1 Samuel 16:7 says: “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” This is what Paul is getting at in these last verses of Romans 2, as he deals for the final time with the objections of those who consider themselves to be so thoroughly religious that they do not need the gospel. The issue is the Jewish sacrament of circumcision and the accompanying claim that all who have been circumcised will be saved.

The Jew, who was the chief example in Paul’s day of the thoroughly religious person, had begun his defense against Paul’s gospel by the argument that he (or she) possessed the law. As we have seen in the previous study, Paul argued that possession of the law, although undoubtedly a great privilege is of no value if the one possessing the commands of God fails to keep them. The Jew, along with everybody else, had broken those laws. So it was not sufficient to say, “I have the law, and therefore I do not need the gospel.” On the contrary, the law is given to reveal our need of God’s grace.

Still, the Jew had one last card to play, one final argument. He had been circumcised, and circumcision had brought him into visible outward fellowship with that body of covenant people to whom God had made salvation promises. It was like saying that circumcision (our counterpart is baptism) had made him a member of that body, and because of that membership his salvation was certain. The Jew really did believe this – just as many people today believe they are saved merely by being members of a church!

Most of us are not personally affected by contemporary debate over the definition of a true Jew (vv. 28-29). But the matter of godly conduct accomplished in us by the work of the Holy Spirit (v. 29) is our concern. And, as far as the sacraments go (our sacraments are baptism and the Lord’s Supper, rather than circumcision); the issue is whether these reflect the necessary inward change and reality.

So what is a sacrament? A sacrament is a “sign” of a spiritual reality rather than the reality itself. There are four elements of a sacrament from the Christian point of view: (1) A sacrament is a divine ordinance instituted by Christ Himself. (2) A sacrament uses material elements as visible signs of God’s blessing. In baptism the sign is water. In the Lord’s Supper the signs are bread, which signifies the Lord’s body, and wine (or grape juice) signifies His shed blood, The Old Testament sign was a cutting away of the flesh. (3) A sacrament is a means of grace: Baptism is a means of grace and conveys blessing, because it is the certificate to us of God’s grace and in the acceptance of that certification we rely upon God’s faithfulness, bear witness to His grace, and thereby strengthen faith. In the Lord’s Supper that significance is increased and cultivated, namely, communion with Christ and participation of the virtue accruing from His body and blood. We thus see that the accent falls on the faithfulness of God, and the efficacy resides in the response we yield to that faithfulness. (4) A sacrament is a seal, certification, or confirmation of the grace it signifies. Theologians refer to sacraments as “signs and seals”; signs because they point to the sacrament, seals because they authenticate the person submitting to the sacrament.

We have come to the end of Romans 2; let’s summarize Paul’s teaching in that chapter. The apostle has been dealing with persons who would agree with his condemnation of the heathen (as expressed in chapter 1), but who would excuse themselves on the grounds either (1) of being very moral, that is, people who know higher standards of conduct than those proposed by the heathen; or (2) of being thoroughly religious and therefore of being saved by the possession of the revealed law of God and by participation in the sacraments. Do you know of any people like that today? Of course, you do. You may even be one of them. Here is what the apostle Paul says to such people: (1) Knowledge alone, even knowledge of the highest spiritual and moral principles does not win God’s approval. On the contrary, superior knowledge actually leads to even greater condemnation – if it is not accomplished by adherence to the higher standard. (2) Membership in a religious society, whether the covenant nation of Israel or the visible church of Christendom, does not guarantee that we have obtained God’s favor. Salvation is not won by any external associations if (as we have seen) God looks not on outward appearances but on the heart. (3) The sacraments, either of the Old Testament or the New Testament periods, save no one. They point to what saves, but they are not the reality themselves. (4) God judges according to truth and performance, and by that standard every human being is condemned. (5) If we are to be saved, it must be by the labor of Jesus Christ applied to us by the Father through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 2:25-29 Reflection Questions:

Do you see now how important it is to build a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? (“there is no one who does good, not even one.” Romans 3:12)

What are you doing daily to build on that relationship with Jesus?