Much like a professional boxer, the Apostle Paul skillfully prepared his audience with a flurry of quick jabs in Romans 2:17-20. Now he will follow with a series of devastating blows beginning in verse twenty-one. While Paul initially directed his comments to those of Jewish descent, we’ll find that these verses speak to everyone as well.
For instance, let’s contrast Paul’s observations from Romans 2:17-20 with their potential modern-day counterparts…
Verse seventeen:
- Romans: “But if you bear the name ‘Jew’ and rely on the Law [for your salvation] and boast in [your special relationship to] God” (AMP).
- Potential modern-day counterpart: “I believe in God and I strive to live a good life.”
Verse eighteen:
- Romans: “you know what God wants you to do, and you have learned from the Law to choose what is right” (GNT).
- Potential modern-day counterpart: “I believe in good moral values and traditional definitions of right and wrong.”
Verse nineteen:
- Romans: “if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark” (NIV).
- Potential modern-day counterpart: “I try to help others find a path to a more enlightened life.”
Verse twenty:
- Romans: “You can instruct those who have no spiritual wisdom: you can teach those who, spiritually speaking, are only just out of the cradle” (Phillips).
- Potential modern-day counterpart: “I lead and encourage others to be more spiritual and make the world a better place.”
These observations (and their potential modern-day parallels) clear the way for the devastating conclusions that begin in verse twenty-one…
“You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?” (Romans 2:21).
This initial question might fall from the lips of anyone who witnesses an act of blatant hypocrisy: “You teach others—why don’t you teach yourself?” (GNT). For instance, “stealing” goes beyond the actions taken by hackers, scammers, bank robbers, shoplifters, and business executives who misappropriate corporate funds. “Stealing” refers to the act of unlawfully taking something that doesn’t belong to you. That might include things like time, workplace productivity, intellectual property, or even a spouse.
So, theft may involve more than money or goods, even if the quantities are small or the item is seemingly unimportant. One commentator asks a series of penetrating questions in this regard…
“Have you never stolen? Never shaded the figures on your income tax in order to pay less than you actually owed? Never kept the change when you were given more than you should have received? Never borrowed something and then failed to return it, even though you remembered it later?” (1)
Therefore, our text from Romans 2:21 doesn’t only speak to a limited, first-century audience; it also speaks to us as well.
Image Attribution :Professional Boxer Cristian “Ruso” Olivas, CC BY-NC 2.0, Elias Angulo, via flickr.com. Disclaimer notice
(1) Boice, J. M. (2005). Romans: Justification by Faith (Romans 1-4). Baker Books. [pp.205-206]