Romans 2:28, Approved of God

Romans 2:28 He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly,; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The Christian life is a sanctified life lived to the praise of God. There is so much a Christian live for having being freed from the bondage of sin. He lives in the beauty of holiness. Life with God must not deteriorate to a mere outward conformance to God’s law without having true allegiance to God from the bottom of our hearts.

The Apostle Paul is exposing the hypocrisy among the Jews for putting up a show of religion for man’s approval. This is a dangerous way to live. Ultimately, God is the Judge! And the fake will be exposed. The truth will come out. We must all stand before God at the day of consummation. No amount of pretension will escape God’s all-discerning eyes. Man may be fooled but not God. God read the hearts.

The Apostle Paul by these verses are holding us to self-examination, to search our hearts, to proof our own piety. God put in us a conscience and we are to exercise it to judge ourselves. This is a message to the Christian whose love for God has gone cold to rekindle that first love. Our Lord Jesus says, “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.“

Truly, God is long-suffering. He awaits the sinner to repent and come back to Him. If we are guilty losing our first love and have some idols in our lives, may we quickly repent and find forgiveness with God. Amen.