<p>2:26 <i>I</i><i>f therefore the uncircumcision keep the ordinances of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?-</i> Throughout Romans, the point is made that the Lord&nbsp;<i>counts as righteous</i>&nbsp;those that believe; righteousness is&nbsp;<i>imputed</i>&nbsp;to us the unrighteous (Rom. 2:26; 4:3,4,5,6,8,9,10,11,22,23,24; 8:36; 9:8). But the very same Greek word is used of&nbsp;<i>our</i>&nbsp;self-perception. We must count / impute ourselves as righteous men and women, and count each other as righteous on the basis of recognising each other&rsquo;s faith rather than works: &ldquo;Therefore we conclude we count / impute / consider that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law... Likewise reckon impute ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord&rdquo; (Rom. 3:28; 6:11). We should&nbsp;<i>feel</i>&nbsp;clean and righteous, and act accordingly, both in our own behaviour and in our feelings towards each other.</p><p>The readership in the Roman ecclesia appears to have been mixed, Jew and Gentile. The Gentile world of darkness doesn&rsquo;t keep the righteousness of the Law. &ldquo;The uncircumcision&rdquo; here must surely refer to the uncircumcised Christian believers, especially those in the Roman ecclesia. Indeed, &ldquo;the circumcision&rdquo; in Acts 10:45; 11:2; Tit. 1:10 and Gal. 2:12 refers to the circumcised&nbsp;<i>believers in Christ</i>; and so it&rsquo;s likely that here in Romans it has the same meaning. The Gentile believers were counted as Jews, under the new definition of &lsquo;Israel&rsquo; which there now was in Christ: &ldquo;For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh&rdquo; (Phil. 3:3).&nbsp;</p>