True salvation is a matter of the heart. The only thing that belongs on our résumé is this: that we realized we’re no better than anyone else; that we stood guilty before a holy God; and that we fled to Jesus for the forgiveness and the transformation we need.

Big Idea

Don’t trust in your religious accomplishments and advantages; trust in Christ alone.

If you’re looking for a job, a standout résumé isn’t just important; it’s essential. Your résumé must clearly showcase your skills, experience, and achievements in a way that’s specifically tailored to the position you want. When employers sift through dozens of applications, you want yours to communicate unmistakable value. A powerful résumé doesn’t just earn you an interview; it demonstrates you’re the perfect fit for the role. Ideally, your résumé should be so compelling that the employer can’t possibly ignore you.

But what happens when we adopt this approach with God? What happens when we present God with a résumé of all our spiritual skills, experiences, and achievements?

Over these past months, we’ve been working through Romans. In the first few chapters, Paul constructs an airtight case for universal human guilt before a holy God. His argument unfolds methodically. First, he demonstrates how Gentiles stand condemned for suppressing divine truth. Then he pivots to show Jewish people fare no better despite their advantages. Paul’s conclusion is inescapable: all humanity, without exception, stands accountable before a righteous and just God.

But now he pictures someone pulling out their religious résumé. This person would have been tempted to say, “I agree, Paul. Things are really bad today. Look at the change in sexual ethics, the fundamental shift in values, the drift from our Judeo-Christian foundations, the world’s rejection of absolute truth, and the growing antagonism against Christianity. Things are bad. If God is a God of justice and wrath, he will surely condemn all of this. Keep preaching, Paul. The wicked of this world need your message. The drug dealers, the crime lords, the politicians—all, no doubt, will profit from your gospel.”

“But leave me out of it! I am a very religious person, and my religious commitments exempt me from your blanket condemnations. I’ve been baptized. I’m a member of a good church. I give and serve. I’m one of the good guys.”

Paul is going to make the same point: none of our religious advantages will save us. Any outward sign, even one ordained by God, is worthless unless it’s accompanied by in inward work of God’s grace in our hearts. Don’t trust in or rely on anything external as the ground of your acceptance with God. Don’t trust in anything but Christ for your salvation.

Religious Advantages (2:17-20)

What would the Jews of the day been tempted to trust as the basis of their acceptance with God? In verses 17 to 20, Paul lists the religious advantages that the Jews in Rome may have been tempted to think gave them a leg up on others. He mentions two, and they’re significant. You can see how they may have been tempted to trust in these things rather than in Jesus.

Superior Knowledge (2:17-18)

But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law…

In contrast to Gentiles, Jews had the clearly articulated law of God given to Moses. They had the Ten Commandments; Gentiles did not. God had revealed himself exclusively to Israel at Sinai. The Jewish people had a clear understanding of who God is and what he expects of humanity. They had a record of God’s dealings with his people for thousands of years right from Adam to Abraham right through to the prophets. They had so much knowledge of God, and they stood head and shoulders above everyone else because of this.

This is similar to the advantages that we have today, except we’re even better off. For most of Christian history, believers possessed fragments of Scripture at best. Medieval Christians might hear portions read aloud during worship, but owning a complete Bible was unthinkable for ordinary people. The Reformers fought and died for the principle that every believer should have direct access to God’s word. Today, we carry multiple translations in our pockets and barely think about it. I have a whole row of excellent study Bibles on my shelf at home. I can’t even keep up.

Not only that, but we have access to the best preaching in the world. It used to be that you were stuck listening to whoever your preacher happened to be. If you were lucky, you could occasionally find a good preacher on Christian radio or this thing they had called cassette tape. Now we have instant access to the best possible preaching you can find in the world.

This is an advantage. We are even more blessed than the people Paul addresses in this passage because we have even greater access to God’s word than they did back then.

But that’s not the only advantage Paul mentions. Paul mentions another one in verses 19-20:

Superior Position (2:19-20)

and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—

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