True Cleansing of the Heart

Romans 2:17-29

The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles

17 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, 18 and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. 21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say, "Do not commit adultery," do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? 24 For "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," as it is written.

Circumcision of No Avail

25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

Paul addressed the Jews who relied on their ethnic heritage with their religious beliefs and upbringing to boast in God, not in knowing and following Him according to His word and intent.  He told them how their boasting of reliance on these things was not enough.  They approved a list of acceptable actions and relied on their teachers (rabbis) when interpreting the scriptures.  They claimed to be guides to the spiritually blind and a light to those in darkness with a superior position over the babes needing their form of knowledge and truth of that law contained in God’s word.  The apostle directed his words to question their understanding and application of that same word to themselves asking if they did what they told (Matthew 23:3-4) others to do.  We are to listen to such as Jesus said but not imitate their misapplied or ignored actions that contradict the word of God.  We like they are to teach ourselves to keep in step with the Spirit in alignment with the scriptures and not with teachers and teachings that tickle our ears or lay weighty burdens of legalistic commands out of context and teaching of the scriptures.  If we boast in keeping God’s word then we also should not be antinomians in doing what we like instead of willingly observing the intent and not the mere letter of the law.  We are still held to keeping the Ten Commandments which are now written in our hearts as a living Law and not as cold checklists to be outwardly seen to be in compliance with the law though our hearts and minds remain disconnected with God and the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:10-11, 13, 16).  Our behavior should be in response to the holiness of the Lord (1 Peter 1:16, John 17:17) as God knows our hearts and who are His (2 Timothy 2:19) by their lives walked out open the direction God intends and not according to our desires to have or hold inappropriately (1 John 2:15-16) in pride but to live as God-pleasers (1 John 2:17) in response with a changed heart and mind giving guidance and humility in teaching others, not as these being corrected here had done.  We are not to blaspheme the Lord by living otherwise and we should immediately repent and ask forgiveness when we fail (1 John 1:9) to remain humble and effective in leading others in the same direction (Philippians 3:12-14).  We are spiritually circumcised by the evil of our hearts being cut away and new hearts implanted by God’s Spirit and it is this regenerate life that identifies true Jews as God’s chosen people and His children of grace in good standing because we stand in Christ and His righteousness.  Rules and rituals are not proof or praise of God in us, but a new creation set in the footsteps of those who follow Christ such as Paul who calls us to imitate Christ as he did as we follow the way he did (1 Corinthians 4:16, 11:1) and run this race to Christ in spirit and in truth of the Law infused in our souls and not according to the mere outward letter of the Law.  These verses are a warning to us as well as the original audience.  May we follow Jesus Christ accordingly with a true cleansing of our hearts.  This leads us to pursue a True Cleansing of the Heart in place of rule alignment.