<p>2:17&nbsp;<i>But if you singular bear the name of a Jew</i>- It's as if Paul is in the middle of giving a lecture and then suddenly addresses himself to one individual in the audience.<br /></p><p><i>And rely upon the law</i>- The Greek idea is of remaining. Again it seems Paul is addressing himself to Christian Jews in the Rome ecclesia who had chosen to remain in the Mosaic law.<br /></p><p><i>And boast in God</i>- As in 2:23, a reference to Jewish glorying in having and obeying the Mosaic law. But Paul uses the same word another three times in Romans, about how &quot;we&quot; boast in our reconciliation with God (Rom. 5:11), in the hope we have of salvation (5:2), and also in our humiliations which prepare us for that time (5:3). Our witness to others is part of this confident boasting about God's grace. But we can only confidently boast of salvation and reconciliation if by faith we have assured ourselves that these things are present realities, and not merely possible futures for us.<br /></p><p>Paul's rebuke of the Jews in Rom. 2 for their reliance on a mixture of worldly wisdom and that of the Mosaic law has many similarities with Job:</p><div align=center><table border=0 cellspacing=12 cellpadding=0 width=100%>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td>            <p>            <b>Rom. 2:17-23&nbsp;</b></p>            </td>            <td>            <p><b>Job</b></p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;Thou   art called a Jew... and makest&nbsp;thy boast of God, and knowest   His&nbsp;will, and triest the things that&nbsp;differ (AVmg.), being   instructed&nbsp;out&nbsp;of the law;&nbsp;</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>A fair   description of Job before his trials. Cp. Job's constant &nbsp; reasoning   with God about things &nbsp; which differed from&nbsp;his previous concept   &nbsp; of God; &quot;Doth not the ear try words?&quot; (12:11)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>and art   confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of&nbsp;them   which are in darkness, an</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;I   was eyes to the &nbsp; blind&quot; (29:15)</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>instructor   of the foolish, a&nbsp;teacher&nbsp;of babes, which hast the form   of&nbsp;knowledge and of the truth in&nbsp;the law&nbsp;Thou therefore which   teachest&nbsp;another,&nbsp;teachest thou not thyself?</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>&quot;Thou   hast instructed many ... thy words have upholden him that was &nbsp;   falling... but now it is come upon&nbsp;thee, and thou &nbsp; faintest&quot;   (4:3-5).</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Thou   that preachest a man&nbsp;should not&nbsp;steal... commit   adultery...&nbsp;(worship)&nbsp;idols... dost thou?</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>These   were the 3 main &nbsp; things of which the friends accused Job.</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td valign=top>            <p>Thou   that makest thy boast of&nbsp;the Law,&nbsp;through breaking the   Law&nbsp;dishonourest&nbsp;thou God?&quot; &nbsp;</p>            </td>            <td valign=top>            <p>Elihu,   on God's &nbsp; behalf, says that &nbsp; Job's boasting of his &nbsp;   righteousness &nbsp; implied God was doing &nbsp; wickedly in&nbsp;punishing   Job (34:10)</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table></div><p>Their belief that they possessed such great wisdom led the Jews to be self-righteous, in that they reasoned that if they were wicked, then their wisdom would reveal this to them. Job and the Jews were in this sense similar.</p>