More than Appearances - Day 206 Month 7-24 Week 30-3
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
1 Samuel 30:21–31:13, Proverbs 11:12-22, Ezekiel 12, Romans 2:17-3:20
More than Appearances
If you have not noticed yet, the book of Romans is deep. Paul packs an incredible amount of meaning into a few paragraphs. In Romans 2:17 to 29, he spends a surprising amount of time talking about circumcision.
Circumcision was the physical sign that identified the Jewish people. God had called Abraham and set him apart for His purposes. Over time, Abraham’s descendants became the nation of Israel, and Israel was entrusted with God's law.
The Jewish people knew the law, yet they still sinned. Paul highlights this conflict when he writes, “Indeed circumcision is of value if you practice the Law; but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision” (Romans 2:25). Put simply, if you enter into a covenant to uphold the law but then break that law, you have broken the covenant itself.
Paul then turns the argument around. He asks, “If the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?” (Romans 2:26). In other words, if someone who is not Jewish lives according to God's standards, should that person not also be regarded as part of the covenant?
Paul’s point is that outward signs and labels are not enough. The person who truly belongs to God is the one whose heart reflects what God desires.
As a Jesus follower, that raises an uncomfortable question for me. If I tell everyone that I follow Jesus, but my heart and my actions say something different, am I really living as a follower of Jesus?
When I first entered the workforce, back in the late 1970s, I was one of the most foul mouthed people you could meet. (Yes, that was more than forty five years ago, and yes, I am officially old now.) I wanted to fit in with my peers, although, for the record, that is not nearly as cool as it seems.
One day, I was in a restaurant with some friends. We were having a loud conversation, not an angry one, just loud, and I was using the kind of language that had become normal for me. Then I noticed someone looking over from another table. It was someone I knew. It may even have been someone from church, although, as I mentioned, that memory is more than forty five years old.
What mattered was that the moment hit me hard. I realized that the way I was speaking did not line up with the person I claimed to be. Technically, I was a Jesus follower, but my heart was not reflecting that truth.
Something changed in me that day. I recognized that there was never really a need for that kind of language, and I made a personal commitment to leave it behind. Since then, I could probably count on my fingers the number of times I have slipped.
As we begin chapter 3, Paul explains that those entrusted with God's law do have an advantage because they were given the written word of God. Yet even their failures do not make God unfaithful. Human beings may fall short, but God's character remains constant.
Paul also makes it clear that possessing the law does not make anyone better than anyone else. In verse 10 he writes, “There is none righteous, not even one.” Then, at the end of today's reading, he concludes that “no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
At first glance, that sounds hopeless, doesn’t it?
I did warn you that Romans is deep! I also mentioned that Romans contains what many people call the Roman road to salvation. Today's reading lays the groundwork, but tomorrow we arrive at the first stop on that journey.
Stick with me as we continue down the Roman road together.
Have a great day!
Steve
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