⁹ There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁰ But there will be glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹¹ God does not have favorites.

¹² Those who have sinned outside the Law will also die outside the Law, and those who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law. ¹³ It isn’t the ones who hear the Law who are righteous in God’s eyes. It is the ones who do what the Law says who will be treated as righteous. ¹⁴ Gentiles don’t have the Law. But when they instinctively do what the Law requires they are a Law in themselves, though they don’t have the Law. ¹⁵ They show the proof of the Law written on their hearts, and their consciences affirm it. Their conflicting thoughts will accuse them, or even make a defense for them, ¹⁶ on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the hidden truth about human beings through Christ Jesus.

Jews will be judged as well

²³ If you brag about the Law, do you shame God by breaking the Law? ²⁴ As it is written: The name of God is discredited by the Gentiles because of you.^[a]

²⁵ Circumcision is an advantage if you do what the Law says. But if you are a person who breaks the Law, your status of being circumcised has changed into not being circumcised. ²⁶ So if the person who isn’t circumcised keeps the Law, won’t his status of not being circumcised be counted as if he were circumcised? ²⁷ The one who isn’t physically circumcised but keeps the Law will judge you. You became a lawbreaker after you had the written Law and circumcision. ²⁸ It isn’t the Jew who maintains outward appearances who will receive praise from God, and it isn’t people who are outwardly circumcised on their bodies. ²⁹ Instead, it is the person who is a Jew inside, who is circumcised in spirit, not literally. That person’s praise doesn’t come from people but from God.

God’s righteousness through faithfulness of Christ

²¹ But now God’s righteousness has been revealed apart from the Law, which is confirmed by the Law and the Prophets. ²² God’s righteousness comes through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who have faith in him. There’s no distinction. ²³ All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, ²⁴ but all are treated as righteous freely by his grace because of a ransom that was paid by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ Through his faithfulness, God displayed Jesus as the place of sacrifice where mercy is found by means of his blood. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness in passing over sins that happened before, ²⁶ during the time of God’s patient tolerance. He also did this to demonstrate that he is righteous in the present time, and to treat the one who has faith in Jesus as righteous.