¹⁷ But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, ¹⁸ and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law …

Jewishness saturated Paul’s life; that he was a Jew shaped his life to the core—but he got over that. How? By the Gospel. Yet he could remember so well his pre-Gospel thinking. Christianity, in fact, is Jewish to the core, real Jewish. He did not argue against the religion of Israel, but argued against the perversion of it by the religious leaders and others who followed lock-step in their pattern.

The apostle knew the presumptuous arrogance that Jews felt: that because they had the Law of God they were somehow better than non-Jews. Being Jewish granted them the rights, privileges and allowances of an exalted people group—or so they thought.

From this passage, it is clear that Paul is writing to a broad audience in Rome. Of course, he is writing to Christians, but he waxes eloquent concerning the Jews, even to the point of saying, “If you bear the name ‘Jew’…” He may have had the Judaizers in mind, those Jews who attached themselves to the Christian movement but who were continually trying to force the Gentiles into keeping the Law. They believed that in order to be saved, a Gentile must become a Jew, that is, a proselyte. Nothing could pervert the message of the Gospel more than that. Paul devotes his letter to the Galatians to that subject more pointedly. Here in Romans, he covers the vast swoop of humanity, including the rank sinner, the moralist and now the religious person. And what people were more proud and tenacious about their religion than the Jews?

Lest we despise the Jews for being singled out by Paul, we might find ourselves guilty of the same religion-pride. Some who bear the name Christian rely on their obedience to a “Christian Law” sorts. For example, there are those who require baptism as a necessary action for salvation. And there are the ones who teach that though a person is saved by grace through faith, he can lose his salvation by not living according to God’s Word. It is possible for a Christian to study God’s Word, seek His will and agree with all foundational Christian truths and theology, but still come up short of the glory of God. Even grace can become a means of pride when a person thinks, “God is more gracious to me than you, because He sees that I am more committed to Him than you are.” What a tragedy to be so close to God’s truth, yet to miss it.

Lord, help me to be saturated with Your truth and grace, so that only You would receive the glory through my life. I need Your grace more than anyone else!