Paul continues with the idea of what it means to obey God’s law;

Romans 2:17-24 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.  You therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself?  You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?  You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery?  You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?  You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?  For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

This text should be quite scary for us to read, as it shows one of the inherent dangers of pride.  Just as we discussed pride in the text previous to this one, I think it is a part of what is going on here as well.  Paul is again leveling the playing field and here he is doing it by humbling those who think they are fine.

Let’s consider that for a moment.  Do we think we are obeying the law?  Those whom Paul is addressing undoubtedly have a vast knowledge of the law of God, in fact, they probably have most of it memorized.  In addition to their knowledge, these people think that they are putting their knowledge of God’s law into action.  However, there is some great self deception going on here.  How is it possible for someone to preach against theft, and be a thief at the same time?  How is it possible for someone to preach against adultery, and be an adulterer?

I think at least part of the answer is that the purpose of the law of God is not merely to change external actions.  Jesus Christ gives us great insight into the purpose of God’s law in the Sermon on the Mount.  For instance, Jesus said, “you have heard that it was said, “you shall not commit adultery,” but I say to you even if you look upon a woman to lust after her you have committed adultery in your heart.”  Thus, I think it is safe to say that Paul is to a large degree here attacking the thought life of these Jews who were claiming outward obedience to the law.  Outward obedience is great, but it does not fulfill the entire purpose of the law.  It is good when people do not physically murder each other, but if they are going around thinking about murdering, then they have missed the point, and they are not obeying God.

So, for our application, let’s take a close look at our own self deception.  There may be many of us who have never committed adultery, murder, etc….  However, if we think that we are fine because we haven’t physically done these things, we are missing the point just like the Jews missed the point.  If we believe the gospel, and take Jesus seriously that He came to give us life and life abundantly, then we should want all of our lives to be reformed.  Furthermore, if we really comprehend what Jesus did we would want to honor Him by following the law in deed and in thought.  Also, if we think it is not that bad to entertain thoughts of sin, we are fooling ourselves, as thoughts which are sown will often reap actions.