Romans 2–3

God’s Righteous Judgment

2Therefore you are ^ainexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, ^bfor in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ²But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things. ³And do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things, and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? ⁴Or do you despise ^cthe riches of His goodness, ^dforbearance, and ^elongsuffering, ^fnot knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? ⁵But in accordance with your hardness and your ¹impenitent heart ^gyou are ²treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, ⁶who ^h“will render to each one according to his deeds”: ⁷eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; ⁸but to those who are self-seeking and ⁱdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, ⁹tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew ^jfirst and also of the ³Greek; ^10kbut glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. ¹¹For ^lthere is no partiality with God.

¹²For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law ¹³(for ^mnot the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; ¹⁴for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵who show the ⁿwork of the law written in their hearts, their ^oconscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) ^16pin the day when God will judge the secrets of men ^qby Jesus Christ, ^raccording to my gospel.

The Jews Guilty as the Gentiles

¹⁷⁴Indeed ^syou are called a Jew, and ^trest ⁵on the law, ^uand make your boast in God, ¹⁸and ^vknow His will, and ^wapprove the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, ¹⁹and ^xare confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, ²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, ^yhaving the form of knowledge and truth in the law. ^21zYou, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? ²²You who say, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, ^ado you rob temples? ²³You who ^bmake your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? ²⁴For ^c“the name of God is ^dblasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” as it is written.

Circumcision of No Avail

^25eFor circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. ²⁶Therefore, ^fif an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? ²⁷And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, ^gjudge you who, even with your ⁶written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? ²⁸For ^hhe is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; ²⁹but he is a Jew ⁱwho is one inwardly; and ^jcircumcision is that of the heart, ^kin the Spirit, not in the letter; ^lwhose ⁷praise is not from men but from God.

God’s Judgment Defended

3What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? ²Much in every way! Chiefly because ^ato them were committed the ¹oracles of God. ³For what if ^bsome did not believe? ^cWill their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? ^4dCertainly not! Indeed, let ^eGod be ²true but ^fevery man a liar. As it is written:

^g“That You may be justified in Your words,

And may overcome when You are judged.”

⁵But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? ^h(I speak as a man.) ⁶Certainly not! For then ⁱhow will God judge the world?

⁷For if the truth of God has increased through my lie to His glory, why am I also still judged as a sinner? ⁸And why not say, ^j“Let us do evil that good may come”?—as we are slanderously reported and as some affirm that we say. Their ³condemnation is just.

All Have Sinned

⁹What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that ^kthey are all under sin.

¹⁰As it is written:

^l“There is none righteous, no, not one;

¹¹There is none who understands;

There is none who seeks after God.

¹²They have all turned aside;

They have together become unprofitable;

There is none who does good, no, not one.”

¹³“Their ^mthroat is an open ⁴tomb;

With their tongues they have practiced deceit”;

ⁿ“The poison of asps is under their lips”;

¹⁴“Whose ^omouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

¹⁵“Their ^pfeet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶Destruction and misery are in their ways;

¹⁷And the way of peace they have not known.”

¹⁸“There ^qis no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹Now we know that whatever ^rthe law says, it says to those who are under the law, that ^severy mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become ⁵guilty before God. ²⁰Therefore ^tby the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

God’s Righteousness Through Faith

²¹But now ^uthe righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, ^vbeing witnessed by the Law ^wand the Prophets, ²²even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all ⁶and on all who believe. For ^xthere is no difference; ²³for ^yall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴being justified ⁷freely ^zby His grace ^athrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵whom God set forth ^bas a ⁸propitiation ^cby His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over ^dthe sins that were previously committed, ²⁶to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Boasting Excluded

^27eWhere is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸Therefore we conclude ^fthat a man is ⁹justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. ²⁹Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, ³⁰since ^gthere is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.