By: Curtis Baker
One of the mistakes that religious people often make is the assumption that “knowing” what is right is the same as “doing” what is right. It is not uncommon for people to take a certain amount of pride in the fact that they know the truth, but yet the reality of their life shows that they do not live up to the truth that they take such pride in. It is one thing when a person knows the truth, and yet is humble because they acknowledge their own weakness in the face of it; it is quite another when the knowledge about right and wrong leads a person to pride. Unfortunately, we see this happens all too often. Maybe we are guilty of it from time to time?
If, upon reflection, we see the truth of this as a reality in our own life, we can learn from Romans 2:17-29 that we are not the only ones who have fallen into this ready-made trap. As Paul addresses the Jewish people at the church in Rome, he notes that just because they were chosen by God to receive his Law, does not mean that there was anything special about them over any other people. God was very careful to let Israel know that he had not chosen them because they were worthy of his grace, but because he was going to use them to carry out his plan to redeem mankind who had fallen into sin (Deut 7:7-9). Despite God’s insistence on this, however, pride became a factor among the people of Israel.
So Paul has a very sharp word for Jews in this section of scripture, and for any of us who have grown up in a household that handed down the Christian faith to us, we need to pay special attention to what he says because this applies to us as well.
Paul’s main point is simply this: “Do you think that because God’s rules have been revealed to you that this makes you any better than others who have not received it?” Paul, of course, does not mean to say anything negative about the law or the ethical rules that come from it; later on in Romans he will say that the law is a good and holy thing (Rom 7:12). But the point he is driving toward is that simply possession of the rules is of no value. It is only if you keep the rules that they are of any benefit to you.
Paul says it like this: “You who have the knowledge that stealing is wrong, do you steal? For you who know that adultery is a sin, do you commit adultery anyways? For you who know the dangers of materialism, do you exploit people’s desires in order to make a quick buck?” (Rom 2:21-23) For Paul, the point is very clear. Knowing the difference between right and wrong is one thing–actually doing what is right is quite another.
Paul is not ignorant about the fact that spiritual growth is a long and slow process. He does not expect us to be perfect; nor does he expect that on this side of heaven any of us will be perfect. But what he does know, that we often forget, is that simply belonging to the “right group” or having the “right knowledge” about what is right and wrong is not the only important thing. The important thing is who you are as a person. The rules are simply there as a guide to help us become the kind of people God made us to be. What matters is the little steps we take, along with God’s gracious help, toward being better men and women.
The truth is, we are becoming the people we are going to be for all of eternity. Each choice we make in life moves us towards one reality or another. Either we are moving closer to the kind of people God made us to be, or we are moving into the kind of people who are slowly losing their humanity that was made in God’s image. Simply knowing the rules will not count on judgment day. What will matter is the kind of character that has been formed in you. This is the whole purpose of our life.
(curtisbaker@hotmail.com)
Write to: P.O. Box 157, Slaton, TX 79364
