Romans chapter 2

vs 21

And there it is! Paul is accusing the Jews of being hypocrites. As if just by having the law you, and being able to teach the law, you are somehow better than someone who doesn't know it. He starts off with stealing - a crime that can be legally charged in society. Those are easy ones to think you don't do. If you haven't been caught, or if you didn't steal something that is considered valuable, then is it theft?

Now, I don't stand by the "have you stolen phone calls or paperclips from your work" sort of theft. To me, if you have a situation in place where you are allowed to make reasonable use of office supplies, then that's not stealing. I took a rubber band from work to wrap around my Hebrew vocab. Am I a thief? No. I think if my office was anal about such things, that it would be a sucky place to work. "You there - are you scribbling with an office pen? That's office ink you're wasting!" Of course, stealing a box of rubber bands (either all at once or one a day or whatever) is actually stealing. There's no hard and fast rule - just use common sense.

Probably what happens more often in people's work lives is that they steal time from their bosses, by doing home things on work time. But again, "work time" is subjective - if you are paid a salary to do a job, and the understanding is you are paid for the job, not the time, then what is "work time"? If you work from home, what is "work time"?

And you know, we probably steal time off each other just by wasting each other's time. Now that's an interesting premise. The other interesting idea is that we steal time off God. I think we're all guilty there. But don't think I'm talking about having fun = stealing God's time. I mean more along the lines that wasting opportunities = wasting God's time.

Ok, I can't spend all morning philosophising on what is stealing. The point I'm making is that sometimes the obvious side of a sin (stealing a car, stealing a baby, shooting a policeman) covers up the less obvious side, for which it is easier to explain away, but that we are still involved in.

vs 22

I'd like to say that I would think the Jews weren't committing adultery and robbing temples, but, you know, it's entirely plausible. I don't know about the robbing temples (although not giving what you really should to God in offering is like robbing him, because of greed, and greed is idolatry). But the adultery, for sure it happened. How do I know? Because it happens now. People in positions of power sometimes abuse them, or sometimes get tempted and can't withstand the temptation. It happens in churches, why would it not happen in synagogues?

vs 23

Obviously they do.

vs 24

This is a harsh verse. Paul's going to town on the Jewish people. Just remember that he is one, so it's PC.

Also remember that this verse is totally true, and it is God that draws people to himself.

vs 25

Circumcision is a sign of a covenant. The actual covenant requires obedience. Having a contract, and breaking that contract, puts you in a position as if you never had the contract.

But because this is a covenant with God, people suddenly think "Well, I've got the covenant, God will take care of the rest". Sounds a little antinomian.

vs 26

Now of course this is not quite the same as a contract. However, I think Paul's point is that if there is a contract, and one person signs it and breaks it, and another person doesn't sign it but keeps it, then the person who will get the benefit of the contract will be the latter. So say you have a contract for a house, but you refuse to put down the deposit. Someone else comes along and puts down the deposit - I think they're more likely to get the house than you. Or if you have a contract for a job, but you refuse to work. Someone else comes along, and does your work. They are more likely to get paid.

vs 27

Circumcision is the covenantal version of a piece of paper. It's valueless - it's the actual content of the covenant that is valuable. Paul is mainly seeking to break down that Jew/gentile wall, rather than call Jews valueless. Of course, someone who has circumcision and obeys the law is great.

vs 28

Now we get to brass tacks. We're not talking about who's your mother, or what tribe you're from, or whether you're missing a little flap of skin. We're talking about something deeper. Not a merely physical thing.

vs 29

Real Judaism comes from the heart, and from God's Spirit, says Paul. It's not the written code that makes you a Jew - it's God giving you the ability to live by it through his Spirit. Circumcision does not make you able to follow the law - God's Spirit enabling you is what empowers the symbol of your circumcision. Therefore it becomes the circumcision.

It's interesting that Paul includes this bit about praise. The idea being that if your eye is on God and obeying him, then you won't care what people think. Obviously the 1st century Jews were not without their problems, even if they were in churches.