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1No matter who you are, if you judge anyone, you have no excuse. When you judge another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things.
2We know that God’s judgment is right when he condemns people for doing these things.
3When you judge people for doing these things but then do them yourself, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?
4Do you have contempt for God, who is very kind to you, puts up with you, and deals patiently with you? Don’t you realize that it is God’s kindness that is trying to lead you to him and change the way you think and act?
5Since you are stubborn and don’t want to change the way you think and act, you are adding to the anger that God will have against you on that day when God vents his anger. At that time God will reveal that his decisions are fair.
6He will pay all people back for what they have done.
7He will give everlasting life to those who search for glory, honor, and immortality by persisting in doing what is good. But he will bring
8anger and fury on those who, in selfish pride, refuse to believe the truth and who follow what is wrong.
9There will be suffering and distress for every person who does evil, for Jews first and Greeks as well.
10But there will be glory, honor, and peace for every person who does what is good, for Jews first and Greeks as well.
11God does not play favorites.
12Here’s the reason: Whoever sins without having the laws in Moses’ Teachings will still be condemned to destruction. And whoever has these laws from God and sins will still be judged by them.
13People who merely listen to the laws in Moses’ Teachings don’t have God’s approval. Rather, people who do what those laws demand will have God’s approval.
14For example, whenever non-Jews who don’t have the laws in Moses’ Teachings do by nature the things that those laws contain, they are a law to themselves even though they don’t have any of those laws.
15They show that some requirements found in Moses’ Teachings are written in their hearts. Their consciences speak to them. Their thoughts accuse them on one occasion and defend them on another.
16This happens as they face the day when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge people’s secret thoughts. He will use the Good News that I am spreading to make that judgment.
17You call yourself a Jew, rely on the laws in Moses’ Teachings, brag about your God,
18know what he wants, and distinguish right from wrong because you have been taught Moses’ Teachings.
19You are confident that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in the dark,
20an instructor of ignorant people, and a teacher of children because you have the full content of knowledge and truth in Moses’ Teachings.
21As you teach others, are you failing to teach yourself? As you preach against stealing, are you stealing?
22As you tell others not to commit adultery, are you committing adultery? As you treat idols with disgust, are you robbing temples?
23As you brag about the laws in Moses’ Teachings, are you dishonoring God by ignoring those laws?
24As Scripture says, “God’s name is cursed among the nations because of you.”
25For example, circumcision is valuable if you follow the laws in Moses’ Teachings. If you don’t follow those laws, your circumcision amounts to uncircumcision.
26So if a man does what those laws demand, won’t he be considered circumcised even if he is uncircumcised?
27The uncircumcised man who carries out what those laws say will condemn you for not following them. He will condemn you in spite of the fact that you are circumcised and have those laws in writing.
28A person is not a Jew because of his appearance, nor is circumcision a matter of how the body looks.
29Rather, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is something that happens in a person’s heart. Circumcision is spiritual, not just a written rule. That person’s praise will come from God, not from people.