Romans 2:12

Romans 2:12 says, For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;  Not everyone in Paul's day had the Jewish law to guide them, just as everyone today has not heard the gospel preached.  This does not condemn them to everlasting punishment, though.  Even without the Law of Moses in Paul's day or without hearing the gospel today, man has the ability to know right from wrong and that there is a Creator.  God would be a very unjust God if He automatically condemned all those who never heard the gospel. This does not imply that people can be saved without Christ, but that He will judge people based on their actions, not their words.  Those with the law in Paul's day were to be judged by their obedience to the law, just as we today who have heard the gospel will be judged by our obedience to the gospel.  Verse thirteen adds, (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. The Jews of Paul's day were not made just by having heard the law, but by the keeping of the law.  We today are not made just by hearing the gospel, but by living in accordance to the gospel.  We can never live a totally sinless life even after we accept Christ as our Savior, but we are called to always attempt to do so.  When we do accept Jesus as our Savoir, we automatically accept Him as our Lord. We cannot claim salvation as a simple pass to heaven that has no bearing on our everyday life.  We must be doers of the Word.  Verse fourteen continues, For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves,  Even without having the law or hearing the gospel, people are a law unto themselves.  People know right from wrong by their very nature.  Verse fifteen states, Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)  This is the closed parenthesis started in verse thirteen.  These verse, though divide in the Bible, were a continuation of the same thoughts as Paul wrote them, and he stated the working of the law was written in their hearts and their conscience and was always bearing witness to this law.  Verse sixteen adds, In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.  All people will have their actions, even their secret thoughts, judged by Jesus Christ.  He alone is able to offer forgiveness.  This in no way implies salvation by any means other than through the sacrifice of Christ, but He will determine who has truly accepted that sacrifice, whether they know the exact words or not.  Those of us who know the gospel bear the responsibility of sharing it with the world.