September 11, 2026 • 25 mins
Some of the worst tragedies and some of the weirdest moments in history share the same cover story: “We did it for religion.” We start there with a surprising modern example, then let Romans do what it always does best, strip away our excuses and show what’s really going on in the human heart. This message sits in the opening argument of the Book of Romans where Paul explains why people are guilty before God and why every person needs forgiveness, salvation, and the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
We trace Paul’s three portraits of guilt: the rebellious person who openly rejects God, the respectable person who feels superior because their sins look smaller, and the religious person who trusts religion itself to make them acceptable to God. Romans 2:17-29 hits close to home as we talk about depending on labels and heritage, leaning on rules and regulations, and boasting about a supposed inside track with God. We also connect Jesus’ warning from John 5: you can study the Bible, own the Bible, even brag about the Bible, and still refuse to come to Christ for life.
The takeaway is both humbling and hopeful: high moral standards matter, but moral integrity cannot earn heaven, and God is not impressed by church membership, tradition, or spiritual talk that isn’t backed by obedience and a transformed heart. Paul’s point is clear: religion without Christ cannot save, but a real relationship with Jesus by grace through faith changes everything from the inside out. If this helped you, subscribe, share it with a friend who trusts “being religious,” and leave a review so more people can find these teachings through Romans.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the
(00:02):
biblical teaching ministry ofDr.
Timothy Mann.
Our mission is to help you buildyour life on the unshakable
foundation of God's Word, rootedin Scripture, anchored in the
grace of the gospel of JesusChrist.
Each week, Dr.
Mann opens the Bible to bringclarity, conviction, and
encouragement for everyday life.
Today on Foundations of Truth,we continue our series from
Guilty to Glory (00:24):
A Journey Through the Book of Romans.
And here now is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_00 (00:30):
You know, I think you would have to agree with
this.
Some outrageous things have beendone in the name of religion.
Isn't that true?
Some outrageous things.
I mean, terrible atrocities havebeen committed by so-called
religious people, many of whichwe are seeing today around the
world.
And that's very sad.
But also other things aredownright silly that's done in
(00:52):
the name of religion.
For example, according to theBritish Office for National
Statistics, they do a censusjust like we do.
According to the Office forNational Statistics in Britain,
there were more people inBritain who wrote in Jedi for
(01:12):
religion.
Yes, I said Jedi, that wrote inJedi for Religion on the 2011
census form.
Yeah, that's Obi-Wan Kenobi.
That's a Jedi, right?
Actually checked Jewish,Buddhist, or Hindu.
Literally, almost 400,000 peoplein Britain wrote Jedi on the
(01:33):
form for religion.
In the Star Wars movies, theJedi Knights, if you aren't
familiar, they are an order ofguardians who wield lightsabers
in protecting the realm.
They're unified in their beliefin the force and invisible
power, they say surrounds allliving beings.
Well, the so-called Jedi's, theydeclared their belief in Britain
(01:56):
after a campaign on theinternet, apparently, that asked
people to help make Jedi anofficially recognized religion.
An ONS official, the Office ofNational Statistics, an ONS
official says, quote, Star Warsdevotees stated their faith as
(02:16):
Jedi in the mistaken belief thatif 10,000 people did so, it
would be recognized as anofficial religion.
Well, something I take from theofficials' comments wasn't going
to happen.
Crazy stuff in the name ofreligion.
And so in this, even in thisfirst major section of Romans,
which is really chapters 1,beginning in verse 18, all the
(02:40):
way through chapter 3, verse 20,the apostle Paul makes the
convincing case that everybodyis guilty before God.
That would include the Jedi's aswell.
The first section of Romans isanswering the question: why are
people guilty before God?
(03:01):
He says everybody has sinned andis guilty, therefore, and we all
need forgiveness and salvationfrom God.
In this passage of Paul'swritings, the first three
chapters of Romans, heidentifies, the Apostle Paul
identifies three different typesof people who stand guilty
before God.
They're the rebellious person,the respectable person, and even
(03:27):
the religious person.
We've already looked at two ofthese.
In the first chapter, we lookedat the rebellious person.
You probably remember that.
They're the people who rebelagainst God outwardly.
They reject God.
They repress the truth.
They reject the truth.
They replace the truth.
And intellectually they rebelagainst God.
(03:47):
And we saw how morally theyrebel against God to do their
own thing in sexual immoralityand perversions.
The Apostle Paul said in thatpassage that they were guilty
really of two major kinds ofsins.
One was godlessness, which isliving as though God doesn't
exist.
The other one was wickedness,which means living without
(04:09):
rules.
And so there's a certain groupof people in this world who just
kind of say, Forget God, I'mgoing to do my own thing.
They're rebellious, they'regodless, they live without
rules.
And the Apostle Paul says theythose people are guilty before
God.
Then he deals in in chapter 2,verses 1 through 16, he deals
(04:32):
with the second kind of person,the respectable person.
You know, the kind this guysays, I'm a decent citizen, I'm
law-abiding, I'm better thanthose so-and-so's of chapter 1.
I'm not immoral, I'm no pervert.
They feel superior, they'requick to judge people whose sins
are more open and gross.
(04:53):
We looked at that person, and welooked at the characteristics of
that self-righteous person andwhy they stand guilty before
God.
Then the Apostle Paul says inthe last part of chapter 2,
there's one more group of peoplewho probably think I'm not just
a moral person, I'm religious.
(05:15):
Let's read chapter 2, beginningin verse 17.
And it goes all the way downthrough the end of the chapter.
The Apostle Paul writes andsays, Indeed, you are called a
Jew, and rest on the law, andmake your boast in God, and you
(05:35):
know his will, and approve thethings that are excellent, being
instructed out of the law, andare confident that you yourself
are a guide to the blind, alight to those who are in
darkness, an instructor of thefoolish, a teacher of babes,
having the form of knowledge andtruth in the law.
(05:58):
You therefore who teach another,do you not teach yourself?
You who preach that a man shouldnot steal, do you steal?
You who say, Do not commitadultery, do you commit
adultery?
You who abhor idols, do you robtemples?
You who make your boast in thelaw, do you dishonor God through
(06:23):
breaking the law?
For, and he quotes the OldTestament here, for the name of
God is blasphemed among theGentiles because of you, as it
is written.
For circumcision is indeedprofitable if you keep the law,
but if you are a breaker of thelaw, your circumcision has
become uncircumcision.
(06:43):
Therefore, if an uncircumcisedman keeps the righteous
requirements of the law, willnot his uncircumcision be
counted as circumcision?
And will not the physicallyuncircumcised, if he fulfills
the law, judge you, who, evenwith your written code and
circumcision, are a transgressorof the law?
(07:07):
For he is not a Jew who is oneoutwardly, nor is circumcision
that which is outward in theflesh.
But he is a Jew who is oneinwardly, and circumcision is
that of the heart, in thespirit, not in the letter, whose
(07:27):
praise is not from men, but fromGod.
Well, this is God's word thismorning.
And so we come to this passage,and here the Apostle Paul uses
the Jews as an example becausethat's what Paul was himself.
And he says that these are thepeople who are trusting religion
(07:49):
to put them in right standingwith God.
These are the people who aretrusting in religion to save
them.
Now, I want to tell you, basedon my own personal experience, I
believe this is the hardestgroup of people to reach with
the gospel.
The religious person.
Hardest person.
I mean, often, think about it,often the rebellious person kind
(08:09):
of gets to the end of theirrope, their life is falling
apart, they're in a horriblesituation, they're an alcoholic
or whatever, you know,everything has gone wrong, and
they're fairly ready to admittheir need.
I mean, the guy on Skid Row ispretty much ready to admit, I
have made a mess of my life.
They're often easier people toreach.
(08:33):
A little more difficult are therespectable people that we
talked about in that beginningof chapter two.
You know, they're the kind offolks who'll say, Well, you
know, I'm a good moral person,so I really don't need Jesus and
that religious crutch.
I'm a good moral person.
I'm better than so-and-so.
They're a little bit more harderto reach.
Uh they'll they even say, Well,I keep the Ten Commandments.
(08:56):
Ask them to name the TenCommandments.
Listen, 95% of people in Americacan't even name the Ten
Commandments, much less keepthem.
But I think by far the religiousperson is the hardest person to
reach with the gospel.
Why?
Because she is trying to workher way to be acceptable to God,
(09:20):
and he trusts in his religion tosave him.
The apostle Paul points out herein this passage, you can be
religious and stand guiltybefore God and be lost.
You can be a church member andstill be headed for damnation.
Let me give you a definition ofreligion.
Religion is man's best attemptto get to God.
(09:45):
Religion is man's best attemptto get to God.
And in chapter 2, verse 17, theApostle Paul deals specifically
with the Jewish religion becausehe was a Jew.
But I'll tell you, theprinciples can apply to anybody
who thinks that his or herreligion can save him, that his
(10:06):
or her religion puts him inright standing and acceptable
with God.
You could substitute the wordschurch member here, and it would
apply.
And so the purpose of thissection that we come to, and
I'll tell you, I wouldn't havejust arbitrarily chosen to have
preached on this passage.
This is a tough passage.
I would have probably just, youknow, read over it real quickly
(10:26):
and kept on going.
But no, it's it's we got to dealwith it.
And so the purpose of thispassage here is to show
specifically that religionwithout Christ will not make you
acceptable to God.
It will not, it will not saveyou, it will not get you right
with God.
SPEAKER_01 (10:44):
You're listening to Foundations of Truth, the
biblical teaching ministry ofDr.
Timothy Mann.
If this teaching isstrengthening your faith and
helping you view life throughthe lens of the Bible, would you
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Your financial gifts help usproduce and distribute these
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(11:04):
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To learn how you can partnerwith us, please visit our
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And thank you for helpingFoundations of Truth continue
proclaiming God's word.
Now let's return to today'smessage from Romans.
Here's Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_00 (11:22):
Well, the Apostle Paul starts off here by giving
characteristics of a religiousperson.
He says, here's the problem withreligious people.
Number one, in verse 17, hesaid, indeed, you are called a
Jew.
Some of the other Englishtranslations say, if you are
called a Jew.
(11:43):
The problem with a religiousperson, number one, is they
depend on a label.
They depend on a label or aheritage.
They thought, the Jews thought,that their name was an instant
passport to be acceptable toGod.
Instant passport to heaven,regardless of what they did.
If I'm a Jew, I'm going to makeit.
(12:06):
Pride of tradition.
Let me tell you the word, theword comes from the word, the
name Judah.
That's where the term comesfrom.
Jew.
It comes from the name Judah.
It's first used actually in theBible in 2 Kings chapter 16,
verse 6.
The name actually came intoprominence during the captivity
(12:27):
in Babylon.
That's when it began to be used,and it was used after that.
Judah, the name Judah literallymeans praise to God or praise
Yahweh.
Judah.
Yeah, is the that part meanspraise to God.
So the word Jew, just the Jewpart, means praise.
(12:48):
Or one who is praised by God ishow they came to hold to that
name, their view of the name.
And so the Jews, if anybody,love to depend on their label,
their heritage.
If you ask them, are you rightwith God?
They would say, Of course.
I'm a Jew.
(13:10):
But do we have people doing thattoday?
Come on, let's be, we're amongfriends.
We can be honest in here.
Do we have people doing thattoday?
You bet we do.
Sure.
You just ask, are you aChristian?
And people will immediatelyanswer, Of course, I'm
Presbyterian.
Or I'm Baptist.
Or I'm Assembly of God.
Or my parents were Christians.
(13:32):
Or my grandparents weremissionaries.
Or my uncle is a pastor.
Whatever the case, if somehowyou could become a Christian or
in right standing with God byaffiliation, or by heritage, or
by osmosis, you know, it justkind of soaks in somehow.
Today you could insert the termchurch member.
Are you a Christian?
(13:53):
Of course.
I go to church.
I attend such and such church.
And that as if somehow thatlabel or that name will make you
in right standing with God.
Will make you a Christian.
Listen, there are a lot oflabels today, aren't there?
I mean, there's so many labelstoday.
Labels bother me.
They really do because they haveconnotations with them.
(14:14):
There's uh uh it's kind of likea caricature, right?
That's the word.
An overblown stereotypeoftentimes with labels, and
labels frustrate me because ofthat.
I don't like to be labeled.
I don't like to be pinned downbecause your definition of what
you're saying may not be thedefinition of what I think that
means.
But I know we use labels.
We kind of need them sometimes,I suppose.
(14:36):
But man, there's so many labelstoday.
I'm a fundamentalist, I'm adispensationalist, I'm
charismatic, I'm full of gospel,I'm reformed.
You listen, one guy even told meone time he was a Christian
because he was an American.
Yeah.
America's a Christian nation.
He's an American, therefore he'sa Christian.
(14:56):
Listen, going to church willmake you a Christian just about
as much as going to a chickenhouse will make you a chicken.
Just about as much as going tothe Lions Club will make you a
lion.
Or just about as much as goingto the Rotary Club will make you
a rotor, I guess.
Or whatever the case is.
It isn't membership, it isn't alabel, it isn't heritage that
(15:20):
puts you in right standing withGod.
It's not your heritage thatmakes you a believer.
But the problem with religiouspeople, the very first
characteristic we see here isthat they call themselves
something.
You call yourself a Jew.
You're called a Jew.
Use a label.
Second problem with religiouspeople is they rely on rules and
(15:45):
regulations.
They rely on rules andregulations.
He said, You're called a Jew andrest on the law.
You rest on the law.
He's primarily talking about thefirst books of the Old
Testament, commonly called thePinitude.
Pinnah meaning five.
These were the first five bookswritten by Moses: Genesis,
(16:07):
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, andDeuteronomy.
The Jews called these five booksthe Torah.
But the fact is, and most of youknow this, the fact is the law
has never saved anybody.
The law does not put anyone inright standing with God.
As a matter of fact, the book ofGalatians teaches that that is
(16:28):
not its purpose.
Its purpose is to be a tutor, tobe a schoolmaster, to bring us
to Jesus, to bring us to Christ.
But the Jews felt that simplybecause they had the law given
to their nation, that that madethem in right standing with God,
that they possessed instantsalvation, whether they obeyed
(16:49):
it or not.
Simply because they possessedthese books, they felt like they
were in with God.
John chapter 5, verse 39 through40.
Jesus is speaking to a group ofPharisees, the top-notch
religionists.
Jesus is speaking to that groupof Pharisees who thought they
were going to make it on theirown works.
(17:11):
And he said this.
Jesus said, You diligently studythe scriptures because you think
that by them, by the scriptures,you possess eternal life.
You think because you have theBible, you possess eternal life.
And yet Jesus said, These arethe scriptures that testify
(17:33):
about me.
And yet you refuse to come to meto have life.
He's saying very clearly, youthink you're going to heaven
just because you have the Bible.
Just because you have the OldTestament.
We have this today.
I mean, you ask people, are youa Christian?
They might answer, sure, I own aBible.
As if because they own a Bibleand it's sitting on the coffee
(17:56):
table unopened for five years,that they think they're going to
make it.
You know, people even brag aboutthe translation they have.
Of course I'm a Christian.
I have the blank translation,whatever you want to put in
there.
Listen, you have to do more thanjust own a Bible, you have to
practice it.
Problem with religious people isthey rely on rules and
(18:19):
regulations.
The third thing we notice herein this passage, though, that
the Apostle Paul said theproblem with religious folks is
this.
They think they have a specialstatus with God.
He said, indeed, you're called aJew and rest on the law, and
make your boast in God.
(18:41):
Make your boast in God.
I don't know about you, but Ithink sometimes the most
prideful people in the world arereligious people.
They brag about theirrelationship to God, their
so-called relationship to God.
The Jews felt they had an insidetrack to God.
They felt that because they werethe chosen people, they had
(19:04):
special status.
God likes us, and He doesn'tlike everybody else.
We're the group.
I mean, have you ever metanybody like that?
That says we're the onlyreligion.
My denomination is the only truegroup of believers.
Everybody else is completelyfalse.
(19:27):
Let me tell you, that's a traitof religion.
That attitude is a trait ofreligion.
As you read the Gospels, Jesushad nothing to do with religion
except that he opposed it.
All the way through the Gospels.
Jesus taught very clearly thatreligion would never put people
(19:51):
in the right standing with God.
Jesus taught that religion wouldnever get people to heaven.
It's the relationship to him bygrace through faith that puts
you in right standing with God,not any religion.
That's what does it.
The Jews felt very secure.
They thought, we can't doanything wrong.
(20:11):
We have this religion.
And what's amazing to me is whenyou study the scriptures, when
you really pay attention to whathappens in the Bible, you begin
to notice something.
You begin to find that God oftenbypassed the religious
establishment to get his messageacross.
That's very interesting.
As a matter of fact, here's anexample.
When God wanted to announceJesus' birth, did he tell the
(20:33):
priests?
No.
Who did he tell?
The shepherds, the lowlife ofsociety.
That's who he appeared to.
He bypassed the high priest, hebypassed the rabbis, he bypassed
the teachers, he bypassed thedenominational groups.
Listen, when God wanted to getthe message out, it says the
word of God came to John theBaptist.
(20:54):
Who was John the Baptist?
He was a nobody.
He wasn't a part of thereligious establishment.
They hated him.
And God often does that.
He can't get his message throughto religious people because they
think they have a specialstatus.
He says, Chapter 2.
(21:15):
You're called a Jew, you rest onthe law, you make your boast
about in God and know his will.
Now it's interesting.
The other problem with religiouspeople is this they claim to
have a direct line to God.
They claim to have a pipeline toGod.
(21:37):
We know his will.
And because the Jews had God'sword, they thought they knew his
will.
Now, the all important word isactually if, which is found in
many English translations at thebeginning of the verse.
Unfortunately, it's not includedin the New King James.
But in the original language inthe Greek, if is there, and it's
(21:58):
rendered that way in some of theother verses.
Who is carrying the translationthat begins verse 27, verse 17
with if?
Anybody?
Got a few people in the house.
Got it started with if.
That's correct.
If you know his will.
So it's interesting when Paulsaid this, he's being sarcastic.
Have you noticed in Paul'swritings, he actually does that
(22:18):
from time to time.
He's a bit sarcastic.
The Lord uses his personality tospeak through Paul to make a
point and to get the pointacross.
So he says, if, he's settingthem up.
He's saying, you guys thinkyou've got it together.
You've got the label.
You've got the name.
You've got the pipeline to God.
He's setting them up for a fall.
He's saying, it's not enough toknow God's will, you've got to
(22:40):
do it.
It's not enough to know the law,you've got to obey it.
Look what he says in verse 18.
And you know his will andapprove the things that are
excellent.
Approve the things that areexcellent.
Now that Philippians 1 10, wehave the exact same phrase.
And it's only used twice in allof the Bible.
(23:00):
In Romans it's translated, youapprove the things that are
excellent, or you approve whatis superior.
In Philippians 1 10, it saysthat you may be able to discern
what is best.
He's talking about values.
He's talking about priorities.
But the problem oftentimes witha religious person is they claim
to have a direct line to God andknow his will.
(23:22):
Even though they may not be inright standing with God.
And then the other problem thatwe see in this passage that with
religious folks, thecharacteristic of a religious
person is they maintain a highmoral standard.
I know.
I mean, what's wrong withmaintaining a high moral
(23:42):
standard, right, George?
Nothing's wrong with that.
There's nothing wrong with thatat all.
That's actually good.
You ought to maintain a highmoral standard.
You ought to have a strong codeof ethics.
You ought to approve what isexcellent, what is superior.
You ought to go for the best inlife and have a high standard of
integrity.
(24:03):
But what you need to remember ismoral integrity will not get you
into heaven.
Moral integrity will not put youin right standing with God.
Values and priorities are good,but they're not enough to get
you to heaven.
The Jews and a lot of religiouspeople felt like they were
superior because of their moralethics.
(24:24):
I don't need to go to church.
I'm better than so-and-so,right?
As if God's going degrade on acurve.
He's not.
Our problem is we compareourselves we compare folks with
folks.
People with other people.
Doesn't work.
SPEAKER_01 (24:41):
Thanks for spending part of your day with us on
Foundations of Truth, thebiblical teaching ministry of
Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to hear thismessage again or give a
financial gift or get morebiblical resources, you can do
so online.
Foundationsoftruth.net.
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
And thank you so much.
Join us again tomorrow foranother opportunity to study the
(25:03):
scriptures and discover theunchanging truth of God's Word.
Join Dr.
Mann Saturday, September 19th,10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
at From My Library to YoursChristian Bookstore in Port
Orange for a special authorevent featuring his book, Saved.
Understanding God's Work in Us.
There'll be book signing,conversation, and brief talks
(25:24):
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and 1.15 p.m.
That's Saturday, September 19th,at the Pavilion next to Massage
Envy in Port Orange, Florida.
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We're grateful for theirpartnership in making this
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Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the
(00:02):
biblical teaching ministry ofDr.
Timothy Mann.
Our mission is to help you buildyour life on the unshakable
foundation of God's Word, rootedin Scripture, anchored in the
grace of the gospel of JesusChrist.
Each week, Dr.
Mann opens the Bible to bringclarity, conviction, and
encouragement for everyday life.
Today on Foundations of Truth,we continue our series from
Guilty to Glory (00:24):
A Journey Through the Book of Romans.
And here now is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_00 (00:30):
You know, I think you would have to agree with
this.
Some outrageous things have beendone in the name of religion.
Isn't that true?
Some outrageous things.
I mean, terrible atrocities havebeen committed by so-called
religious people, many of whichwe are seeing today around the
world.
And that's very sad.
But also other things aredownright silly that's done in
(00:52):
the name of religion.
For example, according to theBritish Office for National
Statistics, they do a censusjust like we do.
According to the Office forNational Statistics in Britain,
there were more people inBritain who wrote in Jedi for
(01:12):
religion.
Yes, I said Jedi, that wrote inJedi for Religion on the 2011
census form.
Yeah, that's Obi-Wan Kenobi.
That's a Jedi, right?
Actually checked Jewish,Buddhist, or Hindu.
Literally, almost 400,000 peoplein Britain wrote Jedi on the
(01:33):
form for religion.
In the Star Wars movies, theJedi Knights, if you aren't
familiar, they are an order ofguardians who wield lightsabers
in protecting the realm.
They're unified in their beliefin the force and invisible
power, they say surrounds allliving beings.
Well, the so-called Jedi's, theydeclared their belief in Britain
(01:56):
after a campaign on theinternet, apparently, that asked
people to help make Jedi anofficially recognized religion.
An ONS official, the Office ofNational Statistics, an ONS
official says, quote, Star Warsdevotees stated their faith as
(02:16):
Jedi in the mistaken belief thatif 10,000 people did so, it
would be recognized as anofficial religion.
Well, something I take from theofficials' comments wasn't going
to happen.
Crazy stuff in the name ofreligion.
And so in this, even in thisfirst major section of Romans,
which is really chapters 1,beginning in verse 18, all the
(02:40):
way through chapter 3, verse 20,the apostle Paul makes the
convincing case that everybodyis guilty before God.
That would include the Jedi's aswell.
The first section of Romans isanswering the question: why are
people guilty before God?
(03:01):
He says everybody has sinned andis guilty, therefore, and we all
need forgiveness and salvationfrom God.
In this passage of Paul'swritings, the first three
chapters of Romans, heidentifies, the Apostle Paul
identifies three different typesof people who stand guilty
before God.
They're the rebellious person,the respectable person, and even
(03:27):
the religious person.
We've already looked at two ofthese.
In the first chapter, we lookedat the rebellious person.
You probably remember that.
They're the people who rebelagainst God outwardly.
They reject God.
They repress the truth.
They reject the truth.
They replace the truth.
And intellectually they rebelagainst God.
(03:47):
And we saw how morally theyrebel against God to do their
own thing in sexual immoralityand perversions.
The Apostle Paul said in thatpassage that they were guilty
really of two major kinds ofsins.
One was godlessness, which isliving as though God doesn't
exist.
The other one was wickedness,which means living without
(04:09):
rules.
And so there's a certain groupof people in this world who just
kind of say, Forget God, I'mgoing to do my own thing.
They're rebellious, they'regodless, they live without
rules.
And the Apostle Paul says theythose people are guilty before
God.
Then he deals in in chapter 2,verses 1 through 16, he deals
(04:32):
with the second kind of person,the respectable person.
You know, the kind this guysays, I'm a decent citizen, I'm
law-abiding, I'm better thanthose so-and-so's of chapter 1.
I'm not immoral, I'm no pervert.
They feel superior, they'requick to judge people whose sins
are more open and gross.
(04:53):
We looked at that person, and welooked at the characteristics of
that self-righteous person andwhy they stand guilty before
God.
Then the Apostle Paul says inthe last part of chapter 2,
there's one more group of peoplewho probably think I'm not just
a moral person, I'm religious.
(05:15):
Let's read chapter 2, beginningin verse 17.
And it goes all the way downthrough the end of the chapter.
The Apostle Paul writes andsays, Indeed, you are called a
Jew, and rest on the law, andmake your boast in God, and you
(05:35):
know his will, and approve thethings that are excellent, being
instructed out of the law, andare confident that you yourself
are a guide to the blind, alight to those who are in
darkness, an instructor of thefoolish, a teacher of babes,
having the form of knowledge andtruth in the law.
(05:58):
You therefore who teach another,do you not teach yourself?
You who preach that a man shouldnot steal, do you steal?
You who say, Do not commitadultery, do you commit
adultery?
You who abhor idols, do you robtemples?
You who make your boast in thelaw, do you dishonor God through
(06:23):
breaking the law?
For, and he quotes the OldTestament here, for the name of
God is blasphemed among theGentiles because of you, as it
is written.
For circumcision is indeedprofitable if you keep the law,
but if you are a breaker of thelaw, your circumcision has
become uncircumcision.
(06:43):
Therefore, if an uncircumcisedman keeps the righteous
requirements of the law, willnot his uncircumcision be
counted as circumcision?
And will not the physicallyuncircumcised, if he fulfills
the law, judge you, who, evenwith your written code and
circumcision, are a transgressorof the law?
(07:07):
For he is not a Jew who is oneoutwardly, nor is circumcision
that which is outward in theflesh.
But he is a Jew who is oneinwardly, and circumcision is
that of the heart, in thespirit, not in the letter, whose
(07:27):
praise is not from men, but fromGod.
Well, this is God's word thismorning.
And so we come to this passage,and here the Apostle Paul uses
the Jews as an example becausethat's what Paul was himself.
And he says that these are thepeople who are trusting religion
(07:49):
to put them in right standingwith God.
These are the people who aretrusting in religion to save
them.
Now, I want to tell you, basedon my own personal experience, I
believe this is the hardestgroup of people to reach with
the gospel.
The religious person.
Hardest person.
I mean, often, think about it,often the rebellious person kind
(08:09):
of gets to the end of theirrope, their life is falling
apart, they're in a horriblesituation, they're an alcoholic
or whatever, you know,everything has gone wrong, and
they're fairly ready to admittheir need.
I mean, the guy on Skid Row ispretty much ready to admit, I
have made a mess of my life.
They're often easier people toreach.
(08:33):
A little more difficult are therespectable people that we
talked about in that beginningof chapter two.
You know, they're the kind offolks who'll say, Well, you
know, I'm a good moral person,so I really don't need Jesus and
that religious crutch.
I'm a good moral person.
I'm better than so-and-so.
They're a little bit more harderto reach.
Uh they'll they even say, Well,I keep the Ten Commandments.
(08:56):
Ask them to name the TenCommandments.
Listen, 95% of people in Americacan't even name the Ten
Commandments, much less keepthem.
But I think by far the religiousperson is the hardest person to
reach with the gospel.
Why?
Because she is trying to workher way to be acceptable to God,
(09:20):
and he trusts in his religion tosave him.
The apostle Paul points out herein this passage, you can be
religious and stand guiltybefore God and be lost.
You can be a church member andstill be headed for damnation.
Let me give you a definition ofreligion.
Religion is man's best attemptto get to God.
(09:45):
Religion is man's best attemptto get to God.
And in chapter 2, verse 17, theApostle Paul deals specifically
with the Jewish religion becausehe was a Jew.
But I'll tell you, theprinciples can apply to anybody
who thinks that his or herreligion can save him, that his
(10:06):
or her religion puts him inright standing and acceptable
with God.
You could substitute the wordschurch member here, and it would
apply.
And so the purpose of thissection that we come to, and
I'll tell you, I wouldn't havejust arbitrarily chosen to have
preached on this passage.
This is a tough passage.
I would have probably just, youknow, read over it real quickly
(10:26):
and kept on going.
But no, it's it's we got to dealwith it.
And so the purpose of thispassage here is to show
specifically that religionwithout Christ will not make you
acceptable to God.
It will not, it will not saveyou, it will not get you right
with God.
SPEAKER_01 (10:44):
You're listening to Foundations of Truth, the
biblical teaching ministry ofDr.
Timothy Mann.
If this teaching isstrengthening your faith and
helping you view life throughthe lens of the Bible, would you
prayerfully consider supportingFoundations of Truth?
Your financial gifts help usproduce and distribute these
programs so that others can hearthe gospel and receive faithful
(11:04):
biblical teaching.
To learn how you can partnerwith us, please visit our
website, foundationsoftruth.net.
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
And thank you for helpingFoundations of Truth continue
proclaiming God's word.
Now let's return to today'smessage from Romans.
Here's Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_00 (11:22):
Well, the Apostle Paul starts off here by giving
characteristics of a religiousperson.
He says, here's the problem withreligious people.
Number one, in verse 17, hesaid, indeed, you are called a
Jew.
Some of the other Englishtranslations say, if you are
called a Jew.
(11:43):
The problem with a religiousperson, number one, is they
depend on a label.
They depend on a label or aheritage.
They thought, the Jews thought,that their name was an instant
passport to be acceptable toGod.
Instant passport to heaven,regardless of what they did.
If I'm a Jew, I'm going to makeit.
(12:06):
Pride of tradition.
Let me tell you the word, theword comes from the word, the
name Judah.
That's where the term comesfrom.
Jew.
It comes from the name Judah.
It's first used actually in theBible in 2 Kings chapter 16,
verse 6.
The name actually came intoprominence during the captivity
(12:27):
in Babylon.
That's when it began to be used,and it was used after that.
Judah, the name Judah literallymeans praise to God or praise
Yahweh.
Judah.
Yeah, is the that part meanspraise to God.
So the word Jew, just the Jewpart, means praise.
(12:48):
Or one who is praised by God ishow they came to hold to that
name, their view of the name.
And so the Jews, if anybody,love to depend on their label,
their heritage.
If you ask them, are you rightwith God?
They would say, Of course.
I'm a Jew.
(13:10):
But do we have people doing thattoday?
Come on, let's be, we're amongfriends.
We can be honest in here.
Do we have people doing thattoday?
You bet we do.
Sure.
You just ask, are you aChristian?
And people will immediatelyanswer, Of course, I'm
Presbyterian.
Or I'm Baptist.
Or I'm Assembly of God.
Or my parents were Christians.
(13:32):
Or my grandparents weremissionaries.
Or my uncle is a pastor.
Whatever the case, if somehowyou could become a Christian or
in right standing with God byaffiliation, or by heritage, or
by osmosis, you know, it justkind of soaks in somehow.
Today you could insert the termchurch member.
Are you a Christian?
(13:53):
Of course.
I go to church.
I attend such and such church.
And that as if somehow thatlabel or that name will make you
in right standing with God.
Will make you a Christian.
Listen, there are a lot oflabels today, aren't there?
I mean, there's so many labelstoday.
Labels bother me.
They really do because they haveconnotations with them.
(14:14):
There's uh uh it's kind of likea caricature, right?
That's the word.
An overblown stereotypeoftentimes with labels, and
labels frustrate me because ofthat.
I don't like to be labeled.
I don't like to be pinned downbecause your definition of what
you're saying may not be thedefinition of what I think that
means.
But I know we use labels.
We kind of need them sometimes,I suppose.
(14:36):
But man, there's so many labelstoday.
I'm a fundamentalist, I'm adispensationalist, I'm
charismatic, I'm full of gospel,I'm reformed.
You listen, one guy even told meone time he was a Christian
because he was an American.
Yeah.
America's a Christian nation.
He's an American, therefore he'sa Christian.
(14:56):
Listen, going to church willmake you a Christian just about
as much as going to a chickenhouse will make you a chicken.
Just about as much as going tothe Lions Club will make you a
lion.
Or just about as much as goingto the Rotary Club will make you
a rotor, I guess.
Or whatever the case is.
It isn't membership, it isn't alabel, it isn't heritage that
(15:20):
puts you in right standing withGod.
It's not your heritage thatmakes you a believer.
But the problem with religiouspeople, the very first
characteristic we see here isthat they call themselves
something.
You call yourself a Jew.
You're called a Jew.
Use a label.
Second problem with religiouspeople is they rely on rules and
(15:45):
regulations.
They rely on rules andregulations.
He said, You're called a Jew andrest on the law.
You rest on the law.
He's primarily talking about thefirst books of the Old
Testament, commonly called thePinitude.
Pinnah meaning five.
These were the first five bookswritten by Moses: Genesis,
(16:07):
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, andDeuteronomy.
The Jews called these five booksthe Torah.
But the fact is, and most of youknow this, the fact is the law
has never saved anybody.
The law does not put anyone inright standing with God.
As a matter of fact, the book ofGalatians teaches that that is
(16:28):
not its purpose.
Its purpose is to be a tutor, tobe a schoolmaster, to bring us
to Jesus, to bring us to Christ.
But the Jews felt that simplybecause they had the law given
to their nation, that that madethem in right standing with God,
that they possessed instantsalvation, whether they obeyed
(16:49):
it or not.
Simply because they possessedthese books, they felt like they
were in with God.
John chapter 5, verse 39 through40.
Jesus is speaking to a group ofPharisees, the top-notch
religionists.
Jesus is speaking to that groupof Pharisees who thought they
were going to make it on theirown works.
(17:11):
And he said this.
Jesus said, You diligently studythe scriptures because you think
that by them, by the scriptures,you possess eternal life.
You think because you have theBible, you possess eternal life.
And yet Jesus said, These arethe scriptures that testify
(17:33):
about me.
And yet you refuse to come to meto have life.
He's saying very clearly, youthink you're going to heaven
just because you have the Bible.
Just because you have the OldTestament.
We have this today.
I mean, you ask people, are youa Christian?
They might answer, sure, I own aBible.
As if because they own a Bibleand it's sitting on the coffee
(17:56):
table unopened for five years,that they think they're going to
make it.
You know, people even brag aboutthe translation they have.
Of course I'm a Christian.
I have the blank translation,whatever you want to put in
there.
Listen, you have to do more thanjust own a Bible, you have to
practice it.
Problem with religious people isthey rely on rules and
(18:19):
regulations.
The third thing we notice herein this passage, though, that
the Apostle Paul said theproblem with religious folks is
this.
They think they have a specialstatus with God.
He said, indeed, you're called aJew and rest on the law, and
make your boast in God.
(18:41):
Make your boast in God.
I don't know about you, but Ithink sometimes the most
prideful people in the world arereligious people.
They brag about theirrelationship to God, their
so-called relationship to God.
The Jews felt they had an insidetrack to God.
They felt that because they werethe chosen people, they had
(19:04):
special status.
God likes us, and He doesn'tlike everybody else.
We're the group.
I mean, have you ever metanybody like that?
That says we're the onlyreligion.
My denomination is the only truegroup of believers.
Everybody else is completelyfalse.
(19:27):
Let me tell you, that's a traitof religion.
That attitude is a trait ofreligion.
As you read the Gospels, Jesushad nothing to do with religion
except that he opposed it.
All the way through the Gospels.
Jesus taught very clearly thatreligion would never put people
(19:51):
in the right standing with God.
Jesus taught that religion wouldnever get people to heaven.
It's the relationship to him bygrace through faith that puts
you in right standing with God,not any religion.
That's what does it.
The Jews felt very secure.
They thought, we can't doanything wrong.
(20:11):
We have this religion.
And what's amazing to me is whenyou study the scriptures, when
you really pay attention to whathappens in the Bible, you begin
to notice something.
You begin to find that God oftenbypassed the religious
establishment to get his messageacross.
That's very interesting.
As a matter of fact, here's anexample.
When God wanted to announceJesus' birth, did he tell the
(20:33):
priests?
No.
Who did he tell?
The shepherds, the lowlife ofsociety.
That's who he appeared to.
He bypassed the high priest, hebypassed the rabbis, he bypassed
the teachers, he bypassed thedenominational groups.
Listen, when God wanted to getthe message out, it says the
word of God came to John theBaptist.
(20:54):
Who was John the Baptist?
He was a nobody.
He wasn't a part of thereligious establishment.
They hated him.
And God often does that.
He can't get his message throughto religious people because they
think they have a specialstatus.
He says, Chapter 2.
(21:15):
You're called a Jew, you rest onthe law, you make your boast
about in God and know his will.
Now it's interesting.
The other problem with religiouspeople is this they claim to
have a direct line to God.
They claim to have a pipeline toGod.
(21:37):
We know his will.
And because the Jews had God'sword, they thought they knew his
will.
Now, the all important word isactually if, which is found in
many English translations at thebeginning of the verse.
Unfortunately, it's not includedin the New King James.
But in the original language inthe Greek, if is there, and it's
(21:58):
rendered that way in some of theother verses.
Who is carrying the translationthat begins verse 27, verse 17
with if?
Anybody?
Got a few people in the house.
Got it started with if.
That's correct.
If you know his will.
So it's interesting when Paulsaid this, he's being sarcastic.
Have you noticed in Paul'swritings, he actually does that
(22:18):
from time to time.
He's a bit sarcastic.
The Lord uses his personality tospeak through Paul to make a
point and to get the pointacross.
So he says, if, he's settingthem up.
He's saying, you guys thinkyou've got it together.
You've got the label.
You've got the name.
You've got the pipeline to God.
He's setting them up for a fall.
He's saying, it's not enough toknow God's will, you've got to
(22:40):
do it.
It's not enough to know the law,you've got to obey it.
Look what he says in verse 18.
And you know his will andapprove the things that are
excellent.
Approve the things that areexcellent.
Now that Philippians 1 10, wehave the exact same phrase.
And it's only used twice in allof the Bible.
(23:00):
In Romans it's translated, youapprove the things that are
excellent, or you approve whatis superior.
In Philippians 1 10, it saysthat you may be able to discern
what is best.
He's talking about values.
He's talking about priorities.
But the problem oftentimes witha religious person is they claim
to have a direct line to God andknow his will.
(23:22):
Even though they may not be inright standing with God.
And then the other problem thatwe see in this passage that with
religious folks, thecharacteristic of a religious
person is they maintain a highmoral standard.
I know.
I mean, what's wrong withmaintaining a high moral
(23:42):
standard, right, George?
Nothing's wrong with that.
There's nothing wrong with thatat all.
That's actually good.
You ought to maintain a highmoral standard.
You ought to have a strong codeof ethics.
You ought to approve what isexcellent, what is superior.
You ought to go for the best inlife and have a high standard of
integrity.
(24:03):
But what you need to remember ismoral integrity will not get you
into heaven.
Moral integrity will not put youin right standing with God.
Values and priorities are good,but they're not enough to get
you to heaven.
The Jews and a lot of religiouspeople felt like they were
superior because of their moralethics.
(24:24):
I don't need to go to church.
I'm better than so-and-so,right?
As if God's going degrade on acurve.
He's not.
Our problem is we compareourselves we compare folks with
folks.
People with other people.
Doesn't work.
SPEAKER_01 (24:41):
Thanks for spending part of your day with us on
Foundations of Truth, thebiblical teaching ministry of
Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to hear thismessage again or give a
financial gift or get morebiblical resources, you can do
so online.
Foundationsoftruth.net.
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
And thank you so much.
Join us again tomorrow foranother opportunity to study the
(25:03):
scriptures and discover theunchanging truth of God's Word.
Join Dr.
Mann Saturday, September 19th,10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
at From My Library to YoursChristian Bookstore in Port
Orange for a special authorevent featuring his book, Saved.
Understanding God's Work in Us.
There'll be book signing,conversation, and brief talks
(25:24):
with a QA at 10:15 a.m.
and 1.15 p.m.
That's Saturday, September 19th,at the Pavilion next to Massage
Envy in Port Orange, Florida.
Foundations of Truth is madepossible in part by the generous
support of AMN Plumbing, proudlyserving Daytona Beach, Ormond
Beach, Port Orange, and NewSmyrna Beach communities.
Also Cat Care Clinic of OrmondBeach, providing compassionate,
(25:47):
feline focused veterinary careand Luther Rice Seminary,
equipping men and women throughbiblical and theological
education.
We're grateful for theirpartnership in making this
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