The Book of Romans: Escape Tactics - Part 3 (2:17-29)

Welcome to Living Faith.

We are a church trusting God to win souls, make disciples, equip leaders, and multiply ministry all throughout the world.

From St.

Louis, Missouri to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Thank you for listening in.

While they do that, they still don't actually change God.

They might change their truth, at least what they're calling it, but they're not actually changing the nature or the righteousness of God.

And while they may suppress the truth of God, the reality is God has given them a moral compass written on their heart, a law within themselves.

And this is what ultimately we saw in Romans chapter 2 last week from verses 11 through 16.

Romans 2 · chapter mention

But not only that, not only do they have a law written on their heart, they also have a conscience that bears witness of that law written on their heart.

Oh no, but not only that, while they have the law written on their heart and a conscience bearing witness or testifying of the things that are true or right or wrong, they meanwhile, as the text says, accuse and excuse sin.

That they might feel free from this burden of the wrath of God possibly abiding on their life.

And I gave you the illustration of being pulled over by the cop because I can't help but think of that when I enter into these chapters, Romans chapter 2 and Romans chapter 3.

Romans 2 · chapter mention Romans 3 · chapter mention

The idea of somebody becoming conscious of the wrath of God is kind of like you driving and the lights coming on in your rear view mirror, and you thinking, what am I gonna do to try to get out of this?

Right?

You know that there's a righteous God in heaven because the truth has been manifest in you, Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

It's been manifest all through creation as well.

So no matter where you look, whether you look inside or you look outside, what you're gonna find is that there's a God who's worthy of worship, who's created you that you're accountable to.

And he's gonna judge you.

And oh no, what am I gonna do?

Because I know deep down in the secrets of my heart I'm not right with him.

And so I better find a way out.

And as you get into chapter 2 of the book of Romans, what you find is a man begins to think a certain way.

And this thinking is giving him a false comfort that he might escape the wrath of God.

Now you might hear that phrase, look at verse 3 with me.

This is Paul's word to this hypothetical man, or that individual sitting in the congregation of Rome, as this letter would have been preached or read.

It says, Thinkest thou this, O man, that judges them which do such things and doest the same thing, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

Just because you think a certain way, you think that actually is going to relieve you of the burden of there being a righteous God and you being made in his image and accountable to him?

No, it won't.

And so, as you can see, once again on your bulletin, is we've been walking through ten forms of self-defense that people make in their ideologies, in their worldviews, and in the ways that they think to try to relieve themselves of the righteousness of God.

Now, on the front end of this message, I just want you to know this.

We're in a section of scripture that is dedicated by the Apostle Paul to the church at Rome to show a man or a woman that they are condemned.

That's the whole purpose of this particular chapter.

Chapter two, and then also three.

That men and women would see that they're guilty before God, and their mouths, their excuses would be stopped.

They would stop talking about why they shouldn't be judged.

And so it's kind of a heavy message if you look at it in isolation, okay?

But what I want you to understand is that here in a few weeks, we're gonna get into the reason why Paul is drilling down so hard on the fact that men and women are guilty.

And the whole reason for him trying to convince people that they're condemned is so that he can show them there's a better way than these false comforts, these false ways of thinking to try to relieve yourself of the burden that the wrath of God abides on you.

You don't have to create some unique worldview to try to be comfortable with that knowledge.

Why?

Well, because Jesus Christ has come, He's died, He's lived a perfect life for you, and He shed his blood and offered that as a free gift without cost to you, by no charge, by no work, that can that transaction be made?

And simply by believing the gospel, God is willing to give you an escape route in His Son.

That's where we're headed.

But this morning we got to talk about the way people think.

Because I think in studying the way that the natural mind works, we also learn about our sanctify our sanctified life and our Christian experience and the excuses we make and the escape routes that we make when we realize maybe we're not living according to the way that God desires.

In the top of two, we learned about relative righteousness and this form of self-defense as it relates to our comparison with other people.

We think that we're going to escape the judgment of God because we're better than others.

The problem is we're not getting judged according to our relative righteousness or comparison one to another, but the holiness of God.

And there's presumptions made, right?

And other appeals made.

And you can see that here outlined in the bulletin.

We also talked about this idea last week of unique Gentile circumstances, and the ultimate appeal here is that because men are ignorant of the law, God can't judge them according to the law.

Right?

And we talked about how that's a really fair, reasonable thing for somebody to think.

It's the very thing that actually held me up in my initial desire to pursue God and his word.

I thought, it seems very convenient for me to be a Christian in the United States when there are people all around the world who would never have the opportunity that I do to be able to believe the gospel.

And so my reasoning was I can't believe in that type of God who would judge others because that would make him unjust of sorts.

How could God judge people who were not given some righteous standard to live by?

And we saw last week in verses 12 through 16 that even if a man is not given the law, that is in the Jewish context or the Christian context, the Bible, they never grew up in a church, they're still condemned because when they be behave in a certain way and they begin to live according to certain morals, they they reveal to themselves and to the Lord that they have a law written on their heart.

And so fine, you don't have the Bible, no big deal.

God's not going to judge you according to that.

He'll judge you according to the law that you've determined for your own life, and this is the conclusion of the matter, you're gonna be found guilty even of that.

Paul's just trying to say, whether you are under the law or you are not under the law, we have all sinned, and that's the issue.

Romans chapter 3 says, For that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that there are none righteous, no not one.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

And that's why we need the imputed righteousness of Christ offered by faith.

This morning we continue our study, picking up in verse 17, looking at this idea of hereditary favor.

And we're gonna look at the fifth, sixth, and seventh form of self-defense and the way that people think.

Alright?

So let's look together in the text.

We'll just read it all together, verses 17 through 29, and we'll hop into our time this morning.

Look at with me, chapter 2 and verse 17.

It begins this way: Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, and knowing his will, and approvest the things which are more excellent, being instructed out of the law, and art confident that thou thyself art a guide for the blind, a light of them that are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.

Thou therefore, which teachest another, teachest not thyself.

Thou that preachest, a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?

Thou that woreest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege, or robbing sacred things, or corrupting them?

Verse 23.

Thou that makest thy boast of the law through breaking the law, dishonorst thou God.

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

Verse 25, now our third section, religious observance.

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

Therefore, if the uncircumcision be, uh I'm sorry, if the uncircumcision, that is the Gentile, keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?

I know the language here, if you're not familiar with it, could be very confusing.

Verse 27, and shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, if it fulfill the law, judge thee, who by the letter in circumcision doth transgress the law?

For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Okay, a lot of content here.

And we will just have to work through it as best we can this morning and really hit the high levels.

But I want to first talk to you about this escape tactic or form of justification regarding someone claiming their birthright as a Jew.

Last week we talked about this idea of the Gentile, someone who doesn't have the law, but now we're shifting the focus and saying, what about that individual who has special privilege with God?

Maybe they're they're the chosen people of God, and it would be true for a Jew to claim this, right?

Because all of your Old Testament actually says that this is God's desire to work through Israel after he calls out Abram from early Chaldees, there in Genesis chapter 12.

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

Alright, in this section, Paul addresses the man who is called a Jew.

The man who is called a Jew.

The privileges he names belong to that setting.

And I want you to understand that.

The context of this little section of scripture is about the man who thinks because he's a Jew and because he's circumcised and because he observes the law that that makes him righteous before God, gives him special favor, favor with God.

And while this may seem kind of out there for us and may not apply to us, it actually principally directly applies to the Christian because there are many people who rely on their outward religious standing or their heritage or their church background for salvation.

Especially in the South, but it's definitely here in the Midwest too.

It's in Catholicism, which is my background, that's how I was raised.

You know, a Catholic will claim their religious experience or their safety in the church.

That will not save you.

Being a member of this church at 11211, Midland Boulevard, will not give you any more security in Christ than if you went to the church down the street.

This church has no way to provide you any spiritual life.

But Jesus can.

But faith in the Lord can, but receiving the gift of everlasting life in the Son can.

So my question rhetorically for all of us this morning, hopefully, everyone in the room is saved, is what are you trusting in?

When you think about why is God gonna let me into heaven?

What's your answer?

Is it Jesus alone?

Or is it, well, because I got saved in this little church that just seemed really like, you know, faithful to the Lord.

And so surely maybe their righteousness carries over on my life, even though my life has no fruit or evidence of being Christian.

This very common claim sounds like this today.

I grew up in the church.

Well, I got saved years ago.

I'm good with God.

And there's some on the screen you can see a few.

I'm one of the elect of God.

I have unique favor with God because of how I was born.

I'm so thankful that I live in the U.S.

God bless America.

And while we laugh at that, sometimes Americans, right, use this to actually comfort them.

They think, as they look at all the other nations of the world, they think, man, at least I'm not Muslim.

Man, at least I'm I'm not Asian because it's unlikely that I'd probably be a Christian.

Even though the greatest Krishna revival is happening in China right now.

Yeah, I got it.

People claim a lot of things to feel comfortable about the wrath of God abiding on their life.

My grandfather was a minister.

Hey, you ever hear somebody say something like this?

Yeah, I was raised in a good Christian home.

As if to say, God's cool with me because my parents are saved.

Or yeah, my grandmother was really devout.

On the streets, if I as I've witnessed to people and shared the gospel and tried to help them see, hey, you're guilty before God, receive the gift of the Son.

I've I can tell you at least ten people have told me verbatim, yeah, my my grandmother was a really faithful Christian.

Like, I think I'm good with God because like she really taught me what it means to be a Christian.

Do you realize that like learning what it means to be a Christian has nothing to do with actually being one?

Having a good family does not give you any security.

You and I have a personal responsibility before the living God to humble ourselves and receive the gospel of Christ.

As a kid, up until I was 19, my claim to security and my Christian experience was I'm Catholic.

I thought because I was going to church, because I was taking Eucharist, because I was going to the priest for confession, that surely there's something in that experience that gives me right favor with God or good favor with God.

It was not until the gospel was presented to me that I realized by nature I'm a sinner and I'm in need of Christ.

This sounds like I'm Baptist sometimes, or I'm Presbyterian or Anglican, or who knows what other denomination you're trusting in.

Your denomination will not save you.

They don't even exist in the Bible.

All you have is they were first called Christians in Antioch.

Acts chapter 11 and verse 26.

Acts 11 · chapter mention

I go to a good Bible teaching church.

Great, that's a good thing.

I'm thankful if you go to a good Bible-teaching church.

I hope, you know, I hope that's true.

I hope it's this one.

But you know what?

No matter how good I could ever preach the Bible, which honestly I don't even think I can.

If I was excellent at preaching the Bible, you know what that would still mean?

You have a responsibility to respond to it.

It doesn't matter.

Even if I do an excellent job teaching, being an individual who is in the right environment doesn't automatically give you special favor with God.

It actually makes you more accountable to it.

And there's the great irony, right?

Being an individual who was raised in America, being an individual raised in a Christian home, being an individual raised in a good Bible-teaching church, you know what that means?

You are actually more accountable to God.

Being a Jew who actually should know the truth and the oracles of God, that's what Paul will affirm at the top of chapter 3, actually makes you more accountable to God.

And so the claim, I've got special favor with God because I'm a Jew, is actually the very thing that is condemning them.

And that seems to be a pattern in all of these, isn't it?

The very claim or the very escape tactic is the condemnation.

And it's the unique, beautiful way that Paul's forming all of these arguments.

I mean, just take relative righteousness, for example.

The individual who's trying to escape the wrath of God by claiming that they're going to be free from God's judgment because they're better than most people.

Paul says, when you judge somebody else, you're actually declaring to God that you know what's true.

You fall short of your own standard, and therefore you're guilty.

So your very escape mechanism is the snare to your foot.

You just dug a pit for yourself intellectually.

And this is what constantly happens.

And here it is, the person claiming I have special spiritual rights as a Jew or a Christian.

I came from a good family, I must be right with God.

And God's like, actually, that's the thing that condemns you more.

You have more truth revealed to you that you are accountable to.

And so here it lies the issue, right?

Real religious privilege, which some people have in the world, can become grounds for false confidence and therefore a foundation that will not protect them on judgment day.

Paul names this hypocritical, critical man's advantages.

He is a Jew, he rests in the law, he makes his boast of God, he knows the will of God, he approves of things that are more excellent, and he has been instructed out of the law.

Okay, but Paul's point again is that none of those privileges provide salvation.

This only makes us more susceptible to thinking too highly of ourselves, and it also shows why we are more accountable to the truth.

Okay, moreover, knowing the scripture is a great privilege, isn't it?

Being raised in a Christian home is a great privilege.

Absolutely.

Because it helps you know more about God and more about yourself.

But be careful.

Because it might be the very thing that condemns you.

And it reminds me of a fire.

Alright, a fire can be a great gift to an individual who's cold if contained in a fireplace.

A fire can be a gift to someone who's hungry, if controlled on the stovetop.

But a fire can also burn the whole house down if mishandled or neglected.

And that's what happens with the truth often.

You have a fire.

You have the words of God which are likened unto fire in the book of Jeremiah.

Burning in his inside, burning in his bones.

He says, I cannot forbear but speech.

Okay, we have the word of God gifted to us in some environments.

What are we gonna do with it?

Are we gonna neglect it, mishandle it, let it be for some good, or actually let it destroy us?

Okay, so understand, for the Jew, the escape route comes by thinking they have hereditary favor.

Or nationalistic favor, just as an American might, or who knows where else somebody has grown up.

And within this mindset, right, of ultimate this hereditary favor, we find these three categories.

The first, right, that I've already mentioned is a birthright or national identity, but secondly, knowledge.

Your second item here is knowledge.

This is an individual appealing to the lie that having information automatically makes them innocent.

Can I simplify the point that far?

This is the lie that somebody's believing.

Because I have the right information or I know some things about God and what it means to be a Christian, therefore I'm innocent.

No.

Just because you can teach the gospel doesn't mean you believe it by faith.

Just because you could stand in this pulpit this morning and preach a better message and you could show the deep things of God doesn't mean anything.

Because it all comes down to whether or not we believe those things.

And that's what we learned last week, right?

In conclusion of our text, that God will judge the secrets of the hearts of men.

He's not judging our outward appearance and our show of religious forms of different kinds, but rather our heart.

And sometimes we think just because we're thinking on some things, that that means our heart's in line with it.

But it's not.

Not even a little bit.

And so this is an appeal really of a teacher of God's word to have safety or false comfort.

And I want us to really understand this because I think we're at risk for this in our attitudes in the Christian life through sanctification as well.

This is somebody saying, I I know the truth, and I am a guide and a light to others, and therefore, no matter what I do, I'm good because I'm helping other people out.

Positioned as a question question, it's something like God won't judge me because he has used me to help others come to faith.

Alright, but if this is your claim, can I remind you that God can use whatever he wants to accomplish his will?

And that is, and that he is in the business of redeeming evil things for good.

Okay, so if your claim is I'm not going to be judged by God simply because, well, God's using me, look at my life.

Look at all the people I've led to Christ.

Look at all the people I'm serving.

See, see, God is using me in his ministry.

It's like, praise the Lord for that.

But that doesn't necessarily follow that you are the reason he's using you.

God uses rocks to cry out.

God makes rivers flow from rocks.

He used an ass in the Old Testament.

He used Nebuchadnezzar.

He used Pharaoh.

I mean, just because God uses something, that doesn't necessarily necessarily mean that that thing is good.

Judas was used to fulfill the law.

Remember when he sold the Lord for some silver?

I'm used of God, I have good favor with God.

Be careful.

How are you being used of God?

And why are you being used of God?

This type of man is confident that because he guides the blind, he enlightens those in darkness, he instructs the foolish, he teaches babes that he is right with God because he has a form of knowledge and of truth in the law.

And that's verse 20 of this text.

That's how it ends.

An instructor of the foolish, teacher of babes, which has a form of knowledge and of the truth of the law.

And I can't help but think of Matthew 23 and verses 27 through 28, which read, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

Even so, ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers.

How can ye, there's the word again, escape the damnation of hell.

Now, Jesus speaks this harshly to religious people.

You never see him speak to non-religious sinners this way.

So just hold that in your heart.

God is never found speaking this harshly to an individual who is not religious.

And that's why the religious are so much more accountable to the truth of God.

It doesn't mean that the person who doesn't have the law or who isn't religious isn't on their way to hell, bound for hell.

It just means that the person who is claiming the truth of God is going to be held to a higher standard.

This is that person who has a form of godliness, right?

They paint the tombstones white to make them look prettier.

They appear to be righteous, but inwardly they're full of death.

2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 5 and then 7, Paul warns Timothy of this type of individual.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

He says, having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away.

This is the same individual that Paul is ultimately rebuking, sitting in the congregation at Rome.

A man who thinks because he has a form of knowledge and of truth in the law, that he's good with God.

But a form of godliness or a form of knowledge is not the same thing as living the knowledge that you have.

Godlikeness, a life displaying the things that you know to be true.

I want you to know from the bottom of my heart that as we grow as a church, Lord willing, I never want to be a church that knows things and doesn't live those things.

Like I seriously, I've said this many times in the pulpit, but I would forfeit the Bible as soon as I realized we want a church living in light of the things we already know.

Like I'd I'd be happy to close the Bible, not preach another sermon, not have another intellectual idea tucked away in our brains, and we just spent the whole morning saying, what do we already know is true, and are we living according to it?

I just have little to no interest in being a church that's academic.

I really want the words of God to be life unto our daily experience in Christ.

Alright, so just look it with me as we continue.

In Romans chapter 2, in verses 21 through 23, it says, Thou therefore, which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?

Romans 2 · chapter mention

Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?

22.

Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery?

Thou that aborest idols, dost thou commit sac sacrilege?

Thou that makest thy boast of the law through the breaking of the law, dishonorest thou God?

I mean there's some really serious questions on the line here.

Right, and the the person that Paul is ultimately challenging, challenging, is the individual who's claiming the law for righteousness.

And he's saying, If you're a teacher of these things, do you not hold yourself to the same standard that you give others?

Right?

Knowledge can become part of a self-defense.

And if you don't see this already in life, I just want to suggest to you that many intellectuals hide behind their ability to reason and articulate well, researched ideas, so that they can escape the judgment of God.

You ever spent any time online listening to somebody who's really well articulated?

You think, man, how do they just not get it?

They're too smart for their britches.

That's true.

Maybe.

Maybe it's that they've lied to themselves and they're more comfortable being ever learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

This is the same individual who has a form of godliness but no power.

That's verse 7 of 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse uh and verse 5.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

I'm sorry, 2 Timothy chapter 3 and verse 7.

2 Timothy 3 · chapter mention

This is that individual, right, who's ultimately claiming that they they know some things and they can explain some things really well, better than other people, and so surely that proves that they're right with God.

It's a strange form of argumentation and lifestyle, but people do it all the time.

They feel protected because they know some things or know how to talk around the Bible.

They know how to talk around theological issues, they know how to explain away God through philosophy.

You ever meet somebody like that?

They've got ten reasons why God doesn't exist.

And they're well crafted.

And they're hard, they're hard, you're it's hard to get in and have a real conversation with them.

Why?

Well, because of knowledge.

They've utilized knowledge as a tool to escape the reality that they're gonna be judged by God.

We're gonna talk about atheism here next week and uh really pin down on some of these ideas.

The pursuit of knowledge can make one feel honest, responsible, sometimes even spiritually mature or spiritually sensitive, right?

However, it can also be how we never arrive at truth and therefore never have to arrive at obedience.

So the individual who's constantly chasing questions in life, ever learning, never able to come to the knowledge of the truth, it might be that they are doing that with an honest heart, right?

They think for me to really honor and love God, I have to pursue the truth with everything I have.

And their attempt to learn more and understand more worldviews is their way of saying this is a more honest form of Christianity.

But it's also the way their heart has deceived them and giving them a false protection.

And so while they're never coming to answers and they're always pursuing truth, they're also never coming to obedience.

And they're never choosing to obey the things of God.

This is Paul's warning, kind of in a different context regarding idols in 1 Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 2.

1 Corinthians 8 · chapter mention

He says, And if any man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing, yet as he ought to know.

And while this is in the context of a man dealing with idols and the congregation, this is also true in life.

As soon as we begin to think we know anything, God quickly reminds us, or he will be for his throne, that we know nothing.

It's that scene with Job in Job 38.

Were you there when I laid the foundations of the earth?

No, I don't have answers for the living God.

Paul turns the confidence of this man back upon himself.

It's like Paul is saying, Oh, you think you can teach the truth of God?

That's great.

How is it going for you?

You've taught some really excellent things.

Wonderful.

Are you living according to that truth?

Paul's question in this text becomes really personal.

He says, This teachest thou not thyself?

Dost thou steal?

Dost thou commit adultery?

Dishonorest thou God?

Dost thou commit sacrilege?

The teacher is liberated because they're always giving the truth of God, and they don't always have to think about how it applies to themselves because they're thinking about the people that they're teaching.

Listen, y'all, I'm doing that this morning, aren't I?

Oh no.

From the bottom of my heart, I want you to know that I am very sober about the opportunity to preach the word of God.

Because the reality is, as I go to preach God's word, every word is gonna be something I I'm gonna stand accountable to the Lord for.

I don't get to just freely say things.

Everything I'm telling you this morning will be the words that get turned back to me and condemn me or give me blessing.

Oh, those things you taught?

Yes, those were things I agreed with.

And you live by.

Now, obviously, my righteousness is in Christ, but even in my sanctified experience, right?

I have a life to live that's in reflection of the truth that I teach.

The Jew cannot appeal to his knowledge nor his ability to teach.

His condemnation of the sins of others doesn't freely relieve him of his own sin.

Okay, so I just really am convinced that I have no good ability to teach God's word, but all I want to do is do it honestly.

I want to do it with the right heart.

It reminds me of Eli in the Old Testament in 1 Samuel.

He tells his sons that they are wrong, but then he never corrects them so that he can continue to feed his flesh.

Do you remember the story?

I mean, taught the right things, but he was a hypocrite.

But he didn't follow through in his teaching, and so he just altogether stepped back and said, I don't want anything to do with that because I don't want that to come back on me.

And so he doesn't hold his sons accountable.

Preaching against theft doesn't excuse stealing, or teaching against adultery does not excuse adultery, and on and on.

The book I preach to instruct you first must speak to me.

Okay, so the question here is does providing counsel to someone else make it feel more like it's to you?

Have you ever been in a situation in life?

Maybe you've discipled, you've sat in a Bible study, you've raised somebody up that's younger in the Lord, and you've been given an opportunity now to relay God's word as the teacher.

I'm putting the ball in your court now.

Right?

I'm teaching you this morning, I have a burden on me to do that honestly so that my words don't condemn me.

What about you as a Christian?

Do you tell people how they ought to live?

You should be.

You should be.

Don't recluse from that activity.

But has God ever provided you the opportunity to counsel someone else?

And in that very moment of counseling, you realize I'm counseling myself.

Anybody in the room?

Maybe you've had the opportunity to invest in little kids.

Like I've got little kids right now, I'm raising them up.

There are things that I tell my sons, the moment the words come out of my mouth, the Holy Spirit's like, yeah, son, that was to you.

That was to you.

Did you hear your own words?

You think they should treat you like that as a father?

How have you been treating me lately?

It's like, oof, you know, and it's it stops you.

Makes you wonder, what about you in a counseling situation?

You tell somebody the right doctrine.

You're can you're trying to help them through their issue with anxiety.

Just trust the Lord.

Be careful for nothing in all things.

Pray.

Pray with without ceasing.

See, the promise of the Word of God in Philippians chapter 4 is that the peace of God will rule your hearts and minds.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

You'll have a peace that passes all understanding.

And then you walk away from that coffee day and you're thinking, dang, I'm horrible at praying.

I'm really, I've been really anxious.

I must be really bad at this.

Maybe that word was for me.

The solution isn't to recluse.

Alright?

The temptation here is I don't want to be a hypocrite, therefore I'm not going to say anything.

This comes in many different forms, but I want to suggest to you that there's always a third option in the Christian life.

This individual says something like this.

I could say the truth of God, but I know my life doesn't add up to that, but I don't really want people to know that, so I'm just going to live as a hypocrite.

There's one person, right?

And then another person says, Well, I definitely don't want to be a hypocrite.

That person is awful.

They're a liar.

And true.

They're a liar.

And so what I'm going to do is just not say anything.

And not saying anything also keeps me from being a hypocrite, doesn't it?

You know what it also does?

Keeps you from being a pretty bad Christian.

Bad father.

Bad friend.

Bad member of a body, a local body.

Why?

Because we're supposed to be instructing one another, sharpening one another, provoking one another to love and good works, holding one another accountable, correcting one another.

I hope that you feel liberty all the time to correct me if I'm ever off.

I'm not above anyone in this room.

If I'm living not according to the truth, come, use your words to condemn me.

Before the cross, where I can find my righteousness in the sun.

I mean that with all my heart.

The temptation, though, is to think there's only two options.

Be a hypocrite, or I want to be a hypocrite, so just I won't say anything so that my words never come back to harm me.

But isn't the other option?

Way over here, I don't know.

Say the truth and live the truth.

Live it! You you caught yourself saying something that isn't in line with your life.

Don't get all bent out of shape on that.

Just get right with God.

Repent, humble yourself before him, and say, Lord, I said something that wasn't true or reflective of what's actually going on in my heart.

Lord, make me like your son.

Change me.

Look at verse 24, and we'll wrap up our time.

I know that I'm I'm going long, especially with the baptism, but I want you to just continue to see the text.

Romans chapter 2 and verse 24.

Romans 2 · chapter mention

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

Religious hypocrisy dishonors God because of a man's profession.

Like what he's actually doing in himself, he's dishonored God.

But then the wake of that man's hypocrisy, right, affects others.

And this man, therefore, is not just condemned because he's a hypocrite, but because he's also lived a life that has allowed others to mock and blaspheme God.

The man boasts of God while breaking the law of God.

It's why when religious leaders, pastors, teachers, mothers, fathers, and the Lord are exposed for living a life of sin, it hurts so bad.

Because the sin is not just them and God.

Your sin is not just you and God.

It's all the other sin that happens when people look on that and then they begin to testify against the inability of God to produce righteousness in his leaders.

Do you see?

Now grace doesn't work.

That Christian thing doesn't work.

And so many people, right, have bad Christian experiences, church hurt experiences.

And what they begin to do is blaspheme God.

And Paul's point here is the individual who acted like a hypocrite is not only guilty with what's going on in the secrets of his heart, but he's also guilty because he's caused a ripple effect through a community, through multiple, through a city, where the lost are actually now testifying, or Gentiles are testifying against the very nature of God.

And if that doesn't expose you and make you guilty before God, I don't know what does.

If you've never heard it said before, it could be said this way Satan will allow you to become successful or gain a following just so that he can bring more people down with you.

It's why I need you to pray for me.

As a pastor, right, there's a temptation.

I mean, we have a small church, but if I fell into sin, do realize that my testimony before not only this small congregation, but before a church in Kansas City of 800, and my sending church of 300, and 25 other churches that support us who pray for us actively, the testimony of the name of the Lord would be blasphemed because of my life.

And that's a terrifying thing.

And I believe that God would allow this church to grow only then to come after me harder.

It's why you need to pray for your spiritual leaders.

It's why you need to pray for those that are closest to you, because Satan will attack the people more that end up affecting more.

Right?

This is Saul's life in 1 Samuel 31 and verses 8 through 10.

It's probably one of the saddest passages in all of Scripture.

It says this.

And it came to pass on the morrow when the Philistines came to strip the slain, that they found Saul and his three sons fallen in Mount Gilboah.

And they cut off his head and stripped him of his honor, and sent him into the land of the Philistines roundabout to publish it in the house of their idols and among the people.

And they put his armor in the house of Ashroth, and they fastened his body to the wall of Bishon.

A soft word this morning.

Probably one of the saddest verses, in my estimation, in all of the scripture.

Maybe other than he gave up the ghost, speaking of Christ dying on the cross.

But at least many sons came to glory through that event.

You know what came from this event?

The Philistines boasting against the God of Israel.

The king of Israel.

I mean, this is the guy who should have been representing Jehovah well.

The individual who should have been honorable in his kingship and in his leadership.

And at the end of his life, this is what's true of him.

He becomes the very evidence for the lost world to reject God.

Saul's head is cut off, and he's paraded through the Philistines' camps and set up, his armor set up in their places of idol worship.

It's just terrible.

It's so sad to me.

And as Christians, we ought to think: I'm carrying the name of Jesus Christ when I claim I am a Christian, a Christ, a little Christ.

I'm carrying his name.

And the question for us this morning is, are we carrying that name in vain?

Are we carrying that name in vain?

I think I skipped over this verse, but I want to read it to you.

Matthew chapter 12 and verses 34 and then 36 through 37.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

Another text where Jesus is calling out religious leaders for their hypocrisy.

He says, O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things?

For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Verse 36 But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account for in the day of judgment.

For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

How is it that your words could justify you?

Well, Romans chapter 10, verses 9 through 10, it says that thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

Romans 10:9–10

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

That's how you can be justified with your words.

Believe on the gospel, and then out of the abundance of your heart your mouth will speak.

It'll confess Christ as Lord.

How is it that your words might condemn you?

Well, cursing, evil surmising, lying, using the Lord's name in vain, creating a double standard, being a hypocrite.

But maybe it's you calling people out for being late to church all while you're late to work.

Or maybe it's you telling your roommate or your spouse, stop leaving the dishes out.

But you know what you did last night?

You know what you did the very next day?

Left the dishes out.

All of a sudden, your words condemn you.

And just remember the context of Romans chapter 2.

Romans 2 · chapter mention

This is Paul just trying to get men and women to think, I'm not holy, I'm not perfect, I'm not God, and I fall short of his glory.

Therefore, I have no excuses before the living God for why I'm innocent.

Our words will condemn us.

And I just wonder how many idle words we'll have in this life that God will turn back against us or remind us that we we shared.

And he'll say, Oh, you think you thought you were way more innocent than you actually were.

Let me remind you when you said this, and then you did the very same thing.

When you told this person not to do that, and then you did that same thing.

You said this is how a man ought to behave, and then you didn't behave that way, and on and off.

Now, lastly, I just want to bring your attention to this last section, verses 25 through 29, about religious observance as a way for men and women to escape.

The claim here in context is that circumcision gives a Jew special favor with God because of Israel's covenant identity as found in the Old Testament.

That because they have been physically circumcised and separated from the Gentile nations, that that physical act of religious ritual or ceremony actually grants them favor with God.

And once again, the issue is not outward expression, but that of the heart.

That's why Paul says if a man is claiming that and doesn't live perfectly according to the law, but a Gentile comes along who's uncircumcised and lives a life more holy than that guy, this uncircumcised Gentile actually is condemning the Jew.

And that's what happens even in our lives, right?

We claim that we're good with God because of the way that we're living.

We're pretty decent people, but then the person next to us actually ends up living a better life than us.

And their life testifies that we're guilty of a standard that we can't keep.

The outward mark cannot provide the defense the man needs for the inward transgression of the heart.

Because if you remember in verse 16 of chapter 2, God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.

The religious heritage was not automatic safety from wrath, and being an Israelite was not itself justification before God.

And we can apply this principle in the Christian experience through the observances we're called to.

And it is maybe church membership or attendance.

Maybe it's a family member in connection with a ministry or a part of.

None of these things, right?

This outward showing of our faith give us any more security in our justification before God.

They're all great things.

Baptism, as we'll observe here in just a moment, is a great thing.

It's just not great at justifying you.

Church membership, it's a great thing.

It's actually needful for us to come together and be fitly joined and you to be accountable to another group of believers.

It just can't save you.

Attendance, great, you should attend.

It's good to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as some do.

Come, be with the body, enjoy one another, enjoy the spirit of God.

You just, you want to know?

Uh, you you having a perfect checklist or attendance for this year is not going to give you any more favor with God.

Alright, Romans 2 and verses 26 through 27, Paul reveals this man's assumptions.

He sets the uncircumcised person who keeps the righteousness of the law beside the circumcised person who has transgressed it.

And he flips the expectation that the Jew might have for having favor against himself.

Once again, the Jew's foot caught in his own snare.

God looks beyond the outward profession, and as we see in verse 28, it says, For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outwardly in the flesh, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart and in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men but of God.

And verse 29 really hits it on the head, right?

The issue of a man's life is whether, not whether or not it's pleasing to men or to our peers, but whether or not it's pleasing to God.

Paul brings the issue to the inward condition.

Circumcision is that of the heart and the spirit, and not the letter, or that is to say, the law, whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The man may receive praise from people because of his family, his learning, his outward observance, his religious reputation, but God, God's judgment reaches the heart.

The application to us is plain.

A person can be near the things of God, familiar with the people of God, knowledgeable of the Word of God while still depending on him or herself for acceptance and God.

All of those things do not actually grant you any more favor with the Lord.

I know it's a simple message this morning, but your religion isn't going to save you.

That's all I've got.

Alright?

Let's end this morning looking at Colossians chapter 2.

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

It's on the screen in two slides.

I want you to see the connection of what is being offered in the New Testament regarding circumcision.

God is not asking us to be circumcised in the flesh for a special favor, but uh he is offering an operation that he's willing to do as he separates us from our natural identity and gives us a new identity in the Son.

Alright?

And this is called this phrase, circumcision of the heart, or an operation of God made without hands.

Look at with me.

Colossians chapter 2 and verse 10, it says, And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, and the putting off of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

Now I want to call your attention to twelve and suggest to you what we looked at almost two months ago now, which is this idea of spiritual baptism.

Buried with him in baptism.

We're not talking about water, we're talking about God coming in and actually immersing an individual in the Spirit of God.

Baptism is a word that simply means immersion.

If you think it always means water, you'll be left very confused in the scripture.

That's why it goes on to say, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God.

So if you make baptism about water, then you're gonna have to describe the rising there.

This is something God does in us.

Verse 13, and you, being dead in your sins and this uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, that's to say the law.

Jesus came, fulfilled the law, and died for us, blotting out those things that were actually revealing that were condemned before the living God, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.

Verse 15, and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shoe of them openly, triumphing over them.

Once again, thank you so much for listening in.

We pray that these words were a challenge to you, but also a great encouragement in your walk with God.

May the Lord bless you and lead you further into his will as you're conformed into the image of Jesus Christ.

God bless you, and on the