The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to the word made plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching through the book of Romans. Please open your Bible to Romans chapter 2 verses 17 through 20.

Tony Clark: Come with me in your Bible to the book of Romans chapter 2 as we continue our verse by verse study through the New Testament. We find ourselves in the book of Romans and making our way through. We're in chapter 2. We're going to be looking at verses 17 to 20. Father, we are so grateful that you prayed us through the night. You brought us to such a time as this because Lord, this is the word you want us to hear today. So Lord, speak this word into our hearts. Lord, may our hearts be good soil so the seed of the word can just be planted in it and grow and so we might not sin against you.

And so Lord, help us to understand your word by your spirit in Jesus name. Amen. Romans chapter 2 we're going to be looking at verses 17 through 20. The title of this message is you are guilty too. You are guilty too. And this is part one of this message. You say guilty of what? Well, guilty of the very things you're judging and looking down on others about. This message is for all of us, but especially for those of you who think that you are doing well spiritually. This sense of pride is the worst kind of pride.

It is spiritual pride. It is the pride that the religious leaders in Jesus's day had that caused them to look down on others and pray prayers like this. Luke 18 verses 11 and 12 says this is how they pray. God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all I possess. And this is the attitude and the spirit we will address in this message. Look what it says there in verse 17. It says indeed you are called a Jew and rest on the law and make your boast in God.

Let's stop right there. The Jewish people in Paul's day were very proud because they rested in the fact that God gave his law to them as a nation. Paul addresses them and says if you call yourself a Jew and rest in the fact that God gave you his law and you boast about your relationship with God why aren't you living as a Jew or living as a person that has a relationship with God? Why aren't you living up to his name? Oh, the same goes for us. If we call ourselves Christians and are are we living up to this name, the name of Christ?

Well, the word Christian means to be Christ like. Does our lives reflect that Christ is in it? It's one thing to say that we're we are a Christian. It's another thing to live it and to live like one. And this is what Paul is saying to the Jewish believers. You say that you are a Jew and you make your boast in your relationship with God, but are you living like God is in your life? This is a powerful word for all of us who claim to have a relationship with God. Colossians 2:6 for you not takers, it says as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him.

We're told to live for Christ, to walk in his ways. Oh, he continues in verse 18. Look what he says there. He says and know his will and approve the things that are excellent being instructed out of the law. I want to draw your attention to the first part of verse uh 18 and know his will. I love this statement because God's will is contained in his word. Verse 17 says you rest in the law. And now in this verse he says and know his will. So his will is in his word. If you ever want to know God's will for your life, if there's one question I've been asked many times as a pastor is how can I know God's will for my life?

Well, it is contained in his word. There are three ways to know God's will for your life. Number one, ask yourself these three questions. Number one, do you have a desire? Philippians 2:13 says it is God who works in you both to will, that's desire, and to do the power to carry out his good pleasure. When we're born again, God gives us desires to do what he has created us to do from the foundations of the world. For me, I am a pastor today not because I said well I think I'd be a pastor. I think I'd go to school.

And after I go to school, I think I'd go into the pastorate. No, that's not how it is. It's not how it was at all. For me, I'm a pastor today because God gave me the desire to be one. 1 Timothy 3:1 says if a man desires the office of pastor, he desires a good work. So number one, do you have a desire? Number two, do you have a peace? Do you have a peace? Do you have a peace? Colossians 3:15 says let the peace of God rule in your heart. The the Greek word for rule is and it means to arbitrate an athletic contest.

It means to govern or to rule. We would just say it's a referee. In other words, the peace of God will act as a referee in our lives telling us that our decisions are either safe or they are out. You've heard many people say I I don't think I ought to do that. I I just don't have a peace about it. That is the peace of God saying if you make that decision, that decision will be out. Therefore you like I just don't think I ought to do that. That's the peace of God. Number three is the door opened or closed?

Revelation 3:7 says God will open up doors no man could close and close doors no man can open. So to know God's will, you have to put all three of these together. Do I have a desire? Do I have a peace? And is the door opened or closed? Now watch this. You it must be all three. Let's say you got a desire to do something and the door is open for you to do it. But number two, you don't have a peace. You're like I just don't think you better not do it. Let's say for example, you got a desire and you got a peace, but the door isn't opened.

Don't you go trying to kick it open. Watch this. This could be just a matter of God's timing. It may not be his timing yet. So you wait. You keep your little self put. You wait. Just wait. So it must be all three. I just drop gold at some of y'all's feet. Some of y'all y'all y'all can leave now cuz that was worth its price of admission. And y'all can go home now, you know. Uh but there's there's more. We're just getting started. There there is more. So to know God's will, you got to have all three, a desire, a peace, and and open door.

All of these things are contained in the word of God. I gave you scripture for each one. So not only did the Jews know God's will, but they also notice the second part of verse 18, approve the things that are excellent. The Greek word for approve is It's a great Greek word. It carries the idea of testing in order to prove the value of something such as precious metals. So because the Jews had the law of God, they were able to approve the things in God's word that are excellent or essential. The Jewish people constantly knew what God wanted them to do and verse the third part of verse 18 being instructed out of the law.

The Greek word for instructed is And it means teaching by repetition. It is where we get our English word catechism for those with a Roman Catholic background from. So Jewish boys were constantly instructed at home and in the synagogues notice out of the law of God. They will memorize large portions of the Old Testament. Still to this day they have contests where they would memorize large portions of the Old Testament and get tested on it. And and many of those Jewish boys who won these contests have memorized the entire Old Testament. Oh, that just puts us to shame.

I'll get off of that cuz I I know guilt should just flood through us, you know, and just as we just hear that. Now parents, the question is are you instructing your children out of the word of God at home like Deuteronomy 6 verses 4 through 9 says? Or are you just expecting us to do it here at church? And you come one, maybe two times a week. And that's if you're super duper spiritual you're doing that. The rest of the time they're with you. But I've said it many times, look at us here at the church.

We're just like a supplement, vitamin a vitamin. You none of us can live on vitamins. They just supplement our food. The food of the teaching and the instructing of the word of God is to come from you at home. Then when you bring them here, we're just the vitamin. We're just the supplement. What you're doing at home. So often parents have it swapped around. They at home try to be the supplement and expect us to be the main meal. And you come once maybe twice a week if that. So we're just the supplement. You're called to instruct them in the word of God out of the word of God.

Now all of this teaching out of the law meant that they had a responsibility which was to teach God's law to the nations around them. So it was to go to the home and then to the nations around them. But instead of doing this this knowledge of the law of God, watch this, made them prideful. Make them feel elite that God spoke to them. And made them feel I was thinking about this 1 Corinthians 8:1. It's not on the screen for you not takers. It says knowledge puffs up but love edifies. Knowledge puffs up but love builds up.

And so often people get a big real big head of spiritual knowledge. And you can just see them. They kind of talk down to you. And they think that they're elite with their knowledge. This is what happened to the Jewish people. They were supposed to take this word that God gave them, take it home to their children, then take it to the nations around them. But instead they kept it to themselves and were prideful. And then when it came all the way to the days of Jesus, watch this they felt that the Gentiles, non-Jews, the nations around them, the only purpose Oh, this is good here, but sad, that the only purpose of the Gentiles were to keep the flames of hell going.

That's how they looked at the nations around them. That how they looked at the world around them. And I just wonder how do we look at the world around us? Oh world, look at this. I tell you they're so wicked. They're just this Uh-huh. Kind of arrogant about your knowledge of God instead of trying to take the word of God to the nations around you, to the people around you. You to be the sitting back with your prideful knowledge and your head in the air and look at the look at the news and them and them people and those over there, I tell you.

This is what happened to the Jewish nation. Look what it says in verse 19. And our confident confident that you yourselves are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness. The Jews Paul was addressing were overly confident in their knowledge of God, but they didn't have lives that backed it up. It it was just head knowledge about God. Be careful of your knowledge of God when you don't have a life that supports it. Ephesians 4:1 says I beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. Now the Greek word for worthy is and it means of equal weight.

It it it speaks of equaling of the scales. In other words, our walk and our talk should be of equal weight. And this this is what Paul was saying about these Jewish believers. You are confident that you are a guide to the blind or to those who are blind spiritually. They they they boasted that we are the ones that's supposed to be the light to those in that are blind spiritually. He said okay, you boasting in that. He said but you don't have a life that backs it up. You're just a bunch of talk. Jesus called the religious leaders in his day blind guides in Matthew 15 and verse 14, Matthew 23 verse 16 and verse 24.

This is the condition the Jewish believers found themselves in being blind guides. The second part of verse 19 notice it said that they were also supposed to be a light to those who are in darkness. This was exactly the This is what exactly how the the the role that God had for them because he told Abraham in uh Genesis 12 and verse 3 he says through you all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. We know ultimately that was speaking of Jesus Christ coming through the Jewish nation through the tribe of Judah. Uh but he said through you all the nations shall be blessed.

Now this responsibility is given to us the church. Jesus told us in Matthew 5:14 says you are the light of the world. Oh my goodness, that is a mouthful right there. He says you are the light of the world. The you in the Greek is emphatic. It means you Christian, you believer, you follower of Jesus Christ, you are the verb in this present tense. You are right now, not yesterday not next week not next month. You are right now what? The light of the world. Now what does that mean? The Greek word for light is false.

And it's where we get our English word photo or photograph from which is a picture produced through light. It says so we are supposed to be a picture of who Jesus Christ is to this world. You're the light of the world. Now watch this. Jesus said in John 8:12 he says I am the light of the world. Okay. Now he's saying in Matthew 5:14 we are the light of the world. Who who is the light? Is it Jesus? Is it us? It's both. Watch this. Jesus is this is like the sun as and we're like the moon.

You understand. You learn from school if you were awake. You you learned in school that the moon doesn't have its own light. It reflects the light of the sun. And the only time that the moon doesn't reflect the light of the sun is during the eclipse. That's when the earth gets in between the sun and the moon that keeps the moon from reflecting the light of the sun. Some people are no longer a picture of who Jesus is because you're experiencing a spiritual eclipse. You've allowed the world to get in between you and your relationship with Christ and you're no longer reflecting the sun as And this is what we got to see today.

Many of you are here. Supposed to be a light to those who sit in darkness. But instead you've allowed the world to get in between you and your relationship with Jesus Christ. And there's a darkness in your life. No longer reflecting Jesus Christ. No longer can they look at you and see a picture, a portrait of Jesus Christ. The Bible says in in Ephesians 2:10 it says for we are his workmanship created into Christ Jesus unto good work. The word workmanship in the Greek is We're his poem. We're his work of art. That he is displaying us to this world.

And I just wonder what are we showing this world? What kind of portrait? What kind of picture? You know it reminds me of those of you who are my age and older. You you going to understand this example very well. You remember the the Polaroid camera? You want to hit the And when we used to we used to wave like this and you know it's coming in. It's coming in fuzzy. It's coming in. You know If you 30 and under just Google it. You know you You you you understand. And there are some of you that's displaying a fuzzy picture of who Jesus is.

And that the people around you are squinting and trying to say what is that image I'm seeing? What is that I'm looking at? And and just like we used to let that that let that air hit it, you know some of y'all need the wind of God's spirit to come fresh upon your life so you can give a crystal clear picture of who Jesus is. Because the world around you, they're sitting in darkness, the Bible says. And they need to see a light. It's like it's like they're groped. You know when all the lights are off and you trying to find the wall where the light switch is.

They're groping trying to find the and we are supposed to be the light. And then when that light shines on them, we supposed to be a portrait of who Jesus Christ is. But we're too busy experiencing a spiritual eclipse. And we're no longer shining the light we supposed to be. Are you experiencing a spiritual eclipse like the Jews were where the world has gotten in between you and your relationship with Jesus Christ? This is what was happening to the Jews that Paul was addressing to the point where they were no longer a light to those who sit in darkness.

Look what it says there in verse 20. It says an instructor of the foolish, uh teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. I want to draw your attention to the first phrase, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes. Paul was telling the Jewish believers that they were supposed to be instructors and teachers to the other nations of the world, but their lifestyles prohibited them from doing this. Paul told the believers in the book of Hebrews and Hebrews 5 in verse 12 he says for though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles or words of God.

And you have come to need milk and not solid food. Teaching others spiritual things carry a serious responsibility. James 3:1 says let not many of you become teachers knowing that we shall receive the stricter judgment. Teachers of spiritual things will be judged harsher than anyone else. This is why I take the teaching of God's word very seriously because of this verse. I try to take each verse and carefully understand it and then teach it to you to the best of my ability by the power of God's Holy Spirit. It's a serious thing. And because of the seriousness of it, there are many people who don't do it because they No, but we're mandated.

Paul said woe is me if I don't preach the gospel. We're mandated to. Look at the second part of verse 20. Notice it says having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. Now the Greek word for form is a very interesting word uh morphosis. And it means to sketch. It it it it can be translated as an outline or a semblance or appearance. It is the same Greek word used in 2 Timothy 3:5 that says that they had a form of godliness, morphosis, a form of godliness but denying its power. In other words, Paul was saying that these uh Jewish believers had an appearance or a form of being godly, but it was just superficial.

It wasn't real. It wasn't true. I just wonder if this describes us. Do we have a superficial surface Christianity or just an appearance of being a Christian? Meaning people see us just superficially coming to church which they aren't seeing much today because of the times we live in. We we have some head knowledge about Christianity with our few devotional quotes we put up on social media. But it doesn't go any further than just a few Christian quotes. You've heard me say many times my heart breaks for Christianity in the church today, especially the church here in America where I live.

My heart breaks. Paul said my deep concern is for the churches and I understand what he means by that. My deep concern I I look at the American church and my heart breaks. We're supposed to be a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes. But we need someone to teach us.

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We pray you've been blessed by God's word today and hope you'll tune in next time to hear the word made plain.