All who sin outside the law will also perish without reference to it, and all who sin under the law will be judged in accordance with it. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified. 14 For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people’s hidden works through Christ Jesus.
Everyone is accountable to God for his or her actions and judgment will be rendered by Christ Jesus against all who have sinned. The Gentiles could not reasonably be expected to live by the demands of the Mosaic Law because God did not reveal it to them. The Gentiles live outside the Mosaic Law so if they sin, they could not be condemned or judged according to the Law. The Jews who live according to the Law would be judged according to the prescriptions of the Law. One is not declared righteous or acquitted of sin by God (justification) by hearing and knowing the Law but by being obedient to the Law. Only those Jews who live according to the prescriptions of the Law “will find life (Lev. 18:5).” All must be “doers of the word and not hears only (Jas. 1:22)."
God has placed an innate moral sense in all humans which enables Gentiles to act according to God's moral law. Therefore, Gentiles are required to fulfill the moral requirements of the Law through their conscience despite not having been given the Mosaic law. Their conscience serves as a guide, bearing witness to the moral truths written on their hearts. Moral responsibility and accountability before God are universal whether one has received specific religious laws or not. The internal moral compass present in humans can convict or acquit them based on their actions. God will judge through Christ Jesus and even the deeds hidden in men’s hearts will be brought to light. The truth about people's actions and motives will be revealed.
Almighty God, cleanse our hearts so that we may recognize the importance of obedience to Your law and the role of conscience in discerning right from wrong. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen! Alleluia!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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