This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

I want to welcome you to our daily drive-time devotions. This is our fifth look
at Romans chapter 2 together. Today we're going to look at Romans 2 verses 17 to
24.

In these verses we're going to see that Romans 2 ends with two personal
challenges on this issue of judgment. Throughout this chapter we've seen that
our tendency to be judgmental can be clearly seen when we condemn others to
excuse our own sin, when we think that our plan for judging someone is better
than God's plan, and our stubbornness about our own sin. We've also seen that we
can trust God as the judge because He knows the truth, He judges our actions, He
is fair, and He judges us through Jesus Christ.

And now at the close of this chapter two personal challenges that grow out of
these truths. The first challenge is this, do you accuse others to excuse your
sin? And the second challenge is, do you substitute outward symbols of faith for
inner sincerity of faith?

First, do you accuse others to excuse yourself? Let me read for you Romans
chapter 2 verses 17 to 24. As I read these verses, listen for the phrases "if
you" and "do you," "if you" and "do you.

" Paul writes there beginning in verse 17, "Now you, if you call yourself a Jew,
if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God, if you know His
will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law, if
you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are
in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you
have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth, you then who teach
others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you
steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit
adultery?

You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who brag about the law, do you
dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written, "God's name is blasphemed
among the Gentiles because of you.

" If you and then do you, Paul talks about in these verses. If you, and then he
talks about their spiritual privileges because they are Jews. If you have all of
this, he says, do you see it evidenced in your life?

You and I need to ask those same questions as Christians, as believers in Jesus
Christ. If you put your faith in Jesus Christ, do you live by faith? Too often
for me the answer is no, and I have to be honest about that, I have to be
challenged by that question.

If you have the hope of heaven, do you live with hope today? Or if you've
trusted Jesus as Lord, do you live any differently than those around you? These
are scathing questions, these are life-challenging questions, but Paul's not
finished here.

He is really going after our hearts. He says, you who are against stealing, do
you steal? It's easy to be against other people's kind of stealing, but the
question is, do you steal?

Do you steal financially as you look at how you handle the books at your work or
in your home? Do you steal financially as you look at how you handle your
financial relationships with your friends or even your kids? Do you steal?

There's other ways to steal besides financially. You can steal relationally by
stealing someone's heart without really intending to make a commitment to them.
You can steal spiritually even by acting as if you're developing a relationship
with God and the truth of the matter is you know in your heart that's not what
you're wanting right now, not what you're heading towards.

Let me expand on what Paul says here. Let me ask a few questions that maybe are
not in these verses, but that fit into what he's talking about here. You who are
against sexual immorality, are you sexually immoral?

There is so much sexual immorality in our culture today and it's easy to be
against all kinds of sexual immorality of others and to let that excuse of
sexual immorality in our own lives, maybe what we look at on the internet, maybe
the kind of movies we go to and what we think about when we watch those movies,
maybe even the thoughts that we allow into our brain during the day. Paul's just
saying would you be dead honest with yourself? Don't hide your sins by accusing
other people.

You're against sexual immorality, well that's a good thing, but don't excuse
your sin by doing that. Ask yourself the question. Let me ask a different
question out of these verses.

You who are against malicious gossip, do you gossip? We all do and we cover it
with phrases like this is a prayer request or phrases like I'm really interested
in this person and concerned for them, but instead of talking to them we talk to
somebody else about them. That's gossip.

Let me ask another question out of these verses. You who are against religious
prejudice, religious hatred, do you have religious hatred? Do you hate a group
of people or even a person that you haven't gotten to know because they're of a
certain religion?

Jesus talked about this in the Sermon on the Mount. He said here's what you do,
first you take the log out of your own eye, the telephone pole out of your own
eye, and then you might see clearly enough to help somebody else with the speck
that's in their eye. When you read Romans chapter two of these last verses it
reminds us that before accusing anyone else of sin the first place I have to
look is in my own life and allow that thought of what they're doing as being
wrong to challenge my own heart.

There's a second question at the end of Romans two. The second question is do
you substitute outward symbols of faith for inner sincerity of faith? If all you
care about are the outward symbols Jesus called this doing your good works to be
noticed by men.

Romans chapter two verses 25 to 29 says circumcision has value if you observe
the law, but if you break the law you've become as those who had not been
circumcised. If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements will
they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not
circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who even though
you have the written code and circumcision are a law breaker.

A man is not a Jew if he's only one outwardly nor is circumcision merely outward
and physical. No a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly and circumcision is a
circumcision of the heart by the spirit not by the written code. Such a man's
praise is not from men but from God.

Now about this time you might be asking yourself why does the Bible talk so much
about circumcision especially these verses? Well here's the reason. It was the
outward sign of faith for the Jews, but God tells them even in the Old Testament
that that sign was meaningless when they lost their heart towards him and Paul
repeats that here.

There are a lot of outward signs of our religion, of our relationship with God,
a lot of outward signs today. People might say well I have a relationship with
God because I was sprinkled as a baby in a church. People might say I have a
relationship with God today because I was baptized as an adult.

An outward sign can even be some of the things that you do. I know that my
relationship with God is okay because I attend church every week. But walking in
and out of church doesn't do anything for your relationship with God if there's
not something happening in your heart.

You could even say I know my relationship with God is great because I read the
Bible every day. Did you know you can read the Bible every day just as an
outward sign? Not letting it impact your heart?

Not inviting it to impact your heart? Or you can say I know that Jesus loves me
because I wear a cross around my neck or an arm band. Now, I just want to note
here that an outward sign can have meaning, but only if it fits with God's word
and it reflects your heart.

And Christian history is filled, it is absolutely filled with examples of
meaningful outward symbols that became empty outward signs. You might have some
of that in your own personal history with God. This chapter ends with the
phrase, "Such a man's praise is not from men but from God.

" Outward signs get noticed. They even get praised by men, but it doesn't last.
These verses invite us to go after God's praise.

Can you imagine you die and you get to heaven and you're standing before Jesus
for that moment when he is going to honor you? Can you imagine Jesus saying,
"Well done, good and faithful servant. You put a Jesus sticker on your car.

" I can't imagine him saying that. That's not what I want to hear him say in
that moment. I want to hear him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant.

You had integrity when no one was looking. Well done, good and faithful servant.
You loved those that no one else noticed.

Well done. You had a heart for me when no one else cared. " Let's take a moment
right now to talk to God.

As you pray, would you say to Jesus Christ, "Jesus, you had integrity when no
one else was looking. You loved those that no one else noticed. You had a heart
for God when no one else cared.

And Jesus, I want to be like you. So forgive me for those times when I excuse my
sin by focusing on someone else's sin. Help me to do what you said to take the
log out of my own eye first.

And forgive me for those times when I accept some outward sign of spirituality
and let it replace a true relationship, a true heart toward you. Jesus Christ, I
want to be like you. I want to have the kind of integrity that you have.

I want to love others the way that you love. I want to have the kind of passion
and heart for God that you showed me how to have. And so I ask you, Jesus
Christ, to do in my life what I can't do for myself.

Give me your love, your integrity, your passion, and help me to love others with
that passion too. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. " This closes out our look
together at Romans chapter 2.

Make sure you join us next week as we pick up and take a look all week long
together the third chapter of the book of Romans. I just want to tell you
there's some good news, some really good news on the way in Romans chapter 3.
Romans 1 and 2 are all about our sin and our struggles.

But about halfway through the third chapter there is a great, great good news
section that you don't want to miss.