Romans 2--or Don't rely on what you know

I am reading Romans along with my church, River of Life.  I am on Romans 2 today.  Romans 1 deals with people who don't have a religion or are not part of the Jewish or Christian religion.  Paul was so clever in this, because as a person who goes to church or has a relationship with God reads Roman's 1, he/she might think "aha!  I am not like that!  I am much better because I have faith!"

In Roman's 2, Paul applies the other side of the "sword" of the Word and deals with root of those thoughts--Hypocrisy.  Hypocrisy according to My Dictionary is:

a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.

2.

a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.

 

Hypocrisy is basically knowing what is good and right and taking pride in that knowledge rather than letting it change you.  Hypocrisy mixed with pride tends to make people feel invulnerable to sin, and blind and hardhearted.   A Hypocritical person also uses that knowledge that they have of God to evaluate others and include or exclude people based on how they measure up. 

 

Every believer in some way is a hypocrite ie has some knowledge of God's word that has yet to be worked into their experience.  The challenge is not to let what we KNOW about God make us proud, but instead to make us Humble and desperate for His Spirit to change us.  

 Ro 2:3 But you who are judging another for doing what you do yourself, are you hoping that God's decision will not take effect against you?
 Ro 2:4 Or is it nothing to you that God had pity on you, waiting and putting up with you for so long, not seeing that in his pity God's desire is to give you a change of heart?

 Ro 2:13 For it is not the hearers of the law who will be judged as having righteousness before God, but only the doers:

 Ro 2:23 You who take pride in the law, are you doing wrong to the honour of God by behaviour which is against the law?

 Ro 2:29 But he is a Jew who is a secret one, whose circumcision is of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter; whose praise is not from men, but from God.