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Book: Romans
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Romans 2:29 A Matter of the Heart
I. The Gentile pagan world as Paul saw it.
A. They were filled with unrighteousness, fornication,
covetousness, full of envy and murder, haters of God, proud,
boasters, without natural affection.
B. The reason for this condition.
1. When they knew God, they glorified Him not as God.
2. They had become vain in their imaginations.
3. Their foolish hearts were darkened.
4. Professing themselves to be wise they had become fools.
5. God had given them over to their own lusts.
6. They changed the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped and served the creature rather than the
creator.
7. They did not want to retain God in their minds so God
gave them over to reprobate minds.
II. The Jew was horrified by the actions of the Gentiles for they were
contrary to the law that God had given to them.
A. In chapter two Paul points out to the Jews that they were even
more guilty than the Gentiles.
1. They were judging the Gentiles for their actions, yet
they were guilty of doing the same things themselves.
a. In the sermon on the mount Jesus is taking the
Jews to task for their misinterpretation of the
law.
b. He began the section of the message with the
words, "Except your righteousness exceeds that
of the Scribes and the Pharisee's you shall in
no wise enter the kingdom of heaven.
c. He then illustrated the statement with 5
illustrations of how they were interpreting the
law and contrasted their interpretation with
the divine meaning and intent of the law.
d. The law said, "You shall not kill." Jesus said
that if you hated your brother you were guilty
of violating the Spirit of the law.
e. The law said, "You shall not commit adultery."
Jesus said that if you looked lustfully upon a
woman, and desired her sexually, you had
violated the commandment.
2. Thus you could be keeping the law outwardly, yet be
breaking the law in your heart, and God looks upon the
heart.
a. This is exactly what was happening with the
Jews.
b. They honored the law with their lips, but in
was not in their heart to keep the law.
ISA 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near
[me] with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but
they have removed their heart far from me, and their fear
toward me is taught by the precept of men:
c. God looks on a man's heart, He is interested in
what is going on in your heart.
3. Just hearing the law cannot justify you before God.
When Moses gave the law to the people he emphasized the
importance of doing the law.
DEU 4:1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the
judgments, which I teach you, to do [them], that ye may live,
and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your
fathers giveth you.
4. The Jew by virtue of having the law and the fact that
he knew the requirements of God for righteousness, and
consented that this was the correct way to live felt
that he was justified before God.
III. Not only could the approval and consent to the law not avail for
justification before God, but keeping the ordinances of the law,
could not make a man righteous before God.
A. God had made a covenant with Abraham when he was 99 years old.
The covenant was that God would multiply him exceedingly.
That he would be a father of many nations.
That God would make him very fruitful and the nations and kings
would come forth from him.
That God would give to his seed the land in which he had been
living.
1. The sign of this covenant was to be the rite of
circumcision.
2. Thus every male born among the descendants of Abraham
were to be circumcised.
3. This was the outward sign that they were a Jew.
4. In time the Jews did what so many people do, they began
to substitute the ritual for the actual reality.
5. The same thing has happened in the church with the rite
of baptism. Many people believe they are Christians
because they have experienced the rite of baptism.
6. Both rituals symbolize that a person is not going to
live after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
a. In circumcision you are cutting off the flesh,
i.e. the life lived after the flesh.
b. In baptism you are burying the old life of the
flesh, to live a new life after the Spirit.
c. But if you are living a life after the flesh,
then the value of either ritual is totally
negated.
d. The fact that you were baptized when you were
an infant is totally meaningless, if you are
living after the flesh. The same is true if you
were baptized after you became an adult.
e. As Peter wrote, "Now baptism doth now save us,
not the putting away of the filth of the flesh,
(i.e. an outward washing) but the answer of a
good conscience toward God."
B. This is the point that Paul seeks to make as he addresses the
Jews.
1. He is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of
the heart, in the spirit and not the letter.
2. This means that they are also guilty before God and
need the offer of salvation offered by God through His
Son Jesus Christ.
IV. It's a matter of the heart.
A. Why is God so interested in what is going on in your heart?
1. In Proverbs 4:23 we read, "Keep your heart with all
diligence for out of it are the issues of life."
2. Jesus said,
MAT 15:19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
3. Again He said,
LUK 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth
that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of
his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the
abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
B. In chapter 10 as Paul speaks of our being saved he said, "If
you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and
believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead you
will be saved."
1. Why believe with your heart? Why not believe in your
mind?
a. Man often finds it easy to change his mind.
b. It is difficult to change your heart.
2. What is in the heart of a man, will determine his
purposes and goals in life.
C. What is in your heart today?
1. Jeremiah said,
JER 17:9 The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately
wicked: who can know it?
JER 17:10 I the LORD search the heart, [I] try the reins, even to give
every man according to his ways, [and] according to the fruit of
his doings. What the Lord is saying here is that you will be
judged by what's going on in your heart.
2. At the time of the flood in the days of Noah the Bible
declares:
GEN 6:5 And God saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth,
and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was]
only evil continually. God was looking upon their hearts. Even
as He looks at your heart. As he looks at your heart what does
He see?
3. In Psalm 139 David recognizes how thoroughly God knew
him. "Oh Lord, Thou hast searched me and known me. You
understand my thoughts afar off. There is not a word in
my tongue, but you know it completely. Such knowledge
is to great for me, I cannot attain it."
4. Recognizing that God knows him so thoroughly even
better than he knew himself he prayed. "Search me Oh
God and know my heart, try me and know my thoughts, and
see if there be some wicked way in me and lead me in
the way everlasting."
C. Back in verse 16 of our text Paul tells us that in the day in
which God judges, He will be judging according to the secrets
of men, i.e. what is in your heart.
D. Solomon said, "My son, give me your heart and let your eyes
observe my ways." This is just what God is saying to you today.
Give me your heart.
JOEL 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the
LORD your God: for he [is] gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
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