Romans 2.1-29 tells us that pagan idolatry isn’t going to save them; and knowledge of the Torah and circumcision alone will not save the Jew either.
v 1…Therefore (for this reason) you (Paul is addressing the Gentiles in general through verse 2.17) are without excuse, every man of you who passes judgment (Paul is talking about how hypocritical it is to judge, since we all sin), for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.
v 2… And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.
v 3… And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same that you will escape the judgment of God?
v 4…Or do you think lightly of the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance (teshuvah or “to turn around”- just because the Lord does not judge something immediately doesn’t mean that they are getting away with it. God is patient and wants repentance-Ecc 8.11).
v 5… But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
v 6… who will render to every man according to his deeds (what he deserves-“measure for measure”-just because a person “believes” in God or Yeshua does not mean they have true faith-Luke 12.46-48; Matt 7.21; James 2.17-26);
v 7… to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life (that is your reward);
v 8… but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth (found in Torah-Psa 119.160; Prov 3.1-5), but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation,
v 9…tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first (they knew better) and also of the Greek (Gentiles-God does not play favorites),
v 10… but glory (kivod) and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
v 11… For there is no partiality with God (sin is sin, no matter who does it).
v 12… For all who have sinned without the Torah (Gentiles have no excuse) will also perish without the Torah, and all who have sinned under the Torah (Jews have no excuse) will be judged by the Torah (if the Torah was done away with, why would Paul even write this verse);
v 13…for not the hearers of the Torah are just before God, but the doers (appliers) of the Torah will be justified (Torah-based works are a part of a valid faith. This doesn’t mean you earn salvation, but that Torah-based works are an expression of a faith from one that is truly born-again by the Spirit of God).
v 14… For when the Gentiles who do not have the Torah do instinctively the things of the Torah (faithfulness is defined by the Torah), these, having not the Torah, are a law unto themselves
v 15… in that they show the work of the Torah written on their hearts (God saves them even though they were never brought up with the Torah, writing it on their hearts like he said he would do in Jer 31.33), their conscience bearing witness; and their thoughts alternately accusing or defending them,
v 16… on the day (the Lord’s Day, Millennium) when according to my gospel (judgment and eschatology is a part of the basar, good news, gospel), when God will judge the secrets of men through Yeshua the Messiah.
v 17… But if you bear the name “Jew” (at this point in the first century, anyone descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and from any of the 12 tribes was called this. You did not have to be from the tribe of Judah to be called a Jew by this time) and rely upon the Torah (for special status) and boast in God (he points out the problems in the Jewish world, that they knew God and that knowledge made them “better” than anyone else, but Peter learned that this isn’t true in Acts 10)
v 18… and know his will (the Torah), and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Torah (it’s purpose),
v 19… and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind (a Gentile), a light to those who are in darkness (didn’t know the things of God- Isa 9.1-2; Psa 111),
v 20… a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature (a sinner does not fully recognize sin for what it is apart from the Torah), having in the Torah the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth (Rom 7.12)
v 21… you, therefore (for this reason), who teach another, do you teach yourself? You who preach that one should not steal, do you steal (he is holding them accountable)?
v 22… You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?
v 23… You who boast in the Torah (that they keep it, follow it, know it), through your breaking of the Torah, do you dishonor God (he criticizes them for their arrogance and hypocrisy. They had the truth in their teachings)?
v 24… For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you” (the Jewish people-Israel was to be a blessing to the Gentile world, “my servant” a “messiah” to bring light- Isa 42.4; 49.6) just as it is written.
v 25… For indeed circumcision is of value, if you practice the Torah (the outward sign corresponds to the inward reality), but if you are a transgressor of the Torah, your circumcision has become uncircumcision (no better than a Gentile).
v 26… if, therefore (for this reason), the uncircumcised man keeps the requirement of the Torah, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision (for a non-Jew the grace of the covenant will be manifested in him without the outward seal of that covenant),
v 27…And will not he (a non-Jew) who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Torah, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Torah and circumcision are a transgressor of the Torah (this does not mean that Gentiles will judge Jews someday. It means that Gentiles who are righteous will serve as examples against those Jews who violate the Torah)?
v 28… For he is not a Jew (praise to God) who is one outwardly (having been circumcised), neither is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh (being a Jew outwardly means nothing to God).
v 29… But he is a Jew who is one inwardly (this is not saying that Gentiles are “spiritual Jews” if they believe and that God does not distinguish between Jews and Gentiles. Paul is talking to Jews in this section. Jews need to be born again – John 3); and circumcision is that which is of the heart by the Spirit (like Yeshua told Nicodemus and “in the Spirit” means “according to his purposes” and obeying the Torah by faith is his will) not by the letter (the minimum requirement of the Torah); and his praise (what Jew means, this is a Hebrew word play by Paul) is not from men but from God.
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