Advantage

For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law…
(Romans 2:25 – ESV)

The Jews had the advantages; they had the Law, the Covenants, the prophets, and the promises of God. They had advantages for sure, but just like the Jews some people have all the advantages and they don’t take advantage of them. When it comes right down to it, it isn’t pedigree it is performance. Similarly we have some who didn’t have any advantages at all but they still achieved a level of performance that put them above those who had it all but could do nothing with it. The ones who are truly skilled and devoted to their craft will be seen as such over the course of time. The pretenders will fade, and the performers will flourish.

But of course that is only a parallel to what we are talking about, and in the spiritual realm, no one is a true performer, we are all pretenders, only Jesus has performed to the level of perfection. Paul is telling us that we don’t have a performance driven faith, and it never really was, which is what Paul will get into when he starts discussing Abraham in Romans chapter 4.

Paul is using a long drawn out case to prove that you don’t have what it takes, no one in history has had what it takes, and even the people God called out to be His, the ones who He gave favor to, and gave a system that pointed to His holiness, and an understanding of who He actually was, and gave prophets, and they saw signs and wonders, even these people haven’t had what it takes. What it takes is the Spirit of God to circumcise your heart.

Your pedigree is of value if your performance matches it, and if you start out ahead but don’t keep with it, it is of no good. The Jews started out ahead, but they couldn’t keep up, of course no one can, that is the point. Your birthright is of value if you act in accordance with it, but the Jews’ ritual and practice was not enough because they changed the Law into something they could manage. James 2:10 / Matthew 5:17-20 (48) – Our righteousness must be greater than those who only show it on the outside, and indeed it must be perfect. This may seem scary but we have a Savior, who was perfect for us, and that is why we have the ultimate advantage.