3 So someone may ask, ‘Does it help a person if they are a Jew, rather than a Gentile? Does it help a person if someone has circumcised them?’ ² Yes, it helps in many ways. The first is that God chose to give his messages to the Jewish people. ³ But you may say, ‘Some Jews did not believe God's messages as they should have done. Because of that, maybe God will not do what he said he would do.’ ⁴ No, certainly it does not mean that! God will always do what he says. He will always say what is true, even if everyone in the world should tell lies. This is what is written in the Bible:

⁵ Maybe some people may say, ‘The wrong things that we do show more clearly that God is always right. So perhaps God is wrong to punish us.’ ⁶ That is not true! God always decides what is right and fair. That is why he is able to judge everyone in the world.

⁷ Someone might also say, ‘When I tell lies, that shows how great and good God is. My lies show more clearly that God always says what is true. So God should not say that I am a bad person. He should not punish me.’ ⁸ But if that is true, you could also say, ‘We should do more and more bad things. Then something good will happen as a result.’ Some people even say that is the message which I teach. But if they say that, they are insulting me. It is right that God should punish those people.

Nobody is right with God

⁹ So then, what do we learn from that? We cannot say that we Jews are better than other people. No, certainly we cannot say that! I have said already that sin has power over everyone. That is true for both Jews and Gentiles. ¹⁰ This is written in the Bible:

¹⁹ So, we know that God's Law belongs to the Jews. God told them to obey everything that his Law teaches. As a result, nobody can say: ‘God should not punish me.’ Everybody in the world must stand in front of God and he will judge them. ²⁰ God's Law shows people clearly that they have done wrong things. Nobody can become right with God because they obey that Law.

How God accepts people

²¹ But now we know how to become right with God. God has shown us the way that he will accept people as right with himself. This way is not part of the Law that he gave to Moses. But God's Law and the messages of his prophets have told us about it. ²² God accepts people as right with himself because Jesus Christ did what God wanted. God accepts every person who believes in Christ. It is the same way for everyone, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.

²³ All people have done wrong things. Nobody can be good and great, as God wanted them to be. ²⁴ But because God is very kind, he accepts us as right with himself. That is God's gift to us. Jesus Christ has paid for our sins so that we have become free. ²⁵ God showed everyone that Jesus Christ died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. God forgives us if we trust in Jesus and the blood of his sacrifice. God did this to show clearly that he is always right and fair. In past times, God was patient. He did not punish people who did wrong things. ²⁶ He did this to show us today that he is completely right and fair. He accepts people as right with himself if they believe in Jesus.

²⁷ So then, nobody should be proud that they are good enough. Nobody becomes right with God because they have done good things. No! God accepts a person only if that person believes in Jesus Christ. ²⁸ So this is what we are saying. A person becomes right with God if they trust in Christ. It is not because they do the good things which God's Law teaches.

²⁹ God is not God only for Jewish people. He is also God for the Gentiles. Yes! He is the God for all people. ³⁰ There is only one God. He will accept Jews as right with himself if they believe in Christ. He will also accept other people as right with himself if they believe in Christ. ³¹ What does this show us about God's Law which he gave to Moses? When we say that all people need to believe in Jesus, does that mean that God's Law has no purpose? No! When we believe in Jesus, we are showing the true purpose of God's Law.