Romans 2:21
You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal?
Truth to Learn
Obeying God’s Word is more important than teaching it.
Behind the Words
The word translated “teach” is didaskō, which is a prolonged form of a primary verb daō, meaning “to know” or “to teach.” Didaskō specifically means “to teach or instruct by word of mouth.”
“Preach” is translated from the Greek word kērussō, meaning “to herald, announce, or proclaim publicly.” It is especially applied to “preaching, publishing, or proclaiming a religious truth or doctrine.”
The word “steal” is translated from kleptō, meaning “to steal.” It is the root of our English word kleptomaniac, which refers to someone who has an overwhelming compulsion to steal.
Meaning Explained
As we said yesterday, this is the verse where Paul starts his toe stompin’. Previously, he has been showing the Jewish Christians in Rome how privileged they were to have had the sacred Scriptures and how proud they were because of it. Now he points out that having and teaching the Law are not the same thing as obeying the Law.
He starts off with, “you who teach another, don’t you teach yourself?” The implication is very clear. They were in need of the teaching just as much as those to whom they were giving the teaching. Likewise, he says, “You who are preaching not to steal, do you steal?” Again, the obvious answer is that they were guilty of doing the thing they were preaching against.
When we were looking at verse thirteen of this chapter of Romans, we noted the similarity between what Paul was saying and what James said in his letter:
But become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. (James 1:22)
But now let me take a little bit of liberty with verse thirteen and express it as Paul might have after having given today’s verse,
For it is not the teachers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.
It’s bad enough that these Jewish converts to Christianity were more focused on listening to the reading of God’s word than on doing it. It is even worse that they were teaching others the truths of God’s word without practicing them themselves.
Christians have been entrusted with the sacred Word of God. By God’s grace our eyes have been opened and we know that the Bible is truth. Our commission is to share this truth with the world around us. But, we must be careful that we don’t simply preach and teach the truth without living it as well.
Application
Let’s continue to proclaim God’s gospel message to the entire world, but let’s also commit to redoubling our efforts to being totally obedient to God’s Word. May our obedience to God’s Word be our witness to the rest of the world!
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2009 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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