Romans 2:22 Meaning: The Hidden Hypocrisy of Sacrilege
You who say a man shouldn’t commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples?
thou who art preaching not to steal, dost thou steal? thou who art saying not to commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou who art abhorring the idols, dost thou rob temples?
thou that sayest [man should] not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Meaning in one sentence
Paul exposes a shocking contradiction: those who abhor idols may commit sacrilege. What does robbing temples mean for us today?
Context
Paul has been arguing that no one is righteous on their own, Jew or Gentile. Now he turns directly to a Jewish teacher who knows the Law, teaches it, and is confident he is a guide to the blind. But Paul asks a series of sharp questions: do you steal while preaching against stealing? Do you commit adultery while condemning it? Do you rob temples while abhorring idols? He is not accusing every Jew of these specific crimes. He is exposing the gap between what we say we believe and how we actually live. The point is not to shame but to show that knowing the law does not make us right with God. Only God’s grace can bridge that gap.
Key Words
The Greek word for abhor is bdelussomai. It originally meant to turn away from something because it stinks. The Jews had learned to feel that way about idols after the exile. They had a visceral revulsion. But Paul then asks if they commit hierosuleis, which literally means temple robbery. That word combines hieron (temple) and sulaō (to plunder). It is a strong, concrete verb. So the question is jarring: you feel sick at the thought of false gods, but do you steal from the true God’s house? The word does not have to mean stealing gold from a pagan shrine. It can mean profaning what is sacred, taking for yourself what belongs to God. The shock is in the contradiction: the same mouth that condemns idols can quietly rob God.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians have understood this question in two main ways. Some early interpreters, including many Protestant commentators, read it as a reference to Jews who secretly stole from pagan temples. The Jewish historian Josephus records laws against plundering Gentile temples, and some Jews apparently broke those rules, showing that their scruples were selective. Others, including Calvin and many Reformed thinkers, see the sacrilege as more inward: withholding tithes, offering defective sacrifices, or polluting worship with human traditions. In this reading, the temple robbed is God’s own house. Both traditions agree on Paul’s core point: outward religion can mask real disobedience. The debate is not about the truth of the warning, only about the exact shape of the sin.
A common misunderstanding
Some readers hear this verse and think Paul is accusing every Jewish teacher of literally committing adultery and robbing temples. But that mistakes his rhetorical method. Paul is using hyperbole to expose hypocrisy, not filing a police report. The point is that the very sins we condemn can take root in us in subtler forms. In fact, the real danger is thinking we are safe because we do not commit the outward sin, while our hearts indulge the same rebellion in ways we refuse to see.
Living This Out
This week, try this: notice the one sin you speak about most sharply in others. It might be a failure you find easy to condemn. Then quietly ask yourself where that same failure lives in a smaller, safer form in your own life. Maybe you judge someone for greed while holding your own money tightly. Maybe you are quick to call out disloyalty while nursing a private grudge. Paul’s question is not meant to crush you. It is meant to open your eyes so you can receive the grace you have been offering to everyone but yourself.
Main takeaway: The sins we condemn in others often live in us, just dressed in different clothes, and only honest confession can set us free.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
This verse says it is wrong to tell someone not to do something and then do it yourself. God wants our insides to match our outsides.
For ages 9, 12
Paul is talking to people who acted like they were better than others because they knew God’s rules. But he shows that knowing the rules does not make you good. You can say you hate idols and still take what belongs to God. The point is not to be a hypocrite. God wants true hearts, not just good lectures.
Questions People Ask
Does Paul mean the Jews literally committed adultery and robbed temples?
Paul is using rhetorical questions to expose hypocrisy. Some Jews may have committed these sins, but his main point is that even if they did not, the attitude of superiority is itself a form of disobedience. The law cannot save; it only shows us our need for grace.
What does 'rob temples' mean in this verse?
The Greek word hierosuleō means to plunder a temple. Commentators offer two interpretations: some think Paul refers to Jews stealing from pagan temples, which would be shocking hypocrisy. Others think he refers to profaning the Jerusalem temple by withholding tithes or offering defective sacrifices. Both readings agree that the sin is taking what belongs to God.
How does Romans 2:22 connect to the rest of Paul's argument?
Paul is building a case that no one, Jew or Gentile, can be justified by keeping the law. In chapter 2 he targets Jewish pride in the law. The rhetorical questions in verse 22 show that outward knowledge of the law does not guarantee inward obedience. This prepares for the great conclusion in chapter 3 that righteousness comes through faith in Christ alone.
Is this verse only about ancient Jewish hypocrisy, or does it apply to Christians too?
Paul's principle applies to anyone who claims moral or religious authority. Christians can fall into the same trap: condemning sins in others while excusing them in ourselves. The verse calls us to humility and self-examination. It is not a weapon for judgment but a mirror for repentance.
Why does Paul use such shocking examples (adultery, temple robbery)?
Paul uses extreme examples to wake up his audience. The Jewish teacher he addresses would never dream of committing those sins outwardly. But by pairing them with the sin of hypocrisy, Paul shows that the heart can be just as rebellious even when the hands look clean. The shock is meant to lead to honest self-reflection.
For pastors & researchers
Greek interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study