Romans 2:3-4–^“And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, Forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

In this passage, Paul, after dealing with the Gentiles about their sin, in chapter one, now confronts the Jew for His sin. The Jewish people had the law of God, and yet their actions showed that they disdained the word of God.

According to the text, these Jews were judging the Gentiles for their ungodliness, while at the same time boasting about their own righteousness with God, simply based on their tradition and cultural rituals. These Jews were in fact no better than the Gentiles who were without the law, but were actually worse off because they were without excuse for their sinful actions. They had the law of God, but rejected it by their actions. Their heart was just as hard as the unbelieving Gentiles but they were to self-righteous to recognize it.

O’ how deceptive is self-deception. It is a self-injected poison, internally eating away at the sinner, and though he has physical eyes to see, he is spiritually blinded by the allure of sins honey covered lips. A little kiss today and death tomorrow.

What is the antidote for this self inflicted poison of self-deception? It is the mirror of God’s Law. We need the Spirit of God to do a work of grace in our lives through the power of God’s word. We need to hold fast to the written word of God and believe what it says about our condition before God, and by faith we need to walk in its truths.

In turn, we need a miracle from the Lord. Why a miracle? Because in our sinful condition, we will never draw closer to the Lord. We will always excuse ourselves and justify our sinful actions and lifestyle. We need a work done in us that comes from outside of us, and only God, by His Spirit can produce this life changing work that points us back to Christ.

The Jews saw themselves as clean before God, but failed to notice the filth that coved them in God’s sight. They clung to their traditions and held them more dearly then they did God’s commandments. They clothed themselves in the garments of religiousity, but failed to see that they were coved in the blood of their own guilt and shame. They saw themselves as justified before God because of their actions but failed to see that their actions were actually an offense to God. They were indeed blinded to their own sin. They were hypocrites in the truest sense playing the role of a godly person, but forgetting that God’s judgement is always according to truth (Romans 2:3-4)