Paul's Epistle to the Romans

Paul's Epistle to the Romans
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(8) HIS LAW CANNOT MAKE HIM RIGHTEOUS
Romans 2:17-24

17 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God,
Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law. Israelites who remained in Palestine, or who returned to it after the Babylonian captivity, were designated as “Jews,” even though tribes other than Judah were included. Paul calls himself a “Jew” in [1]Acts 21:39 but “an Israelite” in [2]Romans 11:1 and “a Hebrew” in [3]Philippians 3:5. All three names refer to the same people; but in a technical sense “Hebrew” is the racial name, “Israel” is the national name, and “Jew” is the religious name of the sons of Jacob. The Jews rested in the law because it was described as “wisdom and … understanding in the sight of the nations” (Deut 4:6). The Jew did not have to travel around the world to study in a distant university. He did not have to rely on the philosophy of the Gentiles. The Jew trusted his law to be all that he needed and the best education he could get. Thus he boasted in the God who gave that law. There is no doubt that many Jews felt they were immune from God’s judgment. God would never send a Jew to hell, they thought. The Gentiles, on the other hand, were fuel for the flames of hell. Paul must now destroy this pretension by showing that under certain circumstances Gentiles may be closer to God than Jews.