Ramblin’ through Romans
Part 4 – “Could I Be Called a Christ-Follower? “(Christian?)
Romans 2:17-29
Christian Songwriter, Steve Camp, wrote a thoughtful song years
ago called, "Could I be Called a Christian?"
And the words go like this:
Could I be called a Christian, if everybody knew
The secret thoughts & feelings of everything I do
Could they see the likeness of Christ in me each day
Could they hear Him speaking in every word I say?
Could I be called a Christian if my faith I did not show
If I do not go to places where the Lord would have me go
If I do not love His truth if I do not guard His trust
If I cherish more than Jesus my greatest hidden lust?
Could I be called a Christian & believe not His holy word
If I take Him as my Savior & refuse Him as my Lord
If I could not love the outcast or be burdened for the lost
If I fail to deny myself & each day take up my cross .....
Let every[one] examine [their] own life.
Could I be called a Christian?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It’s really a soul searching song that asks some “HARD” questions.
If I love sin more than I love the Savior,
if I refuse to read my Bible,
if I’m not setting a godly example for the people that I love, then
could I be called a Christian?
Could I really be called a Christ-follower?
The question each of us needs to ask ourselves…
”Is it appropriate to claim a title for myself
when it isn’t consistent with the way I live?”
Paul is giving a similar challenge to the Jewish believers in Rome.
This whole section of Romans is like one great courtroom scene.
In Romans 1:18-32, the God hating Gentiles are on the stand.
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Then in Romans 2:1-16, the God-fearing Gentiles are called to the
stand & starting with verse 17, the Jews are called to the stand.
In each one of these courtroom dramas, Paul is pointing out that
none of us are able to live up to the high standard of God’s
holiness.
 We all need a Savior.
 We all need a higher power.
 We all need Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at our text for today, from Romans 2:17-27. (NLT)
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You who call yourselves Jews are relying on God’s law, & you boast
about your special relationship with Him. 18 You know what He
wants; you know what is right because you have been taught his
law. 19 You are convinced that you are a guide for the blind & a light
for people who are lost in darkness.
20
You think you can instruct the ignorant & teach children the ways
of God. For you are certain that God’s law gives you complete
knowledge & truth.
21
Well then, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You
tell others not to steal, but do you steal? 22 You say it is wrong to
commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? You condemn
idolatry, but do you use items stolen from pagan temples?
23
You are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by
breaking it. 24 No wonder the Scriptures say, “The Gentiles
blaspheme the name of God because of you.”
25
The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you obey
God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no better off than
an uncircumcised Gentile. 26 And if the Gentiles obey God’s law,
won’t God declare them to be His own people?
27
In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn
you Jews who are circumcised & possess God’s law but don’t obey it.
28
For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish
parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of
circumcision. 29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God.
And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law;
rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person
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with a changed heart seeks [lit. receives] praise from God, not from
people.
~~~~~~
Now beginning with verse 17, Paul is saying "It’s nice that you’re
Jewish. It’s great that you have the Old Testament! It’s
admirable that you have a ministry among the Gentile nations.
But your religious heritage doesn’t amount to “a hill of beans” if
you’re not living the way God wants you to live!”
 God wants our obedience!
 He wants our heartfelt devotion!
And then like a good prosecutor, Paul cross examines them on
the stand:
 You who teach others, do you not teach yourself?
 You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
 You who say that people should not commit adultery,
do you commit adultery?
 You who brag about the law,
do you dishonor God by breaking the law?"
This is important to remember:
Bragging about our religion doesn’t bring honor to God.
PRACTICING what we believe brings honor to God!
A church might have the richest religious history in a particular
geographic area, but it doesn’t mean a thing if they are not
living out what they say they believe.
The same is true for each of us who call ourselves “Christian.”
Jesus says in Matthew 7:21, "Not everyone who says to me
’Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only those who
actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter."
The Christian life is not about doing all the right rituals on
Sunday morning.
 It’s about doing the will of God each day of our lives.
 It’s about living for Jesus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
 It’s about loving God with all your heart, soul, mind &
strength
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 It’s about loving your neighbor as yourself all year long.
(not Just at Christmas)
 It’s about being the hands & feet of Jesus Christ
…inside the church AND especially outside of the church.
We all know people like that...Folks with “dirty hands & tired feet!”
Several people come to mind…I think about Pope John Paul II.
 A man who treated everyone with gentleness & kindness.
 A person respected both the older people & the younger people.
 A man whose heart was so full of love, that he visited the person
who tried to assassinate him.
 And he kissed his hand & forgave him.
 He was a man who lived his public life above reproach.
And I also think about Fannie Crosby, who devoted much
of her life to writing some of the beautiful hymns that we have in our
hymnbook. A woman who (although she was blind from the age of 5)
wanted nothing more than to live her life in the center of God’s will.
And I think about Billy Graham.
 A man who never got embroiled in politics or theological disputes.
 A man who never allowed himself to become involved with a
woman other than his wife.
 A man who is focused exclusively on preaching & living out the
gospel of Jesus Christ.
 A man, whose godly life is still his most powerful sermon.
Others like, Mother Teresa, Francis of Assisi, Dietrich
Bonheoffer come to mind, & I am sure you can think of others.
We are blessed to have these wonderful models of Christian
virtue. They are beautiful reminders of what God can do in a
person’s life.
And we also have some examples of Christian virtue right here at
Union Memorial Church.
 People who love God more than anything in the world.
 People who sacrifice time, tithe & talents every week to make
UMC an effective place of ministry for Christ.
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 People who are always ready to greet you with a warm
handshake & a smile.
1 Peter 2:17 says that we should “Respect everyone, & love your
Christian brothers & sisters.”
However, there have also been cases through the years,
where Christians have ‘Talked the Talk’…
But they forgot how to ‘Walk the Walk!’
Their lives turned people off on God
instead of turning them on to God!
That’s why Paul says in verse 24, “The Gentiles blaspheme the
name of God because of you.”
I think back to the Crusades. Those religious knights & their leaders
were more interested in killing the Muslims (& Jews) than they were
in converting the Muslims (& Jews). They were more interested in
hating & killing, greed & conquest than they were in loving.
Or what about the Spanish Inquisition & their terrors towards the
those who did not believe like them & again the persecution of the
Jews? Or the treatment of indigenous people here in the New
World by the conquistadors in the name of Christianity?
Or “slavery” & later “segregation” right here in America
condoned & practiced by many “good” Christians who supported it
with “their” interpretation of scripture & religiosity.
And we must also consider some of the forerunners of both of our
denominations (UCC & UMC), along with other Christian groups in the
19th & early 20th centuries with their misguided understanding of
Native American culture & the lack of compassion & love displayed
in the name of Christ, towards most of the tribes in America.
Or I think of the Holocaust…done in the name of nationalism,
political bigotry, hate, & religious idolatry, while blind eyes were
turned from it’s horrors by most of Christendom, until it was too late.
I also think about the problems in the Catholic Church today.
When people hear about things like that, it turns them off.
It makes them think that that ministers & priests are a bunch of
‘dirty old men’ or that church leaders are hypocrites & are not to be
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trusted. The same fate is true for many of the TV ministries over
the past 20+ years **[PREACH]**
**Give Statistics on “people w/o religious affiliation (a.k.a. ’the Nones’)” 07/23/12 in USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/story/2012-07-19/no-religion-affiliation/56344976/1
How about Christian marriages? I like to tell people that Jesus
Christ is the One who holds a marriage together. That Jesus Christ
helps us to have the marriage we’ve always wanted.
But studies have shown that the percentage of people who commit
adultery is just as high in the church as it is in the world.
The same thing is true with the divorce rate.
You would think that those calling themselves Christians would work
a little harder at saving their marriages. But the divorce rate is just
as high in the church as it is the world. Both happen!...too often!
Lastly, I also think about our personal lives.
When we gossip & lie or mummer & hold grudges against other
members of the church, or the pastor, or the leadership, or
whomever, & it turns people off. They look at us & it makes them
think that Christians aren’t any different than anyone else &
often worse. They ask, “Why would I want to be a part of that,
if that’s what your church is like, then I don’t want to go
there?...If that’s what religious people are like, then forget it!”
This raises an important question: When the church acts
hypocritically, does this mean that Christianity is defective?"
The answer is NO!
I’m ashamed when we don’t act the way we’re supposed to act.
I feel bad when “we sin & fall short of the glory of God.”
But no matter what people have done in the name of “religion,”
as we learned last week in Romans 1:16, “[The gospel] is the
power of God at work, saving everyone who believes.”
No matter what sinners do in His name, God is still God!
How do I know that?
Because 2 Timothy 2:13 says "When we are faithless,
He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself."
 God is true to Himself even when we fail to be true to Him.
 God is in control even when we’re out of control.
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But what happens is that our poor choices tarnish His
reputation & “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles.”
At this point, let me share a personal word.
I’ve been your pastor for almost 4 years. I’ve tried to be the best
Christian that I can be. I’ve tried to be the best pastor that I can
possibly be. God’s done some amazing things in this ministry & I’m
looking forward to the remaining years we have together, as I truly
believe that God still has some surprises in store…for ALL of us.
The last thing I want to do is mess up now. I don’t want to do
anything that will bring embarrassment to the church. Or bring
shame in the eyes of God. So when I stand up here & talk about
how WE need to practice what WE preach, I understand that
it’s got to start with me. It wouldn’t be right for me to lay all this
on you & then not to at least TRY to live it…by example. I, too, have
to “Walk the Walk” if I want to call myself ‘a Christ-follower!’
Let’s go on to verses 25-27, where Paul says,
“The Jewish ceremony of circumcision has value only if you
obey God’s law. But if you don’t obey God’s law, you are no
better off than an uncircumcised Gentile. 26 And if the Gentiles
obey God’s law, won’t God declare them to be His own people?
27
In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will
condemn you Jews who are circumcised & possess God’s law
but don’t obey it.
The Jewish people circumcised their male babies on the 8th day.
Over the course of time, they began treating circumcision like a good
luck charm. They taught that if you’re circumcised, you were
automatically OK with God no matter how you live your life.
Unfortunately the same has happened in the church in regard to
infant baptism. We have this “skewed” idea that as long as you were
baptized as a baby, you automatically have a place in the “world to
come. But Paul is saying, "No. Your righteousness is more
important than your rituals. Your behavior is what really
matters Doing what you say you believe is what counts."
Then verses 28-29 says "For you are not a true Jew just
because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have
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gone through the ceremony of circumcision. 29 No, a true Jew is
one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not
merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of
heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed
heart seeks [lit. receives] praise from God, not from people.
In other words, ’A real Jew is not someone who is circumcised on
the outside, but someone who is circumcised on the inside. It’s
not just about a change in your flesh. It’s a change that takes
place in your heart…a transformational change on the inside.’
The same thing is true with being a ‘Christ-follower’ or ‘Christian’.
Being a true believer is not about external things like





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Being a “Good Person”(or good “Citizen”)
or attending church,
or being baptized,
or confirmed,
or accepted for membership,
or writing a “Big” Check each year.
A true believer is someone whose heart & soul belongs to God.
A person who is completely devoted to God on the inside.
I’m not telling you anything new.
In Deuteronomy 10:16, Moses told the Israelites:
"Circumcise your hearts & do not be stiff necked any longer,
for the Lord your God is God of gods & Lord of lords."
So let me ask you:
Are you wholeheartedly devoted to the Lord?
Could you be called a Christ-follower?
Again, I’m not talking about how much money you put in the plate
or how often you come to church.
But rather “is Jesus the most important person in your life?”
And are you living the way He wants you to live?
In other words: “If you were arrested for being a Christian,
would there be enough real evidence to convict you?”
There are two things that I want you to do to make sure.
1. Examine your life.
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Like most of you, once a year, I go to the doctor for a checkup.
To make sure my physical health is alright.
 As believers, we also need spiritual checkups to made
sure that our spiritual health is alright.
 We need to prayerfully examine our lives to see if we’re
living the way God wants us to live & how the Bible says
we’re supposed to live.
2. I also want you to forget about trying to please God by
relying in your baptism or your confirmation or your church
membership or church involvement.
Scripture tells us over & over again…
“That’s just not going to cut it.”
We need to stop living in our past way of thinking,
& start living for God in the NOW…Today.
 Surrender your life to Christ.
 Start getting into the Bible.
 Talk to Him in prayer each day.
 Serve others in His name,
 Blessing them as God has Blessed You.
The question today is:
Could you be called a Christ-follower? (a.k.a. A Christian)?
The answer is YES!
Because…Jesus died for you…So that you can live for Him.
My friends…Believe it… & receive it…& then LIVE it!
…Let’s Pray…!
Next Week…Part 5 – “We All Have the Same Need” -- Sinners in Need of a Savior
Romans 3:1-18
Stand
Hymn
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