1. Who is Paul writing to?
   1. Church in Rome
2. What is the occasion?
   1. Paul longs visit them and impart some knowledge.
3. What is this knowledge
   1. As part of the further development of the Church, Paul sought to correct the beliefs of both the Jews and Gentiles.

i.     Many Jews were wondering why the Gentiles didn’t have to adhere to the things the Jews did. Namely the Law.

ii.     Conversely, many Gentiles were wondering what use (if any) the Jews have in the overall plan of God.

1. Chapter 2:12-29
   1. What is the theme of this particular portion of scripture?

i.     We see Paul continuing his letter by shifting the focus now to the use of the Law in the life of the Believer.

ii.     Paul here mentions the term Law for the first time in this letter. He goes on to mention it 77 more times in this book alone!

1. What is the Law?
   1. There are at least 4 possible sense of this word.

i.     Figurative – A principle

1. Law of Gravity

ii.     Generic – A Law

1. Under Age drinking or speeding.

iii.     Old Testament – Either whole or part

1. Mosaic Law – This constitutes a majority of Paul’s references in Romans.

i.     Mostly, when Paul mentions the Law, he is speaking of the Mosaic Law (Pentateuch).

1. Why would Paul go to such great lengths to talk about the Law?
   1. See III a.
   2. To the Jew, adherence to the Law was something to strive for. They measured themselves to the Law.

iii.     What is its purpose?

1. For the Jew, the Law was a way to separate them unto God. They were to be a light to the World and this was one of many ways God would show the world, his great Love.

iv.     So what’s the problem?

1. As mentioned previously, the Jew was supposed to be the Physician to this sick and dying world.
   1. That is, they were to point to the living God and tell the World that He is the Bread of Life.

v.     The Law was codified because it was to be the Law of the Land of Israel as set out for their Theocracy.

1. 12-16

i.     Partiality shown to no one.

1. At the foot of the Cross the ground is level.

ii.     Though the Mosaic Law does not apply to the Gentiles, we are able to fulfill the purpose of the Law as summed up by Jesus in Matthew 22.

1. This is what tripped up many Jews of Paul’s day (including Paul himself).
2. If I were to go mow my neighbor’s lawn out because he’s unable to or just because I want to bless him that’s fulfilling the Law. Many of the Jews of the day were adding things to that.

iii.     The Work of the Law as opposed to works of the Law.

1. Work of the Law – Purpose of the Law in your life.
2. Works of the Law – Another way of saying Works Righteousness
3. 17-29

i.     The Law was not something to boast about keeping.

1. Again, the intent was not to show how spiritual you were. It was to show the World what a relationship with God was like (different).

ii.     The Jews were boasting in the Law

1. When doing so, they were breaking the same laws that they accused the Gentiles of breaking.
   1. In so doing, made people question the validity of their faith and reason for it.

iii.     Paul ends this part of his argument by saying you’re not a Jew by mere physical attributes (as some were so inclined to believe). But you are a true Jew when you believe in the Messiah and are now circumcised in the heart, not in the flesh (Lev 26:41; Deu 10:16; Jer 4:4; Eze 44:9)

iv.     The way forward is living by the Spirit and allowing Him to work in/through you. In so doing, we (as Gentiles) actually fulfill the Law.