A People of Faith.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. – Galatians 3:23-29 ESV Captive. Imprisoned. Under the authority of another. Incapable of setting yourself free and unable to escape from the wrath of God and His just condemnation. That was the former state of those to whom Paul wrote. At one time they had been unbelievers and enemies of God. Long before Jesus came and died, all mankind had been held captive by sin. God had provided the law through Moses to the people of Israel in order to make known to them His requirements for living in obedience to His righteous will. But as Paul has already made abundantly clear, the law was not intended to provide a means of justification for the Jews. It simply made known to them God’s revealed will and exposed their complete inability to live up to it. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law” (Romans 2:12 ESV). The law judges, but it cannot justify.The problem is not with the law, but with the sin natures of those attempting to keep the law.

The Gentiles were held captive by sin even though they did not have the law of God. But the Jews, even though they had been given the law of God, found themselves in the same sad state. Paul explained why: “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified” (Romans 2:13 ESV). Simply having knowledge of the law was not enough. It had to be obeyed – perfectly and completely. And the Jews had failed. All men were under God’s condemnation for their rebellion against Him. But through the law, He had given the Jews a description of what they would have to do in order to live justly and righteously before Him. The reality was, they couldn’t pull it off, and God knew they couldn’t. He had a better, more perfect means of justification prepared. He would one day send His Son to take on human flesh, live a sinless life, and yet die a sinner’s death as a sacrifice and substitute for men. His death would satisfy God’s need as a holy, righteous judge to pronounce judgment and allow Him to pour out His wrath as a punishment on mankind’s sin.

Paul uses the statement, “Now before faith came…” He is referring to the coming of Christ and, more specifically, His death, burial and resurrection. Jesus provided a means by which men could be made right with God, but it was only available through faith in Him. Paul says, “the law was our guardian until Christ came.” The law functioned as a kind of tutor or teacher, educating the Jews as to God’s expectations for holy and acceptable living. It was intended to show them what God demanded of them and provide them with boundaries for life until “the coming of faith would be revealed.” But once Jesus came and accomplished His God-given task of dying on behalf of sinful men, the law took a backseat. Justification with God became a reality, not a pipe dream. Through faith in Jesus Christ as their sin substitute, men and women could be made right with God.

Five times in these verses Paul uses the word, “faith.” The entire redemptive plan of God, including man’s salvation, justification and sanctification, is according to faith, not works. It is by faith that we move from enemies to sons and daughters of God. It is by faith that our sins are transferred to Christ and we receive His righteousness. It is by faith that we inherit the riches of eternal life. It is by faith that our sins are forgiven. It is by faith that we receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. It is by faith that we become heirs of the promises of God.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 ESV). Here in his letter to the Galatians, Paul says something very similar: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27 ESV). We have received the Spirit of God and through His empowering presence we are now capable of “putting on” Christ. In other words, we now have the capacity to become like Him, to take on His character. And as Paul emphasizes, this applies to Jews, Gentiles, slaves, free men, males, females, and every other individual who places their faith in Jesus Christ. They become Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. In other words, not according to the law. We don’t have to try and earn our right standing before God. It is provided for us by faith in the work of Christ.

Faith has come. Jesus has accomplished the will of His Father and provided a means by which men can be saved. And now that faith has come, we are to live by faith. There is no going back to religious rule-keeping. Those who have been made righteous by God through faith in Christ are to live by faith. Now that faith has come, faith is to be our sole means of living. As Paul stated earlier in this same letter, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 ESV). We are saved by faith. We are to live by faith. We are to do all by faith. We are to be a people of faith. “So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:9 ESV).

And yet, as people of faith, we can find ourselves living by sight rather than by faith. We can easily fall back into the trap of thinking our right standing before God is somehow up to us. While we can easily accept the concept of salvation by faith, we find it hard to understand that even our sanctification is a byproduct of faith. This doesn’t mean we play no role. It simply says that even any works of righteousness we do in this life are totally dependent upon our ongoing faith in Christ and His Spirit’s work within us. Which is why Paul said the life he lived after coming to faith in Christ, he lived by faith in Christ. Now that faith has come, faith is all we need.

The Way of Righteousness.

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. – Galatians 2:15-21 ESV

How is can anyone be justified or made right with God? What is required by God in order that sinful man might be restored to a right relationship with Him? Is it some form of tithes or offerings, sacrifices or the keeping of religious rituals? Are we required to do good deeds, works of charity, or acts of righteousness? Does a right relationship with God require penance or piety, religious zeal or enthusiastic service in His name?

How you answer these questions will reflect greatly on your understanding of the gospel. It is not that offerings, good deeds, penance or piety are wrong. The issue is what is driving that behavior. What is the motive? The prophet Micah wrote:

“With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” – Micah 6:6-8 ESV

 It was King David who penned the following words after having his affair with Bathsheba:

For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. – Psalm 51:16-17 ESV

So are these two men trying to tell us that we can be made right with God if we come to Him with broken and repentant hearts? Are they teaching us that acts of justice, kindness and a heart of humility are all that God requires of us in order to be made right with Him? According to Paul, the answer to both of these questions would be a resounding, “No!” Humility, acts of kindness, sacrifice, service, and a broken heart are not the means to justification, but the fruit of it. Justification is made possible through faith in Christ alone. But that faith is not some kind of cheap, easy believe-ism that requires little more than mental assent to Christ’s existence. It is a heart-felt recognition of my complete inability to earn God’s favor on my own and my hopeless state of condemnation because of my own sinful condition. Faith in Christ is believing that He alone is God’s sin solution, the remedy for man’s sentence of death and eternal separation from a holy God.

Paul makes it clear to his audience, including both Jews and Gentiles, “we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law” (Galatians 2:16 ESV). Paul prefaced these remarks with the statement: “We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners…” (Galatians 2:15 ESV). And yet, he said that, even as Jew, he knew that a person is not justified by works of the law. In saying this, he was not negating the law, but he was clarifying that the law was not intended to make men right with God. It had been pointing to the coming of the Messiah, who would fulfill the law by keeping it perfectly, thereby making Himself a perfect sinless sacrifice and the acceptable payment for the sins of mankind. “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins” (Romans 8:3 NLT).

One of the charges leveled by the Judaizers was that faith in Christ alone would lead to lawlessness. If you removed the requirements to keep the law, they argued, men would end up living in moral license. They saw law-keeping as a necessary requirement to salvation. But Paul argued, “But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not!” (Galatians 2:17 NLT). Paul’s point seems to be that for a Christian to put themselves back under the Mosaic law as a means of justification with God was not only unnecessary, but unprofitable. “Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God” (Galatians 2:18-19 NLT). 

For Paul, a former Pharisee, everything had changed that day on the road to Damascus when he had come face to face with the resurrected Christ. From that day forward, he said, “the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 ESV). His life was now based on faith in Christ, not law-keeping. This does not mean that Paul became lawless or licentious in his behavior. It simply reflects that his motivation and means to living in keeping with God’s divine decree of holiness came from a different source. He pursued righteous living based on his faith in Christ, not based on his own ability to keep rules or regulations. He discovered that the power to live a godly life, fully pleasing to God, came the Spirit of God, not the human will. The way to righteousness was not through the law, but through faith in the law-keeper, the Son of the law-giver.

No Other Gospel.

Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. – Galatians 2:1-10 ESV

As we read this autobiographical section of Paul’s letter, we must not lose sight of his main point of emphasis. He is still addressing the issue of a “different” gospel being preached to the people in Galatia. So Paul’s point in recounting his own conversion experience was first, to make it quite clear that the message he preached was from God, not man. And just in case anyone might question the validity of Paul’s conversion and commissioning, he tells of his initial interactions with Peter, James, John and the other apostles in Jerusalem. It had been 14 years since his conversion on the road to Damascus when Paul returned to Jerusalem and met with the church leaders there. He shared with them the content of the gospel that he was preaching among the Gentiles, and it was confirmed by them as the one true gospel. The only difference was that Paul had a divine directive to share the gospel with the Gentiles, while Peter and the other apostles were focusing their efforts among the Jews. Paul recounts the outcome of his visit to Jerusalem:

“when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.” – Galatians 2:9 ESV

But one important distinction that Paul makes in this section is regarding circumcision. He refers to Titus, his traveling companion, who was a Greek convert to Christianity. Paul, in somewhat of an aside, indicated that Titus “was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek” (Galatians 2:3 ESV). While this may appear to be an unimportant parenthetical statement, it is actually quite revealing. One of the big issues Paul had with the Judaizers who seemed to follow him wherever he went and contradict his message and ministry, was their insistence that Gentile converts be circumcised and adhere to the law of Moses for their conversion to be complete. 

Luke records in the book of Acts that there Judean believers who had followed behind Paul, teaching the need for circumcision in order for Gentile conversions to be valid. “But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’” (Acts 15:1 ESV). Paul and Barnabas had what Luke described as “no small debate” with them over this matter. And eventually Paul, Barnabas and others were sent to Jerusalem to discuss the issue with the apostles. Luke records, “When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ‘It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses’” (Acts 15:4-5 ESV). 

Addressing the council, Paul stated, “Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will” (Acts 15:10-11 ESV). For Paul, this was the crux of the matter. Justification with God was by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Circumcision and the keeping of the law were not required. This in no way invalidated either circumcision or the law. Both were holy, righteous, and God-ordained. But with the coming of Christ, God had ordained a better way. Just a few verses later Paul will point out: “yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:16 ESV).

When Paul and Barnabas had traveled to Antioch on their way to Jerusalem, they stopped in the synagogue, and addressing the crowd there, Paul stated, “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39 ESV). Then Paul warned them, using a passage from the Old Testament book of Habakuk.

“Look, you scoffers, be astounded and perish; for I am doing a work in your days, a work that you will not believe, even if one tells it to you.” – Habakuk 1:5 ESV

Paul utilizes these words of the prophet Habakuk to warn his Jewish audience not to be like their ancestors and refuse to see and acknowledge the work that was doing. This was a new day and God was justifying His people in a new way. The law, while not done away with, was no longer a necessary requirement for being made right with God.

The result of Paul’s meeting with the apostles was their full support of his gospel message and ministry to the Gentiles. He walked away with their blessing. And while he makes it clear that he did not need their support, because of his having received his commission directly from Jesus, he was grateful and relieved to see that they were all on the same page. There was no other gospel. Nothing more was required to be made right with God other than faith in the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

A People of Faith.

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. – Galatians 3:7-9 ESV In his defense of justification by faith alone in Christ alone, Paul appeals to the patriarch of the Jewish people: Abraham. As he did in his letter to the Romans, Paul argues that Abraham was deemed righteous before God because of his faith.

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” – Romans 4:1-3 ESV

Paul contends that it was Abraham’s belief in God and the promises He had made to him that led to God’s declaration of his righteous standing. It had nothing to do with works. In fact, it would be hundreds of years before the law would be given. And God declared Abraham as righteous long before He commanded the rite of circumcision. Paul clarified this point as well in his letter to the Romans.

For we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. – Romans 4:9-11 ESV

You can see why Paul was so upset with those who had shown up in Galatia representing the party of the circumcision. They were demanding that all the Gentile converts be circumcised as a non-negotiable requirement for their acceptance into the fellowship. And yet, in his letter to the Romans, Paul clearly revealed the fallacy behind this belief. He made it perfectly clear that God declared Abraham righteous long before the requirement of circumcision had been given.

The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised. – Romans 4:11-12 ESV

Abraham was to be the father of many nations, not just that of the Jews. Later on in this same chapter, Paul will divulge how God intended to make Abraham the father of a multitude of nations and become a blessing to the nations. “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16 ESV). Paul, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, unpacks this familiar Old Testament passage and reveals that God’s plan all along had been to bless the nations through Abraham by making the Messiah one of his descendants. It would be through Jesus and by faith in His finished work on the cross that the nations would be blessed. The Jews (circumcised) and the Gentiles (uncircumcised) would discover the blessings of God through faith in His Son. Paul was adamant in his belief that righteousness was available through faith alone in Christ alone.

For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. – Romans 4:13-14 ESV

No one could save themselves, including the Jews. Yes, they had the law of God, but they were incapable of keeping it. All the law could do was expose their sinfulness and condemn them as unrighteous and unworthy of God’s goodness. The law revealed God’s righteous expectations and man’s incapacity to live up to them. The law made the holiness of God tangible, but also unattainable.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. – Galatians 3:23-24 ESV

Paul wanted the Galatians to realize that their salvation was solely based on faith in Jesus Christ. There was nothing missing. There was nothing that needed to be added and there wasn’t anything more they needed to do. It was the finished work of Christ and their complete dependence upon it that had resulted in their salvation. And Paul reminded them that “those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:9 ESV). Faith is foundational to all that we are as believers. Without faith, we have nothing. Without faith, we are nothing. “In walking with God, a man will go just as far as he believes, and no further. His life will always be proportional to his faith. His peace, his patience, his courage, his zeal, his works – will all be according to his faith” (J. C. Ryle, Holiness). We are saved as a result of faith. We grow spiritually in proportion to our faith. We live our lives according to faith. The author of Hebrews reminds us, “without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 ESV). Our works, devoid of faith, are worthless. And our faith, if not placed in the finished work of Christ and kept there, can easily transform into self-reliance – a kind of faith that seeks to earn favor with God through self-effort. At the heart of biblical faith is a God-dependence that recognizes self as insufficient and Jesus as the only solution to our sin problem.

Consider Jesus.

Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope. – Hebrews 3:1-6 ESV The Jews had a high regard for angels as God’s heavenly messengers, sent from God. But they were nothing when compared to Jesus, the Son of God, the greatest if divine messengers with the greatest of messages. When it came to the topic of salvation, the Jews knew of no greater savior than Moses. He had single-handedly rescued their forefathers from captivity in Egypt. As a result, they held Moses in high esteem. So the author of Hebrews asks his audience to “consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession” (Hebrews 3:1 ESV). The Greek word for “consider” means “to fix one’s eyes or mind upon” (Thayer’s Greek Lexicon). It would be like saying, “take a long, hard look at.” Jesus was the apostle or messenger. He was sent by God with the good news regarding salvation by faith in Him alone. But He was also our high priest, a title the author will elaborate on in greater detail later in his letter. As high priest, He offered a better sacrifice, a one-time, never-to-be-repeated sacrifice that completely satisfied the just demands of a holy God and provided complete forgiveness of sins and a way for man to be restored to a right relationship with God.

As messenger and high priest, Jesus was faithful to God. And the author compares His faithfulness to that of Moses. Moses was chosen and sent by God to the people of Israel with a message of deliverance. God had told Moses to go to the people in Egypt and tell them, “Yahweh, the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—has appeared to me. He told me, ‘I have been watching closely, and I see how the Egyptians are treating you. I have promised to rescue you from your oppression in Egypt. I will lead you to a land flowing with milk and honey’” (Exodus 3:16-17 NLT). Moses did what God commanded, although somewhat reluctantly. He obeyed God and, as they say, the rest is history. God delivered His people through the faithful leadership of Moses. And as great as Moses was considered by the people of Israel for what he had done, “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses” (Hebrews 3:3 ESV). Why? Because Moses was a faithful servant, but Jesus was the faithful Son.

It is important to recognize the seriousness of what is going on here. For the Jew, Moses was the founder and architect of their entire religion. While Abraham was the father of the nation, it was through Moses that they had received the Law, the sacrificial system and the tabernacle. Without Moses, they believed, they would never have escaped Egypt and become a nation. So when the author gives Jesus greater glory than Moses, he is treading on sacred ground for the Jew. But his point seems to be that Jesus, as the Son of God, the divine messenger and high priest of the faith, has ushered in something far greater and more significant than the law, the sacrificial system or the tabernacle. And he will spend the rest of his letter expounding on and explaining why he believes that to be so.

The author makes a strong statement regarding the deity of Christ when he compares Moses, servant of God, with Jesus, the Son of God. Moses deserved honor for what he accomplished, much like a newly constructed home deserved honor for its beauty. But the real glory should go to the builder, not that which was built. Moses, though faithful, was an instrument in God’s hands. None of what he accomplished would have happened without God’s help. But Jesus, as the Son of God, is different, because “the builder of all things is God” (Hebrews 3:4 ESV). Jesus was divine, the Son of God and the creator of the universe. Remember how the author opened his letter? “…he [God] has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world” (Hebrews 1:2 ESV). Jesus was not just a messenger sent from God, He was God in human flesh. As such, He deserves the same degree of glory as God the Father. “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command” (Hebrews 1:3 NLT).

Moses had helped establish the house of Israel. He had played a significant role in leading the people of God to the land promised to Abraham, their father in the flesh. But Jesus had come to establish a new household of faith, a family of God made up of both Jews and Gentiles, and based on a righteousness that comes from faith, not works. Paul referred to it as “the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). He told the Gentile believers in Ephesus, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19 ESV). The Jewish Christians to whom this letter was addressed needed to be reminded that their allegiance was no longer to Moses and the law. Their hope was not to be in the sacrificial system. They were to consider Jesus. They were now part of His household of faith. But the author warns them that they must “hold fast” their confidence in Jesus. They must boast in the hope they have in Him. There was nothing and no one else worth boasting about or placing their hope in. They were to keep their eyes fully focused on Jesus, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2 ESV).

How easy it is to consider anything other than Jesus. We can place our hope in our religious upbringing, our spiritual accomplishments, or the fact that, at some time in the past, we placed our faith in Jesus as our Savior. But the walk of faith is always looking forward, not backwards. It is about the hope that lies ahead. It is always considering Jesus, the founder, and perfecter of our faith. In other words, we are always living expectantly and hopefully, trusting God to finish what He started in us. The work of Christ in our lives will not be fully complete until He glorifies us. We are works in process. And we must hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope – in Him.

Our Incomparable Christ.

But of the Son he says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.”

And, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end.”

And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?

Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation? – Hebrews 1:8-14 ESV

Angels are ministers. They are servants of God. Like the wind, they blow according to His will. They are worshipers and are never to be worshiped by men. But the Son of God is different. As the author expressed earlier, “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God” and “he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command” (Romans 1:3 NLTa). He holds a “place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven” (Romans 1:3b NLT). And as a result, “the Son is far greater than the angels” (Romans 1:4 NLT).

Using the Old Testament Scriptures as a proof-text for his thoughts, the author of Hebrews presents the Son of God as having royal pedigree, ruling over an everlasting kingdom that is marked by righteousness. He is eternal, having always existed as God and having no beginning or end. Rather than having been created, He was the creator of all that exists. And, as God, His nature is unchanging. The fact that He came to earth and took on human flesh in no way diminished or altered His divinity in any way. He sits at the right hand of God the Father, ruling in righteousness over all that exists. For the writer of Hebrews, the deity of Jesus is essential and non-negotiable. He is the Son of God and, as such, He shares the nature and character of God. He is royal, immutable, all-powerful, sovereign, righteous and, ultimately, the victor in the battle over sin, death and Satan.

Part of what the writer of Hebrews is going to try and do is promote the superiority of the new covenant over the old one. And since the average Jew believed the old covenant was brought to them from God by angels, they placed a very high value on angels. But the point of this letter is to establish the superiority of Christ in all things. He is greater than angels. The new covenant in His blood is superior to the old covenant which was based on works. His service to men through the offering of His life as a payment for sin is far superior to any service the angels may offer up.

The angels, while important, pale in significance when compared with Christ. In fact, they exist “to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation” (Hebrews 1:14 ESV). They serve God’s people. And we serve Christ. He is the head of the body of Christ. He alone deserves our worship and full attention. Angels could bring “good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10 ESV). But they could not save anyone. The could announce the arrival of Jesus on the scene, but He would still have to sacrifice His own life to make salvation possible to men. And while angels were the ones who told the women at Jesus’ empty tomb, “He is not here, for he has risen, as he said” (Matthew 28:6 ESV), they were simply messengers of some very good news. Without Jesus, there would have been no news at all. Apart from Jesus, salvation would be impossible for all men. Had Jesus not died and rose again, there would be no victory for anyone. But Jesus DID come. He DID die. He WAS resurrected from death to life. He HAS ascended back to heaven. And He WILL one day return.

The Sufficiency of Christ.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. – Hebrews 1:1-4 ESV While do not know who the author of the Letter to the Hebrews was, we can almost certainly conclude that his audience was made up primarily of Jewish believers. Throughout the letter, he makes references to facts regarding Judaism, apparently assuming his readers were well-versed in them. He takes little time to explain details regarding the sacrificial system, the office of high priest, the history of Israel, or the identity of the individuals listed in chapter 11, who were primarily Jewish in their ethnic identity. The fact that the author was also addressing Jews whose faith in Christ might be in question is evidenced by his repeated warnings against drifting away, neglecting so great a salvation, having an unbelieving heart and failing to enter in to the rest God has promised. Even in the opening line of his letter, the author tells his readers that, “in these last days he [God] has spoken to us by His Son” (Hebrews 1:2 ESV). He is acting under the understanding that his audience is very familiar with the words of Jesus and the message of the gospel. Interestingly enough, he does not mention the name of Jesus anywhere in this first chapter, but simply refers to Him as God’s Son. That Jesus was inferred and understood by his readers as the one being talked about is quite clear. The original recipients of this letter would have known exactly who was being discussed.

That the writer would delay the mention of Jesus’ name until the ninth verse in chapter two is intriguing. But it would seem that he felt no need to use the name of Jesus, but simply referred to His unique designation as the Son of God. That term would have been very familiar with his Jewish audience and would have brought to mind the very reason for which they had rejected Jesus to begin with. It was Jesus’ claim to be divine, the very Son of God, that led the Jews to accuse Him of blasphemy and to seek His death. At one time Jesus had said, “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27 NLT). These kinds of statements did not endear Jesus to the Jewish religious leaders of His day. In fact, when He was arrested and brought before them on the night He was betrayed, Caiaphas, the high priest, questioned Jesus asking, “I demand in the name of the living God—tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” (Matthew 26:63 NLT). Jesus answered, “You have said it. And in the future you will see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64 NLT). And Caiaphas, in shock and horror, responded, “Blasphemy! Why do we need other witnesses? You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?” (Matthew 26:65-66 NLT). And his fellow religious leaders shouted out, “Guilty! He deserves to die!” (Matthew 26:66 NLT).

It was Jesus’ claim of divine Sonship that got Him in trouble – not His miracles, signs and wonders. It was not His teaching that drove the high priest and his cohorts crazy, but His insistence that He was divine. And the writer of Hebrews jumped all over this very fact, claiming that God had “spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things” (Hebrews 1:2 ESV). He attributes to Jesus the divine role of  creator of the universe. He was and is God. In fact, “The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his command” (Hebrews 1:3 NLT). This man from Nazareth, who was murdered at the hands of the Romans as the insistence of the Jews, was the Son of God. And it was the very fact that He was the Son of God that made His sacrifice on the cross acceptable to His Father. He was without blemish, sinless, making Him the perfect sacrifice and the only acceptable payment for the sins of mankind. And, the writer of Hebrews reminds his readers, “When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of the majestic God in heaven. Jesus returned to where He had come from, the very throne room of God. The apostle Paul writes about this very reality in his letter to the Philippians.

When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Philippians 2:7-11 NLT

Over the next chapters, we will see the author go out of his way to insist on the superiority of Christ. He is superior to angels, Moses, and any earthly  high priest or institution. His sacrifice was greater and more effective than anything man could ever hope to accomplish through the sacrifice of bulls and goats. Jesus was and is incomparable. There was nothing in Judaism that could compare. There was no reason for those who had placed their faith in Jesus as their Savior and Messiah, to return to the old covenant of laws and ritualistic rule keeping. Christ was sufficient. The good news was good enough. There was nothing missing and no man-made requirements necessary to complete or compliment what Christ had done on the cross.

Peter reminds us, “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires” (2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT). In Christ, we have all we need to for salvation, sanctification and our ultimate glorification. Nothing is missing. Nothing need be added. As the old hymn, Rock of Ages, so aptly puts it, “Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to the cross I cling.” Jesus is enough.

Welcome One Another.

For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. – Romans 15:8-13 ESV

“Christ did not please himself,” Paul wrote back in verse three. No, Paul reminds us, “Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy” (Romans 15:8-9 ESV). As Paul sums up his admonitions and encouragements for unity between the members of the body of Christ, he uses Christ Himself as the example to follow. While it is true that Jesus came to the Jews, having been born into the line of Judah as a descendant of David, His intent from the very beginning was to make salvation available to Jews and Gentiles.  Jesus was the fulfillment of the promise made by God to Abraham: “and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed” (Genesis 28:18 NIV). In his letter to the Galatians, Paul clarifies the meaning of this promise. “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ” (Galatians 3:16 ESV). Jesus was the means by which God was going to bless all the nations of the earth, and that includes the Gentiles. “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed’” (Galatians 3:7-8 ESV).

God’s intent all along had been to make salvation available to all people groups, not just the Jews. Paul’s missionary journeys to the Gentiles was not God’s plan B. He didn’t come up with an alternative plan when the Jews failed to accept His Son as their Messiah. And Paul makes this perfectly clear by quoting from four Old Testament passages that predicted that the Gentiles would respond to God’s offer of grace and mercy:

For this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations, and sing praises to your name. – 2 Samuel 22:50 ESV

Rejoice, O nations, with His people… – Deuteronomy 32:43 NASB

Praise the Lord, all nations! Extol him, all peoples! – Psalm 117:1 ESV

In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his resting place will be glorious. – Isaiah 11:10 NIV

The Hebrew word used in these passages for “nations” is gowy and it usually refers to non-Hebrew people or Gentiles. That is why Paul replaces it with the Greek word, ethnos, which refers to pagans, Gentiles or the people of foreign nations who did not worship the one true God.  God’s promise to Abraham that He would bless all the nations (Gentiles) of the earth through Abraham’s offspring was fulfilled in Jesus. He became the sole sacrifice for the sins of men, Jews and Gentiles alike. Jesus told Nicodemus, the Pharisee, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him” (John 3:16-17 ESV). The apostle John reminds us, “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NLT). Those of us who would be considered Gentiles have been extended the mercy and grace of God made possible through the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. And Paul tells us, “therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7 ESV). We have been included. We have been welcomed into God’s family. Not because we deserved it. Not because we had earned it. In fact, Paul makes the truth of our amazing status quite clear: “You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:21-22 NLT).  And the apostle Peter confirms Paul’s words:  “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV).

So we are to welcome or receive one another in the same way that we have been welcomed by Christ – with open arms, no pre-conditions, no requirements based on good behavior, and while we are still sinners. Our unity doesn’t require unanimity.  We don’t always have to agree. We won’t always see eye to eye. We will have our differences, but we will always share our common unity in Christ. “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous” (Romans 3:23-24 NLT).

Dead To Rights.

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble. The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin. – Romans 14:13-23 ESV

Paul bookends this section with virtually the same words. He opens with “let us not pass judgment on one another” (Romans 14:13 ESV) and ends with “blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself” (Romans 14:22 ESV). The only difference is the one on whom the judgment is assessed. We are not to judge each other and our actions toward one another should give us no cause to judge ourselves. And in both cases, it all seems to revolve around the issue of rights. Paul used himself as an example. He declared that had the right to eat whatever he wanted, because nothing was unclean for him. Paul would have been very familiar with the teaching of Jesus. “It’s not what goes into your body that defiles you; you are defiled by what comes from your heart” (Mark 7:15 NLT). When Jesus had spoken those words, His disciples were confused, so He provided clarification. “Can’t you see that the food you put into your body cannot defile you? Food doesn’t go into your heart, but only passes through the stomach and then goes into the sewer. (By saying this, he declared that every kind of food is acceptable in God’s eyes)” (Mark 7:18-19 NLT).

So Paul, even though he was a Jew, lived his life with a new-found freedom when it came to his eating habits. He no longer lived under the dietary restrictions associated with his Jewish heritage. But he was willing to give up his rights for the sake of a brother or sister in Christ. It all goes back to the “weaker” brother narrative in the opening verses of this chapter. There will always be those in the church whose understanding of the life of faith is less developed. They will bring to their faith a certain degree of legalistic expectations, believing that what they do or don’t do is what earns them favor with God. In Paul’s day, both Jewish and Gentile believers brought their own list of restrictions to the table. There were converted Jews who still felt it necessary to maintain the dietary laws of their Jewish faith. There were also Gentile believers who felt convicted about eating meat that had been sacrificed to pagan idols. Paul had to deal with this issue in the church in Corinth. He told them, “we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God” (1 Corinthians 8:4 NLT). But he went on to say, “However, not all believers know this. Some are accustomed to thinking of idols as being real, so when they eat food that has been offered to idols, they think of it as the worship of real gods, and their weak consciences are violated” (1 Corinthians 8:7 NLT). Then Paul dealt with the real issue. “It’s true that we can’t win God’s approval by what we eat. We don’t lose anything if we don’t eat it, and we don’t gain anything if we do” (1 Corinthians 4:8 NLT). But for Paul, it all boiled down to the spiritual well-being of his brother or sister in Christ.

But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. For if others see you—with your “superior knowledge”—eating in the temple of an idol, won’t they be encouraged to violate their conscience by eating food that has been offered to an idol? So because of your superior knowledge, a weak believer for whom Christ died will be destroyed. And when you sin against other believers by encouraging them to do something they believe is wrong, you are sinning against Christ. So if what I eat causes another believer to sin, I will never eat meat again as long as I live—for I don’t want to cause another believer to stumble. – Romans 4:9-13 NLT

While a certain food may be perfectly fine for him to eat, Paul was not willing to demand his rights if it was going to cause a brother in Christ to stumble by sinning against his conscience. That is why he wrote, “It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes a brother to stumble” (Romans 14:21 ESV). It is a wonderful thing to enjoy the freedom that comes with the life of faith. Our right standing with God is not based on adhering to a long list of prohibitions and restrictions. But there will always be those who don’t understand this truth. They will have strong convictions regarding what they eat or don’t eat, what they can wear or not wear, and even what activities they can participate in or abstain from.

For Paul, the final word on all of this had to do with faith. “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin” (Romans 14:23 ESV). For the immature or weaker believer, conscience ends up playing a far greater role than necessary. Rather than enjoying the freedom that comes with knowing that his standing before God is fully taken care of by the finished work of Christ, he ends up operating off of his own inner sense of right or wrong. So if his conscience tells him not to eat something and he believes it is of God, to violate that belief becomes sin for him. He becomes burdened down with guilt for having done what he believed was against the will of God. Paul says, “whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith” (Romans 14:23 ESV). So the stronger believer, rather than wearing his or her rights like a badge of honor, should love their weaker brother or sister in Christ, willingly setting aside their rights so that they might not cause a fellow believer to sin against their conscience. We are always to build up, not tear down. We are to lovingly teach and instruct one another, not boastfully and arrogantly display our rights and flaunt our freedoms in Christ. Peter summed it up well when he wrote, “Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8 NLT).

A Spirit of Stupor.

What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.”

And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them;  let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.” – Romans 11:7-10 ESV

Blind eyes and deaf ears. According to Paul, that was the current status of the majority of Jews – “down to this very day.” They were unable to see Jesus for who He really way – their long-awaited Messiah. They were incapable of hearing and comprehending the message of the gospel. As Paul had already stated, “They have stumbled over the stumbling stone” (Romans 9:32 ESV). Rather than having seen Jesus, the Son of God, as their Messiah and Savior, they rejected Him. He had not met their preconceptions regarding the coming Messiah. He hadn't look like what they were expecting. He hadn't done the things they were hoping the Messiah would do. They had been expecting a conquering king, not a suffering servant. They had been intrigued by the miracles of Jesus, but His message of repentance left them disappointed and disillusioned.

We must remember that Paul has been pointing out the futility of pursuing a right relationship with God through an attempt to keep the law. Paul has said that the Jewish people had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. In other words, they wanted to do the right thing, but they were going about it in the wrong way, in ignorance. “For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness” (Romans 10:3 ESV). They had refused to place their faith in Jesus, God's chosen means for providing righteousness for all men, including the Jews. “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4 ESV). With the coming of Christ, the misconception that men could be made right with God through human effort was put to an end. And there had been some Jews who had heard this message of salvation through Christ and had accepted it. Which is why Paul states, “The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened” (Romans 11:7 ESV). There was a believing remnant among the Jews who had embraced the gospel message and Paul was among them. But there were many who were hardened. Paul used the Greek word pōroō to refer to the condition of the majority of the Jews in his day. That word means “to grow hard, callous, become dull, lose the power of understanding” (Outline of Biblical Usage). While many had heard the message of the gospel, only a relative handful had believed. The rest had made a conscious decision to reject it and were left in a state of spiritual stupor “which renders their souls torpid so insensible that they are not affected at all by the offer made them of salvation through the Messiah” (Outline of Biblical Usage).

Paul was very familiar with this condition, because he ran into it virtually every place he went on his missionary journeys. One of his first objectives upon arriving in a new town was to make his way to the local synagogue, where he would share the gospel with his fellow Jews. “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.  And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, ‘This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ’” (Acts 17:1-3 ESV). But the reception Paul usually received was less-than-welcoming. “But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.  And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,  and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus’” (Acts 17:5-7 ESV). While Paul was ministering in Lystra, a group of Jews arrived and “They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town” (Acts 14:19-20 NLT). Paul was well-acquainted with the hardened condition of the Jewish hearts to whom he attempted to share the gospel. He had experienced first-hand just how hardened and opposed to the message of salvation they could be.

And this condition was not new for the Jews. There had been many times in their history where their hearts had been hardened. God had offered them messages of repentance before and watched as they rejected His messengers and their message. The prophets of God had repeatedly called the people of God to repentance, offering them salvation if only they would return to Him. But they had refused. They had turned down God's offer of restoration and redemption. And they had continued to do so all the way up to the days of Jesus. It was He who said to the religious leaders, “you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started. Snakes! Sons of vipers! How will you escape the judgment of hell? Therefore, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers of religious law. But you will kill some by crucifixion, and you will flog others with whips in your synagogues, chasing them from city to city” (Matthew 23:31-34 NLT). Jesus went on to say, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (Matthew 23:37-39 NLT).

Paul, like Jesus, had a heart for the people of Israel. He wanted to see them saved. He longed to see them repent and return to the Lord. But he knew that there was going to be a period of time when their hearts were hardened and many, if not most, would reject God's offer of salvation. But he didn't stop sharing. He didn't refrain from telling every Jew he met the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul had no idea just how big or small God's believing remnant was. He refused to worry about that. Instead, he continued to faithfully proclaim the gospel, boldly, unapologetically, and fearlessly. He knew that the Jews could only be awakened from their spiritual stupor by the Spirit of God. He simply shared and left the rest up to God.

Despised and Rejected.

But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” – Romans 10:19-21 ESV

So did the Jews never hear to good news regarding Jesus Christ? Was their failure to accept Him as Messiah because they had not heard? Paul would answer those questions with a resounding and confident, “No!” The Jews were without excuse. Quoting from Psalm 19, he holds them accountable to the same standard he established in the opening chapter of his letter. The psalmist wrote,“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4 ESV). Nature itself declares God’s glory. “For what can be known about God is plain to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world...so they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20 ESV). Israel was doubly guilty, because they had God’s general revelation of Himself in nature AND they had the privilege of His special revelation, spoken through His prophets and declaring the coming of the Messiah. But when Jesus came, they rejected Him.

So, if they had heard about the coming Messiah through the prophets, was their rejection of Him as case of misunderstanding? Again, Paul is emphatic in his answer. He declares that they fully understood and he uses the Old Testament Scriptures to prove it. Quoting from the book of Deuteronomy, Paul writes, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” The context in the book of Deuteronomy is that God had become fed up with Israel’s repeated unfaithfulness. He said, “They have made me jealous with that is no god, they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation” (Deuteronomy 32:21 ESV). Paul takes this Old Testament prophetic passage and applies it the current circumstances of his day. Centuries after Moses wrote the words found in Deuteronomy, the people of Israel were still worshiping false gods. Their view of God was skewed and based on their own faulty perceptions. They put more faith in their own abilities to keep the law than they did in God’s ability to save them. They rejected Jesus as Savior because they didn’t think they needed one. They worshiped the law more than they did the law-Giver. They worshiped the temple more than the One who supposedly occupied it. So Paul says, God took the good news regarding His Son to another nation. He made it available to the Gentiles. God opened the doors to a people who at one time were not a people.

“for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. ‘Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy’” (1 Peter 2:9-10 NLT).

And quoting the words of God found in the Old Testament book of Isaiah, Paul writes, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help. I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’ to a nation that did not call on my name” (Isaiah 65:1 NLT). God had warned Israel that this day was coming. Their stubbornness and rebellion were going to one day result in their rejection by God and His blessing of the Gentiles. In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul emphasizes how foolish all this appeared. God was taking His message of salvation to a people who had no relationship with Him. “Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important” (1 Corinthians 1:26-28 NLT).

The rejection of Jesus by His own people did not surprise God. It did not catch Him off guard. This had been His plan from the very beginning. It was in fulfillment of His promise to Abraham, that through him and his “offspring” all the nations of the earth would be blessed. It was through Christ, the descendant of Abraham, that God had chosen to bless the nations of the world by offering salvation from sin and death – “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14 ESV).

As a result, the Church represents a new nation and a new people, made up of individuals from all walks of life and every conceivable ethnic background. As Paul told the believers in Galatia:

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you. – Galatians 3:26-29 NLT

Paul wraps up this chapter with another quote from the book of Isaiah. “All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people. But they follow their own evil paths and their own crooked schemes” (Isaiah 65:2 NLT). The rejection of Jesus by His own people was part of God’s divine plan. But as Paul will clarify in the very next chapter, God is not done with Israel. He has not abandoned them. He has not given up on them. He will faithfully fulfill His promises to them.

A Rock of Offense.

What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,  as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”  – Romans 9:30-33 ESV

Righteousness is by faith. That has been and continues to be the crux of Paul’s argument in these verses. Paul’s Jewish brothers and sisters were having a difficult time letting go of their strong belief that getting right with God was based on their Hebrew ancestry and their ability to keep the Law, given to them by God through Moses. But Paul presents a completely different set of facts. The reality is that the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness have actually received it, by faith. They did not know the Mosaic law and wasted no time trying to keep it. And yet they had been made right with God by placing their faith in His Son as their sin substitute. In contrast, the Jews, who were busy seeking righteousness through keeping the law, never attained that righteousness. Why? Because they could not live up to God’s exacting standards. He never expected them to. The law was given to reveal their sin and expose their helplessness. It had been intended to wake them up to their need for a Savior, a Messiah. They could not make themselves right with God, so He sent someone who could do it for them. But they had to believe. They had to repent from their current way of thinking. They had been placing their faith all along in themselves. When Jesus came onto the scene, He told them to repent, to turn away from their false views of sin, God and salvation, and accept Him as their Savior. And as Paul says, “they stumbled over the stumbling stone.”

Paul is quoting from Isaiah, chapter eight, where God is warning the people of the northern kingdom of Israel of the coming invasion of the Assyrians. The people of Israel had been unfaithful to God. They worshiped their own, man-made idols and had established their own temple. God was fed up and was bringing punishment on them in the form of the Assyrian army. But Isaiah warned them, “The Lord has given me a strong warning not to think like everyone else does” (Isaiah 8:11 NLT). He tells them to stop fearing the Assyrians and to start fearing God, to show Him the reverence and respect He deserves. “Make the Lord of Heaven’s Armies holy in your life. He is the one you should fear. He is the one who should make you tremble. He will keep you safe” (Isaiah 8:13-14a NLT). They needed to see God as their salvation, not themselves. Not some foreign ally. But Isaiah went on to give them the bad news, “to Israel and Judah he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall” (Isaiah 8:14b NLT).

Years later, God would tell the people of Judah, as they scoffed at the idea of their coming destruction. “We have struck a bargain to cheat death and have made a deal to dodge the grave. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception” (Isaiah 28:15 NLT). They were putting their faith and hope in something other than God. But He would warn them:

Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “Look! I am placing a foundation stone in Jerusalem, a firm and tested stone. It is a precious cornerstone that is safe to build on.” – Isaiah 28:17 NLT

Like their ancestors before them, the Jews of Paul’s day were stumbling over the stumbling stone. Rather than seeing Jesus as a precious cornerstone, they were seeing Him as a rock of offense. They just could not accept the fact that righteousness was  based on faith, not works. They could not bring themselves to believe that faith in Jesus was God’s intended path to righteousness. And as a result, what the psalmist predicted became a reality. “The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see” (Psalm 118:22-23 NLT). Outside the city walls of Jerusalem, the Son of God would be put to death in order to pay for the sins of men. He would become the sacrifice to satisfy the just demands of a holy God. And whoever believed in Him would not be put to shame. It is that promise that caused Paul’s Jewish brothers and sisters to stumble. And it still presents a problem for people today, both Jews and Gentiles. The whole idea of man’s sin and his need of a Savior comes across as ridiculous to the vast majority of those who hear it. It seems far-fetched. It sounds too good to be true. Which is why it requires faith. We must believe that it is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see. Sure, it makes no sense to us. It seems illogical and unreasonable. Over the centuries, the message of salvation through faith in Christ has caused so many to stumble. But there have been millions upon millions who have placed their faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ and enjoyed salvation from sin and death and a restored relationship with the God of the universe.

A Passion For His People.

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen. – Romans 9:1-5 ESV Paul was a Jew, through and through. His Damascus road experience had introduced him to his Messiah and justified him before God, but it had not eliminated or altered his heritage in any way. In fact, Paul was proud of his background. He once described himself as “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee” (Philippians 3:5 ESV).

Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. while Paul’s assignment from God was to take the gospel to the Gentiles, he never lost his desire to see his fellow Jews come to faith. Virtually every place Paul traveled on his missionary journeys, the first place he went was to the local synagogue. – Acts 14:1 ESV

…they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” – Acts 17:1-3 ESV

Paul knew that the Jews were God’s chosen people. That’s why he wrote, “They are the people of Israel, chosen to be God’s adopted children. God revealed his glory to them. He made covenants with them and gave them his law. He gave them the privilege of worshiping him and receiving his wonderful promises. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are their ancestors, and Christ himself was an Israelite as far as his human nature is concerned” (Romans 9:4-5 NLT). The Jewish nation was the God-ordained conduit through which His grace and mercy were to flow to all mankind. God’s own Son was born as a Jew. Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah of the Jews. And He was the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation. And Paul knew, that in a church like the one in Rome, where there was probably a blend of both Jews and Gentiles, it would be easy for the Jews to be seen in a negative light. After all, they had rejected the Messiah. Peter made this perfectly clear when he addressed the Jews not long after Pentecost. “The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses” (Acts 3:13-15 ESV). But Peter also told them, “I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ would suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus” (Acts 3:17-20 ESV).

Both Peter and Paul longed to see their fellow Jews accept Jesus as their Savior. Paul has made it clear in this letter that all men stand before God as guilty of sin and worthy of death. But he also made it clear that Jesus died so that all men, both Jews and Gentiles, might come to a saving knowledge of Christ. And Paul felt so strongly about his desire for the Jews to be saved, that he was willing to be damned, cut off from Christ, if it meant that his fellow Jews might be saved. The Greek word Paul used was anathema and it referred to “a thing devoted to God without hope of being redeemed, and if an animal, to be slain; therefore a person or thing doomed to destruction” (Outline of Biblical Usage). Of course, Paul knew that this was impossible. He could not die for his fellow Jews. But it expresses his deep longing that they come to a saving knowledge of Jesus as their Messiah. And in spite of the Jewish nation’s initial rejection of Jesus, there were many Jews who had come to believe in Him. And their path to salvation was no different than it was for anyone else. It was by faith alone in Christ alone. Their Jewish heritage was not enough to save them. Their prized position as descendants of Abraham did not earn them special favor with God when it came to His assessment of their sinfulness. Remember, Paul started out this letter with his thesis that the gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16 ESV).

One of the hardest things for a Jew to do was to let go of his pride and his trust in his own self-righteousness and accept the free gift of God’s grace offered through His Son’s death on the cross. Paul knew this first hand, which led him to quote the words of God found in the book of Exodus, “‘I will show mercy to anyone I choose, and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.’ So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it” (Romans 9:15-16 NLT). Paul longed for the Jews to come to faith in Christ. He deeply desired their salvation. But he knew that there was only way for them to be saved. And he made that way known to Timothy, his son in the faith. “…there is only one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 NLT).

Justifed By Faith.

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. – Romans 3:27-31 ESV When it comes to righteousness or right standing before God, does anyone have any grounds on which to boast? Is it possible for a Jew to claim righteousness because his adherence to the law? If it was, then Christ died in vain. If righteousness is available to men through their own effort, through the keeping of the law, then the Gentiles are hopeless, because God did not give them the law. But Paul asks, “is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also?” (Romans 3:29 ESV). Then he answers his own question. “Yes, of Gentiles also, since God is one…” (Romans 3:30 ESV). There are not two plans of salvation – one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. God did not set up two means of attaining righteousness – one through good works and the other through faith. God “will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith” (Romans 3:30 ESV). In this last sentence, Paul uses two different prepositions: by and through. One is the Greek word ek and the other is dia, and they both mean essentially the same thing: “by means of.” Most likely, Paul used two different prepositions in talking about Jews and Gentiles to illustrate that God chose to deal with each in two distinctively different ways. To the Jews He gave the law. But it was to show them His holy expectations and their inability to live up to them. The Gentiles did not receive the law. They were essentially outsiders. In writing to the Gentile believers in Ephesus, Paul reminded them, “Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called ‘uncircumcised heathens’ by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope” (Ephesians 2:11-12 NLT). Then he gave them the good news: “But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ” (Ephesians 2:13 NLT). They were near to God, made right with Him, through the blood of Christ and through faith. Both Jews and Gentiles are made right with God by and through faith. What looked like two different paths was essentially one and the same. The gospel of God, His plan for man's salvation, was always going to go through Jesus. That is why Paul can so confidently and emphatically state, “For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law” (Romans 3:28 ESV). He doesn't say, “in conjunction with” or “alongside” works of the law. In other words, justification stands completely based on faith, and that faith must be placed in a single source: God's offer of salvation made possible through the death of His own Son. In his letter to the believers in Corinth, Paul gives a synopsis of the gospel, the good news in which we are to place our faith: “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared…(1 Corinthians 15:3-5 ESV). He came. He died. He was buried. He rose again. And Paul says, “so we preach and so you believed” (1 Corinthians 15:11 ESV).

It is belief in God's gospel that brings about our justification. We are made right with God through faith in His redemptive plan, not our own futile efforts to live a righteous life. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV). It is our belief in that reality that makes us right with God. In the very next chapter of Romans, Paul will state, “He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right [justified] with God” (Romans 4:25 NLT). That is what we must believe. It is in that truth we must place our faith. 

So does faith eliminate and invalidate the law? Not in the least. Paul claims that when we are justified by faith, we actually uphold the law. Paul uses the Greek word, histēmi and it means “to uphold or sustain the authority or force of anything” (Outline of Biblical Usage). Our ability to keep the law is made possible through our faith in the redemptive work of Christ. Our capacity to live righteously or rightly is given to us by God through our faith in Christ. Paul summarizes our new relationship with the law in chapter eight of Romans:

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. – Romans 8:2-4 ESV

Through His gospel, God has made it possible for men to live in harmony with Him, having placed the desire to keep His commands in their hearts. No longer do we serve Him in the flesh or through our human effort. “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:8 ESV). But we live according to the Spirit. And “if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10 ESV).

The Righteousness of God.

Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, “That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict wrath on us? (I speak in a human way.) By no means! For then how could God judge the world? But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, why am I still being condemned as a sinner? And why not do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just. – Romans 3:1-8 ESV

As we begin chapter three, we must remember the words of Paul from chapter one: “The righteous shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17 ESV). Paul was quoting from Habakkuk 2:4, where God had said to His prophet concerning the nation of Babylon, “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith” (Habukkuk 2:4 ESV). Faith has always been the means by which men gain access to the kind of righteousness God expects. It has never been based on human effort or achievement. All the way back in the book of Genesis, when God commanded Abraham to institute the rite of circumcision as a sign of His covenant with the people of Israel, He had said, “I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God” (Genesis 17:8 ESV). Circumcision was a sign of ownership, an outward symbol of their unique position as God's possession. But it was not going to be circumcision that made them righteous, but their faith in the promise of God – that He would give them the land and make of them a great nation. In chapter four of Romans, Paul further explains the role of faith using Abraham, the father of the Hebrew nation as an example. He clarifies that Abraham was justified before God, not because he had been circumcised, but because he had faith. “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness’” (Romans 4:3 ESV). But Paul asks the question: “How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised?” (Romans 4:10 ESV). In other words, Paul is asking whether God's declaration of Abraham's righteousness was pre- or post-circumcision. Was it the result of his adherence to God's command? Paul answers his own question: “It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised” (Romans 4:10-11 ESV).

What's the point? The point is that God has always measured man's righteousness by faith, not works. The fact is, the Old Testament saints were expected to live by faith, just as much as we are. Paul says, “the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God?” (Romans 3:2 ESV). Martin Luther writes in his commentary of Romans, “circumcision was of value to the Jews because they believed the divine promise (connected with it) and so they awaited its fulfillment” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Romans). Abraham was declared righteous because he had faith in the promises of God. Again, Paul writes in chapter four, “the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith” (Romans 4:13 ESV). The writer of Hebrews tells us, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:8-10 ESV). “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, of whom it was said, ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named’” (Hebrews 11:17-18 ESV). The kind of righteousness God requires has been and always will be based on faith.

The righteousness of God – the kind of righteousness He requires – is only available through faith in His promises. When God had told Abraham, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing … and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3), Abraham had no way of knowing the full extent of that promise. But he believed. He had faith. And it was counted to him as righteousness. But there were many Jews who failed to trust in the promises of God, and who falsely believed that their righteousness before God was going to be based on their own effort or merit. So Paul says, “if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say?” (Romans 3:5 ESV). In other words, it is the very fact that some failed to have faith and lived in unrighteousness that reveals the truth or reality of God's brand of righteousness. His righteousness is faith-based, not works-dependent. The Jews had been given the promises of God, but most of them had failed to believe. They put their faith in themselves, in other nations, in false gods, and in their unique position as God's possession. But Paul reminds us that their unfaithfulness does not nullify the faithfulness of God. He will keep His promises. He will fulfill every word He said to Abraham. In fact, Paul writes in his letter to the believers in Galatia, “Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, ‘In you shall all the nations be blessed.’ So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith” (Galatians 3:7-9 ESV). The righteous shall live by faith.

Wtih knowledge comes responsbility.

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth — you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” – Romans 2:17-24 ESV As a Jew, Paul had no qualms addressing his attention to his Jewish brothers and sisters. He was a former Pharisee and a passionate student of the Hebrew Scriptures. On one occasion, having been arrested in Jerusalem and accused of speaking out against the Jewish people and the temple, Paul addressed the crowd and said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today” (Acts 22:3 NLT). In his letter to the Philippian believers, Paul had given his Hebrew credentials by stating, “I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin — a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault” (Philippians 3:5-6 NLT). So Paul knew what he was talking about when he addressed the attitudes and spiritual status of the Jewish people. Which is why he was able to say, “[you] rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law.” There was a certain degree of pride in their hearts related to their special designation as God's chosen people. But this pride led to an arrogance and boastful certainty that they were above the fray, free from judgment and immune to God's wrath. But Paul had already warned them that, “according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” (Romans 2:16 ESV)

Yes, they were God's chosen people. Yes, they had a unique relationship with Him and had been given His law, provided with the sacrificial system, and could brag about having the temple, where God's presence dwelt. But Paul makes it clear that all of that is not enough. They relied on God. They boasted about their relationship with Him. They knew His will as revealed in the law and even taught others to obey it. They say themselves as guides to the blind, lights to those in darkness, instructors of the foolish and teachers of children. But the problem was that they were hypocrites. They failed to live up to their own standards. They demanded from others a strict adherence to the law that they themselves were incapable of keeping. In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, Isaiah 52:5 reads, “On account of you my name is continually blasphemed among the Gentiles.” Over the centuries, the actions of the Jews revealed a blatant disregard for God and His law. They were guilty of rebellion and unfaithfulness to His will and His ways. They boasted in the law, but dishonored God by breaking the law. They were without excuse. They had a knowledge of God, but what they knew about Him failed to turn into obedience to Him. Hundreds of years earlier, God had accused the people of Israel of their blatant hypocrisy. “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote” (Isaiah 29:13 NLT). Even Jesus had quoted this same passage when addressing the Pharisees of His day. “So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matthew 15:6-9 ESV).

Knowledge can be a wonderful thing. The knowledge of God can be life-transformative. Knowing God's Word can be beneficial to life. But there is a huge difference between knowing and doing. It was James who wrote, “But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves” (James 1:25 NLT). Knowing the law of God is useless if you fail to keep it. Having a encyclopedic understanding of God is worthless if you choose to ignore His will. The Jews were putting their hope and trust in their pedigree. They were counting on the fact that they were Jews. But Paul wanted them to know that their knowledge of God and their awareness of His law only made them more responsible and culpable. There were going to have to let go of all of that and place their trust in Christ. Back in his letter the Philippians, Paul follows up his impressive list of accomplishments as a Jew with the following words: “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ” (Philippians 3:7-8 NLT). There is only one thing worth knowing: Jesus Christ as your Savior. It is an awareness of our own sin and our desperate need for a Savior that really counts. Every other form of knowledge is useless and worthless.