October 09, 2023 | Be On Mission
It's a Heart Thing
Scripture: Romans 2(NIV)
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
25 Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. 26 So then, if those who are not circumcised keep the law’s requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? 27 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 lawbreaker.
28 A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God.
Devotional
On the day of Pentecost, just fifty days after Jesus ascended into heaven, the church was born. Jews who were living all over the Roman Empire were in Jerusalem, including “visitors from Rome” (Acts 2:9-11). When Peter proclaimed to the crowd that the crucified and risen Jesus was both Lord and Messiah, three thousand of them repented and were baptized. Perhaps some of the visitors from Rome were among the new believers, taking the good news of Jesus home to begin a network of house churches in the capital city of the empire.
Since Paul had not yet visited with them, his letter would have helped ground them in the essentials of the faith. In chapter one he wrote about the power of the gospel, calling them to righteousness even while living in a pagan culture. Here in the second chapter, he continued the thought, saying that one can either respect the truth and do good, or reject the truth and do evil. On the one hand, the results are a life of God’s glory, honor and immortality. The other way of life leads to God’s wrath, judgment and anger. I’ll take what’s behind door #1 please.
In the end, it’s all about the heart. At the time Paul wrote this letter, there were up to one million people living in Rome. The Jewish population was a very small part of this large urban center, and the Christians in the city were much smaller than even that. Paul reminded them that it was not by the outward act of circumcision with a knife that one is saved. Rather, it is by the inward act of circumcision of the heart by the Spirit of God that salvation comes.
It’s all about the heart. In Matthew 15:19-20, Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.” By contrast, 1 Peter 3:15 states, “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord.”
What is capturing your heart these days? What are you passionate about? What’s the first thing you click on when you pick up your phone or remote?
Christians often talk about giving their hearts to Jesus. That’s not a bad idea. As Philippians 4:7 says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Perhaps it is time to allow the Spirit of God to circumcise your heart!
Poem
Excuses, Excuses
Excuses, excuses
For all the abuses
We all know what truth is
Yet, tempting induces
Then sick sin produces
It then reproduces
And each one reduces
Until each misuses
The gifts God infuses
We all get confused
Begin to accused
Self blame we refused
From wicked lips looses
Excuses, excuses
