Romans 2:27

27 Many are not circumcised physically, but they obey the law. They will prove that you are guilty. You are breaking the law, even though you have the written law and are circumcised.

Romans 2:27 Meaning and Commentary

Romans 2:27

And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature
That is, the Gentiles, who are by nature uncircumcised; for as circumcision was by the command of God, and performed by the art of men, uncircumcision is by nature, and what men naturally have. Now

if it,
such persons,

fulfil the law
in Christ, they will

judge thee,
the circumcision: and condemn, as Noah condemned the old world, ( Hebrews 11:7 ) , and the men of Nineveh and the queen of the south will condemn the men of that generation, in which Christ lived, ( Matthew 12:41 Matthew 12:42 ) ( Luke 11:31 Luke 11:32 ) .

Who by the letter and circumcision transgress the law;
that is, either by the law, which is "the letter", and "by circumcision", or "by circumcision which is in the letter", ( Romans 2:29 ) , sin being increased by the prohibitions of the moral law, and the rituals of the ceremonial law, and the more so by a dependence upon an obedience to either of them, or both, for justification.

Romans 2:27 In-Context

25 Circumcision has value if you obey the law. But if you break the law, it is just as if you hadn't been circumcised.

26 Sometimes those who aren't circumcised do what the law requires. Won't God accept them as if they had been circumcised?

27 Many are not circumcised physically, but they obey the law. They will prove that you are guilty. You are breaking the law, even though you have the written law and are circumcised.

28 A man is not a Jew if he is a Jew only on the outside. And circumcision is more than just something done to the outside of a man's body.

29 No, a man is a Jew only if he is a Jew on the inside. And true circumcision means that the heart has been circumcised. It is done by the Holy Spirit. It is more than just obeying the written Law. Then a man's praise will not come from others. It will come from God.