they went.

Therefore, say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord God, I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name's sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen whither ye went.

And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them, and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, saith the Lord God, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

Now, once again, I must advise you that just because this section was written for the Jews, just because we seem to be spending time explaining this as if it were solely for the Jews, doesn't mean we Christians are free from the guilt of Paul's accusations.

In fact, that attitude is what this whole chapter is combating.

Paul is warning, okay, yes, the Jews, not to assume they're innocent or at least clear as far as judgment is concerned.

But everyone that reads this section, everyone that reads this letter needs to pay attention.

And frankly, if you're the least bit concerned about your relationship with God and his son, it's in your best interest to take these statements personally.

Am I through my actions causing God's name to be blasphemed?

Am I hurting my father by the things that I do, by the attitude I have, by the lack of holiness in my life?

Does that really matter, John, to a Christian?

Of course it does.

Do you want to bring shame onto your father?

Am I grieving?

Am I giving the devil the window of opportunity he's always looking for to impugn the reputation of God?

Listen, friend, it doesn't even have to be that involved.

Any sign of insincerity gives a resistant to repentance world all the excuse it needs.

Convincing sinners, listen to me, to leave the world behind is not easy, but it's necessary for salvation.

The spirits of those who are seeking God, they may see the propriety of the words you speak, but their flesh will not want to go along with it.

And if your flesh seems unpersuaded, we'll never achieve our goals and souls will be lost forever.

If we go around talking about the power of God to change the hearts of men, but live lives no different than the world does, then we're going to send the message that the cross is weak.

Now, this is especially grievous if you're in the pulpit.

Listen, I've noticed that when people leave the church, they never do so because of something God said or did.

In almost every case, the offense came from someone from within the church.

Nearly always the pastor, priest, or ministers.

Do you remember how angry everyone was when the Catholic priest sex abuse scandals started hitting the papers?

The world was shocked at the reports of the depravity, the cruelty, the selfish and senseless exploitation of trusting members of the congregation.

Do you remember all of that?

It was the perfect dark storm for the devil and his forces.

Not only did those things foster disgust and rage, but also fear.

People were genuinely fearful of becoming victims or their loved ones becoming victims in a place that was meant to be a refuge and a shelter from the evil of the world.

I gotta tell you, in that battle, the true church was damaged, not because of anything God did, but instead because his name was caused to be blasphemed.

Those who associated with God failed him, and he suffered the consequences.

Listen, this verse has no expiration date.

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

Verse 25, for circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law, but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

Now the King James doesn't help us much here.

Let me read this same verse from the English Standard Version.

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.

Now that's a lot better, but we still need to do a little more probing.

Paul is still rebuking the Jews, and he's still focusing on their hypocrisy.

For the typically devout Jew, then and now, the law is of central importance.

To many, it's what defines them.

But they don't seem to take its contents very seriously.

Their attitude is that the law is in itself what is important, but by and large, they pay little mind to what it says.

Now, that's not to say they ignore it completely, and that's Paul's point here in verse 25 and the next view, uh next few.

When it came to adhering to the law, the typical Jew, no need to paint with too broad of a brush, but the typical Jew did only what would get noticed.

They followed the rules that were visible, if you will.

And this is one of the reasons Paul chose to speak of circumcision.

Now, not the only reason, but one of the reasons.

I assume most of you know what circumcision is.

Well, as you know, a circumcised man looks different than an uncircumcised man.

And everyone who has access to the area where circumcision takes place can tell immediately the difference.

It's obvious.

Now, most of you are a bit confused, since in a decent society, the place that is circumcised is always hidden.

Yes, true, hidden from the general public.

But those to whom this is most important, namely the religious leadership, they have ways of finding out.

That's exactly what happened to Paul and his companion Titus over in the letter to the Galatians.

Paul briefly recounts a story where the Jewish leadership found a way to, as Paul put it, spy out their liberty.

In other words, these men intentionally took a peek at them to see if they were circumcised.

Now, just as a side, Paul said they spied on him and his companions, but the truth is those peekers weren't really focused on Paul.

They probably felt confident that he was compliant.

He was a born and raised Jew.

The circumcision for Paul happened long ago, long before he even had any chance in the matter, and they were probably pretty sure of that.

But one of Paul's companions was Greek by birth.

He was a Gentile.

And it was that man they wanted to make sure was circumcised.

Now, no time for any other details.

I'm only bringing this up to show you that if one was in the Jewish community who was not circumcised, it would become known one way or another.

In other words, they felt it too important to take anyone's word for it.

And because of that, people would comply with that requirement because if they didn't, someone was going to find out.

Therefore, to many Jews, circumcision was an outward sign that one was fulfilling the requirements of the law.

Some even said it was the best way or even the only sign that someone was following God's law.

But Paul does not agree because he says, for circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law.

But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

Listen, following the outward and observable requirements of the law is not all it, all there is to it.

Seems like an obvious thing to say, but I don't think Paul would have said it if he didn't have to.

And let's face it, the same obvious statement needs to be made to many in our own day, Jew or Christian.

It's human nature to assume that if I look like a saint, then everyone will think I am.

Well, Paul is saying, you may be circumcised, but if you break any of the other laws, then your circumcision, your outward practices don't do you much good, and they're not helping God either.

You might as well be doing nothing because hypocrisy does far more damage than disobedience.

Paul is continuing his attack on the duplicity of his fellow Jews.

Now to further this point, he says something else that's rather shocking.

Listen to this, verse 26.

Therefore, if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his circumcision be counted, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

He's still at it.

He's doing everything he can to shame and jolt his audience with unshakable logic.

At the time, very few people outside the Jewish race were circumcised.

In fact, that's one of the ways the Jews split up the world.

It was simple.

There were those who were circumcised and those who weren't.

At least that's how the Jews saw things.

The world was made up of the circumcised and the uncircumcised.

The Jews were the circumcised and the heathen were the uncircumcised.

That's what Paul is talking about here.

Therefore, if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

Now, this must have left his audience in stunned disbelief.

To the Jew, there was no reconciliation for the heathen, no way of fellowship with God.

Of course, that's not what their scriptures said, but they chose to ignore those other parts.

They would not allow any suggestion that the uncircumcised, the heathen, could ever match the Jews in any category.

They couldn't achieve their standards of devotion, they couldn't achieve their standards of worship, and they certainly couldn't achieve their standards of morality.

That was the prevailing mindset among the Jews.

But here, Paul turns that notion upside down.

Now I want to pause here for just a second and make sure you understand Paul isn't trying to lift up the heathen.

He wasn't saying that he admired the non-Jew.

In fact, his message really didn't have anything to do with those outside the Jewish family.

Paul was simply making the point that the Jew had a highly distorted view of their own status with God.

They thought, I'm a Jew, therefore God loves me.

They thought they were so beloved that their actions and behavior were irrelevant.

When a Christian missionary came into town and told them to repent, heck, when John the Baptist or Jesus told them to repent, they couldn't understand what they were talking about.

Why should we change our thinking?

We're the circumcised, we're the privileged.

Talking to about repentance.

Well, Paul lays down a little logic in response to that attitude.

For circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law.

Sure, if you're circumcised, that's a good thing.

No one is discouraging you from following the mandate that all males must be circumcised.

God wants you to do that as a sign of your Covenant with him, but it isn't going to achieve what God intended it to if you're breaking the rest of the law.

But if thou be breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

Look, circumcision was specifically put in the law as a sign that the Jew belonged to God, that they were under his authority.

Genesis 17, 10 is the document that tells us that this is my covenant, which ye shall keep between me and you, and thy seed after thee.

Every man, child among you shall be circumcised, and ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.

Circumcision was a visible, recognizable mark of God's ownership over the Jewish people.

But that holy sign, that sign meant to bring God glory will actually bring him shame if you fail to follow the rest of the law.

I'll say this again.

Paul isn't saying this, but I am.

It would be better if you weren't associating yourself with God at all, if all you're going to do is disgrace him.

Now, why am I parking here?

Because a false profession of love and devotion to God can do far more damage to the church than all the bars and brothels put together.

Half-hearted, insincere religion is like a cancer inside the congregation of God's people.

For circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law.

But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.

When you break the law, you disassociate yourself with God, and worse, you make him look bad.

Therefore, if the uncircumcision, those that are not in covenant with God, keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

If the uncircumcised heathen, through his demeanor and deportment, show the true spirit of the law, can't he then be counted among God's people functionally?

Now, of course, Paul is not saying all it takes to become a child of God is adhering to the law, but an uncircumcised righteous man is far better, is a far better representative of God than a circumcised lawbreaker.

Now, quickly, let me remind you, though I probably don't need to, Paul is not suggesting that anyone has kept the law or lived even a sinless life of any sort, revealed law or not.

These are hypothetical statements designed to get his audience thinking about whether or not they are subject to judgment.

This entire discourse, starting at verse one, has had the aim of showing that God judges according to truth and nothing else.

That's all Paul is talking about.

Therefore, he says logically, a righteous heathen does more for God's kingdom than an unrighteous Jew.

And listen, as I've been saying, that is a shocking thing to say.

It's a far greater insult than we can ever imagine.

The Jews had a caustic contempt for the races of mankind outside themselves.

And to even hint that those outsiders could be favorably compared in any way to the Jews was nothing short of outrageous to them.

Now we're nearly finished with this second chapter.

Come back to us next time and we'll wrap this up in preparation for then moving to the third chapter.

Hope to see you then.

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It is our prayer that this will be so for all of our listeners.

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