True Blasphemy

Read Romans 2:17-24

Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. He treasured what God had revealed. He said that anyone who broke the law and taught others to do the same "will be called least in the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:17-19). Paul also knew that God's law was good. It was "the embodiment of knowledge and truth" (Romans 2:20). So, a wise person relies on God's law because it shows us God's better path through life. But what happens when law-breakers learn God's law? Pride. We can think our nation is better than others because people in our country know what God says. We can look down on people from other religions because their understanding of God is inferior. Or we see someone making bad choices and we judge them as being beneath us. Even as we push others down, we put ourselves on a pedestal. We give ourselves special titles and present ourselves as experts. But as soon as we walk around like we're better than everyone else, we reveal our ignorance. The first thing we should have learned from studying God's law is that we cannot keep it. What's the best way to confront a know-it-all? Paul asks them questions. Do you steal? Do you commit adultery? Do you rob temples? In his day, temples were also used as banks. So people might say they despise idols but still help themselves to the silver inside (see Deuteronomy 7:25). When people see us break the law we brag about, they think our God is the problem. So "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you" (Romans 2:24). That's true blasphemy. Paul is quoting Isaiah 52:5, where God says, "my name is continually blasphemed all day long." In context, the Israelites had been defeated and exiled, and their captors mocked their God for failing to protect them. But they didn't realize that God had orchestrated their exile from the land because of their sin. Jesus called the religious leaders of his day "blind guides" because they insisted on tithing while neglecting "the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness" (Matthew 23:23-24). Paul is repeating the arguments of the prophets and Jesus. When I was in campus ministry, I talked to many students who told me they weren't Christians. I would often ask, "Okay. Why not?" Many of them told me, "Because I heard the sermons at church, then I looked at how they lived, and it didn't line up. I don't want anything to do with that hypocrisy." They were surprised when I said, "God agrees with you." God condemns hypocrisy more sincerely than we ever could. It seems like we're stuck. How can lawbreakers stop blaspheming God's name? Only because of what God has promised and fulfilled. By his grace, we are loved by God and called as saints (Romans 1:7). Through Jesus, Paul received his calling to "bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles" (Romans 1:5). God sent Paul to preach the gospel to blasphemers so they could worship. When the Holy Spirit works within us, he bridges the gap so that we not only believe but obey God and glorify his name.