As Paul continues addressing the self-righteous, he pinpoints some of the cause of their self-righteousness. They assumed they were good because of the religious family they grew up in and the religious rituals they had participated in.
Sound familiar? How many people today assume they’re good with God because they grew up in a Christian home, or took first communion when they were 8, or were baptized at 12? How many equate showing up at church each week as sufficient to make them good with God?
Paul rejects this lie by explaining that it’s not the religious traditions you grew up in or participate in today that matter, but a true transformation of the heart. “For you are not a true Jew just because you were born of Jewish parents or because you have gone through the ceremony of circumcision. 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 the Spirit. And a person with a changed heart seeks praise from God, not from people” (Romans 2:28-29).
