{"id":14563,"date":"2013-05-22T14:18:01","date_gmt":"2013-05-22T18:18:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=14563"},"modified":"2013-05-22T14:18:01","modified_gmt":"2013-05-22T18:18:01","slug":"retelling-romans-217-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2013\/05\/retelling-romans-217-29.html","title":{"rendered":"Retelling Romans 2:17-29"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

So you call yourself a Christian, and rely on the Bible, and boast in God, knowing God\u2019s will and discerning what really matters because you\u2019ve received Biblical instruction, being confident in your own ability to be a guide to the blind and a light to those in darkness, an educator of the foolish and teacher of the childish, having in the Bible the embodiment of knowledge and truth? Then let me ask you this: Will someone teach others but not also teach themselves? Will you bilk the faithful while preaching \u201cDo not steal\u201d? Will you have affairs while saying \u201cYou shall not commit adultery\u201d? If you detest idols, will you commit sacrilege? The one who boasts in the Bible while trampling on the Bible\u2019s teaching dishonors God. As the Bible itself says, \u201cBecause of you God\u2019s name is blasphemed among the nations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Being a Christian has value if you put into practice what Jesus taught. But if you disobey his teaching, your belief becomes unbelief. And so if those who are not Christians do the very things that Jesus taught, will not their lack of belief in him be reckoned as belief? The one who is not a Christian and does what Jesus commanded will condemn you who \u2013 even though you call yourself a Christian and have the Bible \u2013 disobey what is taught therein.<\/p>\n

For being a Christian is not about outward appearances or the wearing of a particular label, but about what happens inwardly, in the secret recesses of the heart, through the Spirit and not mere words. It is not about being applauded by other human beings, but by God.<\/p>\n

______________________<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I tried to maintain in this section the substitution of Christians in those places where Paul refers to Jews, just as I did in the previous section<\/a>. Let me state once more the rationale for doing so:<\/p>\n