{"id":225348,"date":"2024-04-22T07:22:31","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T14:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/?p=225348"},"modified":"2024-04-22T07:22:32","modified_gmt":"2024-04-22T14:22:32","slug":"ra4b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vayhub.us\/rdpt22\/ra4b","title":{"rendered":"RA4b"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Could Our Spiritual Privileges Lead Us Closer to God or Further Away?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"\"><sup>17<\/sup>If you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God <sup>18<\/sup>and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; <sup>19<\/sup>and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, <sup>20<\/sup>an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth\u2014<\/p>\n<cite>Romans 2:17\u201320 (ESV)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">When we turn to Romans 2:17\u201320 we find the Jews (the \u201creligious person\u201d of Paul\u2019s day) to be making eight important claims. Four are their special&nbsp;<em>spiritual advantages<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">God has given us his law.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">He has entered into a special relationship with us.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Because we have been given his law, we know his will, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">We approve only the most excellent of human moral standards.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">And four are about their&nbsp;<em>spiritual privileges<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">To be a guide for the blind,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">To be a light for those who are in the dark,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">To be an instructor for the foolish, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">To be a teacher of infants.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">All of those are also <em>spiritual advantages and privileges<\/em> for us Christians. However, Paul warns that the attitude of &#8220;relying on the law&#8221; 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">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 &#8220;in&#8221; or &#8220;out&#8221; based on their ability to follow the law. Being a light can cast shadows of shame and guilt, highlighting others&#8217; failures rather than illuminating the path to redemption through grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">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&#8217;s purpose, which is to lead us to Christ, where we find our true righteousness (Galatians 3:24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Knowing how destructive &#8220;relying on the law&#8221; 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?.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">[The ideas for this week&#8217;s materials on Romans 2:17-29 were drawn from &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Romans-Justification-Faith-1-4\/dp\/0801065798\/\">Romans: Justification by Faith (Romans 1-4) (Expositional Commentary)<\/a>&#8221; by James Montgomery Boice]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">&#8220;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-225348","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devo","category-romans"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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