God

because what is known about God is plain to them, since God has made it plain to them.

because, although they know who God is, they do not glorify him as God or thank him. On the contrary, they have become futile in their thinking; and their undiscerning hearts have become darkened.

In fact, they have exchanged the glory of the immortal God for mere images, like a mortal human being, or like birds, animals or reptiles!

This is why God has given them up to the vileness of their hearts’ lusts, to the shameful misuse of each other’s bodies.

They have exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, by worshipping and serving created things, rather than the Creator — praised be he for ever. Amen.

This is why God has given them up to degrading passions; so that their women exchange natural sexual relations for unnatural;

In other words, since they have not considered God worth knowing, God has given them up to worthless ways of thinking; so that they do improper things.

slanderers, haters of God; they are insolent, arrogant and boastful; they plan evil schemes; they disobey their parents;

They know well enough God’s righteous decree that people who do such things deserve to die; yet not only do they keep doing them, but they applaud others who do the same.

We know that God’s judgment lands impartially on those who do such things;

do you think that you, a mere man passing judgment on others who do such things, yet doing them yourself, will escape the judgment of God?

Or perhaps you despise the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience; because you don’t realize that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to turn from your sins.

But by your stubbornness, by your unrepentant heart, you are storing up anger for yourself on the Day of Anger, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed;

For God does not show favoritism.

For it is not merely the hearers of Torah whom God considers righteous; rather, it is the doers of what Torah says who will be made righteous in God’s sight.

on a day when God passes judgment on people’s inmost secrets. (According to the Good News as I proclaim it, he does this through the Messiah Yeshua.)

But if you call yourself a Jew and rest on Torah and boast about God

You who take such pride in Torah, do you, by disobeying the Torah, dishonor God? —

as it says in the Tanakh, “For it is because of you that God’s name is blasphemed by the Goyim.”

On the contrary, the real Jew is one inwardly; and true circumcision is of the heart, spiritual not literal; so that his praise comes not from other people but from God.

Much in every way! In the first place, the Jews were entrusted with the very words of God.

If some of them were unfaithful, so what? Does their faithlessness cancel God’s faithfulness?

Heaven forbid! God would be true even if everyone were a liar! — as the Tanakh says, “so that you, God, may be proved right in your words and win the verdict when you are put on trial.”

Now if our unrighteousness highlights God’s righteousness, what should we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict his anger on us? (I am speaking here the way people commonly do.)

Heaven forbid! Else, how could God judge the world?