²⁶Sometimes those who aren’t circumcised do what the law requires. Won’t God accept them as if they had been circumcised? ²⁷Many are not circumcised physically, but they obey the law. They will prove that you are guilty. You are breaking the law, even though you have the written law and are circumcised.

²⁸A man is not a Jew if he is a Jew only on the outside. And circumcision is more than just something done to the outside of a man’s body.

²⁹No, a man is a Jew only if he is a Jew on the inside. And true circumcision means that the heart has been circumcised. It is done by the Holy Spirit. It is more than just obeying the written Law. Then a man’s praise will not come from others. It will come from God.

God Is Faithful

3Is there any advantage in being a Jew? Is there any value in being circumcised?

²There is great value in every way! First of all, the Jews have been given the very words of God.

³What if some Jews did not believe? Will the fact that they don’t have faith keep God from being faithful? ⁴Not at all! God is true, even though every human being is a liar. It is written,

“You are right when you sentence me.

You are fair when you judge me.”

⁵Doesn’t the fact that we are wrong prove more clearly that God is right? Then what can we say? Can we say that God is not fair when he brings his anger down on us? As you can tell, I am just using human ways of thinking. ⁶God is certainly fair! If he weren’t, how could he judge the world?

⁷Someone might argue, “When I lie, it becomes clearer that God is truthful. It makes his glory shine more brightly. Why then does he find me guilty of sin?”

⁸Why not say, “Let’s do evil things so that good things will happen”? Some people actually lie by reporting that this is what we say. They are the ones who should be found guilty.

No One Is Right With God

⁹What should we say then? Are we Jews any better? Not at all! We have already claimed that Jews are sinners. The same is true of those who aren’t Jews.

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