Romans: Rooted in Jesus, Distorted View of the Law

Sunday, we’ll go back to Romans 2 as Paul confronts the Jewish believers' distorted view of themselves, the law, God, and the gospel. This week, we’ll focus on their distorted view of God’s Law. Remember that after exposing the sinfulness of the world, particularly the Gentiles, in chapter one, Paul now zeros in on the Jewish believers' “partiality.” The Jewish believers in Rome believed they were a privileged class, having grown up knowing the Scriptures and living a more moral life. That sense of “privilege” is a distorted view of self that produces their judgment of others (2:1), especially the Gentile believers they engaged in church, and blinds them to their own sin (2:1). Paul is adamant that God’s patience and goodness were meant to lead them to repentance not moralism (2:4). They were the “older brother” in the story of the Prodigal Son, rejecting their wayward, but repenting, brother.

Moralism had crept into their lives. The Jewish believers saw themselves as “pretty good people.” But in this they distorted the Law of God as something they could and were obeying. But Paul is adamant again, saying, “no one is justified by the Law,” (3:20). The most moral person is much more sinful than they realize, and an undistorted view of the Law will expose that. Here’s the bottom line, if you think you’re living a good life and obeying the Lord, you might have a distorted perspective. If life is good and you think to yourself, “I must be doing something right,” you have a distorted view of the Law. Join us Sunday as we unpack the Scriptures.