Romans 2:21
you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?
English Standard Version (ESV)
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The sharp questions here aren't just about hypocrisy, but about a deeper failure: those who claimed to teach the Law often twisted its meaning or ignored its spiritual depth, essentially "stealing" God's glory and true understanding away from people. Paul highlights this by listing sins like sacrilege, implying that the greatest "theft" is robbing God of the honor due to Him by living contrary to His revealed will.
Paul is addressing the Jewish people and their teachers, who prided themselves on knowing God's law and guiding others. He's showing that having the law and teaching it means nothing if they don't live by it. The argument points out that their outward claims of righteousness are hypocrisy if their actions—like preaching against stealing while practicing it—betray them.
It’s easy to point out flaws in others, especially when you’re the ‘expert.’ But what happens when the teacher’s own life doesn’t match their lessons?
Paul confronts the Jewish teachers head-on in this verse. He highlights a critical disconnect: the gap between instruction and personal practice.
The Unlived Lesson
Imagine a fitness coach who never works out, or a financial advisor drowning in debt. Their advice rings hollow because their life contradicts their words. Paul uses this very logic with the Jewish leaders. They taught the Law, they prided themselves on their knowledge, and they claimed to guide others. Yet, Paul asks, if they themselves are not living by the very principles they teach, are they truly teaching anyone, least of all themselves?
More Than Just Talk
Teaching, in Paul's eyes, isn't just about reciting rules. It's about embodying them. When someone preaches against stealing but steals, their words become empty, even hypocritical. This lack of personal integrity undermines the message and dishonors God, the source of the Law itself.
Paul’s questions to the Jewish teachers weren't just rhetorical. They cut to the core of a deep-seated problem that had serious consequences for their relationship with God.
Paul isn’t just making a general observation about human nature; he's zeroing in on the specific spiritual standing of the Jews, particularly their leaders, in his day.
A Nation's Boast
The Jews had the Law, they were God's chosen people, and they prided themselves on their religious heritage. They believed this elevated them above the Gentiles. However, Paul argues that their outward adherence and boasting in the Law were meaningless if they didn't practice it. Their very teachers, who should have exemplified righteousness, were often living lives of theft, adultery, and sacrilege—sins they publicly condemned.
Dishonoring God
Understand the original words
didaskeis · Greek Verb
The act of instructing or providing guidance, often involving the transmission of moral or religious truth. In a biblical context, it implies the responsibility of the teacher to embody the truth they impart.
kērussōn · Greek Verb
To publicly proclaim or herald a message. In Scripture, it often refers to the proclamation of God's word or moral exhortation.
klepteis · Greek Verb
The act of taking the property of another without permission; in the Mosaic Law, it is explicitly forbidden as a violation of one's neighbor and of God's command.
The Jewish people, especially their leaders, were widely known for their outward adherence to the Law while secretly engaging in various sins, including theft and sacrilege. Paul’s sharp rebuke in Romans highlights a deeply ingrained problem of hypocrisy that had persisted for centuries, leading to a loss of credibility for God's people among the Gentiles.
c. 5th century BC
Malachi's Prophecy
The prophet Malachi addresses severe corruption within the Jewish priesthood and people, including sacrilege and a general disregard for God's law, setting a precedent for later critiques.
c. 1st century BC - 1st century AD
Hasmonean and Herodian Dynasties
This period saw significant political turmoil and corruption within the high priesthood, with positions often bought and sold, leading to moral decay among religious leaders.
c. 30-33 AD
Jesus' Ministry and Teachings
Jesus publicly denounces the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, particularly the Pharisees and scribes, accusing them of failing to practice what they preach and burdening others unfairly.
c. 40s-60s AD
Jewish Rebellion Brewing
Growing unrest and resistance against Roman rule, fueled in part by religious and nationalistic fervor, often led by figures who claimed religious authority but acted hypocritically.
Jesus directly addresses the hypocrisy of the religious leaders, saying, 'for they preach, but do not practice,' a core theme of Romans 2:21.
Ezekiel 36:20-23This passage highlights how the sins of God's people, particularly the Jews, caused His name to be profaned among the nations, mirroring Paul's concern in Romans 2:24 about God's name being blasphemed because of their actions.
Luke 18:10-14The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector starkly contrasts self-righteous boasting with genuine humility, showing how those who outwardly appear righteous can be inwardly corrupt, much like the Jews Paul addresses.
James 4:11-12James confronts those who judge others while committing similar sins, emphasizing that there is only one Lawgiver and Judge, directly echoing Paul's point that no one is exempt from God's judgment, especially those who act as teachers.
bensonRomans 2:21: "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?"
Romans 2:21-24 . Thou therefore which teachest another — And valuest thyself upon thy ability to do it, trusting therein for acceptance with God; teachest thou not thyself? — He does not teach himself, who does not practise what he teaches. This, and what follows, is mentioned, to show that the knowledge, which the scribes and doctors pretended to derive…
pulpitRomans 2:21: "Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?"
Verse 21. - Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? The οῦν here does not involve an anacoluthon after the reading εἴ δὲ in ver. 17, though St. Paul would not have much cared if it had been so. It serves only to sum up the lengthened protasis, and introduce the apodosis: "If... dost thou then," etc.? In what follows it is not, o…
The sharp questions here aren't just about hypocrisy, but about a deeper failure: those who claimed to teach the Law often twisted its meaning or ignored its spiritual depth, essentially "stealing" God's glory and true understanding away from people. Paul highlights this by listing sins like sacrilege, implying that the greatest "theft" is robbing God of the honor due to Him by living contrary to His revealed will.
Paul is addressing the Jewish people and their teachers, who prided themselves on knowing God's law and guiding others. He's showing that having the law and teaching it means nothing if they don't live by it. The argument points out that their outward claims of righteousness are hypocrisy if their actions—like preaching against stealing while practicing it—betray them.
Paul is addressing the Jewish people and their teachers, who prided themselves on knowing God's law and guiding others. He's showing that having the law and teaching it means nothing if they don't live by it. The argument points out that their outward claims of righteousness are hypocrisy if their actions—like preaching against stealing while practicing it—betray them.
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This hypocrisy had a devastating effect. By breaking the Law they claimed to uphold, they weren't just failing individually; they were causing God's name to be blasphemed among the nations. Their actions made God's holy Law and His chosen people look like a sham. Paul’s pointed questions serve as a stark reminder that God’s judgment is impartial and sees through any pretense.
c. 50-60s AD— this verse
Paul Writes Romans
The Apostle Paul writes his letter to the church in Rome, addressing theological issues and moral conduct, including a critique of Jewish self-righteousness and hypocrisy.
c. 66-73 AD
First Jewish-Roman War
The major Jewish revolt against Roman occupation erupts, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple.
"you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?" — The sharp questions here aren't just about hypocrisy, but about a deeper failure: those who claimed to teach the Law often twisted its meaning or ignored its spiritual depth, essentially "stealing" G…
