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"If an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law..."

Text: Romans 2:26

WHAT MANY RULED OUT

Paul raised a hypothetical situation that many Jews could never contemplate.

“Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous
requirement of the law, will not his uncircumcision
be counted as circumcision?”
Romans 2:26

The things that were ruled out as impossible included the following:-

1. That an uncircumcised man (Gentile) would keep the law.

2. That an uncircumcised man could keep the law.

3. That it matters at all to God, even if he keeps the righteous requirement of the law.

OPENING UP THE MIND

Paul refused to subscribe to the above! He postulated the following arguments:-

1. The uncircumcised man can keep the righteous requirement of the law.

2. Paul’s framework has already been established and must be borne in mind:-

a) The law is not necessarily the formally written code.

b) The law is what God has written in the heart (of the Gentile).

3. How may uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?

a) Not a physical reference.

b) It is a reference to the following:-

i) Obedience to God.

ii) Receiving of blessings from God.

iii) The Gentile can please God because he seeks to honor Him by keeping His laws.

JEW AND GENTILE ON THE SAME FOOTING

Paul was effectively saying the following things:-

1. The Jew was not in a superior position because he was given circumcision.

2. Jews and Gentiles are on the same level- the issue at stake is obedience to God