The Love of Christ as Our New Covenant and Justification
A Reflection On Romans 2:10-16
Brethren, glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.
All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
RSV Romans 2:10-16
After many months of reading Hebrews and Acts within the past liturgical session of Lent and Pascha, the Chruch calls our attention to the book of Paul's Letter to the Romans.
In this relatively short Epistle reading, St. Paul highlights a key point that he makes in the entirety of this letter: that we are all children of a new Covenant or Law, meaning that we are all sealed in the very action of love leading to salvation in Christ. So, for this week's reflection, we will draw our attention to what Paul means by our call to receive glory, honor, and peace through doing what is good. What it means to be justified, and how we have had the Law written on our hearts.
When we examine the first lines of the Epistle, we hear that glory, honor, and peace are for everyone who does good works. Paul continues by showing us that these gifts are for all who do good, regardless of their ethnic background. Thus, we see that all that is good with Christ's self-offering has a root, not in human concepts but in God Himself.
God is the true, honorable, peaceful, and glorious one; thus, He offers to every one of us His gifts. None of us can receive these gifts without Him giving them to us since He is their source, and through referring to "the Jew first and then the Greek," we see how God has revealed His gifts to us. First, through the Old Covenant, we see that the gifts of God are presented to Israel, His chosen people, as the conditions by which they were to remain His people. Now, through the New Covenant marked by the self-offering of Christ, we all, as represented by the Greeks or the wider world, are offered the same gifts from God regardless of our background.
The gifts of God are not given to us because of our background. Instead, they are free gifts that are offered to us all. It's important to note that these good works are not a means to earn salvation but rather a response to the grace and love of God, demonstrating our faith in action.
In the second section of the Epistle, we hear the concept of judgment and justification. As mentioned above, the Law in the Old Covenant was how God's chosen people would remain so. Thus, as we discussed in our reflections on Hebrews, many of God's chosen people missed the mark in living lives commensurate with the Law, which means living by God's commandments, as we are still called to today.
Paul is making the point here that yes, we do suffer the consequences of our actions, yet action is what needs to be stressed rather than some concept of birthright. Yes, we are all offered salvation as children of God, yet this does not mean we are given this grace without living lives that allow us to participate in these gifts.
If we live for sin, we flee from God, and the end result is that we will not desire the gifts He is offering us. The key here is action, for we can live in our heads and believe that we are doing one thing, yet in reality, we are doing the opposite. So, being made right or righteous in the eyes of God is not about what we think or preach but rather what we do.
When we think about the righteousness and justification God offers us, we need to remember that to be righteous, or just in the eyes of God, requires us to image His justice and righteousness. When we image God's justice and righteousness in action, we are justified in His sight, for we are walking on the same path as Him.
God offers us these gifts freely, regardless of who we are, where we come from, or what we have done. This is the Covenant He has made with us by entering into our shared humanity and raising us to His Divinity. Yet, we have free will, meaning that we can participate in the gifts He offers us, walk in His way, or turn from Him and experience the consequences of our sinful actions. The choice is ours, and God, in His love for us, gives us the freedom to choose. This freedom empowers us to take responsibility for our actions and the path we choose to walk.
Finally, we hear the point that all are participants in these gifts hammered home when Paul points out that "When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law." The reason Paul gives is that "They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus." Thus, we see that living lives commensurate with the Law is our means of being God's people. This is about more than race or status; it is about living lives commensurate with what Christ has written on our hearts so we may continually be aligned with Him.
In taking on our shared human nature, we see Christ has raised us out of the pit of sin so we could stand in the presence of God. God meets us where we are to raise us to His level, and out of His love for us; He gives us the freedom to choose to receive this great gift or reject it. All of us are offered these gifts and this choice, for the truth of these gifts is written on each of our hearts.
If the truth of these gifts is written on our hearts, then we are to search our hearts to see how we are to participate in the love God offers us so we may be His people. Love marks the New Covenant in the same way that it is expressed in the Old, yet we see how love is truly expressed in the actions of love God does for us.
Love is not a feeling; rather, it is a choice, as God expresses to us. God, in the incarnation, chooses to live as we live; in the crucifixion, He chooses to suffer and die as we all do. In the resurrection, He pursues us into our pit and offers us a true way out to His loving and saving presence. This is the great gift of salvation that has been provided to us all.
Thus, seeing this great gift, it is our call to share in the Law of love that has been written on our hearts so that we may live lives in the justification and righteousness of God.
We do not make ourselves just or righteous; instead, we become participants in God's justice and righteousness. At times, it is hard for us to see how this is to be done due to our hardheartedness, yet we cannot escape the fact that God softens our hearts and writes His Law of love on the core of our being.
To live this life, we need to reframe how we see love. Love is not to be understood from the human sense of emotion and feeling, for these characteristics come with love. Instead, love is a choice to act self-sacrificially so that we may love as God loves us. This is how we become justified and righteous in the eyes of God, for these gifts are our participation in the action of God's love toward us.
So let us let God soften our hearts so we may see what is written on them, and as we see the gifts He continues to offer us, let us keep our sights on the path toward salvation laid out before us. We participate in His gifts as we choose to love as God loves us. The end result is that we become eternal participants in these gifts as we stand in the presence of God fully in the life to come. Let the love of God guide us, for the love He offers is the source of our salvation.
If any of the topics in today's reflection interest you, give our Bible Study Make His Path Straight: A St. John The Baptist Bible Study a stream!
We have completed sessions on Mark, Luke, Acts, Romans, First and Second Corinthians and are now in the middle of Hebrews.
Stream Make His Path Straight: A St. John The Baptist Bible Study Here
This publication is free to all, and if you are interested in supporting my work, please consider supporting this work through the link below. Any support is greatly appreciated!
Visit our website for more information on our St. John The Baptist Community, and consider joining us every Sunday for Orthros starting at 8:30 a.m. and Divine Liturgy starting around 9:45 a.m. Our faith as Orthodox Christians is an embodied reality, so to understand our theology, one must become a part of a community.
If you aren't in the Boston area and are looking for a parish to start attending, the following is a link to the directory of GOA parishes directory to aid you on your journey toward Christ.