Romans 2:13–25

¹³For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey^f the law who will be declared righteous. ¹⁴(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law,^g they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.) ¹⁶This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets^h through Jesus Christ,ⁱ as my gospel^j declares.

The Jews and the Law

¹⁷Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God;^{k 18}if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; ¹⁹if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—²¹you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal?^{l 22}You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?^{m 23}You who boast in the law,ⁿ do you dishonor God by breaking the law? ²⁴As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”^bo

²⁵Circumcision has value if you observe the law,^p but if you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised.^q