Inward and Outward

October 1, 2023 Background Scripture: Romans 2:1 - 29 Lesson Passage: Romans 2:12 - 24, 28, 29 The Apostle Paul penned this letter to the Christian congregation located in Rome. Much of Christian doctrine is derived from different passages found in this letter. It is worth noting that at the time he wrote this letter, Paul had not visited this group. He was familiar with their reputation for having faith. In the opening section of this letter in Chapter 1, Paul expressed how God's anger is stirred up against the unrighteous living of people in the world. He went on to write that the unrighteous living was occurring among people who knew God's Law as well as among people who did not know God's Law. But even the ones who did not know the Law of God outwardly, had been convicted by it inwardly through their conscience. Paul's opening conclusion is that everyone will be judged for their unrighteous living—whether they know the Law of God or whether it has been revealed in their conscience. This context is established in Chapter 1 and is needed to properly comprehend Chapter 2, Otherwise, Chapter 2 reads like an angry retort to something that is not defined in Chapter 2. Put another way, it is easier to understand Chapter 2 when viewed in the context established by Chapter I. Chapter 2 focuses on people judging each other. The only judgment that can be properly rendered is based on God's righteousness and that judgment is of the inward person. Although a person may obey the Law outwardly, such as through circumcision, their overall behavior reflects the inward condition of the person's heart. It is only through the Spirit of God that a person's heart can be circumcised so that they will live outwardly righteous. Judging a person for not adhering to a religious ritual while behaving the same as they do is a condemnation on the one judging. True faith is shown by a behavior governed by a righteous heart—even if the person has not conformed to an external religious ritual. Knowing and teaching the Law of God is not what pleases God. God is pleased when a person lives according to the righteousness defined by His Law. That righteousness is not based on conformity to external, or outward, rituals. The Law of God defines the righteousness that changes the person on the inside. When God changes a person on the inside, it will show up on the outside in their behavior. In the meantime, we must be careful to avoid judging others for behaviors that we engage in as well. Many of the first century congregations were composed of Jews and Gentiles. This struggle between inward change and outward religious rituals would have occurred on many occasions. Today, the struggle may be more between those who have always been "churched" and those who grew up outside of the church. Of course, we should acknowledge that being in church doesn't make one any more a Christian than being in a garage makes one a car. Christianity is what happens to a person on the inside. We can learn all the expected behaviors in a church environment by simply growing up in that environment from childhood. However, those church behaviors don't necessarily reflect the inward condition of a person's heart. I believe the first year of the pandemic gave local congregations the opportunity to reflect on our agendas. What were we doing that advanced Jesus Christ's agenda in this world versus what made us comfortable among ourselves? When there were government mandated shutdowns of congregational gatherings, which agenda was really impacted? Was it Jesus' agenda or the local church's agenda? We saw that those two were not necessarily the same. The church's agenda is often an outward behavior that does not need an inward change. Jesus' agenda cannot be pursued continuously without an inward change within the persons involved. I suppose the real question is, "Can we walk it like we talk it?" Robert C. Hudson September 23, 2023