2:12
All of us are subject to judgement by God. Here in Romans Paul says that they are actually quite right in saying that the Gentiles would perish. They didn’t have the Law, they, for the most part, did not live good lives. There was an awful lot of immorality. While they did not have the Law, they would “perish apart from the Law”. The Jews did have the Law, so they would be judged by the Law. The Law that they were so proud of would condemn them.
2:13
This makes a fundamental point. Having the Law in itself was of no advantage. The advantage it did give them was showing them how they should live, but if they did not do these things then they would perish, just like the Gentile sinner. The Law says we are righteous if we do the things that the Law requires. So instead of treating the Law as a kind of good luck charm, they should have treated it as a light, both showing them how to live, and showing up how far short of God’s ways they fell. In the same way, going to the “right church” is of no use, nor is hearing the gospel unless we believe the gospel.
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