We’re still in the section of Romans where Paul is convicting three different groups of their sin and their need for God. This week we looked at the religious group. The group that goes to church and outwardly does all the “right things.” However, Paul gets on to this group – specifically the Jews when he says,
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 2:21-24
Paul is letting the religious know that they are supposed to guide, teach, correct, and be a light. But by knowing the Law, it had an opposite effect. They became spiritually superior. They didn’t practice what they preached. They became proud, not humble.
Religion can, if we’re not careful, give us fences that keep the “bad people” out. In other words, we see what the Bible says is wrong and sinful, then we find it in everyone else. This is natural for our sin behavior. We tend to see the sin of others and not our own. Paul would say that we are judging the sin in others when we are guilty of the same sins. Jesus said it was noticing the speck in others when we have a huge plank in our own lives.
I invite you to seek out areas that God is showing you in your life where you may be missing the mark. As Christ followers, we need to stop suppressing sin and finding fault in others. How is God transforming you into the image of Jesus?