Let God Be the Judge

2 So do you think that you can judge those other people? You are wrong. You too are guilty of sin. You judge them, but you do the same things they do. So when you judge them, you are really condemning yourself. ² God judges all who do such things, and we know his judgment is right. ³ And since you do the same things as those people you judge, surely you understand that God will punish you too. How could you think you would be able to escape his judgment? ⁴ God has been kind to you. He has been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives.

⁵ But you are so stubborn! You refuse to change. So you are making your own punishment greater and greater. You will be punished on the day when God will show his anger. On that day everyone will see how right God is to judge people. ⁶ He will reward or punish everyone for what they have done. ⁷ Some people live for God’s glory, for honor, and for life that cannot be destroyed. They live for those things by always continuing to do good. God will give eternal life to them. ⁸ But others are selfish and refuse to follow truth. They follow evil. God will show his anger and punish them. ⁹ He will give trouble and suffering to everyone who does evil—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews. ¹⁰ But he will give glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does good—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews. ¹¹ God judges everyone the same. It doesn’t matter who they are.

¹² People who have the law and those who have never heard of the law are all the same when they sin. People who don’t have the law and are sinners will be lost. And, in the same way, those who have the law and are sinners will be judged by the law. ¹³ Hearing the law does not make people right with God. They will be right before him only if they always do what the law says.

¹⁴ Those who are not Jews don’t have the law. But when they naturally do what the law commands without even knowing the law, then they are their own law. This is true even though they don’t have the written law. ¹⁵ They show that in their hearts they know what is right and wrong, the same as the law commands, and their consciences agree. Sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done wrong, and this makes them guilty. And sometimes their thoughts tell them that they have done right, and this makes them not guilty.

¹⁶ All this will happen on the day when God will judge people’s secret thoughts through Jesus Christ. This is part of the Good News that I tell everyone.