Steven E. Runge, High Definition Commentary: Romans
(Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014), 47-48

Romans 2:17–25

We often hold certain principles close to heart, and yet our practice might reveal a stark contrast to what we preach. This typically happens when we believe, on some level, that we are truly living our principles. For instance, I could say that reading my Bible every day is important, but if I tracked my reading, how would my practice match up to my principle? Paul devotes 2:17–25 to this type of contrastive analysis, presenting his readers with a reality check.

Paul sets up a very complex “if-then” condition in verses 17–20. In fact, the “if” section is so long that there is a marker in the Greek to signal the end of the conditions and the beginning of the “then” part. Think of it as a hypothetical job description with a list of criteria you must meet before you could be hired. Do you call yourself a Jew? Do you rely on the law and boast in God? Do you know God’s will and approve things that are superior? Are you self-confident that you are a guide to the morally blind, a guiding light, an instructor of fools, a teacher of the immature? In other words, do you think you have a stellar relationship with God? Just as Paul set his readers up in 1:18–31 and turned the tables on them in 2:1, he does the same thing here by saying that all these admirable behaviors have value only if you obediently do what you teach others to do.

Are You an Oxymoron? God judges the entirety of our lives, not just the good stuff. It doesn’t matter how many good things we do—or believe we do—if the rest of our lives tells another story.

We’ve all heard the saying “do as I say, not as I do.” If you don’t do the things you tell others to do, you are not only a hypocrite, you are under judgment as a lawbreaker. But there is an even greater consequence: You damage God’s reputation as well as your own. Paul says in verse 23 that those who transgress the law—but boast about keeping it—dishonor God by their actions.

Paul sets up this long, hypothetical situation to reinforce the point he made 2:13, but this time he focuses on those who teach the law rather than those who hear it—and he makes an even more damning claim. Quoting Isaiah 52:5, Paul reminds the Romans that such behavior derails God’s intention for Israel to be a blessing to the nations. Instead of drawing them to God like a beacon, such hypocrisy turns them away. Israel’s behavior led the peoples around them to blaspheme God’s name, and similar actions done by anyone else will bring about the same result: blasphemy of God’s name.