Could Our Spiritual Privileges Lead Us Closer to God or Further Away?
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)
When we turn to Romans 2:17–20 we find the Jews (the “religious person” of Paul’s day) to be making eight important claims. Four are their special spiritual advantages:
- God has given us his law.
- He has entered into a special relationship with us.
- Because we have been given his law, we know his will, and
- We approve only the most excellent of human moral standards.
And four are about their spiritual privileges:
- To be a guide for the blind,
- To be a light for those who are in the dark,
- To be an instructor for the foolish, and
- To be a teacher of infants.
All of those are also spiritual advantages and privileges for us Christians. However, Paul warns that the attitude of “relying on the law” for righteousness can poison these advantages and privileges. When the law becomes a source of pride rather than gratitude, it distorts the relationship with God into a transactional one where adherence to the law is thought to earn His favor. Instead of humbly serving and teaching others, those who rely on the law may judge others by standards they themselves cannot uphold.
The ability to discern what is excellent can lead to a self-righteous attitude, using this discernment to look down on others rather than encouraging personal holiness. Being a guide can turn into gatekeeping, deciding who is “in” or “out” based on their ability to follow the law. Being a light can cast shadows of shame and guilt, highlighting others’ failures rather than illuminating the path to redemption through grace.
Instructing can become imposing a burdensome legalism rather than imparting wisdom that leads to a relationship with God. Teaching can shift from nurturing growth to dictating behavior, stifling the development of genuine faith rooted in love and grace.
Relying on the law corrupts the gifts and callings God has given, turning them into tools of self-promotion and judgment rather than instruments of grace and truth. It subverts the law’s purpose, which is to lead us to Christ, where we find our true righteousness (Galatians 3:24).
Knowing how destructive “relying on the law” is (counting on our own morality for our righteousness before God), what can we do to prevent it from poisoning our spiritual advantages and privileges?.
[The ideas for this week’s materials on Romans 2:17-29 were drawn from “Romans: Justification by Faith (Romans 1-4) (Expositional Commentary)” by James Montgomery Boice]
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I would say that one way in which we can help to prevent counting on our own morality would be to practice constant self examination and repentance. In the program of Alcoholics Anonymous, steps four through eleven are all about examining ourselves and repenting, most especially of our own self righteousness. The Big Book says that “our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.” The “fitting ourselves” is a process of constant self examination that is known in the program as “cleaning house.” In 2 Corinthians 13:5, Paul tells the church in Corinth: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!” The greatest marker of determining whether or not Christ be in us would have to be love. 1 Corinthians 13 speaks to the preeminence of love in the life of a Christian. The maintenance steps of AA require us to examine ourselves by using love as our standard. Step 11 suggests, “When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we have done better? Were we thinking of ourselves most of the time? Or were we thinking of what we could do for others, of what we could pack into the stream of life? But we must be careful not to drift into worry, remorse or morbid reflection, for that would diminish our usefulness to others. After making our review we ask God’s forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken.” I would say that I have found it essential to continually practice these principles to keep myself free from the self-righteous attitude that I am prone to adapt that it would not undermine my spiritual advantages and privileges as a child of God.
I know the pitfall of pride and how that can lead to a belief in my own authority before God. I know where that leads so I’m always on guard to check my motivation. I still miss it sometimes but I’m getting better at recognizing the inner battle with my ego and self will. I worry though that even when I think that I’m being humble and walking the narrow path, that what’s in my heart is not God but still self. As a long time gamer I know that I would try to figure out the game mechanics and I would try to optimize my game to get the perfect result. That’s what I fear is in my heart – I fear that I’m hacking the game of life to optimize my salvation instead of just humblingly living a life reflecting the Lord’s nature for His glory – to shine His light not my own. That’s what I want to do but I fear that my selfish nature is not so nice and humble.
Lord I pray for Your help to lead me on the right path and to make me see when I’m straying from it. I truly wish to honor You and live to glorify You. I hope that my heart reflect what I espoused. Only You know my inner heart so only You can help me see the truth – I need Your help to be better in this Lord!