We left off
\nseeing the thought flow of this first major theme, namely that the
\ngrossest-sinner-and-unbeliever is in the same exact boat as the
\nmoral-and-upright-unbeliever. This category of moralist includes, of
\ncourse, the Jew (as aforementioned). The Jew stood on the side of God
\njudging the sins of the people around him, clamoring at the evil found
\ntherein. <\/p>\n
This Jew found comfort, Paul would point out, on the fact of the Law
\nand the special relationship the Jew had with God (v17). The moralistic
\nJew would boast in this relationship and in the knowledge of God’s will
\nregarding morality because the Jew received instruction from the very
\nLaw itself.<\/p>\n
They had an immensely important role these Jews who God chose to be the
\nrecipients of his Law and of the prophets and those “superior things”
\n(v18). God wanted them to be a special nation, a set-apart people for
\nthe purpose of being an example to be a light to those in darkness.
\n The Jew was convinced of these things and of their role to be an
\neducator of the senseless and a teacher of little children simply
\nbecause they had this fundamental, essential knowledge (v19-20).<\/p>\n
The problem was that although they had all these things, they
\nignored the fact that God required the teachers to be holy on the
\ninside as well as being an example on the outside. Paul fires off a
\nlist of questions to this moralist Jew who is standing on the law: You
\npreach against stealing, he asks, do you steal? You tell others to
\ncommit adultery do you commit adultery? You abhor idols do you rob
\ntemples? He points out that the Jew who boasts in the law dishonors God
\nby transgressing the Law! <\/p>\n
It’s not too hard to draw a parallel with our own churches if but
\nfor a moment. Do our own churches boast in our position in Christ to
\nthe point of ignoring the hypocrisy in our churches? Do we rely on our
\nspecial role and ignore the inner reality of our lives? We can
\neven bring to the light those churches who are of Christ only by name
\nand who justify any of their actions and inactions by their position
\nbefore the word of God. Like an authority in the matters of God they
\nmay attest to such a positional standing before God and ignore the
\nreality that they are committing the same things they profess against. <\/p>\n
This is not the conclusion that Paul is drawing in this passage, of
\ncourse, as if the only purpose of him writing this is to tell the
\nmoralist Jew to stop his hypocrisy. No, Paul’s conclusion comes to a
\nclimax a bit later, but for now he is illustrating that this hypocrisy
\nisn’t only giving God a bad reputation but is in effect resulting in
\nblasphemy at the lips and actions of the Gentiles. <\/p>\n
Paul quotes a passage from Isaiah 52, poetic in genre, which focuses
\non the captivity of Israel as being for “no reason”. We of course know
\nthat Israel went into captivity because of their constant sin, and yet
\nthat is not the current focus of the poetry passage in Isaiah. The
\nfocus of the writer in this poem is to illustrate how the wicked that
\nhold the Israelite captives blaspheme God and taunt Him because His
\npeople are wearing iron chains on their hands. He subsequently goes on
\nto point out how His people will know Him when He says, “Here I am”
\nstill speaking poetically. Why? Because news will come over the
\nmountain tops bringing good news that “Our God Reigns!” That is
\nthe future reality the prophet is saying, but currently, under
\ncaptivity and in weakness the nations laugh and taunt. <\/p>\n
Paul draws a parallel to those happenings by illustrating that the
\nJew in a spiritual bondage of his heart is justifying the blasphemy at
\nthe lips of the Gentiles. How does Paul illustrate this but in the very
\nsymbol of the circumcision. <\/p>\n
The circumcision, given to Abraham and his children, was to be the
\nsign of being set apart for God. Paul points out that if a Jew who is
\ncircumcised on the outside foreskin lives a life that is contrary to
\nthe law, his actions illustrate that the foreskin of his heart is yet
\nto be circumcised. The Jew ignoring the written code and claiming to be
\non God’s side is making God out to be a point of derision to those
\naround. <\/p>\n
Paul also uses a contrast to illustrate his point. He puts forward a
\nquestion: if one who is uncircumcised physically goes on to keep an
\nunwritten code does his uncircumcision prove to be a circumcision? In
\nother words, if the Gentile does what the Jew should be doing is he
\nthen a Jew by the Spirit instead of by the flesh? <\/p>\n
Now tread carefully here. Some of us may excitedly jump to the
\nconclusion that we Gentiles?our hearts circumcised by God?are now the
\nJews in this new age, a nation of priests and for whom all the previous
\npromises of Israel currently apply. Tread very carefully and make sure
\nto follow the thought flow of the passage. In the same way that Paul
\nuses a hypothetical to illustrate a point elsewhere, he may be using it
\nhere as well. Or, if you will, Paul may be using a contrast not to
\nprove the point of a new Jew but rather to prove the point of the Jew’s
\ncondemnation? Where would we possibly find a clue to the idea that Paul
\nis not making a point of change of the Jewish nation? <\/p>\n
Note that in the very first verse of chapter three, the next verse in this section underneath the same thought flow is this: “what advantage does the Jew have or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way! (3:1)” <\/em><\/p>\n If there was a change of the Israelite nation is Paul here now No, Paul wasn’t describing a new Israel and a change of relational -r<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We left off seeing the thought flow of this first major theme, namely that the grossest-sinner-and-unbeliever is in the same exact boat as the moral-and-upright-unbeliever. This category of moralist includes, of course, the Jew (as aforementioned). The Jew stood on the side of God judging the sins of the people around him, clamoring at the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[34,12,3],"tags":[909,897],"class_list":["post-115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-romans","category-sin","category-study","tag-romans","tag-sin"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nspeaking to the new Israel? What advantage does the New Israel have or
\nwhat is the value of circumcision of the heart? Especially when we see
\nthe answer to the questions posited. <\/p>\n
\nrewards. Paul was illustrating the point of the Jews being just as
\nguilty as the Gentiles and in bondage of the sin that enslaved the
\nGentiles. In the next chapter, Paul states the point clearly and we
\nwill see that next time. <\/p>\n