Romans 2
2
Romans 2
1¶ Therefore, thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest; for in that which thou dost judge another, thou dost condemn thyself; for thou that judgest others doest the same things.
2For we are sure that the judgment of God is according to the truth against those who do such things.
3And dost thou think this, O man, that judgest those who do such things and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
4Or dost thou despise the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, ignoring that the goodness of God leads thee to repentance?
5But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6who will render to everyone according to his deeds:
7to those who persevered in well doing, glory and honour and incorruption, to those who seek eternal life;
8but unto those that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but are persuaded by unrighteousness, indignation and wrath.
9Tribulation and anguish shall be upon every human soul that does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek;
10but glory, honour, and peace to everyone that works good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
11For there is no respect of persons with God.
12For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law
13(for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified;
14for when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature that which is of the law, these, not having the law, are a law unto themselves;
15which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, accusing and also excusing their reasonings one with another)
16in the day when God shall judge that which men have covered up, according to my gospel by Jesus, the Christ.
17¶ Behold, thou doth call thyself a Jew and art supported by the law and doth glory in God
18and dost know his will and approve the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law,
19and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness,
20an instructor of the ignorant, a teacher of children, who hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
21Thou, therefore, who teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
22Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that dost abhor idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
23Thou that makest thy boast of the law, with rebellion to the law doth thou dishonour God?
24For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
25For circumcision verily profits if thou keep the law, but if thou art a rebel to the law, thy circumcision is made into a foreskin.
26Therefore if the uncircumcised keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his foreskin be counted for circumcision?
27And that which is by nature foreskin, but keeps the law perfectly, shall judge thee who with the letter and with the circumcision art rebellious to the law.
28For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, neither is circumcision that which is done outwardly in the flesh;
29but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God.
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Romans 2: JUB
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International
Romans 2
2
God Is Kind, but Not Soft
1-2Those people are on a dark spiral downward. But if you think that leaves you on the high ground where you can point your finger at others, think again. Every time you criticize someone, you condemn yourself. It takes one to know one. Judgmental criticism of others is a well-known way of escaping detection in your own crimes and misdemeanors. But God isn’t so easily diverted. He sees right through all such smoke screens and holds you to what you’ve done.
3-4You didn’t think, did you, that just by pointing your finger at others you would distract God from seeing all your misdoings and from coming down on you hard? Or did you think that because he’s such a nice God, he’d let you off the hook? Better think this one through from the beginning. God is kind, but he’s not soft. In kindness he takes us firmly by the hand and leads us into a radical life-change.
5-8You’re not getting by with anything. Every refusal and avoidance of God adds fuel to the fire. The day is coming when it’s going to blaze hot and high, God’s fiery and righteous judgment. Make no mistake: In the end you get what’s coming to you—Real Life for those who work on God’s side, but to those who insist on getting their own way and take the path of least resistance, Fire!
9-11If you go against the grain, you get splinters, regardless of which neighborhood you’re from, what your parents taught you, what schools you attended. But if you embrace the way God does things, there are wonderful payoffs, again without regard to where you are from or how you were brought up. Being a Jew won’t give you an automatic stamp of approval. God pays no attention to what others say (or what you think) about you. He makes up his own mind.
12-13If you sin without knowing what you’re doing, God takes that into account. But if you sin knowing full well what you’re doing, that’s a different story entirely. Merely hearing God’s law is a waste of your time if you don’t do what he commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the difference with God.
14-16When outsiders who have never heard of God’s law follow it more or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They show that God’s law is not something alien, imposed on us from without, but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep within them that echoes God’s yes and no, right and wrong. Their response to God’s yes and no will become public knowledge on the day God makes his final decision about every man and woman. The Message from God that I proclaim through Jesus Christ takes into account all these differences.
Religion Can’t Save You
17-24If you’re brought up Jewish, don’t assume that you can lean back in the arms of your religion and take it easy, feeling smug because you’re an insider to God’s revelation, a connoisseur of the best things of God, informed on the latest doctrines! I have a special word of caution for you who are sure that you have it all together yourselves and, because you know God’s revealed Word inside and out, feel qualified to guide others through their blind alleys and dark nights and confused emotions to God. While you are guiding others, who is going to guide you? I’m quite serious. While preaching “Don’t steal!” are you going to rob people blind? Who would suspect you? The same with adultery. The same with idolatry. You can get by with almost anything if you front it with eloquent talk about God and his law. The line from Scripture, “It’s because of you Jews that the outsiders frown on God,” shows it’s an old problem that isn’t going to go away.
25-29Circumcision, the surgical ritual that marks you as a Jew, is great if you live in accord with God’s law. But if you don’t, it’s worse than not being circumcised. The reverse is also true: The uncircumcised who keep God’s ways are as good as the circumcised—in fact, better. Better to keep God’s law uncircumcised than break it circumcised. Don’t you see: It’s not the cut of a knife that makes a Jew. You become a Jew by who you are. It’s the mark of God on your heart, not of a knife on your skin, that makes a Jew. And recognition comes from God, not legalistic critics.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.