By the Spirit, Not the Letter – Romans 2:17-29

Bethel Baptist Church – David Rising

Romans 2:17-29; May 24, 2026 Sunday AM

By the Spirit, Not the Letter

Our text for today is Romans 2:17-29. This is more than we normally cover, but they all go together and come to a summary point in verses 28-29.

Paul addresses the Jew who thinks his externals are enough. Paul will argue that an internal change is necessary, and that is a work of the Spirit and not a function of trying to keep the letter of the law.

Paul writes this letter to the church in Rome to explain the wonders of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which includes these opening chapters focused on sin and guilt.

In chapter 1, after giving a brief summary of the gospel and of the scope of the book, he begins to explain the judgment of God against sin.

The latter half of chapter 1 makes it clear that Gentiles are guilty before God as we saw their propensity to suppress the truth in unrighteousness, and then we had a long list of specific sins that are deserving of judgment.

Then in chapter 2 he turns the table and addresses the Jew (implicitly, early on) and makes it clear that both Gentile and Jew will be judged because God judges impartially according to their works. No one will be exempt.

In our study today Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit will drive home again the impartiality of God to this Jewish audience and emphasize the internal change that is needed.

It seems clear when reading our verses for today that many Jews were being hypocritical and a little arrogant thinking that it did not really matter what they did. They were Jews, after all, and that is all they had to know.

We know in our day there are many who hate the Jewish people simply because they exist. At a recent protest at the 9/11 memorial in NYC, you could hear chants of protesters decrying the very existence of the Jews.

Our study today is not at all like that nonsense. Any criticism Paul levels today is by the word of the Lord and is not hatred. We will see in Romans 9-11 the heart of Paul for the Jews and it is very strong. He cares deeply about his fellows Jews.

Not one of us should think we are beyond critique, especially when it is God through His Word critiquing us. He who has an ear, let him hear. Pray.

1. Jewish Confidences (2:17-20)

17 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, 18 and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.

The NKJV and KJV present these four verses as a statement (ιδε συ ιουδαιος), while it also could be presented as a conditional statement (Εἰ δὲ σὺ Ἰουδαῖος), such as the ESV, NASB, NIV, NET. That is, “If you call yourself a Jew…” and so forth. Paul is not doubting their Jewishness, but raising the point as a method of his argumentation.

Paul makes a list here of confidences that some Jews had and then reacts to them in verses 21-24.

The first confidence was that they were called Jews. Being a Jew certainly was a great blessing as the OT makes it clear that God specifically singled out Abraham and His seed for special blessing.

The OT traces God’s blessing upon the Jews in the midst of the Gentile nations. When we come to the NT things are changing with the coming of God’s Son and further revelation by Jesus and the apostles.

Romans 1:16-17 is clear that God’s focus initially was the Jew, but now in the age of Christ the focus is both Jew and Gentile. The church is Christ’s body which is comprised of believers, whether Jew or Gentile.

The second confidence was that the Jews rested on the law. This was one of the distinct differences Paul already made between Gentile and Jew. God gave the Law to the people of Israel so they would know how to live. God revealed it to them so they would know what He required of them and how to maintain God’s blessing upon them as a nation.

If you want to hear how David described the Law of God, read Psalm 119 and see how blessed the Jews were to have God’s revelation.

Third, Jews could make their boast in God. This is not stated as a negative, but a statement of reality. God had indeed chosen them as a nation out of all the other nations in the world, and He did it because He loved them.

Boasting is sin when it is the exaltation of self. To boast in God is to praise Him, to lift up His name, to exalt His glory. Indeed, the Jews so often did this in their rich history.

Fourth, as a result of having God’s Law, verse 18, the Jews could know His will and as a result know what is excellent. They did not have to wonder what was right or wrong on important matters of life. God had given to them light so they were equipped to live and make sound decisions that kept them safe in a world of ungodly nations with their confusions.

Just read the book of Judges and see how messed up the people of Israel were when they ignored God’s Word. As they were instructed out of the law, they came to hear what was right and could respond in faith and obedience.

We can clearly see a parallel here with our lives also as we have opportunities weekly, daily, to read the Word and to listen and respond in faith and obedience.

A fifth confidence Paul explains in verse 19 was how the Jews extended their privileges to the Gentiles by teaching them. Verse 20 extends this as well. Many Jews considered themselves guides to the blind, a teacher who brought light to those in darkness, who did not understand, who were clueless.

Whenever we have this perspective on our own teaching, we should know how much weight there is upon our shoulders. This is no doubt why James warns teachers about their work (3:1ff).

He continues in verse 20 – an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes – all statements expanding upon the statement of verse 19.

These were all true since the Gentiles did not know and were fools and babes apart from the truth. The Jews did know God’s will and had God’s revelation which the Gentiles needed to know. Paul was a living example of that. God gave him light that he needed to shine to the world around him, even if they did not want to hear it.

By God’s blessing, the Jews had knowledge and truth from the Law and were privileged to be able to teach it to the Gentiles.

And so they had all these confidences.

What did they do with them?

2. Hypocrisy (2:21-24)

21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law?

Despite all these areas of boasting they had, they did not “live up to their calling” (Schreiner). Paul is making a strong argument here by asking some hard questions. This is similar to what we saw early in chapter 2.

I think Paul is saying this: You who call yourself Jews and are truly confident in the privileges you have been given, do you hold yourself to the same standard that you demand in others? Do you obey God’s law yourself or only demand that others obey it?

I think that is what he is saying. Because he uses the format of a question, we presume Paul is in so many words telling them they were hypocrites. They did teach these things, but many exempted themselves.

A teacher should be the first to know the material and also the first to follow it. What foolishness for someone to be teaching something that applied to everyone else except the teacher.

This applies to the preacher and is the example Paul uses first. Jesus Himself confronted the Jewish leaders in Matthew 23 and said very similar things.

Being a hypocrite is almost a requirement to be a politician. We see it all the time. Rules for thee but not for me. It has always been that way since sin entered into the world.

Paul raises some particular examples in verse 21.

Someone would proclaim that a man should not steal, and indeed the Law forbade stealing, but what about the one making that claim? Does he steal?

Paul presents simple logic. Of course stealing is wrong, but some apparently were exempting themselves even while they themselves were stealing.

What about adultery? The law prohibits adultery, but some were claiming exemption from the law’s requirements.

King David did that for a moment when he sent Uriah to the front line to be killed so he could have Bathsheba.

David’s confession in Psalm 32 and 51 shows that he recognized that it was sin and rightly came to the Lord for forgiveness.

Paul speaks about idols in verse 22. Yes, the Law forbade idolatry of any kind again. He then combines stealing and idolatry in his rhetorical question: do you rob temples, you who supposedly abhor idols? You say that you hate anything that comes before God, but secretly you steal from God time and resources by squandering it on self.

There is some discussion about what this means, but it likely refers to the literal meaning of the words: some were stealing valuable items out of temples for self.

Paul is highlights hypocrisy. Some claim to detest idolatry and spurn any association with idols, yet they are willing to be defiled by profiting from the very idols that they detest (Schreiner, cf. Deut. 7:25).

What is the result? Verse 24:

24 For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

This Jewish hypocrisy is not simply a family secret. Rather, the Gentiles can see it and as a result the name of God is brought low.

The ultimate reason the Jews were given the law was so that their lives would bring honor and glory to the name of God. By their transgression, however, they have brought scorn and dishonor upon his name. Just as the Gentiles failed to bring him glory by repudiating the revelation available from the created order, the Jews failed to honor him by practicing the law that was vouchsafed to them (cf. Moxnes 1980: 61).[1]

Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Vol. 6: Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (134). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

You might see in your bible a footnote next to verse 24 that references Ezekiel 16:27 and Isaiah 52:5. Schreiner explains the references. He states that …

… the oppression by the nations in Isa. 52 should not be distinguished from the sin of Israel. Israel was oppressed by foreign nations precisely because of its sin. Paul rightly applies this text to the Jews of his own day. Their sin placed them under the dominion of Rome. The deliverance promised in Isaiah had not come. Of course, for Paul the deliverance had come in the good news about Jesus Christ (Isa. 52:7–10), but many of his Jewish contemporaries had rejected this message. They still hoped for deliverance through the law and the old covenant, but that covenant had led only to judgment, not salvation. [2]

Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Vol. 6: Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (135). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

In verses 17-24 Paul has set forth an argument showing this Jewish hypocrisy. Even though they are Jews, they are still guilty sinners and God is dishonored.

Some Jews who read Paul’s line or reasoning here might push back and say that Paul’s logic is flawed.

What about circumcision, they might argue? If we are circumcised, doesn’t it show that we are obedient to the law?

Remember that circumcision was that external sign that God required under the Law which distinguished the Jews from the Gentiles, at least the males.

Notice now in verses 25-29 how Paul brings in this point to the discussion:

25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

3. The Mark of a Jew (2:25-29)

It can sound very strange to be talking in church about circumcision, but those of you who know your bibles know that it is an important part of God’s plan for the Jews under the Old Covenant. I will not describe the details of the procedure, but will explain why it was done by referring to a few key texts in the OT.

In Genesis 12 God made a promise to Abram that He would make him a great nation, would bless him, and would take them to a land that would be their own. God would bless those who blessed them, and curse those who cursed them. This was a promise that God made and would keep.

At times along Abram’s journey, God would repeat this to him. For instance, in Genesis 15, we see it repeated and God also emphasized that He would keep His promise by giving a child from the body of Abram. Abram believed God and (15:6) it was credited to him for righteousness.

And yet, Abram stumbled in Genesis 16 by taking his wife Sarai’s advice. Sarai was barren and she gave her maid, Hagar, to Abram to conceive a child. Ishmael was born, and Abram was 86 years old (Genesis 16:16).

Thirteen years later God appeared to Abram – who was then 99 years old – and repeated His promise to Abram (Genesis 17:1ff) and also introduced the sign of circumcision (17:10-14).

Every male child born among the people of Israel, on the 8th day, was to be circumcised. This procedure was a sign of the covenant between the LORD and Abram. Any male not circumcised was to be cut off from his people because he has broken God’s covenant.

God then told Abram that he and Sarai would have a child (17:16), which of course brought laughter because of their age. God said this child, Isaac, would also be the recipient of this same covenant (17:21) who would be born in a year.

That is the background of circumcision. It was a sign of God’s covenant with Abram and extended to the Jewish nation from that time forward.

Of course, much time had passed from that time unto the time when Paul penned this letter, but it was still the distinguishing mark to set the Jews apart from the Gentiles.

Paul writes here in Romans to some Jews who believed that simply being a Jew and externally marked by circumcision showed that they were fine. They were good people, so they thought.

Paul writes in verse 25 that circumcision did still have some merit, but only if someone obeyed God’s Law. This is the same discussion that has occupied most of this chapter, but now it is focused clearly upon the Jew, the Jewish mark of circumcision, and obedience to the Mosaic Law.

I think what Paul says in verse 25 would be startling to the Jew. If a Jew broke the law, it would be as if their circumcision meant nothing?

Obviously, he is not speaking in a literal sense in verse 25 about circumcision becoming uncircumcision in a physical way. Disobedience does not reverse the physical procedure.

Paul is simply saying that if one is only a Jew externally, illustrated by circumcision, then it is meaningless.

As if verse 25 was not startling enough, notice verse 26:

26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?

If the Gentile obeys God’s law, it will be as if he is circumcised, as if he bears the mark of God’s covenant. Wow.

That would have been quite an offensive statement to some Jews.

But Paul is not done yet:

27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law?

In the final day, the Gentiles will judge the disobedient Jews even though they had the advantage of having God’s written law as well as bearing the mark of the covenant with circumcision.

Again, do not misunderstand the theology of the gospel and suppose that Paul is teaching that salvation is simply by works. Salvation is by grace through faith, and that faith does produce works. Romans 4 will be emphasize this point using Abraham as the example.

Salvation through Jesus equips us to follow God’s truth with an obedient heart, and the mark for that is not circumcision. Paul spends an entire book (Galatians) addressing this issue in light of what he describes as another gospel – a perverted gospel.

We need to keep in mind the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant that was initiated by the blood of Christ. Many or most of the requirements of the Old Covenant are no longer valid.

Circumcision is one of them. There is no law for Christians to have their male babies circumcised on the eighth day and the procedure does not signal the same thing it did under the Mosaic Law. I’ll just leave that there.

Verse 27 would have stunned a Jew to think that they might face a Gentile one day as a judge. It would be unthinkable, but Paul lays out his argument and says it is so. Lawbreakers will be punished.

Now in the final two verses, verses 28-29, Paul wraps up his argument from verse 17 and draws his conclusion:

28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

These two verses are stunning.

Being a Jew – a Jew in the fullest sense of the word – is not simply a matter of external identify, such as circumcision.

Notice Paul uses the present tense in verse 28: ‘he is not a Jew….’ (οὐ γὰρ ὁ ἐν τῷ φανερῷ Ἰουδαῖός ἐστιν).

Daniel Davey summarizes Paul’s point in verse 28 as he writes:

“Paul begins negatively (2:28): ‘no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical (ESV)’. This fact is not only a natural conclusion to the previous verses but is a strong warning to all Jews, putting them on notice that their authenticity before God does not rest in having either Abraham’s blood in their veins or his covenant mark upon their bodies (John 8:39). Paul’s words echo Moses’ message to Israel when Moses called for Israel to consider what the Lord required of them (Deut. 10:12). That requirement begins with the heart, not with physical circumcision (Deut. 10:12-16). (46).

Davey, Daniel (2025). Romans. New Testament Exposition Commentary. Elgin, IL: Regular Baptist Press.

A Jew is not merely one who has been circumcised and is called by name a Jew. Those externals will not shield one from God’s judgment.

Paul is turning upside down the logic that some Jews were claiming by resting in their advantages while walking in disobedience to the Law.

Davey continues:

Here Paul is rehearsing what Moses taught: a circumcised heart is the key spiritual ingredient God demands of his covenant people … Paul’s words also underscore the prophetic teachings of Ezekiel (e.g., Ezek. 36:25-27) and Jesus (e.g., John 3:3-7), which identify the Spirit as the one who regenerates sinners. For the first time in his letter, Paul explains what a saved Jew is, and he notes that the distinguishing feature is not that person’s desire to follow the letter of Torah; rather, it is a matter of the heart, which has been inwardly cleansed by the Spirit (Titus 3:4-7).

Davey, Daniel (2025). Romans. New Testament Exposition Commentary. Elgin, IL: Regular Baptist Press.

According to verse 29, a Jew is one who is a Jew inwardly – one whose external circumcision means something because their life is governed from the heart as a result of the work of the Spirit.

Schreiner notes:

In the OT and [even in] second temple Jewish literature there was the expectation that God would come (by his Spirit) and circumcise the hearts of his people so that they could keep the law. The references to the circumcision of the heart and the Holy Spirit in Rom. 2:29 signify that in Paul’s mind the eschatological promise has become a reality…The evidence that the promise has been fulfilled is that some uncircumcised Gentiles are keeping the law. Since this is the work of the Spirit in the new age, Paul does not refer either here or in 2:6–10 to those who keep the law without hearing the gospel. The dynamic power of the Spirit that has been poured out in the last days (5:5) enables such obedience. The promises made in the OT are beginning to be fulfilled, the Spirit has been given, and the new age has invaded this present evil age. Paul does not explain any of this in detail, for 2:28–29 points forward to the discussion in Rom. 8, where the gift of the Spirit enables believers to observe the law. [3]

Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Vol. 6: Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (143–144). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.

This ties in with the promise of the New Covenant that Jeremiah and Ezekiel talked about. That is a big study and one for another time.

Notice how verse 29 ends:

whose praise is not from men but from God.

A Jew is one who is a Jew inwardly because of the work of the Spirit. The external mark of circumcision alone does not make one a Jew as Paul is speaking here. Rather, the mark of a Jew is the work of the Spirit in the heart. The result is not the praise of men but the praise of God.

These verses can cause long discussions about what it means to be a Jew, but we’ll work more on that as we continue in the book.

We believe and teach that every single person stands in need of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. No one is exempt, especially the Jew.

It is not enough before God simply to be Jew by family heritage. God needs to do a work in the heart and in the end He is to be praised.

One of the questions that comes out of our verses for today (Romans 2:17-29) is raised and answered by Paul as we’ll see next time in Romans 3.

Application

1. Are we also hypocrites? The focus today was the Jew, but we can wear the shoe also if it fits. Are we ever guilt of hypocrisy? Of course. We can call ourselves Christians, know what God’s word says, speak harshly about those who do not follow God’s standards, enjoy the position of teaching and giving wisdom to those who don’t know, and still find ourselves at times sinning before the Lord.

Preachers and teachers have a high calling because of this very thing, but it applies to everyone. We can say one thing, but do another. May God help us to instruct ourselves first and then live first in obedience to God.

David first confessed his great sin to the Lord in Psalm 51, and only then did he admit that the time to teach transgressors followed confession and desire to obey.

2. What do we claim for protection against God’s wrath in the day of judgment? If you are a Jew, are you relying on the fact that you are an ethnic Jew and bear those marks? Paul says here that is not enough.

The gospel is ultimately not about what we do, but about what Christ has done and that is the only protection against God’s wrath in the final day of judgment.

3. Look to Christ. Hear the gospel. Know the truth. Obedience to God apart from the grace of God is impossible. Receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, recognize how He transforms a life, freeing us from the grip of sin and giving us the strength to live in obedience to His righteousness.