“Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?”
The full verse · Romans 2:22 · KJV
Thou that a man commit , dost thou commit ? thou that , dost thou commit ?
Asked to
Jews: here the individual Jew Paul addresses as "thou," who rests in the law, makes his boast of God, and teaches others (Romans 2:17-21)
The Scene
Paul is questioning the Jew who teaches others the law, having just asked whether the one who preaches against stealing steals (Romans 2:21).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionPaul keeps setting what this person says beside what he may be doing. The first question asks whether the one who forbids adultery commits it. Barnes writes, "There is no doubt that this was a crime very common among the Jews," pointing to Jesus calling His generation "adulterous" (Matthew 12:39) and to the woman taken in adultery (John 8:1-11). The second question is sharper. The person who abhors idols may still be robbing what belongs to God. Paul presses him to see that hating one sin does not make him clean of another.
The Response
What Scripture recordsNo reply is given, because the answer is plain. Paul follows with one more question about boasting in the law (Romans 2:23) and then gives the verdict: "the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you" (Romans 2:24). Matthew Henry puts the result this way: "religion is wounded through your sides."
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe KJV word "sacrilege" translates hierosuleo, which Thayer's lexicon defines as "to commit sacrilege, to rob a temple." It appears only here in the New Testament, and the ESV renders it "do you rob temples?" "Abhorrest" translates bdelussomai, to abhor or detest.
Commentators explain the charge differently. Barnes defines sacrilege as "the crime of violating or profaning sacred things" and thinks the Jews committed it "by withholding that which he demanded of tithes and offerings," citing Malachi 3:8-9. Matthew Henry likewise speaks of "robbing God in tithes and offerings." Gill includes failing to offer the sacrifices they ought, "and by plundering the temple." Either way, Paul's point stands: the one who despised idols was not innocent toward God.
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyGod cares about more than the outward rejection of idols. Through Malachi God asked His people, "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me... In tithes and offerings" (Malachi 3:8). Barnes cites that passage here. A person can hate the idol and still withhold from God what is His.
These questions belong to Paul's case that the law, rightly heard, convicts everyone who hears it, "that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19). That verdict is not the end of the letter. It is the doorway to the righteousness God gives through faith (Romans 3:22).
Look Closer
What does the second question in Romans 2:22 set side by side?
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Father, what am I holding back from You while I feel faithful because I avoid the obvious sins?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- Why might avoiding the "big" sins make it easier to overlook quieter ways of dishonoring God?
- Tell about a time you noticed your actions did not match something you strongly believed. What helped you change?
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
It is possible to reject what is plainly wrong and still keep back from God what belongs to Him. Paul's question invites you to look past the sins you would never commit to the quieter places where your life may not match your convictions.
This doesn't mean every failure makes you a hypocrite. Paul's target is the person who condemns in others what he allows in himself. The way forward is honesty before God, not hiding behind the things you oppose.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?”
“Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?”
“Thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?”