Romans 2 - 2.7.23
SCRIPTURE: Romans 2:28 - 29 "For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart - by the Spirit, not the letter. That man's praise is not from men but from God."
OBSERVATION: Paul addressed the Jews regarding the way they took such pride in their possession of God's law, especially the rite of circumcision, which set them apart from the Gentiles. Paul made it very clear that the only circumcision that counted before God was the circumcision of the heart. (Gene Getz)
UNDERSTANDING: The Scriptures teach us that it is possible to have head knowledge without heart knowledge. There are many people that know ABOUT God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They may even believe that the Bible is the incarnate word of God. Those same people may attend church, get baptized, and live a morally good life as they follow their conscience, but NONE of those things make a person a Christian! If human conscience could save people, then why did Jesus die on the cross? Why didn't He just teach people to be morally good and follow their conscience? There are two reasons that these people are not automatically saved and accepted by God based on human conscience. First: According to Romans 3:10, "There is none righteous, not even one." Even though there are some good people who follow their conscience, they are still sinners by nature. Human conscience alone has never given birth to moral perfection. Reason number 2: According to Romans 2:15 - 16, when the secrets of the human heart are exposed by the light of the gospel, sin and depravity will eternally stain the souls of the morally good. Being good is commendable, but it does not pay our eternal debt. "The wages of sin is... death." (Roman 6:23).
Like the religious Jews Paul was addressing, it's possible for both Jews and Gentiles today to believe the truth that is revealed in God's Word without that truth changing their hearts. The ONLY way our hearts can be changed is when we believe Jesus is Lord and receive salvation through His sacrificial death on the cross. When we exchange our sins for God's forgiveness, mercy and grace, we become His children, and His Spirit takes up residence in us, and it's His Spirit within us that wills us, and equips us with power and wisdom to want to be like Jesus. (Human Conscience and Salvation: by Terry Baxter Devotional).
LIFE APPLICATION: I am so grateful that God opened the eyes of my heart and revealed to me that Jesus is Lord! For many years I assumed that I was a Christian because I was raised in a Lutheran Church, attended vacation Bible school in the summer, and was taught the stories about God and His Son Jesus, who died on the cross for my sins. I knew He loved me, but I was not aware that I needed to have a personal born-again experience with God in order to be saved from my sins.
I did some drifting away from the church as a teenager, but I always felt an emptiness in my heart that I longed to be filled. It wasn't until I fell into a deep depression after I was married and had two young sons that I found myself needing to call out to God to come help me, and it was in that moment standing in my kitchen that He personally came to my rescue, and He led me back to Church where I was introduced to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior! A couple of men from the church came to pay me a visit and shared the gospel message with me, and I was asked 2 spiritual questions. My answer to those questions revealed that I was in need of a Savior, so I professed my belief in Jesus as Lord, confessed my sins, and invited Jesus to come into my heart to be my Lord and Savior. After the men left, the Lord allowed me to experience His love and peace that flooded the emptiness that once filled my heart. I was born-again! The depression left, never to return, and my mind has been free to be able to experience God's love and enjoy His peace and sweet presence every single day, ever since He gave me a new heart!
- Robin Orefice
