invite you to open your Bible with me to Romans chapter 2 today. And I certainly appreciate your being flexible during this time of being moved out of your normal places and so good to have so many of you back from vacation as well today but Romans chapter 2 and the outline that you have in front of you really the verses there show how I study and Ted Roach is in the back back there he will be teaching I'll be teaching this Wednesday and then the following two Wednesdays He's going to be teaching a favorite subject of his, and that is how to study the Bible. And I do really want to encourage you to be here. Next week there will be flyers for you to be able to even invite others. And so some of you have often wondered, well, how do I study the Bible? You say you should study it. And there's so many ways to approach the scriptures. But of course the ultimate goal is always to get the truth. What is God teaching me? What is his word here for? What's the purpose? What is he communicating? And to be able to discern that, you need to be able to understand it. And so Brother Ted Roach will be teaching that for the first two Wednesdays in the month of August. And then I've asked the Baileys, Jim and Jan Bailey, to bring two studies regarding aging, dealing with aging, dealing with a memory. And they have a lot of experience that God has given them, especially through Jim's mother. And so there's a lot of things out there that are tools that we can invest in. And particularly as your pastor's getting older, you might want to be looking for slips, right? And so many of you have had that experience. Many of us are dealing with aging parents and trying to decide how do we best address their time in life. Well, the title of the message is Delusional Faith and Fake Professions. I decided to take a cartoon as the opening picture of that. And, of course, it's an illustration of Matthew 7, where we're told to not take the speck out of our brother's eye until we deal with the beam that is in our own eye. And that's a great reminder for us that the hypocrite tends to be somebody, they see the faults in others without first examining themselves. And so that's going to be the approach that we're going to take today. But I'm going to ask you to open your Bible with me to Romans 2, if you haven't already. And I'm going to allow you to be seated, but I do want you to follow through the scripture as we work our way through today. Let's pray. Lord I pray we know that we're all a little bit displaced and out of our comfort zone and nevertheless we have a wonderful opportunity today to open the scriptures and I guess in some ways have more of a setting of a Bible study and yet it's our desire to not just study the word but to declare the word which is the very idea of preaching and so Lord would you bless the this pastor as we open the word as we look at text that maybe are unfamiliar or maybe text that we've heard many times we've often wondered what does it say, what does it mean, what's the application and so Lord to that end I pray I pray that you would help us to examine our own faith that we're not a number among those who are delusional and also our profession, our confidence and our faith in Christ that it's more than a profession, that it's a living reality and so Lord to that end now I pray that you would bless as we study your word together and we ask this all in Christ's name, amen so let me walk you through a little bit of an introduction and I'm going to invite you to look with me at the first verses here started in Romans chapter 2 and verse 11. We finished this up on Wednesday night, but I wanted to return to it just for a few things for you to be aware of. First of all, Romans chapter 2 and verse 11, we read this, God will render to every man according to his deeds. The overarching reality of this passage of scripture is that men are sinners. and that all men will face God's judgment. Now I'm using the men in the broad universal sense, but the overriding characteristic of this passage of scripture is that we're all sinners, but also that there is a day or an appointment of God's judgment. Another thing is also that those who, verses eight and nine, who do not obey the truth, will face God's indignation, His wrath, His tribulation, and anguish. And so for those of us that live life, and maybe we never come to a point, of putting our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, we understand that anyone that doesn't know Christ as Savior will inevitably face God's judgment. Now, a third thought, by way of introduction, in verse 11, the Bible says that there is no respect of persons with God. It's not a matter of whether you're a Jew or a Gentile. If you're Baptist or you're Catholic or you're Methodist or you're Presbyterian, If you're a Mormon or you're a Seventh-day Adventist, there is no respect of persons with God. Verse 12 goes on to say, Now that's a different expression. they shall also perish without law and then we read and as many as have sinned in the law they shall be judged by the law and so you might remember that last week I introduced this verse saying that there are two groups of people in the world there are those who do not have God's law And then there are those who have God's law. Now, the Jews were receiving this. They were believers, professing believers that were living in Rome. And as that congregation received God's word, they understood this concept that the Gentiles are without the law and that the Jews are with the law. Nevertheless, even though the Gentiles did not have the law, the point that Paul was making is that they too will be judged. Why? Because there is within man's consciousness an understanding that there is a God. The heavens declare the glory of God. So creation itself is a revelation of the fact that there is God. And then for the Jews, though, who had the law, they would, according to this verse, will be judged by the law. And so they had the privilege of the law, but it is also that privilege by which they will be judged. Another thought then. Romans 2, verse 13. For not the hearers of the law, are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified." Again, we're looking at two groups there, one that hears the word, and then another group that obeys the word. And here's the thought to that. Contrary to the no law preachers. Now I decided to put that in there because I think it's important. I think in the late 1900s, and I'm referring to 1980s, 1990s, and on into the 2000s, there was a resurrection or an insurrection of preachers. who began declaring that there is no law, we as Bible believers, we should never be concerned about the law, the law is in the Old Testament, the law is the Old Covenant, and we are living in the day of grace but the question is, is that what the Bible says? Because I've been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, is it enough Or do I need to be concerned about God's law? And so on your outline, I think it's on there, maybe it's not. Contrary to the no-law preachers, only the doers of the law shall be justified and therefore declared righteous by God. So who is righteous? Well, we have our righteousness as a believer that is in Jesus Christ. because he died for my sins on the cross of Calvary. And so in my day of judgment, when God judges me, I will be judged according to the wonderful presence of the blood of Jesus Christ being applied to my account. The Bible says for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is what? eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And so we understand our salvation is by God's grace. But what do we do with the reality that the Bible says we'll be judged by our works? So here is an inescapable reality. As a believer, there isn't a day that I will be judged. I will not be judged according to my sins, but I will be judged according to my works. Then how can I discern between those works that are good and acceptable to God and those works that are not acceptable to God? And the answer is I have to look at God's standard. God's standard begins really with the revelation of His law and His commandments. And then it continues through the precepts and the principles that we find in the New Testament. So, this day of judgment, I should be concerned with God's law. Not because it's by means of my salvation, but it is by means of my understanding God's holiness. God's desire for us is that we be a holy people. Now, here's the thought. The gospel then is more than God's grace. It also proclaims that God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. For those of you that were here on Wednesday, who's going to be the judge? Jesus Christ. They said, whoa, whoa, whoa, He's my Savior. Yes, He is. But when it comes to your judgment of your works, He is the judge. So He is both Savior and judge. And I showed to the crowd on Wednesday night that God actually, God the Father has appointed Jesus Christ to be our judge. Now think about that. That gives you a different perspective. I whispered to Pastor Mills when we were singing earlier the song, what was it, and it ended with, and now I am happy all the day. And I whispered to Pastor Mills, I don't like that last line because there's some days I'm not happy all the day. Do you agree? So we understand in our position in Christ that we can be happy. But if we assume that because I'm a believer and now I am happy all the day, that's not gonna happen. Because there's some days you're not gonna be happy. There's some days that life is going to be difficult. because God's got a plan and God's got a purpose for my life. Now I just ruined that song for Pastor Mills and that's up to him to figure out how to redeem that last slide, all right? Here we go. What then is God's critique of religious people? Of religious Jews and religious Gentiles? When I was growing up, the people sometimes would say about someone, well, he got religion. I'll tell you a quick story. Methodist church I grew up in, and I never saw anyone saved there because I never heard the gospel. One day, the community drunk showed up for church. This is a true story. He showed up for church. And then he walked in, and he wanted to repent of his drunkenness. So he goes all the way to the front, probably the first one to walk the aisle in 20, 30, 40 years. And he goes all the way to the front, and he said, I want to be saved. Well, they didn't know what to do about that. Sad. It's sad. But the drunk was looking for a place for redemption. And sadly, nobody pointed him to the only place of redemption, and that is to the cross. So let's go back to the thought. You could say of that man, well, he got religion that day. But do you know you can have religion and not know Jesus Christ as Savior? Let me walk you through this passage, and I think for some of you, it's going to raise your eyebrow a little bit. Hopefully, it won't make you pull your hair out, but let's go through it. All right, you have your Bible. We're going to begin looking at Romans 2 and verse 17. Now, here's the heart of the message. What does God say about religious people, Jews and Gentiles? So let's begin with this. Romans chapter 2 verses 17 through 20 gives us this portrait of delusional faith. That is someone that places their trust in religion. Now you have your outline there and I want you to follow with me. So what we're going to look at is that the Jews relied on several things as their identification with God as the God of Israel. The first thing that the Jews relied on to have a right relationship with God was their physical legacy. You have your Bible, Romans 2, verse 17. Here's what we read. Behold, or look and see, thou, Paul writing to these that were Jews, thou art called a Jew. You identify yourself as a Jew. and rest us in the law. You take your comfort in the law, in having the law. And make us thy boast of God. Now, the Jews in that passage there gives us two thoughts. The first is they had a physical legacy. They were God's chosen people. Go all the way back to Genesis chapter 12, and God calls out Abraham. Abraham, you have been chosen. And the Jewish people draw their ancestry from that knowledge that God chose Abraham. That's interesting. I've met Muslim people, and they too look back to Abraham. Of course, Abraham had two sons, right? And so the one son that Israel looks to and that is identified as the heir of the Abrahamic covenant was Isaac. Now, for the Jewish people then, as you look at Romans 2 and verse 17, they took their boast in identifying with Abraham and his lineage through Isaac and Jacob and on and on. Now, the word Jew, where does that name come from? Today, Jew is almost a slander. Our culture uses it in a very despiteful and hateful way. But Jew really is an identification with the tribe of Judah. That's where the name Jew is derived from, a little bit of a history. When the Babylonian captivity began and all of the Jews were taken out of the southern Judah, Assyria had already removed the 10 northern tribes. And so it was the tribe of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, they were left behind. When Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, they took all the Jewish people that were in Israel, took them captive to Babylon. And then when the king of Persia gave the edict that all the Jewish people could return to their homeland, the history is that only Judah some of the tribe of Benjamin and some of the Levites, only those returned to Israel. And so for the Jewish people, they took great pride in their affiliation, their acknowledgement, their affirmation that they were Jewish people. In fact, that they were the ones that were true to God. and they returned back to Israel, and of course they rebuilt the temple, and then they rebuilt the city. And so again, verse 17, Behold thou art called a Jew. You take your boast in being a Jew. Now let me give you another thought then that goes to that. And so the Jews relied on their physical legacy. They were of God's people. They were chosen. Number two, the Jews also relied on the knowledge of God's law and word. and so it was a matter of pride, it was a matter of boasting that they of all people of the earth had been given God's law God had revealed himself not only in his creation but God had specifically revealed himself in his word by his prophets and then later obviously by the written word of God so here's some thoughts that go with this then There are 10 errors that the Jewish people had made regarding religion here. 10 errors that you and I can make as, quote, if you're Baptist, as Baptist, or if you identify as a Christian. There are 10 errors that people make when they place their confidence in religion. And I'm going to rattle them off for you real fast. Here we go. The first one is this. when we rest in God's law. We might would refer to it as being a legalist. There might be someone here this morning that you look at your keeping the rule or keeping the law or keeping the commandment as a proof that you've got religion and therefore you are acceptable to God now look again then that you say that you're a Jew you're called a Jew and you rest in the law you rest in the fact in the knowledge that you've got the law you are privileged to have God's law let me get to a second thought that goes with that then They were also proud and they boasted of God. Again, the last part of verse 17, and make us thy boast of God. The Jewish people not only had a knowledge of God as creator, but they had a specific knowledge of God by his personal revelation. Moses goes up and he brings down the law and the commandments. And the Jews took great pride in the fact they possessed God's law. Number three on your outline. They also would boast that they know God's will. Romans 2 verse 18. And know us, literally you know and you understand His God's will. and approve us the things that are more excellent being instructed out of the law so they know God's will they possess God's law and the commandments and they know God's will now here's where the Jews decided to go it was their role and it was to tell everybody else about God's law and also to boast that God had revealed himself in his law and God had revealed himself specifically to the Jewish people, number four I think on your outline not the common things, not the pleasures of the sins of the Gentiles, instead, they were set apart, they were different, they were unique, and it is that uniqueness, of course, that has been hated down through the ages. All right, I'm gonna keep adding to these because of our time. All right, also, they saw that it was their responsibility to teach God's law. You can see the last part of verse 18. And we read this, be instructed out of the law. So for the Jewish people then, it was their responsibility to not only be a caretaker of the law, but also to be a teacher of God's law. Now you're gonna see there was a problem between what they taught and what they ended up practicing. Another one, what is this, number six, seven on your outline? six, number six on your outline, oh okay, and they also saw themselves as a guide of the blind, let me read this, Romans 2 and verse 19, and art confident, so where did the Jewish people put their confidence, they put their confidence in the fact they were of Abraham's lineage, they were given the law, they were caretakers of the law, they were now also the guide of the blind, Romans 2 verse 19, and art confident, speaking of the religious Jew, art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind. Notice in my translation amplification, a guide is a leader of the blind. unable to see clearly so the Jewish people the religious Jew solid as their responsibility to teach those who were They'd be blind leaders of the blind. So what do we have in this context? They were real good at telling everybody else how to do and what to do, but they were really sad when it came to what they practiced. I'm going to keep moving. All right, they also saw themselves as a light. Again, Romans 2 verse 19. Of the religious Jew, you are confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind. You're taking the responsibility of taking the spiritually blind and leading them. And then also you are a light of them which are in darkness. Now, let me deal with the word light, interesting. In Matthew chapter five, The Lord is teaching those who are his followers. And he says to them, ye are the what? The light of the world. Now, what is interesting? The word light is more than just this visible light that we have. It literally carries with it a meaning of sound. So I did some studying this past week, and the question was, how can light evidence sound? And I found this, that light in and of itself gives no sound. But light, when it comes in contact with matter, begins to vibrate. And as a result of that vibration, it gives forth sound. Think about in Genesis chapter 1, God created the heavens and the earth. And we understand that the earth was without form and it was void and darkness, right? And then the next day God says, let there be light. Do you realize in the scriptures those are the first words? But as a result of that, it is also the moment that God's light, who is light, impacted that which He had created that was in darkness. All of a sudden, there was not only light, but there was sound. Look at the Jewish people here in this passage, Romans 2 verse 19, and are confident. that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, and then the word light of them which are in darkness. So for the religious ones, their job was not only to guide but it was also to impart light, or illuminate would be another word. I'm going to give you another thought that goes with that. Revelation chapter 3 and verse 17. The condemnation of the church at Laodicea was that thou knowest that thou art wretched, no it's not, that thou art wretched and miserable and poor and what? and blind. Do you know it's possible to sit in the midst of a church and be in blindness, spiritually blind, to really not understand? And that's the work of God's Spirit to illuminate us. Moving on, many other things I could look at, but I don't want to tarry long. Let me give you Romans 2 verse 20. Now again, this idea of the religious zealot, the religious Jew, and we see again, they see themselves as instructors of the foolish, those who lack spiritual discernment, verse 20. An instructor then of the foolish, I'm gonna move on, also a teacher of babes, so we have the foolish who have no spiritual understanding, the teacher of babes, those who are spiritually immature, so they thought this, that they were God's gift as teachers for the spiritually immature. It was their responsibility to take the light and to share it with others. But the problem you're going to see in a few moments, it's not what they knew, and it's not what they had, it's what they practiced that became the issue. James 3 and verse 1, we are told this, My brethren, be not many masters, that is teachers or instructors, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. Anyone like myself or any of you that teach Sunday school, As a result of that decision to take God's truth and to teach it, we will face God's greater judgment as a result of that responsibility that God has given. Well, we have another. Number 10, here we go. They have a form of knowledge and of the truth so we read again Romans 2.20 that they see themselves as an instructor of the foolish a teacher of babes which is the form of knowledge and of the truth I put in there an unveiled reality so here is what someone that is I'm gonna use the word hypocrite that is a religious hypocrite they have a zeal for they have knowledge But the problem isn't what they know, the problem is what they do with what they know. So I'm going to start walking you through that. So look at Romans 2, 21. Here we go. We're going to look at the hypocrites who said one thing and did another. So I'm going to take you to Romans 2, 21. By the way, do you know anyone that's a hypocrite? Don't point, don't point. Let's walk it out here, here we go, Romans 2, 21. Thou therefore, speaking to the religious Jewish people, therefore, which teachest another, teachest not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? So here's the problem of religion alone. And it is that we can be guilty of teaching others what we ourselves don't practice. When you identify yourself as a believer, or you identify yourself as a member of Hillsdale Baptist Church, you assume the burden and the responsibility of being a reflection of that to which you identify with. Have you ever met someone from a church and your impression after meeting them was, I never want to go to that church? Or you'll hear somebody else say, don't go to that church, there's a bunch of hypocrites there. And there might be a bunch of hypocrites at that church. But what they're referring to is not practicing what you profess. So let's walk through some thoughts here with this. The first thing that the Jews were guilty of is that they preached one thing and they practiced another. And then Paul, as he's writing, he begins to give some illustrations of that truth. Let's begin with the first. The first one here then, thou preachest that a man should not steal. But then the question was, Does thou steal? Let me give you a thought that goes with that. Matthew chapter 23 and verse 14, the Lord condemns the Pharisees with these words. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you devour widows' houses. And so on one hand, they're telling people not to steal. On the other end, they were stealing from the widows. Malachi chapter 3 and verse 8, They are addressed as stealing from God. You've robbed God. So here we have these religious people, and they're preaching one thing, and they're practicing another. Another is adultery, again, Romans 2, 22. Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery. And then the question, does thou commit adultery? Now what is interesting, the history of that, is that in that culture, the Jewish men would avoid adultery by divorcing their wife, in their thinking. And so if they had a desire for another woman, they would divorce their wife, and then they would marry the other woman. now we know that Paul said that Christ said of them the reason that Moses allowed for a divorce in the first place was because of the what? the hardening of your hearts and so they were justifying their adultery by getting a divorce. And so the Lord turns around and he addresses this even as Paul does. And so he says, on one hand, you're saying to the people and you're teaching the people, don't commit adultery. And yet on the other, you commit adultery. Here's one way, Matthew 5, 27 and 28. You've heard that it was said of them of all, thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. Pornography is another way of committing adultery. If you as a man, you would say, well, pastor, I would never commit adultery. But if you look at pornography, you have already committed adultery. The very act of lusting after someone else is an act of adultery apart from your wife or apart from your husband. Again, religious people. Do you know that in churches today in America, that the divorce rate is almost equal in the church to that that it is in the world? And so when the world looks at us, and it looks at us as a body of believers, do they see that we are any different than they are? When you read in the newspaper about a pastor being arrested and the scandal of his arrest and the shame that it brings on that congregation, we understand it is a grave sin to say and do one thing and not fulfill what you've said, to preach one thing and not practice it. Notice again, the last part of verse 22, thou sayest a man should not commit adultery. Does thou commit adultery? Thou that abhors idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? Now I did a little bit of study here, and it might be on your outline as well. This idea of sacrilege is an idea of stealing. And so it would appear that the Jews, historically, would steal idols from pagan temples. Now those idols were covered in gold or they were covered in silver. And so there was a value to them. In the Old Testament, they were to destroy the idol and the gold and the silver. They were not to take anything that had been dedicated to an idol. And yet, here, Paul's dealing with them, these professed believers that are living in Rome, and he says, listen, are you on one hand abhorring idolatry, and yet on the other, you're taking advantage of the value of that. It would be like somebody that professes to be a believer, and they're selling idols at the shop place, right? And he said, well, that's contrary to everything that you're saying. You shouldn't be doing that. You're preaching one thing, and you're practicing another. Now, let's narrow it down and I'll start focusing on some applications. Look with me then at Romans 2, 23 and 24. Here we read then, of the religious people, thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonorous thou God. Now, the name of God then we read is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you as it is written. Here's the thought. You profess to be a believer. You say that I'm a Christian. But anyone that looks at your life have an idea of who your God is. Our lives should be a testimony of who God is. Our profession that Jesus Christ is our Savior should be identified in our life choices and our values. So Paul's writing to the believers at Rome and he's saying, listen, as a result of you boasting in the law on one hand and yet disobeying and breaking the law on the other, you actually are bringing shame upon the name of God. You know, you and I as believers, we need to be very careful. On the one hand, when we identify with God and we publicly say, I'm a believer, our testimony shows what manner of God we worship. And then another Romans 2 again in verse 25. They believed also the right of circumcision. Now this is a big deal for the Jewish people. Let's read what it says. They believed the right of circumcision secured God's favor. So here's what we read. For circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law. But if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision, or has no value. Let's put it in Baptist terms. You then say that you are baptized believers of your church. And you say that I've been baptized, I've been identified with Christ in the church. And yet you do not live by God's standard. You do not live out and walk out biblically what the word of God teaches. And so in effect then, it makes your baptism of no value at all. There are some congregations that will teach that in order to be saved, you have to be baptized. But we know that the Bible says, no, you're saved by grace of faith in Christ alone. Baptism is a physical, visible identification with Jesus Christ, his death, his burial, and his resurrection. Agree? That's baptism. For the Jewish people, circumcision was their physical identification with God that they were numbered among his people. Now with that said, let's look again at verse 25. For circumcision, that outward identification, that physical identification with God and His law. For circumcision verily profiteth if thou keep the law. Moving on. But if thou be a breaker of the law, That circumcision that you boast in is made uncircumcision. It has no value. It does not have an application at all. Why? Because you violated God's Word and you have violated His law. So here we go, look at verse 26 and 27. So we're going to ask the question, well what about the Gentiles? who had no concept of circumcision. So look at verse 26. Therefore, if the uncircumcision, the Gentiles, keep the righteousness of the law, So they've not been circumcised, and yet by looking at their life, they are doing that which is morally right, and morally, and obeying the law, even though they don't have the law itself. So again, verse 26, if the uncircumcision, the Gentiles keep the righteousness of the law, who do not have the law, but they instinctively and by conscience, they do that which is morally good and right. shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision." Now, that makes your eyes go cross-eyed and roll back in your head. Let me walk it out in this way. You and I know of unsaved people that have good marriages. We know unsaved people that don't steal. They don't rob. unsaved people that therefore don't commit adultery. There are, in this world of ours, people who are morally good by their choice. Now, at the same time, you and I probably know of people who profess to be believers, and yet they've committed adultery. They've stolen, and they've lied. And so here we have this contrast then between on one hand we have unsaved who are morally good, but we also can have saved who are, who profess to be saved, who are immoral. So what do we do with that conflict spiritually? Let's go back, look at verse 26 and 27. If the uncircumcision, the Gentiles, keep the righteousness of the law, even though they don't have the law, but they morally do that which is right, shall not his uncircumcision, his physically being uncircumcised, be counted for circumcision? Now, let's keep reading. Verse 27 will explain it. I'm going to move the PowerPoint ahead. All right, so here we go. and shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature that consciousness of God, if it fulfill the law. And so we can have on one hand someone who doesn't know the law, and yet there is a part of their life that is moral and good. The Jews who have the law and yet they were committing adultery and they were guilty of theft and guilty of breaking the law. So here we have these two religious people. They're both religious. The Jews are religious. but they break the law. But they would say, but I've been circumcised, I've got the law, we wanna do the right thing. But the problem isn't what you are saying, the problem is what you're doing. And what you're doing is wrong. Now go back to the unsaved. The unsaved don't have the law, but they wanna be good. Now being good doesn't save them. But at the same time, they are better being uncircumcised than the circumcised Jews who disobey the law. Now, I probably lost you, but we're gonna try to go one more step and fill out the thoughts here, verse 28 and 29. Now, the religious fail to understand, then, that true religion is a matter of the heart. and righteousness. Let's see what the Bible says. Verse 28, for he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly physical circumcision. Neither is that circumcision, which was outward in the flesh. So on the one hand, we've got the Jewish people saying, I'm a Jew, I'm part of God's chosen people, I've been circumcised, God's given us the law, and therefore we're better than anyone else. But that doesn't make you righteous before God. Now, continuing. Verse 29. He is a Jew and therefore chosen of God, which is one inwardly, the heart. Circumcision is that of the heart in the spirit, not in the letter, the letter of the law, whose praise is not of men, but of God. Let me close with this thought here. I didn't put the last verse up there, so let's look at this. See if I can wrap all this up. The Jewish people put their confidence in their physical legacy or lineage. I am of Abraham. But we've already seen, as Paul is writing to them, he's saying, it's not your lineage. Then the Jews said, well, we're God's people because God has given us his word. And we have his law. And it's our goal to tell those who are in spiritual darkness what the law says. But Paul says, but you don't practice what you preach. And what you're teaching to others, you're not teaching to yourself. And in that, you have failed. And then they would say, but we're God's people because we've been circumcised. We're physically identified with God through circumcision. But Paul writes and he says, it's not the physical circumcision that gives you a merit with God. What gives us merit with God is to recognize that only in his righteousness and our change of heart can we truly be a child of God. I've had people over the years that would say to me, well, when I, years ago, when everybody was a Christian, when you would visit, not that way now, but they would say, oh, I'm a Christian. So how do you know you're a Christian? And they would say, well, my grandfather founded the church, and my father was a deacon. And they were as serious as they could be. And then they would say, and I've been baptized. But none of those things, change a man's heart. So the sum of what we've studied today is this. The salvation is by grace through faith in Christ alone. It is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast. It's not my physical lineage. It's not the fact that I know the Bible. It's not the fact that I've memorized the Bible. It's not the fact that I'm reading pastor's daily devotionals every day of my life. None of those things are an evidence of our salvation. They are a fruit of our salvation. So we're not saved by what we do. We're saved by what has already been done for us, and that is Jesus Christ dying for our sins. As a result of accepting my salvation, as a result of Jesus Christ dying for my sins, I do these things. I do what I teach, I do what I preach, but I don't do those things for salvation. I do those things because it's a reflection of my relationship with the Lord. So here's my question for you, and I know this was heavy today, but when you look at it in a very simple way, it's simply this. As the Jews were taken so much confidence in their relationship with God as his chosen people, the problem was not their lineage. It wasn't that God had given them the law, and it wasn't that they had been circumcised. The problem was what they knew is not what they practiced. And as a result of that, the man who is uncircumcised and yet he obeys the Lord and he has a sincere heart for the Lord, that man, get this now, is a Jew. Who are the Jews? They are God's chosen people. So, I know you came here today because you chose to worship at a Baptist church. That's a good thing. But I'm here to tell you today that in Jesus Christ, you are spiritually related to Abraham. Did you know that? That's who you are. Let us not be what the Jews were in this passage. That they taught one thing and they did not teach it to themselves. They preached one thing and they did not practice what they preached. Because you and I can fall into the same legalist rut. And we can do all the right things for the wrong reasons. Let it be said of us that we love the Lord. He is our savior. And we choose, therefore, to live a godly life, that we love His Word, and we walk out faithfully His truth, that others might see in us Jesus Christ. It's not about physical baptism. It's not about church membership. It's about faith in Christ and in Him alone.