Is Your Faith Grounded in Christ or in Your Own Morality?
17If you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God 18and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—
Romans 2:17–20 (ESV)
For the rest of chapter 2, Paul engages with the Jews on the basis of their moral decency and religious fervor. They prided themselves on having the law of God (Rom.2:17-24) and on observing religious rituals like circumcision (Rom.2:25-29). Yet, Paul’s message is jarring: such attributes do not equate to righteousness. Imagine a good Jew hearing these verses. “If I am a Jew?” How can you possibly say that, Paul? I am a Jew!
Paul is not saying there is anything wrong with being a Jew; with having and knowing and internalizing God’s law; with using his commands to make ethical decisions; or with seeking to share his ways with others. The problem is that “you rely … you brag” (v 17). It is not the Jewishness, or the having of the law (far less the keeping of it) that is wrong; it is their attitude to their nationality and morality. They are relying on it; making what is moral (good things) into a system of salvation.
Moralism is pervasive and seductive. It’s the default religion of humanity, tempting us to compare and believe in the adequacy of our goodness. It whispers, “If there’s a God, I’m surely acceptable to Him. Look at my good deeds.” If we substitute ‘Christian’ for ‘Jew’ in this passage, the message becomes equally applicable. The same self-assurance of ‘Christian’ moralism surfaces when we boast in our actions or our Christian identity, rather than Christ’s work.
To detect if we’ve drifted into this, we need only to replace “Christian” with “Jew” and paraphrase verses 17–20: “You call yourself a born-again Christian and you are sure you are right with God because you signed a commitment card, or walked down an aisle, or prayed a prayer, and you really cried that night. You remember you had strong feelings for God, so you must have been converted that night. And, hey, since then you have memorized dozens of Scripture verses, and you know the right answer to a large array of questions. And you’ve led other people to make a commitment to Christ in the Bible study you lead. And you want to get deep into the Bible—that’s why you’re reading this Romans devotion!”.
Yet, the question lingers: Are these mere indicators, or are they the substance of your faith?
Our salvation is not based on our religious identity, knowledge, or actions, but solely on the finished work of Christ on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9). While our works should flow from a heart transformed by the gospel (James 2:17), they are not a means to earn God’s favor.
Examine your life and ask yourselves before God: Are you a Christian because of what you do or who you are? Talk to God about it.
[The ideas for this week’s materials on Romans 2:17-29 were drawn from Tim Keller’s book “Romans 1-7 for You“]
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I am most definitely not a Christian because of what I do or who I am, but rather because of who He is and what He has done. It is easy to fall into the false presumption that leads to self-righteousness, thinking that it is what I do that makes me a Christian, and I have certainly thought this way before. However, when I look back now upon my life, both as a believer and before, it is easy to recognize that it is ultimately and only by God’s grace that I am saved. Even in my sobriety, I have to acknowledge that, though there have been steps I’ve taken, each of those steps have been the work of God doing for me what I could not do for myself. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” I am what I am today, a sinner saved by no more or less than the grace of God, and by what Christ has done.
When I first came to accept Christ as savior I had a hard time understanding how anyone can call themselves Christian if they aren’t doing good and obeying the Lords laws. Everywhere I look I see sins in all forms from the people who say they follow God. I hear confessions but the repentance didn’t lead to obedience, not in the time of the OT nor in our modern time.
Bumble told me then that the good deed didn’t lead to salvation or God but rather as a result of loving God. I think that’s what bumble tried to explain but it just made no sense to me. I was too new to the faith and was still saddled with decades of self reliance and pride. It was always my own abilities I believed that brought me to all my successes all these years. So I still looked to myself to do good, to figure out His laws and follow them to please Him and so be worthy of salivation. Still I looked to myself.
God let me tried it my way for decades until I realized my ability led only to a dead end and to an emptiness that was soul deadening. When I finally gave up and begged for help did God finally got through and I started to follow.
But I was still stubborn and too dense to understand so I still looked for how I can save myself. God had put me into different situations in the last few years to reveal to me my errors. When I try to be good I fall short. When I try to find ways to do good I get no where. When I try I often failed.
Now I finally understand what bumble tried to explain years ago. Trying to do good to prove yourself to God doesn’t make you a Christian. Loving God and surrendering authority to God and relying on God grace is what makes you a Christian. As I am anchoring myself on God I take on more of His character and I do good because that’s His basic nature and not my basic nature. Goodness comes from the Lord!