All language subtitles for Romans - Chapters 1 to 16 (Contemporary English)

Paul's letter to the church in Rome

Romans one from Paul a servant of Christ

Jesus God chose me to be an apostle and

he appointed me to preach the good news

that he promised long ago by what his

prophet said in the Holy Scriptures this

good news is about his son our Lord

Jesus Christ as a human he was from the

family of David but the Holy Spirit

proved that Jesus is the powerful Son of

God because he was raised from death

Jesus was kind to me and chose me to be

an apostle so the people of all nations

would obey and have faith you are some

of those people chosen by Jesus Christ

this letter is to all of you in Rome God

loves you and has chosen you to be his

very own people I pray that God our

Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be

kind to you and will bless you with

peace first I thank God in the name of

Jesus Christ for all of you I do this

because people everywhere in the world

are talking about your faith God has

seen how I never stopped praying for you

while I serve Him with all my heart and

tell the good news about his son in all

my prayers I ask God to make it possible

for me to visit you I want to see you

and share with you the same blessings

that God's Spirit has given me then you

will grow stronger in your faith what I

am saying is that we can encourage each

other by the faith that is ours my

friends I want you to know that I have

often planned to come for a visit but

something has always kept me from doing

it I want to win followers to Christ in

Rome as I have done in many other places

it doesn't matter if people are

civilized and educated or if they are

uncivilized and uneducated I must tell

the good news to everyone that's why I

am eager to visit all of you in Rome I

am proud of the good news

it is God's powerful way of saving all

people who have faith whether they are

Jews or Gentiles the good news tells how

God accepts everyone who has faith but

only those who have faith it is just as

the scriptures say the people God

accepts because of their faith will live

from heaven God shows how angry he is

with all the wicked and evil things that

sinful people do to crush the truth they

know everything that can be known about

God because God has shown it all to them

God's eternal power and character cannot

be seen but from the beginning of

creation God has shown what these are

like by all he has made that's why these

people don't have any excuse they know

about God but they don't honor him or

even thank him their thoughts are

useless and their stupid minds are in

the dark they claim to be wise but they

are fools

they don't worship the glorious and

eternal God instead they worship idols

that are made to look like humans who

cannot live forever and like birds

animals and reptiles

so God let these people go their own way

they did what they wanted to do and

their filthy thoughts made them do

shameful things with their bodies they

gave up the truth about God for a lie

and they worshipped God's creation

instead of God who will be praised

forever amen

God let them follow their own evil

desires women no longer wanted to have

sex in a natural way and they did things

with each other that were not natural

men behaved in the same way they stopped

wanting to have sex with women and had

strong desires for sex with other men

they did shameful things with each other

and what has happened to them as

punishment for their foolish deeds since

these people refused even to think about

God he let their useless minds rule over

them that's why they do all sorts of

indecent things they are evil wicked and

greedy as well as mean in every possible

way they want what others have and they

murder argued cheat and are hard to get

along with they gossip say cruel things

about others and hate God they are proud

conceited and boastful always thinking

up new ways to do evil these people

don't respect their parents they are

stupid unreliable and don't have any

love or pity for others they know God

has said that anyone who acts this way

deserves to die but they keep on doing

evil things and they even encourage

others to do them Romans 2 some of you

accuse others of doing wrong but there

is no excuse for what you do when you

judge others you condemn yourselves

because you are guilty of doing the very

same things we know that God is right to

judge everyone who behaves in this way

do you really think God won't punish you

when you behave exactly like the people

you accuse you surely don't think much

of God's wonderful goodness or of his

patience and willingness to put up with

you don't you know that the reason God

is good to you is because he wants you

to turn to him

but you are stubborn and refused to turn

to God so you are making things even

worse for yourselves on that day when he

will show how angry he is and will judge

the world with fairness God will reward

each of us for what we have done

he will give eternal life to everyone

who has patiently done what is good in

the hope of receiving glory honor and

life that lasts forever but he will show

how angry and furious he can be with

every selfish person who rejects the

truth that wants to do evil all who are

wicked will be punished with trouble and

suffering it doesn't matter if they are

Jews or Gentiles but all who do right

will be rewarded with glory honor and

peace whether they are Jews or Gentiles

God doesn't have any favorites those

people who don't know about God's law

will still be punished for what they do

wrong and the law will be used to judge

everyone who knows what it says God

accepts those who obey his law but not

those who simply hear it some people

naturally obeyed the laws commands even

though they don't have the law this

proves that the conscience is like a law

written in the human heart and it will

show whether we are forgiven or

condemned when God has Jesus Christ

judge everyone secret thoughts just as

my message says some of you call

yourselves Jews you trust in the law and

take pride in God by reading the

scriptures you learn how God wants you

to behave and you discover what is right

you are sure that you are a guide for

the blind and a light for all who are in

the dark

and since there is knowledge and truth

in God's law you think you can instruct

fools and teach young people but how can

you teach others when you refuse to

learn you preach that it is wrong to

steal but do you steal you say people

should be faithful in marriage but are

you faithful you hate idols yet you

robbed their temples you take pride in

the law but you disobey the law and

bring shame to God it is just as the

Scriptures tell us you have made

foreigners say insulting things about

God being circumcised is worthwhile if

you obey the law but if you don't obey

the law you are no better off than

people who are not circumcised in fact

if they obey the law they are as good as

anyone who is circumcised so everyone

who obeys the law but has never been

circumcised will condemn you even though

you are circumcised and have the law you

still don't obey its teachings just

because you live like a Jew and are

circumcized does not make you a real Jew

to be a real Jew you must obey the law

true circumcision is something that

happens deep in your heart not something

done to your body and besides you should

want praise from God and not from humans

Romans 3 what good is it to be a Jew

what good is it to be circumcised it is

good in a lot of ways first of all God's

messages were spoken to the Jews it is

true that some Jews did not believe the

message but does this mean that God

cannot be trusted just because they did

not have faith

no indeed God tells the truth even if

everyone else is a liar the scriptures

say about God your words will be proven

true and in court you will win your case

if our evil deeds show how right God is

then what can we say is it wrong for God

to become angry and punish us what a

foolish thing to ask but the answer is

no otherwise how could God judge the

world since your lives bring great honor

to God by showing how truthful he is you

may ask why God still says you are a

sinner you might as well say let's do

something evil so that something good

will come of it some people even claim

that we are saying this but God is fair

and will judge them as well what does

all this mean does it mean that we Jews

are better off than the Gentiles no it

doesn't Jews as well as Gentiles are

ruled by sin just as I have said the

Scriptures tell us no one is acceptable

to God not one of them understands or

even searches for God they've all turned

away and are worthless there is not one

person who does right their words are

like an open pit and their tongues are

good only for telling lies each word is

as deadly as the fangs of a snake and

they say nothing but bitter curses these

people quickly become violent wherever

they go they leave ruin and destruction

they don't know how to live in peace

they don't even fear God we know that

everything in the law was written for

those who are under its power

the law says these things to stop anyone

from making excuses and to let God show

that the whole world is guilty God does

not accept people simply because they

obey the law no indeed all the law does

is to point out our sin now we see how

God does make us acceptable to him the

law and the prophets tell us how we

become acceptable and it isn't by

obeying the law of Moses God treats

everyone alike he accepts people only

because they have faith in Jesus Christ

all of us have sinned and fallen short

of God's glory but God treats us much

better than we deserve and because of

Jesus Christ he freely accepts us and

sets us free from our sins God sent

Christ to be our sacrifice Christ

offered his life's blood so that by

faith in Him we could come to God and

God did this to show that in the past he

was right to be patient and forgive

sinners this also shows that God is

right when he accepts people who have

faith in Jesus what is left for us to

brag about not a thing is it because we

obeyed some law no it is because of

faith we see that people are acceptable

to God because they have faith and not

because they obey the law does God

belong only to the Jews isn't he also

the God of the Gentiles yes he is there

is only one God and he accepts Gentiles

as well as Jews simply because of their

faith do we destroy the law by our faith

not at all we make it even more powerful

romans 4 well then what can we say about

our ancestor Abraham if he became

acceptable to God because of what he did

then he would have something to brag

about but he would never be able to brag

about it to God

the scriptures say

God accepted Abraham because Abraham had

faith in him money paid to workers isn't

a gift it is something they earn by

working but you cannot make God accept

you because of something you do God

accepts sinners only because they have

faith in him in the scriptures David

talks about the blessings that come to

people who are acceptable to God even

though they don't do anything to deserve

these blessings David says God blesses

people whose sins are forgiven and whose

evil deeds are forgotten the Lord

blesses people whose sins are erased

from his book are these blessings meant

for circumcised people or for those who

are not circumcised

well the scriptures say that God

accepted Abraham because Abraham had

faith in him but when did this happen

was it before or after Abraham was

circumcised of course it was before

Abraham let himself be circumcised to

show that he had been accepted because

of his faith even before he was

circumcised

this makes Abraham the father of all who

were acceptable to God because of their

faith even though they are not

circumcised this also makes Abraham the

father of everyone who is circumcised

and has faith in God as Abraham did

before he was circumcised God promised

Abraham and his descendants that he

would give them the world this promise

was not made because Abraham had obeyed

the law but because his faith in God

made him acceptable if Abraham and his

descendants were given this promise

because they had obeyed the law then

faith would mean nothing and the promise

would be worthless

God becomes angry when his law is broken

but where there isn't a law it cannot be

broken

everything depends on having faith in

God so that God can keep his promise

because he is kind this promise is not

only for Abraham's descendants who have

the law it is for all who are Abraham's

descendants because they have faith just

as he did Abraham is the ancestor of us

all the Scriptures say that Abraham

would become the ancestor of many

nations this promise was made to Abraham

because he had faith in God who raises

the dead to life and creates new things

God promised Abraham a lot of descendants

and when it all seemed hopeless

Abraham still had faith in God and

became the ancestor of many nations

Abraham's faith never became weak not

even when he was nearly a hundred years

old he knew that he was almost dead and

that his wife Sarah could not have

children but Abraham never doubted or

questioned God's promise his faith made

him strong and he gave all the credit to

God Abraham was certain that God could

do what he had promised so God accepted

him just as we read in the scriptures

but these words were not written only

for Abraham they were written for us

since we will also be accepted because

of our faith in God who raised our Lord

Jesus to life God gave Jesus to die for

our sins and he raised him to life so

that we would be made acceptable to God

Romans five by faith we have been made

acceptable to God and now because of our

Lord Jesus Christ we live at peace with

God Christ has also introduced us to

God's undeserved kindness on which we

take our stand

so we are happy as we look forward to

sharing in the glory of God but that's

not all we gladly suffer because we know

that suffering helps us to endure an

endurance bills character which gives us

a hope that will never disappoint us all

of this happens because God has given us

the Holy Spirit who fills our hearts

with his love Christ died for us at a

time when we were helpless and sinful no

one is really willing to die for an

honest person though someone might be

willing to die for a truly good person

but God showed how much he loved us by

having Christ died for us even though we

were sinful but there is more now that

God has accepted us because Christ

sacrificed his life's blood

we will also be kept safe from God's

anger even when we were God's enemies he

made peace with us because his son died

for us yet something even greater than

friendship is ours now that we are at

peace with God we will be saved by his

son's life and in addition to everything

else we are happy because God sent our

Lord Jesus Christ to make peace with us

Adam sinned and that sin brought death

into the world now everyone has sinned

and so everyone must die sin was in the

world before the law came but no record

of sin was kept because there was no law

yet death still had power over all who

lived from the time of Adam to the time

of Moses this happened though not

everyone disobeyed a direct command from

God as Adam did in some ways Adam is

like Christ who came later but the gift

that God was kind enough to give was

very different from Adam sin that one

sin brought death to many others yet in

an even greater way Jesus Christ alone

brought God's gift of kindness to many

people there is a lot of difference

between Adam's sin and God's gift that

one sin led to punishment but God's gift

made it possible for us to be acceptable

to him

and though we have sinned many times

death ruled like a king because Adam had

sinned but that cannot compare with what

Jesus Christ has done God has been so

kind to us and he has accepted us

because of Jesus and so we will live and

rule like kings everyone was going to be

punished because Adam sinned but because

of the good thing that Christ has done

God accepts us and gives us the gift of

life

Adam disobeyed God and caused many

others to be sinners but Jesus obeyed

him and will make many people acceptable

to God the law came so that the full

power of sin could be seen yet where sin

was powerful God's kindness was even

more powerful sin ruled by means of

death but God's kindness now rules and

God has accepted us because of Jesus

Christ our Lord this means that we will

have eternal life Romans 6 what should

we say

should we keep on sinning so that God's

kindness will show up even better no we

should not if we are dead to sin how can

we go on sinning don't you know that all

who share in Christ Jesus by being

baptized also share in his death when we

were baptized we died and were buried

with Christ we were baptized so that we

would live a new life as Christ was

raised to life by the glory of God the

Father

if we shared in Jesus's death by being

baptized we will surely be raised to

life with him

we know that the persons we used to be

were nailed to the cross with Jesus this

was done so that our sinful bodies would

no longer be the slaves of sin we know

that sin does not have power over dead

people as surely as we died with Christ

we believe we will also live with him we

know that death no longer has any power

over Christ he died and was raised to

life never again to die when Christ died

he died for sin once and for all but now

he is alive and he lives only for God in

the same way you must think of

yourselves as dead to the power of sin

but Christ Jesus has given life to you

and you live for God don't let sin rule

your body after all your body is bound

to die so don't obey its desires or to

let any part of it become a slave of

evil give yourselves to God as people

who have been raised from death to life

make every part of your body a slave

that pleases God don't let sin keep

ruling your lives you are ruled by God's

kindness and not by the law what does

all this mean does it mean we are free

to sin because we are ruled by God's

kindness and not by the law certainly

not don't you know that you are slaves

of anyone you obey you can be slaves of

sin and die or you can be obedient

slaves of God and be acceptable to him

you used to be slaves of sin but I thank

God that with all your heart you obeyed

the teaching you received from me now

you are set free from sin and our slaves

who please God I am using these everyday

examples because in some ways you are

still weak you used to let the different

parts of your body be slaves of your

evil thoughts but now you must make

every part of your body serve God so

that you will belong completely to him

when you were slaves of sin you didn't

have to please God but what good did you

receive from the things you did all you

have to show for them is your shame and

they lead to death now you have been set

free from sin and you are God's slaves

this will make you holy and will lead

you to eternal life.

sin pays off with death but god's gift

is eternal life given by Jesus Christ

our Lord Romans 7

my friends you surely understand enough

about law to know that laws only have

power over people who are alive for

example the law says that a man's wife

must remain his wife as long as he lives

but once her husband is dead she's free

to marry someone else however if she

goes off with another man while her

husband is still alive she is said to be

unfaithful that is how it is with you my

friends you are now part of the body of

Christ and are dead to the power of the

law you are free to belong to Christ who

was raised to life so that we could

serve God when we thought only of

ourselves the law made us have sinful

desires it made every part of our bodies

into slaves who are doomed to die but

the law no longer rules over us we are

like dead people and it cannot have any

power over us

now we can serve God in a new way by

obeying his spirit and not in the old

way by obeying the written law does this

mean that the law is sinful certainly

not but if it had not been for the law I

would not have known what sin is really

like for example I would not have known

what it means to want something that

belongs to someone else unless the law

had told me not to do that it was sin

that used this command as a way of

making me have all kinds of desires but

without the law sin is dead before I

knew about the law I was alive but as

soon as I heard that command sin came to

life and I died the very command that

was supposed to bring life to me instead

brought death sin used this command to

trick me and because of it I died still

the law and it's commands are holy and

correct and good am I saying that

something good caused my death certainly

not it was sin that killed me by using

something good now we can see how

terrible and evil sin really is we know

that the law is spiritual but I am

merely a human and I have been sold as a

slave to sin in fact I don't understand

why I act the way I do I don't do what I

know is right I do the things I hate

although I don't do what I know is right

I agree that the law is good so I am not

the one doing these evil things

the sin that lives in me is what does

them I know that my selfish desires

won't let me do anything that is good

even when I want to do right I cannot

instead of doing what I know is right I

do wrong and so if I don't do what I

know is right I am no longer the one

doing these evil things the scene that

lives in me is what does them the law

has shown me that something in me keeps

me from doing what I know is right with

my whole heart I agree with the law of

God but in every part of me I discover

something fighting against my mind and

it makes me a prisoner of sin that

controls everything I do what a

miserable person I am who will rescue me

from this body that is doomed to die

thank God Jesus Christ will rescue me so

with my mind I serve the law of God

although my selfish desires make me

serve the law of sin Romans 8 if you

belong to Christ Jesus you won't be

punished the Holy Spirit will give you

life that comes from Christ Jesus and

will set you free from sin and death the

law of Moses cannot do this because our

selfish desires make the law weak but

God set you free when he sent his own

son to be like us sinners and to be a

sacrifice for our sin God used Christ's

body to condemn sin he did this so that

we would do what the law commands by

obeying the spirit instead of our own

desires people who are ruled by their

desires think only of themselves

everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit

thinks about spiritual things if our

minds are ruled by our desires we will

die but if our minds are ruled by the

Spirit we will have

and peace our desires fight against God

because they do not and cannot obey

God's laws if we follow our desires we

cannot please God you are no longer

ruled by your desires but by God's

Spirit who lives in you people who don't

have the Spirit of Christ in them don't

belong to him but Christ lives in you so

you are alive because God has accepted

you even though your bodies must die

because of your sins yet God raised

Jesus to life

God's Spirit now lives in you and he

will raise you to life by his spirit my

dear friends we must not live to satisfy

our desires if you do you will die but

you will live if by the help of God's

Spirit you say no to your desires only

those people who are led by God's Spirit

are his children

God's Spirit doesn't make us slaves who

are afraid of him instead we become his

children and call him our Father

God's Spirit makes us sure that we are

his children his spirit lets us know

that together with Christ we will be

given what God has promised we will also

share in the glory of Christ because we

have suffered with him I am sure that

what we are suffering now cannot compare

with the glory that will be shown to us

in fact all creation is eagerly waiting

for God to show who his children are

meanwhile creation is confused but not

because it wants to be confused God made

it this way in the hope that creation

would be set free from decay and would

share in the glorious freedom of his

children we know that

all creation is still groaning and is in

pain like a woman about to give birth

the spirit makes us sure about what we

will be in the future but now we groan

silently while we wait for God to show

that we are his children this means that

our bodies will also be set free and

this hope is what saves us but if we

already have what we hope for there is

no need to keep on hoping however we

hope for something we have not yet seen

and we patiently wait for it in certain

ways we are weak but the Spirit is here

to help us for example when we don't

know what to pray for the spirit prays

for us in ways that cannot be put into

words all of our thoughts are known to

God he can understand what is in the

mind of the Spirit as the spirit prays

for God's people we know that God is

always at work for the good of everyone

who loves him they are the ones God has

chosen for his purpose and he has always

known who his chosen ones would be he

had decided to let them become like his

own son so that his son would be the

first of many children God then accepted

the people he had already decided to

choose and he has shared his glory with

them what can we say about all this if

God is on our side can anyone be against

us God did not keep back his own son but

he gave him for us if God did this won't

he freely give us everything else if God

says his chosen ones are acceptable to

him can anyone bring charges against

them or can anyone condemn them no

indeed Christ died and was raised to

life and now he is at God's right side

speaking to him for us can anything

separate us from the love of Christ can

trouble suffering and hard times

hunger and nakedness, or danger and

death? it is exactly as the scriptures

say for you we face death all day long

we are like sheep on their way to the

butcher in everything we have one more

than a victory because of Christ who

loves us I am sure that nothing can

separate us from God's love not life or

death not angels or spirits not the

present or the future and not powers

above or powers below nothing in all

creation can separate us from God's love

for us in Christ Jesus our Lord Romans 9

I am a follower of Christ and the Holy

Spirit is a witness to my conscience so

I tell the truth and I am not lying when

I say my heart is broken and I am in

great sorrow I would gladly be placed

under God's curse and be separated from

Christ for the good of my own Jewish

people they are the descendants of

Israel and they are also God's chosen

people God showed them his glory he made

agreements with them and gave them his

law the temple is theirs and so are the

promises that God made to them they have

those famous ancestors who were also the

ancestors of Jesus Christ I pray that

God who rules over all will be praised

forever amen

it cannot be said that God broke his

promise after all not all of the people

of Israel are the true people of God in

fact when God made the promise to

Abraham he meant only Abraham's

descendants by his son Isaac God was

talking only about Isaac when he

promised Sarah at this time next year I

will return and you will already have a

son don't forget what happened to the

twin sons of Isaac and Rebekah even

before they were born or had done

anything good or bad the Lord told

Rebecca that her older son would serve

the younger one the Lord said this to

show that he makes his own choices and

that it was not because of anything

either of them had done that's why the

Scriptures say that the Lord like Jacob

more than Esau are we saying that God is

unfair certainly not the Lord told Moses

that he has pity and mercy on anyone he

wants to everything then depends on

God's mercy and not on what people want

or do in the scriptures the Lord says to

Pharaoh I let you become king so that I

could show you my power and be praised

by all people on earth

everything depends on what God decides

to do and he can either have pity on

people or make them stubborn someone may

ask how can God blame us if he makes us

behave in the way he wants us to but my

friend I asked who do you think you are

to question God does the clay have the

right to ask the Potter why he shaped it

the way he did it doesn't a Potter have

the right to make a fancy bowl and a

plain bowl out of the same lump of clay

God wanted to show his anger and reveal

his power against everyone who deserved

to be destroyed but instead he patiently

put up with them he did this by showing

how glorious he is when he has pity on

the people he has chosen to share in his

glory whether Jews or Gentiles we are

those chosen ones just as the Lord says

in the book of Hosea although they are

not my people I will make them my people

I will treat with love those nations

that have never been loved once they

were told you are not by people but in

that very place they will be called

children of the Living God

and this is what the prophet Isaiah said

about the people of Israel the people of

Israel are as many as the grains of sand

along the beach but only a few who are

left will be saved the Lord will be

quick and sure to do on earth

what he has warned he will do Isaiah

also said if the Lord all-powerful had

not spared some of our descendants we

would have been destroyed like the

cities of Sodom and Gomorrah

what does all of this mean it means that

the Gentiles were not trying to be

acceptable to God but they found that he

would accept them if they had faith it

also means that the people of Israel

were not acceptable to God and why not

it was because they were trying to be

acceptable by obeying the law instead of

by having faith in God the people of

Israel fell over the stone that makes

people stumble just as God says in the

scriptures look I am placing in Zion a

stone to make people stumble and fall

but those who have faith in that one

will never be disappointed Romans 10

dear friends my greatest wish and my

prayer to God is for the people of

Israel to be saved I know they love God

but they don't understand what makes

people acceptable to him so they refuse

to trust God and they try to be

acceptable by obeying the law but Christ

makes the law no longer necessary for

those who become acceptable to God by

faith Moses said that a person could

become acceptable to God by obeying the

law he did this when he wrote if you

want to live you must do all that the

law commands but people whose faith

makes them acceptable to God will never

ask who will go up to heaven to bring

Christ down neither will they ask who

will go down into the world of the dead

to raise him to life all who are

acceptable because of their faith simply

say the message is as near as your mouth

or your heart and this is the same

message we preach about faith so you

will be saved if you honestly say Jesus

is Lord and if you believe with all your

heart that God raised him from death God

will accept you and save you if you

truly believe

this and tell it to others the

scriptures say that no one who has faith

will be disappointed no matter if that

person is a Jew or a Gentile there is

only one Lord and he is generous to

everyone who asks for his help all who

call out to the Lord will be saved

but how can people ask the Lord to save

them if they have never had faith in him

how can they hear about him unless

someone tells them and how can anyone

tell them without being sent by the Lord

the scriptures say it is a beautiful

sight to see even the feet of someone

coming to preach the good news yet not

everyone has believed the message for

example the prophet Isaiah asked Lord

has anyone believed what we said no one

can have faith without hearing the

message about Christ but am I saying

that the people of Israel did not hear

no I am NOT the Scriptures say the

message was told everywhere on earth it

was announced all over the world did the

people of Israel understand or not Moses

answered this question when he told that

the Lord had said I will make Israel

jealous of people who are a nation of

nobodies I will make them angry at

people who don't understand a thing

Isaiah was fearless enough to tell that

the Lord had said I was found by people

who were not looking for me I appeared

to the ones who are not asking about me

and Isaiah said about the people of

Israel all day long the Lord has reached

out to people who are stubborn and

refused to obey Romans 11 am I saying

that God has turned his back on his

people certainly not I am one of the

people of Israel and I myself am a

descendant of Abraham from the tribe of

Benjamin

God did not turn his back on his chosen

people don't you remember reading in the

scriptures how Elijah complained to God

about the people of Israel he said Lord

they killed your prophets and destroyed

your altars I am the only one left and

now they want to kill me but the Lord

told Elijah I still have seven thousand

followers who have not worshiped Bale it

is the same way now God was kind to the

people of Israel and so a few of them

are still his followers this happened

because of God's undeserved kindness and

not because of anything they have done

it could not have happened except for

God's kindness this means that only a

chosen few of the people of Israel found

what all of them were searching for and

the rest of them were stubborn just as

the Scriptures say God made them so

stupid that their eyes are blind their

ears are still deaf then David said turn

their meals into bait for a trap so that

they will stumble and be given what they

deserve

blindfold their eyes don't let them see

bend their backs beneath the burden that

will never be lifted do I mean that the

people of Israel fell never to get up

again certainly not their failure made

it possible for the Gentiles to be saved

and this will make the people of Israel

jealous but if the rest of the world's

people were helped so much by Israel's

sin and loss they will be helped even

more by Israel's full return I am now

speaking to you Gentiles and as long as

I am an apostle to you I will take pride

in my work

I hope in this way to make some of my

own people jealous enough to be saved

when Israel rejected God the rest of the

people in the world were able to turn to

him so when God makes friends with

Israel it will be like bringing the dead

back to life

if part of a batch of dough is made holy

by being offered to God then all of the

dough is holy if the roots of a tree are

holy the rest of the tree is holy to you

Gentiles are like branches of a wild

olive tree that were made to be part of

a cultivated olive tree you have taken

the place of some branches that were cut

away from it and because of this you

enjoy the blessings that come from being

part of that cultivated tree but don't

think you are better than the branches

that were cut away just remember that

you are not supporting the roots of that

tree its roots are supporting you maybe

you think those branches were cut away

so that you could be put in their place

that's true enough but they were cut

away because they did not have faith and

you are where you are because you do

have faith so don't be proud but be

afraid if God cut away those natural

branches couldn't he do the same to you

now you see both how kind and how hard

God can be he was hard on those who fell

but he was kind to you and he will keep

on being kind to you if you keep on

trusting in his kindness otherwise you

will be cut away too

if those other branches will start

having faith they will be made a part of

that tree again God has the power to put

them back after all it was not natural

for branches to be cut from a wild olive

tree and to be made part of a cultivated

olive tree so it is much more likely

that God will join the natural branches

back to the cultivated olive tree my

friends I don't want you Gentiles to be

too proud of yourselves

so I will explain the mystery of what

has happened to the people of Israel

some of them have become stubborn and

they will stay like that until the

complete number of you Gentiles has come

in in this way all of Israel will be

saved as the scriptures say from Zion

someone will come to rescue us

that Jacobs descendants will stop being

evil this is what the Lord has promised

to do when he forgives their sins the

people of Israel are treated as God's

enemies so that the good news can come

to you Gentiles but they are still the

chosen ones and God loves them because

of their famous ancestors God does not

take back the gifts he has given or

forget about the people he has chosen at

one time you Gentiles rejected God but

now is

has rejected God and you have been shown

mercy and because of the mercy shown to

you they will also be shown mercy all

people have disobeyed God and that's why

he treats them as prisoners but he does

this so that he can have mercy on all of

them who can measure the wealth and

wisdom and knowledge of God who can

understand his decisions or explain what

he does has anyone known the thoughts of

the Lord or given him advice as anyone

loaned something to the Lord that must

be repaid everything comes from the Lord

all things were made because of him and

will return to Him praise the Lord

forever

amen Romans 12 dear friends God is good

so I beg you to offer your bodies to him

as a living sacrifice pure and pleasing

that's the most sensible way to serve

God don't be like the people of this

world but let God change the way you

think then you will know how to do

everything that is good and pleasing to

him

I realize how kind God has been to me

and so I tell each of you not to think

you are better than you really are use

good sense and measure yourself by the

amount of faith God has given you body

is made up of many parts and each of

them has its own use that's how it is

with us there are many of us but we each

are part of the body of Christ as well

as part of one another God has also

given each of us different gifts to use

if we can prophesy we should do it

according to the amount of faith we have

if we can serve others we should serve

if we can teach we should teach if we

can encourage others we should encourage

them if we can give we should be

generous if we are leaders we should

our best if we are good to others we

should do it cheerfully be sincere in

your love for others hate everything

that is evil and hold tight to

everything that is good love each other

as brothers and sisters and honor others

more than you do yourself never give up

eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and serve

the Lord let your hope make you glad be

patient in time of trouble and never

stop praying take care of God's needy

people and welcome strangers into your

home ask God to bless everyone who

mistreats you ask him to bless them and

not to curse them when others are happy

be happy with them and when they are sad

be sad be friendly with everyone don't

be proud and feel that you are smarter

than others make friends with ordinary

people don't mistreat someone who has

mistreated you but try to earn the

respect of others and do your best to

live at peace with everyone

dear friends don't try to get even let

God take revenge in the scriptures the

Lord says I am the one to take revenge

and pay them back the scriptures also

say if your enemies are hungry

give them something to eat and if they

are thirsty give them something to drink

this will be the same as piling burning

coals on their heads

don't let evil defeat you but defeat

evil with good

Romans 13 obey the rulers who have

authority over you only God can give

authority to anyone and he puts these

rulers in their places of power people

who oppose the authorities are opposing

what God has done and they will be

punished rulers are a threat to evil

people not to good people there is no

need to be afraid of the authorities

just do right and they will praise you

for it after all they are God's servants

and it is their duty to help you if you

do something wrong you ought to be

afraid because these rulers have the

right to punish you

they are God's servants who punish

criminals to show how angry God is but

you should obey the rulers because you

know it is the right thing to do and not

just because of God's anger

you must also pay your taxes the

authorities are God's servants and it is

their duty to take care of these matters

pay all that you owe whether it is taxes

and fees or respect and honor let love

be your only debt if you love others you

have done all that the law demands in

the law there are many commands such as

be faithful in marriage do not murder do

not steal do not want what belongs to

others but all of these are summed up in

the command that says love others as

much as you love yourself no one who

loves others will harm them so love is

all that the law demands you know what

sort of times we live in and so you

should live properly it is time to wake

up you know that the day when we will be

saved is nearer now than when we first

put our faith in the Lord

night is almost over and day will soon

appear

we must stop behaving as people do in

the dark and be ready to live in the

light so behave properly as people do in

the day don't go to wild parties or get

drunk or be vulgar or indecent don't

quarrel or be jealous let the Lord Jesus

Christ be as near to you as the clothes

you wear then you won't try to satisfy

your selfish desires Romans 14 welcomed

all the Lord's followers even those

whose faith is weak don't criticize them

for having beliefs that are different

from yours some think it is alright to

eat anything

while those who stay this week will eat

only vegetables but you should not

criticize others for eating or for not

eating after all God welcomes everyone

what right do you have to criticize

someone else's servants only their Lord

can decide if they are doing right and

the Lord will make sure that they do

right some of the Lord's followers think

one day is more important than another

others think all days are the same but

each of you should make up your own mind

any followers who count one day more

important than another day do it to

honor their Lord and any followers who

eat meat give thanks to God just like

the ones who don't eat meat whether we

live or die it must be for God rather

than for ourselves

whether we live or die it must be for

the Lord alive or dead we still belong

to the Lord this is because Christ died

and rose to life so that he would be the

lord of the Dead and of the living why

do you criticize other followers of the

Lord why do you look down on them the

day is coming when God will judge all of

us in the scriptures God says I swear by

my very life that everyone will kneel

down and praise my name and so each of

us must give an account to God for what

we do we must stop judging others we

must also make up our minds not to upset

anyone's faith the Lord Jesus has made

it clear to me that God considers all

foods fit to eat but if you think some

foods are unfit to eat then for you they

are not fit if you are hurting others by

the foods you eat you are not guided by

love

don't let your appetite destroy someone

Christ died for

don't let your right to eat bring shame

to Christ God's kingdom is not about

eating and drinking it is about pleasing

God about living in peace and about true

happiness all this comes from the Holy

Spirit if you serve Christ in this way

you will please God and be respected by

people we should try to live at peace

and help each other have a strong faith

don't let your appetite destroy what God

has done all foods are fit to eat but it

is wrong to cause problems for others by

what you eat it is best not to eat meat

or drink wine or do anything else that

causes problems for other followers of

the Lord what you believe about these

things should be kept between you and

God you are fortunate if your actions

don't make you have doubts but if you do

have doubts about what you eat you are

going against your beliefs and you know

that is wrong because anything you do

against your beliefs is sin Romans 15 if

our faith is strong we should be patient

with the Lord's followers whose faith is

weak we should try to please them

instead of ourselves we should think of

their good and try to help them by doing

what pleases them even Christ did not

try to please himself but as the

scriptures say the people who insulted

you also insulted me and the scriptures

were written to teach and encourage us

by giving us hope God is the one who

makes us patient and cheerful I pray

that he will help you live at peace with

each other as you follow Christ then all

of you together will praise God the

Father of our Lord Jesus Christ

honor God by accepting each other as

Christ has accepted you I tell you that

Christ came as a servant of the Jews to

show that God has kept the promises he

made to their famous ancestors Christ

also came so that the Gentiles would

praise God for being kind to them it is

just as the scriptures say I will tell

the nations about you and I will sing

praises to your name the scriptures also

say to the Gentiles come and celebrate

with God's people again the scriptures

say praise the Lord all you Gentiles all

you nations come and worship Him Isaiah

says someone from David's family will

come to power he will rule the nations

and they will put their hope in him I

pray that God who gives hope will bless

you with complete happiness and peace

because of your faith and may the power

of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope my

friends I am sure that you are very good

and that you have all the knowledge you

need to teach each other but I have

spoken to you plainly and have tried to

remind you of some things God was so

kind to me he chose me to be a servant

of Christ Jesus for the Gentiles and to

do the work of a priest in the service

of his good news God did this so that

the Holy Spirit could make the Gentiles

into a holy offering pleasing to him

because of Christ Jesus I can take pride

in my service for God in fact all I will

talk about is how Christ let me speak

and work so that the Gentiles would obey

Him indeed I will tell how Christ worked

miracles and wonders by the power of the

Holy Spirit I have preached the good

news about him all the way from

Jerusalem to Illyricum but I have always

tried to preach where people have never

heard about Christ I am like a builder

who doesn't build on anyone else's

foundation it is just as the Scriptures

say all who have not been told about him

will see him and those who have not

heard about him will understand my work

has always kept me from coming to see

you now there is nothing left for me to

do in this part of the world and for

years I have wanted to visit you so I

planned to stop off on my way to Spain

then after a short but refreshing visit

with you I hope you will quickly send me

on I am now on my way to Jerusalem to

deliver the money that the Lord's

followers in Macedonia and Achaia

collected for God's needy people this is

something they really wanted to do but

sharing their money with the Jews was

also like paying back a debt because the

Jews had already shared their spiritual

blessings with the Gentiles after I have

safely delivered this money I will visit

you and then go on to Spain and when I

do arrive in Rome I know it will be with

the full blessings of Christ my friends

by the power of the Lord Jesus Christ

and by the love that comes from the Holy

Spirit I beg you to pray sincerely with

me and for me

pray that God will protect me from the

unbelievers in Judea and that his people

in Jerusalem will be pleased with what I

am doing

ask God to let me come to you and have a

pleasant and refreshing visit I pray

that God who gives peace will be with

all of you

amen. Romans 16 I have good things to say

about Phoebe who is a leader in the

church at Cenchrerae. welcome her in a

way that is proper for someone who has

faith in the Lord and is one of God's

own people help her in any way you can

after all she has proved to be a

respected leader for many others

including me give my greetings to

Priscilla and Aquila they have not only

served Christ Jesus together with me but

they have even risked their lives for me

I am grateful for them and so are all

the Gentile churches greet the church

that meets in their home greet my dear

friend Epaenetus, who was the first

person in Asia to have faith in Christ.

Greet Mary who has worked so hard for

you. Greet my relatives and Adronicus and

Junias who were in jail with me they

are highly respected by the Apostles and

were followers of Christ before I was

Greet Ampliatus my dear friend whose

faith is in the Lord. Greet Urbanus who

serves Christ along with us. Greet my

dear friends Stachys. greet Apelles

a faithful servant of Christ. greet

Aristobulus and his family. greet

Herodion who is a relative of mine. greet

Narcissus and the others in his family

who have faith in the Lord.

Greek tryphaena and tryphosa, who work

hard for the Lord greet my dear friend

Persis she also works hard for the Lord.

Greet Rufus that special servant of the

Lord and greet his mother who has been

like a mother to me. Greet Asyncritus,

Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas

and the brothers with them.

Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister,

and Olympas and all the saints with them.

people who are with them. be sure to give

each other a warm greeting. all of

Christ's churches greet you. my friends I

beg you to watch out for anyone who

causes trouble and divides the church by

refusing to do what all of you were

taught, stay away from them they want to

serve themselves and not Christ the Lord.

their flattery and fancy talk fool

people who don't know any better I am

glad that everyone knows how well you

obey the Lord but still I want you to

understand what is good and not have

anything to do with evil then God who

gives peace will soon crush Satan under

your feet I pray that our Lord Jesus

will be kind to you Timothy who works

with me sends his greetings and so do my

relatives Lucius Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.

I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

follower of the lord and I wrote this letter.

Gaius, who has hosted me and all the church,

sends you greetings.

Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you greetings,

as does our brother Quartus send their

greetings too. Praise God! he can make you

strong by means of my good news, which is

the message about Jesus Christ. for ages

and ages this message was kept secret

but now at last it has been told the

eternal God commanded his prophets to

write about the good news so that all

nations would obey and have

faith and now because of Jesus Christ we

can praise the only wise God forever

amen