In the
Bible, the book of Romans describes God’s full salvation in a complete
and thorough way. To apprecia=
te how
great God’s salvation is, we need to understand that we=
and all mankind are under God’s
condemnation— and there are NO exceptions. However, there are some who think
differently. They are the
self-righteous and religious. Last
week we saw God’s estimation of the self-righteous and how utterly
condemned they really are. To=
day we
will see how the religious are also condemned by God to the uttermost!
An outward life of vanity, they have a:
&nb=
sp; Outward
name (2:17),
&nb=
sp; Form
of knowledge (2:17-18),
&nb=
sp; Prac=
tice
of the same evils that they condemn (2:21-22),
&nb=
sp; Outw=
ard
form in letter (2:27-28),
&nb=
sp; Lack
of inward reality in spirit (2:29), and
&nb=
sp; Scri=
ptures
outwardly (3:2).
Condescending and unable to
receive, they see themselves as:
&nb=
sp; A
guide to the Blind – (2:19),
&nb=
sp; A
light to those in darkness – (2:19),
&nb=
sp; One
who disciplines the foolish – (2:20), and
&nb=
sp; A
teacher of babes – (2:20).
Religious people secretly li=
ve
in hypocrisy as they:
&nb=
sp; Steal
– taking things they don’t possess, not paying the price, not owning the truth (2:21),
&nb=
sp; Commit
Adultery – their heart is for someone or something other than Christ alone (2:22),
&nb=
sp; Rob
temples of Idols – inwardly they are involved with temples of Idols (2:22), and
&nb=
sp; Transgress
the Law of God – thus dishonoring God (2:23).
This results in:
&nb=
sp; Gain=
ing
praise from men and not from God, and
&nb=
sp; Caus=
ing
men to blaspheme God’s name.
But God wants an:
&nb=
sp; Inwa=
rd
circumcision of the heart,
&nb=
sp; In
spirit not in letter.
Religion
is condemned by God because it blocks our access to His full salvation that=
is
unveiled in the book of Romans.