Study Desk

and speak evil of one another; they are hateful to God, insolent, proud, and boastful; they think of more ways to do evil; they disobey their parents;

We know that God is right when he judges the people who do such things as these.

Or perhaps you despise his great kindness, tolerance, and patience. Surely you know that God is kind, because he is trying to lead you to repent.

For God will reward each of us according to what we have done.

Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life.

Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out his anger and fury.

But God will give glory, honor, and peace to all who do what is good, to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles.

For God judges everyone by the same standard.

For it is not by hearing the Law that people are put right with God, but by doing what the Law commands.

And so, according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on that Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.

What about you? You call yourself a Jew; you depend on the Law and boast about God;

you know what God wants you to do, and you have learned from the Law to choose what is right;

You boast about having God's law—but do you bring shame on God by breaking his law?

The scripture says, "Because of you Jews, the Gentiles speak evil of God."

If the Gentile, who is not circumcised, obeys the commands of the Law, will not God regard him as though he were circumcised?

Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God's Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings.

Much, indeed, in every way! In the first place, God trusted his message to the Jews.

But what if some of them were not faithful? Does this mean that God will not be faithful?

Certainly not! God must be true, even though all human beings are liars. As the scripture says, "You must be shown to be right when you speak; you must win your case when you are being tried."

But what if our doing wrong serves to show up more clearly God's doing right? Can we say that God does wrong when he punishes us? (This would be the natural question to ask.)