Romans 2:23-29

23You are proud that you know God's Law. But you do not obey that Law. As a result, you cause other people to speak against God.

24This is written in the Bible: ‘Because of you Jews, the Gentiles say bad things against God.’

25As a Jewish man, you are proud that someone has circumcised you. That is a help to you, if you obey God's Law in your life. But if you do not obey God's Law, then it is worth nothing. You have become like a Gentile that nobody has ever circumcised.

26But a Gentile may obey what God's Law teaches. Then he has shown that he belongs to God even though nobody has circumcised him.

27In that way, even Gentiles will show that you who are Jews are wrong. God's Law was written to help you Jews. They circumcised you to show that you belong to God. But if you refuse to obey God's Law, then God will punish you. The Gentiles who do obey God's Law will show that God is right to punish you.

28Not everyone who seems to be a Jew is really a Jew who belongs to God. God does not accept a man just because someone has circumcised that man's body.

29No! A true Jew is someone who belongs to God in his spirit. He belongs to God because God's Spirit has changed his life. It is like God has circumcised him in his spirit, not in his body. The rules in God's Law cannot do that work in a person. Other people may not praise a person like that, but God will praise him.