Religious people take pride in knowing about their faith, but people of true faith act on what they know.  Jewish-background believers in the Christian church in Rome were proud of their knowledge of God's Law.  They were confident to tell others what was right and what was wrong.  

However, when Jesus met the same attitude in the Pharisees, He did not disguise His condemnation of their hypocrisy (Matthew 23:1-36).  In these verses, Paul applied the same principles to Jewish teachers in the church in Rome.  He said that they were hypocrites to teach the truth but fail to do what they teach.   They were convinced of their religious superiority over the Gentiles who they described as ‘foolish children’ who were ‘blind’ and ‘in the dark’.  But Paul asks the Jewish teachers if they are practising what they teach.  Had they applied their instruction to themselves first?

It is a constant hazard for every believer, and particularly for those who teach God's Word. By nature, we are sinners and even when we know what is right, we often fail - as Paul admitted about himself (Romans 7:14-25).  That was why he needed to keep himself disciplined to follow Jesus (1 Corinthians 9:27).  Teachers who fail to practise what they preach are a danger to themselves and even more of a danger to others (James 3:1).  So, this warning needs to be taken seriously.

The problem is widespread.  The Pharisees had a very high view of the Scriptures, but they did not think they needed to do any more than analyse the text and instruct the people (Luke 11:52).  In our day, it is those who strongly affirm the authority of the Bible who are most at risk of falling to that temptation.  Knowledge about God without action is blasphemy (Romans 2:24).  This uncomfortable thought should make us search our hearts and repent.  Whoever we are: father or mother, professor or student, pastor or evangelist, manager or employee, self-employed or unemployed ... if we belong to Jesus, talking is not enough. We all need to learn to obey the Word we claim to honour.