Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Jews are without excuse

2 So every single one of you who judge others is without any excuse. You condemn yourself when you judge another person because the one who is judging is doing the same things. ² We know that God’s judgment agrees with the truth, and his judgment is against those who do these kinds of things. ³ If you judge those who do these kinds of things while you do the same things yourself, think about this: Do you believe that you will escape God’s judgment? ⁴ Or do you have contempt for the riches of God’s generosity, tolerance, and patience? Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is supposed to lead you to change your heart and life? ⁵ You are storing up wrath for yourself because of your stubbornness and your heart that refuses to change. God’s just judgment will be revealed on the day of wrath. ⁶ God will repay everyone based on their works.^{[a] 7} On the one hand, he will give eternal life to those who look for glory, honor, and immortality based on their patient good work. ⁸ But on the other hand, there will be wrath and anger for those who obey wickedness instead of the truth because they are acting out of selfishness and disobedience. 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.^[b]

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 faithfulness and justice

3 So what’s the advantage of being a Jew? Or what’s the benefit of circumcision? ² Plenty in every way. First of all, the Jews were trusted with God’s revelations. ³ What does it matter, then, if some weren’t faithful? Their lack of faith won’t cancel God’s faithfulness, will it? ⁴ Absolutely not! God must be true, even if every human being is a liar, as it is written:

⁵ But if our lack of righteousness confirms God’s justice, what will we say? That God, who brings wrath upon us, isn’t just (I’m speaking rhetorically)? ⁶ Absolutely not! If God weren’t just, how could he judge the world? ⁷ But if God’s truth is demonstrated by my lie and it increases his glory, why am I still judged as a sinner? ⁸ Why not say, “Let’s do evil things so that good things will come out of it”? (Some people who slander us accuse us of saying that, but these people deserve criticism.)

All are under the power of sin

⁹ So what are we saying? Are we better off? Not at all. We have already stated the charge: both Jews and Greeks are all under the power of sin. ¹⁰ As it is written,

¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, in order to shut every mouth and make it so the whole world has to answer to God. ²⁰ It follows that no human being will be treated as righteous in his presence by doing what the Law says, because the knowledge of sin comes through the Law.

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.

²⁷ What happens to our bragging? It’s thrown out. With which law? With what we have accomplished under the Law? ²⁸ No, not at all, but through the law of faith. We consider that a person is treated as righteous by faith, apart from what is accomplished under the Law. ²⁹ Or is God the God of Jews only? Isn’t God the God of Gentiles also? Yes, God is also the God of Gentiles. ³⁰ Since God is one, then the one who makes the circumcised righteous by faith will also make the one who isn’t circumcised righteous through faith. ³¹ Do we then cancel the Law through this faith? Absolutely not! Instead, we confirm the Law.