Faith Works:

The Dark Side of Religion Romans 2:17 –

3:20

Big Idea:

You don’t need ___________ ,

you need ______religion

faith

Religion - a set of concepts, ceremonies, liturgies, and practices that are expected in a

particular pursuit of the divine.

Big Idea:

You don’t need religion,

you need faith

Religion emphasizes the

_________ over the _________2:17-28

physicalspiritua

l

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and

brag about your relationship to God…

v. 17

You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the

law?v. 23

God’s name is blasphemed among the

Gentiles because of you. v. 24

Religion emphasizes the physical over the spiritual

A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly,

nor is circumcision merely outward and

physical. v. 28

Religion emphasizes

___________ _________ while ignoring

matters of _________ ___________

2:29

Secondary

primary

matters

importance

No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and

circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the

written code. Such a man’s praise is not from

men, but from God. v. 29

Religion cannot save you from ________ _______

3:1-8 God’s wrath

Religion blinds you to your need for _______ ______

3:9-20 God’s grace

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who

seeks God. All have turned away, they have together

become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice

deceit.”

“The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are

full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are

swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of

God before their eyes.” v. 10 – 18

Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his

sight by observing the law (being religious); rather,

through the law we become conscious of sin.

v. 20

The principle point of the law in true Christian theology is

to make people not better but worse; that is to say, it shows

them their sin, so that they may be humbled, terrified,

bruised, and broken, and by this means be driven to seek

comfort and so to come to the blessed Christ. Martin

Luther