Mere Rituals Will Gain You No Favor in God’s Sight

Romans 2:25–29
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A religious person usually feels that he has a special standing before God, not only because of his intellectual assent to certain beliefs, but also because he keeps the ordinances, the rites, and the rituals of that religion. Paul shows in this passage that mere rituals will gain no favor in God’s sight. Like so many in churches today who consider themselves members of God’s family because of their baptism, the Jew thought his circumcision gave him special status with God.

The value of any divinely authorized ritual is directly related to the law that God has given. “For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made un-circumcision” (v. 25). In other words, no outward ceremonial act can have any value if it is not related in some way to a dynamic, personal, Scriptural, and spiritual experience.

A man who doesn’t practice any rituals may be more righteous than a man who is devoted to them (vv. 26,27). Paul’s argument is simply that if a religious person doesn’t live by the clear teaching of the Word of God, in effect he cancels everything for which the divinely given ritual stands. Paul is not saying that a divinely appointed ritual is without value. He is saying that the value is limited by the condition of a person’s heart.

It seems that it is easier for us to be satisfied with trying to keep the letter of the law, and to ignore its deep spiritual implications (vv. 28-29). However God looks on the heart and not on the outward appearance.  The truth of the matter is that the mere rite of circumcision did not make a man a Jew. Today, when Jewish boys become thirteen they go through a ceremony known as bar mitzvah. At that time in life they are believed to have reached the age of responsibility and religious duty. However, performing the ceremony of bar mitzvah does not make a man out of a boy. In summary, it seems that Paul is condemning the Jews for putting their trust in ritual rather than in the reality of a true experience with God.

Application

Attending church, being baptized, or being accepted for membership does not make me a Christian, just as submitting for circumcision was not enough for the Jew. God wants my heartfelt devotion and obedience to Him and to His word.