Romans 2:12-29

¹² When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. ¹³ For merely listening to the law doesn’t make us right with God. It is obeying the law that makes us right in his sight. ¹⁴ Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. ¹⁵ They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. ¹⁶ And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.

So, basically, God's law exists, both in words and in the conscience of man, and man, when left in an environment where he can listen to his own conscience, intrinsically knows right and wrong, though he may not always choose the correct way?

Something puzzling, then, I find here: "27 In fact, uncircumcised Gentiles who keep God’s law will condemn you Jews who are circumcised and possess God’s law but don’t obey it." At first this seems paradoxical: how can you keep the law by not being circumcised, which was a part of the law that you are keeping? Is this where it is meaning you keep the heart issues behind the law as opposed to the legalistic letter of the law? How can you possess a law you do not obey? 

The Jews had the Law, they kept the law, etc. but then they rejected Jesus Christ who came to fulfill the law in that He came to make it complete--to make it not just a ritual obedience, but add love, mercy, forgiveness and to be the sacrifice so that we can be observers of the law without having to sacrifice an animal every-time we sin.

Circumcision was a sign for men to know that they were Law-keepers, but if they accepted Jesus Christ and they started obeying the Law out of love for God instead of as a work to atone for themselves, the physical sign of circumcision lost its importance. Instead of taking off a part of their flesh, more importantly Jesus came so that we would have the power to die to all of our flesh. We see this addressed in Acts 15:10 when Peter addressed the sect of (probably) Pharisees who were trying to force the Gentiles to be circumcised as a work to earn salvation:

¹⁰ So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers^]"[b] with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? ¹¹ We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”

There is something between possession of the law and obedience of the law that we have to grasp. It is addressed in verse 29:

"29 No, a true Jew is one whose heart is right with God. And true circumcision is not merely obeying the letter of the law; rather, it is a change of heart produced by God’s Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people."

The law changed the flesh and modified the outward signs of obedience. Love for God changes the heart before it is ever manifested in our actions.

If I'm honest about my struggles, one of the greatest lessons I feel God has been teaching me this past year is how to love other people.This verse really hit a nerve. A changed heart can love others without needing it back from them because it is only reflecting what God has already given us. It is not seeking praise or affirmation from other people. This is too easy to put into words and not to practice. Especially lately, God has brought people into my life that He has used to help me see His love through them instead of only judgment, (and yes, now I can see so many ways it was there all along.) The next step seems to be finding ways to show that to other people... which is not what comes naturally in the face of judgment! But it all boils down to this: Love isn't deserved. It just is. God gives it without any earning and He expects the same from us toward others... in fact, He gives/gave it while actively hated. If need be, He wants us to go that far, too. I'm learning what a proud, selfish and fearful person I am and how so much of that is able to change if I let God mold my life instead of closing myself off in a shell... and learn to "seek praise from God, not from people."

This portion of Romans challenges us to question our own motives. Whose praise are we seeking? If we truly seek God's praise, it will then be manifested in our actions... and the  only way to truly achieve this is through a heart that has been changed by God's Spirit. I am convinced that this heart change is a process of God pruning things by degrees and carefully eliminating self until we are made into this form of "true circumcision."