Two-Spirited

Romans 2:14-15,17-22, 29

Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—

This passage speaks of the two-heart problem. This business of the two-spirit man is of the devil. In Genesis 2:7, "God formed man" out of the ground and breathed into him "the breath of life" and man became a living soul. The spirit of man is singular. The devil is happy to make it plural. He will give you two or more spirits until you resemble the man wandering among the tombs naked and afraid who says his name is Legion, "for we are many" in Mark 5:8-9. The two-heart problem refers to those who are "[hearers] of the word" but not doers thereof in James 1:22. If you were of one heart, you would hear the word of God and do what it says. The two-hearted person hears the word of God and then immediately forgets what he hears according to James 1:23-24. Hearing does not affect what he does. This is like the man looking in a mirror who "goes away and immediately forgets" what he looks like. In some medical circles, we would call this person someone with a split personality.

you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law?

These verses speak of a law professor who has the laws written on the wall of his classroom. He knows the judge and has lunch everyday with him; but, does the judge know him? He teaches the students and even lectures in the community about what the law says. He conducts free legal clinics for the indigent. He knows the law there is no doubt. He recites it everyday chapter and verse. He goes out at night, rapes his girlfriend, drinks himself under the table, then gets up, and drives back home. He tries not to hit the lady crossing the street but almost does. On the way home, he stops at the gas station and robs it for liquor and lottery tickets with a mask. Then on Monday he comes back to the classroom having forgotten about the weekend; he says now the law says. The students are looking online at YouTube while in class. They see a surveillance video of the gas station where a masked man the same height and gait robbed the store; then, they see the professor standing in front of them. At this point they wonder what choices have they made wrong to be there at that moment. Incredulously, they continue to write the lecture down while the surveillance video rankles in their minds.

(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)

This verse speaks of those who hear the law but do not do so. God judges by the spirit of the law and not the letter. God wrote the law on the hearts of the people so all men "are without excuse" as Romans 1:20 states. You may not know the law of God and sin anyway against your own heart. You will die and perish in your sin without knowing Christ. If you know the law and sin, the law becomes your judge, jury, and executioner. If you try to obey the law of God, you must obey it all. If you sin in one point, you are guilty of breaking it all in James 2:10. The only way to be saved under the law is to keep it in its' entirety.

No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person's praise is not from other people, but from God.

Circumcision speaks of the practice of the outward marking of the body to reflect an inside change. Outward changes only apply if the inside stays changed. The outside markings mean nothing to those who break the law. Verse twenty-nine makes this clear; not only is your praise from God but your advocate is God. The person who kept the law is Christ and through him we have his righteousness applied to our lives as if we ourselves were righteous in Isaiah 61:10. We are born again into his family by the right of citizenship in the kingdom of Heaven. Imagine being called into the courtroom brought up on charges of being alive for a law you never heard before; even if you did, you thought it did not apply to you. You walk up to the bench and say, 'yes, your honor' to the charges against you; the judge gets up off the bench and drapes his judge's robe over you. Now the judge says, 'you're acquitted. You may not know me, but I know you and you belong to me now. Come up to the bench and help me hear the next case.' That is restorative justice for you.