Bad News, Part 2

Introduction

We all talk to ourselves. Most of the time the inner talk is appropriate. We are trying to buy something and we decide inside our head what color; if it fits our body or our decor; if it is needed or not. That internal discussion is common. Sometimes the inner dialog is condemning. We do something wrong and we internally beat ourselves up. That was stupid; how could I be so dumb; I’m worthless. These inner thoughts tear at our heart and the core of our being. This, too, is not uncommon. But being common doesn’t mean it is truthful. The point is that we all talk inside our heads.

Paul is writing to followers of Jesus in Rome. He has never been there. He knows some people there but he doesn’t know most of them. So as we read through Romans, you will hear part of the inner conversation that Paul is having with himself and with an unnamed opponent. Throughout the writing Paul will ask questions that he imagines someone might ask if he were there to have face to face conversations. Such is the case in our text this morning. Paul continues to deal with Jewish spiritual pride and he will counter his own thoughts with the opposition’s thoughts. Paul knows that the bad news for the Gentiles and for the Jews is leading to the good news. He also knows, especially as a Jew, that the pride is real and that it must be dealt with. He also knows that pride produces justification so that changes do not have to occur. In our text, Paul attacks the core of Jewish pride—the law and circumcision. The word of God to his chosen people and the physical sign of being God’s chosen people. The gospel is good news only when one sees the reality of their sin. This is painful, but necessary. There is good news today. We will hear it.

More Bad News

Paul has made the point in the first 16 verses of chapter 2 that trying to live under the law brings the wrath of God. No one can live under the law well enough to prove that they do not need Jesus. If you want to live under the law, then you are going to be judged by the law. Every small detail of your life is scrutinized at the judgment if you want to live under the law. But there is good news. You don’t have to live under the law and be judged by it. To the Jew this would have sounded blasphemous. Is Paul saying that the law doesn’t matter? Is Paul saying that the law was wrong? Is Paul saying that Moses and God meeting his people at Sinai was a mistake?

He will answer those questions eventually, but first he is going to take his premise and reveal the full consequences. Verse 17, if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and brag about your relationship with God…if. So if you want to hang on to the idea of proving yourself by the law what is the outcome?

Let’s take some of the big ones. Do you steal? The law says you must not steal. Stealing is to decide that what another has actually belongs to you. Stealing is taking that which means that another is deprived of what they earned. Stealing is saying God hasn’t been good to you; he hasn’t given you enough; he has failed you and you are going to set things in the proper order. Stealing means you become God. And the Jews say, I have never stolen. Have you ever taken longer for lunch than your employer allows? Have you ever used work time for social media time? Have you ever brought home something from work that you didn’t pay for nor given permission to bring home? And are you thinking now that such examples are minor and not worthy of being counted against someone? Now you have decided that you are God and that the law can be ignored.

The smallest infraction against the law is to not only break it but give the message to those who are watching that God is not worth being followed. If his followers don’t follow the law, then why should we. Verse 25 Paul continues by pointing to the sign of being God’s people—circumcision. Break the law in even one point and circumcision means nothing. Verse 28, what really matters is a circumcised heart. What really matters is the person who trusts God rather than their own ability to keep the law.

The Unnamed Opponent

So now we are introduced to the unnamed opponent. A series of questions are posed and Paul answers each one as a rebuttal to some internal dialog that may take place as well as any dialog that may take place as readers hear the word.

According to Paul in 3:1, you might say there is no advantage at all in being God’s chosen people. Paul says you have been entrusted with the very words of God. The desire of God came through the Jews. What about those who didn’t trust God? God’s faithfulness is not dependent on the faithlessness of people. Wouldn’t God be unjust to pour out his wrath on those who couldn’t possibly keep the law? The question presupposes that God is powerless, that he gives rules but has no authority to enforce them. If God is faithful, then should I just sin more so that God can reveal more of his faithfulness especially at the judgment?

We have this same thought—God is in the forgiving business. It is better to ask for forgiveness than permission. Both of these highlight the same kind of thought—if I can’t live up to the standards of the law, I’ll just live life anyway I want to and God will forgive me.

There is a technical term for this view but the term isn’t as important as the thought. The thought comes from the place of despair and hopelessness. I can’t live up to the standard of the law and because God is faithful then he will let me off the hook. The Jews presumed upon a decision God made at Sinai as sufficient for them to boast in their position.

Is it any different? Do we presume upon God’s faithfulness so that we no longer have to keep the law? The bad news drives us to hopelessness and despair. I can’t keep every little requirement of the law. If I take a 40 minute break at lunch instead of the 30 I’m given, I’ve broken the law. So how do we handle that? Work through lunch that way I’m showing I can keep the law. Isn’t this how we fix our inability to not keep the law? We find ways to compensate for the faults and try to “balance” the good. I broke the law here but I bought a sandwich for a man on the street. Doesn’t that balance out in some way? Do you hear the despair?

Eventually we get to the point of giving up. It’s too hard. You have too many rules. God demands perfection. No, we demand perfection. Our internal voice tells us, we are worthless unless we do it right…all…the…time. Failure only convinces us that we are worthless. And then we read God is faithful and then we live like we want to live and the despair deepens because we fail even more. But we presume that God will handle that. Are you hearing this? We are condemned if we try to live under the law and we are condemned if we ignore the law and presume upon God’s faithfulness? Why try at all?

Just as Paul did in 2:16 as he hinted about good news, so he does here in 3:4. God is faithful. Good news becomes really good news when all the false props and supports are gone. I can keep the law is a lie. No one can. I can make things balance out. By whose standard? Yours? Now you are God. God will overlook the small things. Try not to do anything too bad. Or I’m not as bad as some people. There it is. The pride. The presumption. The judgment that you will be judged by. You can’t win with this approach. It drives us to despair. And in our despair we can hear the really good news—God is faithful.

The good news is coming starting in verse 21. But feel the despair first. But we can’t leave with only the bad news. I tell people that it is in despair that you are ready to believe the truth. Your internal voice will try to tell you that despair is the final word. Don’t believe it. God is faithful. He isn’t dependent on your goodness to reveal his goodness. God reveals his faithfulness in our despair not so we can presume upon him (his job is to forgive) but to show us his deep love. The internal voice says I’m not good enough and God’s answer is “You are right. You aren’t good enough. You fail. You can’t do this. It’s a no win situation. Take my hand. Let me show you what my goodness looks like.” Do you see Jesus? Invitation.

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