As a result of the tragedies that had befallen their nation, the Jews had been dispersed from their homeland in every direction. Thus, wherever Rome and Greece ruled supreme, Jews lived, too. Industrious, proud, and different, they had stubbornly refused to be assimilated into the cultural patterns dictated by Rome and Greece. They were respected without being appreciated because of their fierce rejection of the cultural norms of their day. They preserved their distinction by differences in dress, diet and behaviour which neither the might of Rome nor the scorn of Greece could erase. Despite the evidence of grandeur, they were not moved by the accomplishments of other people. They were convinced that they were the chosen people and all others were heathens. They did not like the ornate temples and their associations with pagan worship. The Jews worshipped the one true God who was far removed from these excesses. They were not impressed by the secular Roman empire because they looked forward to the day when the Messiah would establish the real kingdom that would restore the people of Israel to their rightful place among the nations.

The Jews had a sense of pride stemming from these privileges, and these privileges produced an attitude of superiority which, while understandable, had led to the Gentiles becoming antagonistic toward God and the Jews becoming unrealistic in their self-evaluation. Seeing the hypocrisy in the legalistic yet evil ways of the Jews, the Gentiles reviled God and His Word. The superior view that the Jews had of themselves, especially the Pharisees, often led to a false sense of their own importance. They professed to be more than they were. They overlooked the glaring inadequacies of their own performance and lived in self-induced blindness to their own inconsistencies.

It is not surprising, therefore, that Paul made a scathing denunciation of Gentile society. He learned this attitude from his mother, and it was refined at the feet of Gamaliel. What is surprising is the attitude he had toward his own people-the Jews. He said that the Gentiles suppressed the truth in unrighteousness-the truth available to them by observation and interpretation of the world around them. On the other hand, the Jews had a much fuller knowledge of God available to them, which they recognized and in which they took considerable pride. They failed to apply this knowledge to their lives, and that was their sin.

In the law, God revealed great details of His own nature, His expectations for human behaviour, and the basic requirements for a healthy society. That meant that the Jews were second to none in their ability to know God and His will. They were equipped to evaluate things in terms of God’s estimation and compare things in the light of His absolute standards. These capabilities were available to them and not to other people.

To avoid the possibility that the seriousness of his statements might be hidden in a sea of generalities, Paul pointed out four particulars from the law given to Moses. Paul spoke of honouring God and hating idols, stealing, and committing adultery. The orthodoxy of Jewish teachings on these subjects was not in question, but the practical obedience to the teaching by some of the Jewish teachers was very much open to question.

Knowing God’s will is not the same as discerning a specific decision or path. To know His will refers to a revelation in Scripture that is agreeable to Him, what He requires us to do, what he commands, what He prohibits, what He approved and what He rewards. The Jews inherited this treasure trove of truth through their covenant relationship with God, yet they were blind to the promises being fulfilled before their very eyes. Because they possessed the law, the Jews were confident that they were spiritually superior teachers; guides to blind pagans, light, wise in God’s ways, and able to teach the immature (probably a reference to Gentile converts to Judaism). The Jews were to be spiritual guides to the nations, but Jesus  told them that they themselves were blind. He called them blind guides in Matthew 23:24 and blind leaders of the blind in Matthew 15:14.

The Jews did not realize that they needed to become like children themselves to learn what was important to teach the spiritually immature. The word “form” means “a basic outline or sketch.” The law was true, but only a symbolic image of knowledge and truth with little or no substance. A flagrant inconsistency existed between the Jews’ profession and their practice. The Jews were privileged to possess the law, all of God’s revelation in the Old Testament. The Jews had the truth; the problem was what they did or didn’t do with it. The Jews were confident they were right with God because they practiced the rituals or liturgies of their faith. Using the Old Testament, Paul showed them that rituals were no longer sufficient to commend one to God.

God instituted the rite of circumcision as a sign of His covenant with Abraham and his descendants, the Jews. Romans 4:11 affirms that Abraham’s circumcision was also a real sign of the righteousness he acquired by faith in God’s promises. The essence of the covenant with the Jews was “I will be their God,” and from the perspective of the Jews, the proper response was to submit to circumcision as a sign and seal of their acceptance of God’s mastery over their lives and their expectation that He would be as good as His word.

Paul used the ritual of circumcision to demonstrate the truth that only Jesus Christ can save us. Paul wrote, “In [Christ] all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.” Paul was convinced that the sign lost its significance to many of his fellow Jews and the rite was completely devoid of reality. Paul mentioned that if the circumcised could be lumped in with the uncircumcised because of the lack of reality in their relationship to God, those outside the Jewish fold, the uncircumcised, could rightfully be regarded as members of the covenant if they had a valid heart commitment to God.

The idea that the rite of circumcision does not make a man a Jew is not new. It is as old as the law and the prophets. Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 4:4 tell us to “circumcise the foreskin of your heart and be stiff-necked no longer.” In the New Testament, the idea of inward circumcision illustrates the reality of the Christian experience. Colossians 2: 11 states that “in Him (Christ) you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ.”

In God’s covenant with Abraham, every male baby in a Jewish home was to be circumcised on the eighth day after his birth, and every male who joined a Jewish family was also to be circumcised. Circumcision was the sign of identifying with the Jewish people and the covenant God made with Abraham.

But the external act of circumcision has never made a person right with God–that’s an interior issue. Paul said in Romans 2:28–29, “He is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter.” Paul was saying, “Being Jewish does not mean you’re in a right relationship with God.” The Jew could claim that he belonged to God because of having been circumcised, but that was only true if the Jew kept the law. However, if the Jew broke the law, in the eyes of God it was as though that man had never been circumcised. 

The way we’re saved is not by being physically related to Abraham but by being spiritually related to Abraham. There is only one way to be saved, and it’s through faith in Christ. That’s what Jesus said, and He was a Jew. Being a physical descendant of Abraham is not enough; being externally circumcised is not enough. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me”

There are many people today who, like the Jews of Paul’s day, have an excess of religion that borders on superstition. They gladly engage in rituals and avidly adhere to church rules and regulations regarding signs and symbols without resting in the One to whom the rite points or committing themselves to the One whom the sign signifies.

Rituals and regulations are powerless to save us. Only Jesus Christ can set us free from the power and consequences of sin. Outward ceremonial acts only have value if they are indicative of a dynamic, personally transformative, scriptural, spiritual experience. People today tend to count such things as church membership, baptismal records, and denominational affiliation as proof of their Christianity, but outward signs have meaning only if one is committed to Christ.

Unbelievers are watching both us and our conduct. God wants what they see to attract them into His kingdom, but when we disobey God and act foolishly, the opposite often happens. People who mock the clear teaching of God’s Word cancel everything a ritual stands for, but a person whose heart is right with God, yet has never practiced a ritual, is fulfilling that ritual’s purpose.

(An audio version of this message can be found by clicking this link: Romans 2 verses 17-29 Knowing God’s WIll Versus Doing God’s Will)

Bibliography

1. Jeremiah, David: The Jeremiah Study Bible: New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013; p. 1546)
2. Briscoe, D.S., & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 29: Romans (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1982; pp. 64-71)
3. Stanley, C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible: New King James Version (Nashville, TN: Nelson Bibles; 2005)
4. MacArthur, J.F., Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5. Dr. Robert Jeffress, “Circumcision of the Heart.” Retrieved from drrobertjeffress@ptv.org