As Paul continues in his polemic against synergistic salvation, the next logical step is to bring those who subscribe to the Law under its rightful curse. It really serves no purpose to rightly declare the truth about the Law if it is not then applied to those who accept its precepts. In this way, Paul must show the unavoidable condemnation awaiting all who put their trust in the Law by bringing the Jewish nation under the penalty of the Law for disobedience; even minor or infrequent infractions. Romans 2: 17 – 24 stands as just such a rightful condemnation under the Law. In the opening verses, seventeen through twenty-one (a), Paul appeals to the sensibilities and biases of the Jewish nation by acknowledging the claim made by the nation in relation to their standing before God and their witness to the world (that is the gentile world). “But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law” highlights the prevalent attitude of the Jews of Paul’s day that they as the community of faith had exclusive province to speak about what does or does not please God. This does not mean that every last Jewish person had this type of discernment or insight, but that the community as a whole possessed the knowledge of a right standing before God through the Law. Paul then goes on to acknowledge Israel’s place of witness before the gentile world as he highlights the notion that the Jewish community considered themselves to be the only reliable guide in the dark world and the instructors of those who otherwise would not be able to see God. However, once the acknowledgement is received by those who held their favor with God through their identity, Paul offers the question, “[Y]ou then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?” What Paul is about to offer is this, “You say you know God’s Law? You say you are in right standing before God? Why do you not do what you claim must be done to please God?” There seems to be no room in Paul’s argument for the old “Do as I say and not as I do” adage and starting with the last half of verse twenty-one, Paul cites example after example from the Decalogue the requirements of God that are summarily ignored by the Jewish community; the same community that held itself to be in good standing with God. The death knell highlighted by Paul in this text is found in verses twenty three and four, “You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”” The covenant community of Israel not only failed in their duty to be a witness to the world but because they saw themselves as fulfilling this mandate when it was obvious that they were not, this failure became a source of blasphemy among the nations. Not only this, but Paul further explains that the requirements of the Law which centered more on one’s love for God are actually fulfilled by those who were not seen as partakers in the covenant promises. In verse twenty six, Paul asks this question, “So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?” What is in play here is the reality that though the gentiles did not observe the letter of the Law; they were not required to, they none-the-less fulfilled the spirit of the Law and expressed a devotion toward God that in turn rendered them as possessing the blessing of God as if they were part of the covenant. Paul’s point here is to emphasize the fact that “salvation” is not found in one’s espoused ethnic or communal identity. Rather, right standing before God is a matter of the heart that is an expressed devotion toward God through obedience, not the letter of the Law that only kills because of disobedience. Holding this premise to be true, Paul offers the gentiles as a tangible example of this transaction.
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