September 18, 2026, 9:27 AM
21 …you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?
22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?
24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
The Jew relied on his physical relationship to Abraham, on a possession of the Law and in the practice of rites and rituals such as circumcision, but God does not judge based on externals. Righteousness is a matter of the heart, so here comes some examinations by Paul.
Let’s talk about stealing. Do you steal? Absolutely not. I am not a thief. I never take anything from the Lord. We live our lives as if things are ours, but the things we own are not our property; they belong to God and we steal from Him all the time. Malachi 3:8 says “Will a man rob God? yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘how do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse for the whole nation of you because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” Robbing can and does include thinking all things belong to us. We are enamored with things. Paul begins to uncover what is in the heart. Nobody knows what we give to the Lord, but God knows that you are stealing from Him. I pray that God will bless you ten times more than what you give to Him. If so, some people would be in major financial distress.
He talks about lust. " You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery?" An evangelist had a conversation with a young man. He asked if he had ever looked upon a woman to lust after her. He denied it but his friend started laughing. He asked if he was lying? Now there were two commandments broken. Jesus said in Matthew 5 “You have heard it said, Do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Men have adultery of the eyes, especially with the internet and the rampant pornographic sites. Women are being used and abused. Pimps will abuse them to be viewed online. It is not a victimless activity. Girls are being kidnapped, drugged, forced to have sex. In the privacy of their rooms, men can leer over their websites and magazines think they are not doing anything wrong.
Next Paul says, “You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?” There is nothing wrong with working and making a profit, but the thought here is as it relates to the temple. I am not sure exactly what this means. I doubt he refers to pagan temples, but maybe something like what Jesus saw in the temple at Jerusalem. There was the idol of money with the money changers in the temple. Jesus saw them abusing not only the poor, but also the Gentiles who couldn’t worship because their outer court was turned into a place of profit instead of prayer. Jesus called them a den of thieves. They wouldn’t worship an idol, but they worshipped money.
We’ve seen stories of television ministries who have refused to cooperate with those investigating their financial records. We abhor idols unless the idol is the good life.
He points out sins of pride - They brag about the law but break the laws and “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles” because of the way you act toward them and live in self-righteousness. People do not want to follow Christ because the attitude of so many Christians.
God’s name is dishonored when pride and self-righteousness are attitudes too prevalent. There are some who subtly condemn those who are not part of their church or denomination. That is not love, but separation. That is the sort of thing Paul is talking about. Knowing what it looks like to be a true Christian is not enough. Teaching others what it means to be a Christian is not enough. Just bearing the name “Christian” or being a member of the “Church of Christ” is not enough.
The Pharisees were puffed up. Luke 18:11: “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector.’” Because he only prayed about himself, he thought he was better than those around him, believing that his sin didn’t smell as bad as others. Their religious privilege had made them self-righteous, self-centered, and self-deceived snobs in pretty packages.
When you think about it, it’s absurd for us to be prideful about receiving God’s mercy and grace, isn’t it? If anything, we should be broken and humbled. Jesus not only reveals our sinful actions but attitudes as well.
Dale
