NIV and ESV have these two verses in brackets, indicating that they are an aside. However, there are no brackets in the original and it is perfectly possible to see these verses as part of the main argument. Paul’s central thesis is that Jews and Gentiles are all in the same boat. He has just been showing that under the Law it is obeying the Law, not merely “having” the Law, that matters and that will be the focus of judgement under the Law. He has also said “first for the Jew, then for the Greek” (2:9,10). The Jew may then object that the Gentiles (synonymous with Greek) does not have the Law so he cannot be judged, so the Jew actually is better off because he has the Law. This is the objection that Paul is answering here. So Jews are in the same boat, Gentiles are in the same boat. Everyone has some sense of right and wrong, and this shows that the Gentiles are indeed in the same boat. They do not have the Law, but they do have a sense of right and wrong, imperfect though this may be.
Conscience is a largely Greek concept, rather than a Jewish one. Our conscience is not perfect, but everyone has one and we do well to listen to it. However, it is not perfect. If the word of God is clear on something and our conscience is saying do the opposite we should obey the word of God. If our conscience is making us feel guilty about something about which there is actually no prohibition in the Bible, then we should allow the word to train our conscience.
People often object that people who have not heard the word of God will be judged unfairly, but this is not so. If God judges a person purely by what they know to be right and wrong they would still be found guilty. We should also remember that through persistent doing of evil it is possible for our conscience to become numbed, to no longer function properly. The Bible is our ultimate guide, and we should use it to train our consciences.
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