Hoarding Grace

“Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.” – Romans 2:17-20

The Apostle Paul calls us to look beneath the surface of religious identity and face the uncomfortable truth: it is possible to appear devout while harboring pride and empty ritual. Paul boldly summons the Jews—those blessed with divine revelation—into God’s courtroom, exposing the hollowness of their confidence in heritage, law, and ceremony. “Indeed you are called a Jew…” (v.17, NKJV) begins not with affirmation, but with a challenge. Just like studs in a home, where what’s behind the drywall must bear weight, our spiritual foundations must be more than show.

Being Jewish was once a name of praise, rooted in a God-given mission to bless the nations. But instead of being a light to the Gentiles, this identity became a source of self-exaltation. The law instructed them—like catechism carefully repeats truth until it shapes the soul—but their boasting betrayed a hardened heart. Psalm 147:19–20 declares God’s favor to Israel, yet that favor was meant to draw others in, not push them out. It’s the Jonah syndrome: “I won’t go. I don’t want those heathens saved!”—forgetting grace is never meant for hoarding.

In exposing these false securities, Paul speaks not in anger, but in love. Their boasting in the law and possession of God’s will (v.18) wasn’t false—it was incomplete. It had become mechanical religion, like a compass spinning without true north. E.M. Blaiklock observed that pride “can turn into a boast even the grace which should humble.” Their privileges should have made them a missionary people, yet they grew exclusive. The very truths that should have stirred awe were dulled by comparison and entitlement.

God is after our hearts—not the outward trappings but the inward surrender. Like builders stripping a house to the studs, Paul’s argument in Romans strips humanity bare so we might rebuild on truth. Whether Jew or Gentile, moralist or pagan, none escape judgment without Christ. As believers today, we must ask: Are we resting in appearances, in culture, in credentials? Or have we let the gospel inspect us deeply and reshape us radically? Let’s lay down our false hopes and join Paul in being unashamed of the gospel—for it alone is the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16, NKJV).

“Let us beware of resting our salvation on mere outward privileges or external church membership. The Jews had much, and yet perished. We may have much, and yet be lost. The heart must be right with God. The root of the matter must be in us.” – J.C. Ryle