ROMANS 2:23

“You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God?” 

There are some laws we say we will never break. I will never be a murderer. I will never be a drunk driver. I will never…you fill in the blank. But there are other laws that I “fudge” on. How about the speed limit? I know the marker says 70 mph, but the officer won’t care if I go 80 mph. What’s the law say? 70, not 80. So, whether the officer cares or not doesn’t matter. The law is the law.

Paul continues his questions to the Jews in today’s verse and basically accuses them of breaking the very law they boast about. Remember, Paul knew the law. He knew a lot of law breakers. He himself broke the law by not keeping every single law perfectly. He knew it was impossible to keep. He, I believe, is pointing them to this futility and towards freedom that is theirs in Christ, if they so choose.

APPLICATION

He states it clearly by saying they were dishonoring God. The Greek word for “dishonor” is atimazó. InLuke 20:11 Jesus uses this word to describe how the vineyard’s owner’s son was treated. “‘And he proceeded to send another slave; but they beat him also and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.’” The phrase “treated him shamefully” is atimazó.

When we are disobedient and do not follow the clear commands of Scripture, we are being just as dishonoring to God. We treat Him shamefully by our behavior. Romans 6:16 is a good verse that relates to this decision we must make. “Do you not know that the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of that same one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?” We have that choice – obedience to sin or obedience to God. One results in death, the other in righteousness.

As you face your myriad of decisions this week, make sure those decisions agree with God’s Word. I believe that every decision we make can be filtered through the Word. We should ask ourselves if this decision will honor or dishonor our Lord. That is the most important factor in our decision making. Be an obedient child of the King.

Lord, help me today to make choices that bring You honor. I want to point others to You.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis).