Romans
Chapter 1
Dear Brothers and Sisters in the faith in Rome: 1 Greetings from Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus. God has called me to become an apostle with the task to tell the Good News from God to everyone. 2 In times past, God had promised to give that Good News to us through the words of the prophets which are written in the Holy Bible. 3-4 That Good News explains about God’s Son and our Lord Christ Jesus. He’s worthy to be called God’s Son because of these two things. Frst, as a human being, He was born from the descendants of David. [1] Second, Jesus was proven to be God’s Son with amazing power. That happened when the Holy Spirit brought Him back to life from among the dead.
5 Through Christ’s kindness I received a special ministry from God to be an apostle of Christ. I have the duty to lead people from all people groups to believe in and obey Christ. 6 And you in Rome are also included among those who are called to become Christ Jesus’ possessions.
7 I’m writing this letter to you Brothers and Sisters in Rome who are loved by God, who are called to become His holy people.
I pray that God the Father and our Lord Christ Jesus will always be kind to each of you and guard you so that you live calmly under the protection of God the Father and our Lord!
Paul’s desire to tell the Good News in the capital city of Rome
8 First, I wholeheartedly give thanks to God whom I worship through Christ Jesus, because you already believe in Him. People all over the world are telling that you who are in Rome really believe in Him. 9 So I keep praying for you, and my Witness is God, whom I serve with my whole heart by telling the Good News about His Son. 10 I’ve prayed for a long time and truly begged God to allow me to visit you. 11 I desire to meet you in order to share spiritual blessings to encourage you. 12 By that I mean that when I’m with you, we can encourage each other to believe in Christ more.
13 Brothers and Sisters, I want you to know that I've planned to visit you many times, but until now there has always been an obstacle. I want to come so that my work among you will also produce well later on, just like what I’ve produced among non-Jews in other places.
14 For I feel obligated to serve everyone, including Greek people who have a high level of language and culture, as well as people who are backward, both educated and as yet uneducated people. 15 Because of that, I want to tell the Good News to you who live in Rome too.
The theme of this letter
16 I’m very proud of the Good News because God works through that powerful news to save everyone who fully believes it, whether they are Jews or non-Jews. 17 For that news shows how God makes people right before Him, which is only because of believing. [2] That agrees with what’s written in God’s Word, “The one who’s considered righteous by the Lord will live forever because he completely believes in Him.” [1]
All humans deserve to be punished by God
18 That Good News is important because God’s anger toward all the sin and evil of people has begun to be revealed from heaven. For sin and evil prevent people from knowing the true teaching from God. 19 What people must know about God is already very clear because He Himself has revealed that to people.
20 For since the creation of the world, God's character has been seen clearly in everything that was created by Him. And because of that we understand things about Him that can’t be seen with the eye, that is His status as God and that He has eternal power. So people don’t have an excuse not to know God. 21 Although they know Him in that way, they don’t glorify Him as God and aren’t thankful to Him. So as a result they think useless and foolish things, and their thinking is full of darkness. 22 They say that they’re wise, but they’re obviously stupid. 23 They refuse to glorify God as we should do to Him who lives forever. Instead, they worship idols which they themselves make in the form of creatures that can die, that is in the form of people, birds, four-legged animals and creeping animals.
24 Because of that, God took His hands off and allowed them to be enslaved by their evil desires. And as a result, they defile each others bodies by doing shameful things. 25 Even though they know the true things of God, they choose to believe in what’s wrong. Instead of worshiping and serving Him who created everything, they prefer to worship His creation. However, He alone is worthy to be praised forever! Amen.
26 Because people are like that, God lets them be enslaved by their shameful desires. One example is that some women have sexual relations with other women, even though that isn’t natural and actually shouldn’t be done. 27 It’s the same with men. They begin to feel bored of natural sexual relations with women and want to do shameful things in sexual relations with other men. Because of that, they receive God’s punishment within themselves, according to their shameful lifestyle.
28 It seems that people don’t feel they need to know God any longer. Because of that, God again takes His hands off and lets them be enslaved by their worthless thoughts with the result that people do what they shouldn’t do more and more. 29 So their hearts are controlled by every kind of sin, including evil thoughts, self-importance and hatred. Their thoughts are full of envy, desires to murder, quarreling, cheating and holding grudges. They tell false stories about other people 30 and slander each other. They hate God. And they’re very crude, haughty and boast about themselves. They cleverly think of new ways to do evil and don’t obey their parents. 31 They’re stupid, don’t keep their promises and don’t know how to show kindness and compassion to other people. 32 They already know God’s Law which says that people who live like that deserve the death sentence. But they just keep living in wickedness, and they praise others who are evil too.
Chapter 2
Don’t consider yourself to be better than other people
1 So my close friends, if you think that you can judge other people, you’re wrong. You’re also wrong because you’re sinful. It’s not proper for you to judge your fellowman, because you also do the same evil things he does. So everytime you judge a person, it’s as if you’re asking God to bring punishment on yourself. 2 We all know that God is just when He brings punishment on a person who isn’t honest like that. 3 If you point out the wrongs of someone who does evil while you yourself do the same evil things he does, do you think that you’ll escape God’s punishment? 4 However, God is very good and patient with you. God has waited for you to repent, but you don’t care about all of His kindness. You must understand that the kindness that He shows you is to lead you to repent.
5 Yet you’ve hardened your hearts and don’t want to repent. Don’t you know that you’re making the punishment for yourself even harsher! On the day God shows His anger, everyone will see that God’s punishment for that is just! 6 For God will repay every person according to his deeds. 7 There are people who seek eternal life and are always diligent to do good, who live in a way that brings praise and honor to God. He’ll give eternal life to people like that. 8 But there are others who seek honor for themselves. They refuse to follow the true teaching and like to follow what’s evil. He’ll punish them with great anger. 9 God will give trouble and suffering to each person who does evil, to both Jews and non-Jews. 10 But everyone who does good will be blessed by Him so that they’re praised, honored and feel calm, both Jews and non-Jews. 11 For God doesn’t make a distinction between people.
12 So people who already know the Law and break it are just the same as those who’ve never heard about the Law and commit sin. Sinners who don’t know the Law will be destroyed. So people who already know the Law and commit sin will also be judged according to the Law. 13 For it isn’t just the person who hears the Law who’s considered right in God’s eyes. But the ones who’ll turn out to be right before Him are the people who do the rules that are found in the Law. 14 Non-Jews didn’t inherit the Law from their predecessors, of course, but it’s as if they live according to the Law. So they show that God’s rules are already in their hearts. 15 They show that the way of life which God has determined for people has been written in their hearts. And every minute their consciences help them to distinguish whether what they’re doing is right or wrong. [1] 16 So God will judge everyone according to his or her own conscience. And that will happen at the time He judges each person according to the thoughts that they have hidden in their hearts. That just judgment will happen through Christ Jesus. That's what I proclaim in the Good News which God has given me.
Jews and the rules of the Law
17 But what about we who are Jewish descendants, including myself? We’re proud because we’re Jewish descendants and feel that we ourselves are the ones closest to God because we’ve inherited the Law. 18 We know what God’s will is for us to do, and we can understand what’s best in every situation because we’ve studied the Law. 19 We think that we deserve to be teachers for people who aren’t Jewish, who don’t know the true way. And we think that we’re like lights that shine on those who are in darkness. 20 We feel that we deserve to be teachers to people who lack wisdom and who’ve just started to receive true teaching. Because we already have the Law, we think that we control the source of knowledge and the true teaching that’s in it. 21 Well, if you want to become a teacher, why don’t you teach yourself? You forbid other people to steal, yet you yourself still steal. 22 In your teaching, you forbid other people to commit adultery, but you yourself commit adultery. You hate the worship of idols, but you yourself steal treasures from idols houses which belong to other people. 23 So even though we’re proud because we possess the Law, but we break the Law by what we do. And because of that, the name of God is often insulted by other people! 24 So what is written in the Holy Bible has happened, “Because of the wrongs done by us (Jews), people from other people groups insult God’s name.” [2]
25 Well, all of us Jews have been circumcised. So if we obey the Law, our circumcision is appropriate and useful. But if we break the Law, it means that we’re just like the non-Jews before God, and our circumcision really doesn’t mean anything! 26 Whereas if people who aren’t circumcised obey the demands of the Law, it means that God already considers them to be circumcised. 27 We Jews should feel ashamed before them! We’ve been circumcised and possess the written Law, but we still keep breaking the Law. Those who fulfill the purpose of the Law, even though they haven’t inherited the custom of circumcision from their predecessors, will show that we’re wrong.
28 Before God, people aren’t genuine Jews just because of being born of Jewish descent. And the purpose of circumcision isn’t just to be a sign made in the body.
29 But a person who deserves to be called a genuine Jew is one who is truly a Jew in his heart. And before God, a person who has truly been circumcised is a person whose heart has been made new by the Holy Spirit. Circumcision of that kind does not only fulfill the regulation of the written Law, but people like that receive praise, not from man, but from God.
Chapter 3
1 So some Jews will ask, of course, “If that’s so, are we Jews still better in God’s eyes than people who aren’t Jews? Does God consider us better because we’ve been circumcised?” 2 Of course we Jews, (including myself), have many traditions that can help us obey God. But the most important thing is that God has entrusted His promises to us. 3 Will that be a problem if there are Jews who aren’t faithful to God? Will that make God not fulfill His promises too? 4 No! God will still do everything according to His promises, even though everyone turns out to be liars. For it was written in the Holy Bible where someone said to God,
“You’ll be proven right in all of Your words,
and You’ll defeat those who say
that You’ve done wrong.” [3]
5 But sometimes there are some of us Jews [1] who say, “We’re God’s chosen race, so how can God be angry with us if we sin? Doesn’t that still glorify God because our sins show that He’s kind and faithful to His promises? If so, God shouldn’t destroy us because of that sin.” But that’s just human thinking, 6 and completely wrong! If God isn’t just toward all people, then He can’t judge this world.
7 But a person may say, “For example, if I sin by deceiving someone, that will only make it more clear that God is always right. Doesn’t that still glorify God? So God doesn’t treat me justly if He punishes me because of that sin.” 8 But that’s the same as saying, “Let’s do evil so that good happens.” There are people who spread the false story that we teach like that. People who talk like that deserve punishment from God!
All men are sinful
9 Are we Jews better than people who aren’t Jews? No! We’ve already said that all people, both Jews and non-Jews, are already under the power of the desire to commit sin. 10 Like it’s written in the Holy Bible,
“No one lives right,
not one single person!
11 No one lives wisely.
No one truly lives to please God.
12 Everyone has turned away from God,
and everyone lives worthlessly in God’s eyes.
No one does good.
No one at all!” [4]
13 “Other people die because of the evil words that come out of their mouths.
They only use their tongues to lie.” [5]
“Their words are like snake’s venom,” [6]
14 “their mouths are full of curses and bitterness.” [7]
15 “They’re always ready to hurt and kill.
16 Wherever they go,
they cause destruction and trouble.
17 They don’t know how to live at peace with their fellowman.” [8]
18 “They don’t fear and honor God.” [9]
19 All of those quotes from the book of the Law don’t just accuse the non-Jews, but of course they accuse the Jews too, who are the people group that inherited the Law! Those verses show that each person, no matter what people group he's from, has no reason to justify himself before God and deserves to be punished by God. 20 For there isn’t even one person who’ll be made right before God by keeping the Law. But the Law always points out our sins.
How man is made right before God
21 But God has shown a new way for man to be made right before Him. The way to be made right isn’t based on the Law, but the Law and the words of the prophets have testified about that. 22 The new way is that God makes everyone right only by fully believing in Christ Jesus. God does that for everyone who believes in Christ because all people groups have the same spiritual needs. 23 For everyone has sinned and is unworthy to enjoy God’s glory. 24 People are made right before God only because of His kindness and that is given freely through Christ Jesus, who redeemed and freed us from the punishment for our own sins. 25 God has sent Jesus to open up the way so that everyone who fully believes in Jesus is forgiven of their sins, and God is no longer angry with him. That forgiveness is based on the blood of Jesus when He died for us. In that way, God showed that He always does what’s right and just. In times past, God remained patient and didn’t destroy people because of their sins. 26 For at that time, God had planned to make people right through Jesus. And now God also does what’s right and just when He makes sinners right because they believe in Jesus.
27 So because of that, there’s no longer any reason for one people group to brag about themselves by saying that God is more pleased with them than other people groups. Why not? We are made right only because we fully believe in what Jesus has done, not as a result of our own efforts to obey the Law! 28 So we can say this, we’re not made right by God because we obey the Law, but because we fully believe in Jesus. 29 If that wasn’t so, we Jews could just say that God only cares about the Jews. But actually all people groups belong to God. 30 For there’s only one God. He’s the one who makes the Jews [2] right before Him because they believe in Jesus. And He’s also the one who makes non-Jews right before Him because they believe in Jesus too. 31 Of course there’ll be people who’ll ask, “Does this mean that the Law doesn’t need to be kept because believing in Jesus is now more important for us?” Certainly not! Through faith in Jesus we truly do obey the purpose of the Law!
Chapter 4
The example of Abraham
1 So what can we say about Abraham, who is the forefather of those of us who come from the Jewish people? 2 If Abraham became right before God because of the good things he did, he had reason to brag that he was better than other people. But Abraham can’t brag before God like that. 3 For this is what the Holy Bible says about him:
“Abraham believed God’s promise, and because of that he was accepted by God as a righteous man.” [10]
4 Take note! If someone does something for his master, the wages given aren’t considered to be a gift, but a right that must be given. 5 But if a person doesn’t rely on the results of his own efforts and just fully believes in God’s promise, the blessing that he receives is considered to be a gift. And that’s true for us! God forgives each of us for our evil deeds without us fullfilling a requirement. Then God accepts us as people who live right. 6 King David revealed the same thing too, that the person that God accepts as right without counting his good deeds is truly blessed by God. David said,
7 “The person whose transgressions and sins are forgiven is truly blessed by God!
8 The person whose sins are no longer counted is truly blessed by God!” [11]
9 Is that blessing just for the Jews, the people group that’s circumcised? Or does it also include people from other people groups? It’s clear that Abraham fully believed God’s promise, and that's why he was accepted by God as a person whose life was right. 10 When did that happen? Did God accept Abraham like that before or after he was circumcised? It happened before he was circumcised, of course. 11 Abraham was accepted by God as a righteous person, and then he was circumcised as a sign that he was accepted by God. In that way, it’s clear that Abraham is the father of everyone who believes, even if uncircumcised. Through fully believing in God’s promise they are also accepted by God as right-living people. 12 And Abraham is also the father of circumcised people. But it is not because of that circumcision that Abraham became their father. He becomes their father only if they believe like Abraham believed, before he was circumcised.
We receive God’s promise through believing
13 God promised to give this world to Abraham and to his descendants. Notice that God’s promise wasn’t because Abraham obeyed the Law. Abraham received that blessing because he fully believed God’s promise, and then he was accepted by God as a person whose life was right. 14 If only people who keep the Law are blessed by God, that means that God’s promise to Abraham was just empty talk. It also means that it’s useless for us to believe like Abraham believed. 15 The Law can’t bring a blessing but can only cause God’s wrath when we break it. But if there was no Law at the time of Abraham, it means no regulation was broken.
16 So the key to being made right in God’s eyes is to fully believe! People who fully believe in Him will receive the blessings from God’s promise just like Abraham did. God arranged it so that righteousness according to the promise is a gift which is freely given. And if the promise is a gift, it means that everyone included as Abraham’s descendants will definitely receive it. The promise isn’t just for his descendants who live according to the Law, but also for the descendants who fully believe like he did. So in God’s sight, spiritually speaking, Abraham is the ancestor of us all. 17 That agrees with what’s written in the Holy Bible about Abraham, “I will make you the father of many people groups.” Abraham believed those words of God's because he knew that God is the one who gives life to the dead. And he believed that by His words alone, God brought into existence things that had never been. [12]
18 At that time, there was no hope for Abraham to have a child. But Abraham kept hoping in God and believing in that promise. That’s what made him the father of many people groups, just as God had told him, “Your descendants will be so many.” [13] 19 At that time, Abraham was aware that he was almost a hundred years old and was too old to become a father. And Sarah couldn’t have children anymore either. Even so, Abraham didn’t doubt God’s promise at all. 20 Abraham wasn’t half-hearted when he believed that God could do what He had promised him. He had decided to honor God, so he believed more and more 21 until he felt fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. 22 So because of that, Abraham “was accepted by God as a person whose life was right.” [14] 23 The words “accepted as a person whose life was right” weren’t just written about Abraham. 24 Those words are also about us who’ve been accepted by God as people whose lives are right, that is we, in this age, who believe fully in God who has brought our Lord Jesus back to life from death. 25 Jesus was offered up to die by crucifixion because of our offenses and has been brought back to life from death so that we can be made right before God.
Chapter 5
Peace and joy before God
1 Because of fully believing in God’s promise, we have been made right before Him. That means we are already at peace with God through our Lord Christ Jesus! 2 By believing, Christ has brought us to God’s kindness which we now enjoy. And we truly rejoice because we have the hope of enjoying God’s glory. 3 We also rejoice because of the suffering we experience. Why do we rejoice because of that suffering? Because we know that suffering makes us become more patient. 4 That patience makes us endure testing and enduring testing gives us hope. 5 And hope never disappoints us because God has poured out His love to fill our hearts. God has given us His love through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6 In the past, man couldn’t do anything at all to become right before God. But Christ died for us who always opposed God just when we were in that condition. 7 It’s very difficult for someone to sacrifice himself to save another person, even if that person is honest. But a person might sacrifice himself and die to save his close friend. 8 But Christ died for us while we were still living as sinful people who opposed God. In that way, God has shown that He really loves us.
9 For that reason, this has become very clear, because we’ve been made right before God though the blood of Christ, God is certainly no longer angry with us and will save us from the punishment He’ll inflict on everyone who sins. 10 And we can be sure about that! For if God’s Son died for us while we were still opposing God, it’s even more certain that Jesus will save us who are now at peace with God from the final judgment when God destroys all evil people. And our salvation is even more sure because Jesus, who died for us in the past, has come to life again and continues to guard us! 11 It’s not only salvation that makes us truly rejoice now, but we also rejoice and are proud of what our Lord Christ Jesus has done so that our relationship with God has been restored.
Our inheritance from Adam was death but our inheritance from Jesus is life
12 So this is what happened, when the first man, Adam, fell into sin, the power of sin spread like a hereditary disease to all men. And along with the power of sin, death also came. For that reason, everyone dies of course, because everyone has sinned. 13 The power of sin was in the world before people heard the Law. But God doesn’t count sin as an offense if people haven’t yet heard the teaching that’s in the Law. 14 Even so, from the time of Adam until Moses, as a result of Adam’s sin every human experiences death. At that time, people didn’t break the Law like Adam broke the command of God in the garden of Eden. But people still couldn’t escape death.
Adam illustrates the Christ whom God promised to come later. 15 But what Adam did and what Christ did are so vastly different! The result of Adam’s offense was that all people inherit death. But the result of the sacrifice of Christ is that everyone can be made right before God and receive eternal life! That show that God’s kindness is incredibly amazing! 16 As a result of Adam’s sin, everyone deserved punishment. For after Adam sinned, people committed sin more and more. But what God has done now is very different and amazing in that God gives a gift through Christ so that we who have comitted so many sins can be made right before Him! 17 Because of the offense of one person, death controls everyone like a harsh king contols his subjects. But what’s even more amazing is the result of what was done for us by another Man, who is Christ Jesus! Because of God’s amazing kindness, we were freed from the power of sin and death and we’ll take part in reigning with Christ.
18 So the Adam's offense alone made everyone deserve destruction. But the result of Christ's work alone is that the way was opened for each person to be made right and receive eternal life! 19 And also because of one man who didn’t obey God, everyone became sinners. But as the result of another Man, who obeyed God, everyone was given the opportunity to be made right before God. 20 It’s apparent that God gave the Law to people so that offenses and sin become more and more obvious. But as people sin more and more, God’s kindness is more amazing so that everyone can be forgiven. 21 So people used to live under the power of sin and that also brought us death. But now God’s kindness has power over us. For that reason, we’re made right before Him and are given eternal life through what was done by our Lord Christ Jesus.
Chapter 6
United with Christ in His death and resurrection
1 So what should we think about God’s kindness to us? Can we keep on committing sin so that God’s kindness to us increases more and more? 2 We can’t think like that! Spiritually we’ve already died with Christ. That means that we’ve been freed from sin’s power. We certainly can’t keep living in sin like before we knew Christ! 3 Don’t forget that we were all united spiritually with the death of Christ Jesus when we were baptized. 4 So at the time we were baptized, it was as if we died and were buried with Christ. And when God used His glorious power to bring Jesus back to life, we were also brought back to a new life.
5 So if we’ve been united spiritually with Christ in His death, it means that we've also taken part in being brought back to life and will live with Him. 6 We know that our old lives were crucified with Christ. That was part of God’s plan so that our bodies are no longer enslaved by the power of sin. 7 That release happens because we become like dead people, who are no longer tempted and have been freed from the power of sin.
8 If we’ve died with Christ, it’s clear that we’ll live with Him. 9 For if Christ was brought back to life from death, He’ll definitely never die again. Death has no power over Him anymore. 10 It means that when Christ died once, that was enough to defeat the power of sin forever. Now He has a new life, and because He lives as one with God it’s impossible for Him to die again. 11 It’s the same for us too. We consider ourselves dead to sin and united with Christ Jesus so that we live for God alone.
12 So we must not let sin control our bodies any longer. For we only use our bodies for a short time, then we die. So let’s not follow our evil bodily desires. 13 And let’s not give the members of our bodies to become instruments for doing evil. But let’s give up our whole lives to be on God’s side! For in the past we were dead spiritually, but now our spirits have been brought back to life. So let’s use the members of our bodies as instruments to do God’s will! 14 For the power of sin no longer controls our lives because we’ve already died to all the old obligations, including all the rules in the Law. Now we’re obligated to live as people who are thankful because God’s kindness has been given to us.
We people who are owned by the Lord must live to please Him
15 Of course some people will ask, “If God is kind to us and if we aren’t obligated to live according to the Law anymore, does that mean we can just keep sinning?” Absolutely not! 16 You certainly know that if you give yourself to do the will of another person, you have become his servant. Similarly if you commit sin, you become a slave to that sin which traps you into death. Or you can give yourself to be God’s servant and as a result you obey and have a good relationship with Him. 17 Praise the Lord, we no longer are slaves to sin! But with all our hearts we’ve obeyed the teaching that we’ve received from God, 18 with the result that we are freed from sin’s power and now live as God’s servants who want to live right in His eyes with all our hearts. 19 These examples of mine are very simple because it’s easier for us who have human weaknesses to understand this spiritual principle. In the past, we gave the members of our bodies to be slaves of sin and evil. As a result we lived only for evil. But it’s the opposite now. We have to give ourselves to become God’s servants who always try to do what’s right according to His will. Now we live only for God.
20 We were slaves of sin in the past and almost never thought of living right. 21 Living like that only made us ashamed. And the result of living like that was spiritual death. 22 But now we’ve been freed from the power of sin to become God’s servants. That means we live as people whom He has made holy, and that will produce eternal life. 23 For sin traps us into spiritual death. But if we’re one with our Lord Christ Jesus, then God will always be kind to us and will give us eternal life!
Chapter 7
An example to show how believers are freed from the Law
1 Brothers and Sisters, and especially you Jewish people who are in Rome, I want to remind you of something about the Law. It’s rules are in force only while people are still living. 2 Take a married woman: she must live with her husband as long as her husband is still living. But if her husband dies, she’s free from the rules of marriage that are in the Law. 3 If that woman marries or has a physical relationship with another man while her husband is still alive, the rules state that she is commiting adultery. If her husband dies, she becomes free from the rules of marriage. So if that woman marries another man after her husband dies, she doesn’t commit adultery.
4 In the same way, Brothers and Sisters, because we’re one with the body of Christ, we consider that our old selves have died with Him. In that way, we’re free from our obligation to live according to the Law. And we also consider that we ourselves were united with Him when He was brought back to life from death. In that way, we are freed so that our way of life glorifies God. 5 In the past, we humans were weak because we were controlled by our evil bodily desires. Of course, the Law warned us not to sin, but it was that very warning that aroused our desire to break the Law again. For being controlled by that desire, we kept on commiting sins that entrapped us to the death of our spirits and souls. 6 In the past, we were bound to the Law, like the bond of marriage. But now we’ve been released from the Law because we consider ourselves dead. So it’s no longer the bond of the Law that controls us! But now we serve God in a new way according to the Holy Spirit, not in the old way according to written rules.
Our opposition to sin
7 There may be some of you who suppose that I'm saying, “The Law isn't good.” That’s not what I mean! But if there had never been a Law, I would never have understood and been aware of my sins. For example, if the Law didn’t say, “You can’t desire the possessions of other people,” [15] I wouldn’t know that I was wrong when I did that. 8 And the power of sin in my body used that very prohibition to persuade me to desire more and more all kinds of things that aren’t good. But if the prohibition in the Law had never existed, the power of sin in me couldn’t use those prohibitions as a tool to entice me. 9 In the past, before I knew the rules of the Law, I felt that I lived well. But when I studied the rules of the Law, the desire of sin controlled my life more and more, 10 and I felt as if I was dead and separated from God. The Law was actually meant to lead me to eternal life, but on the contrary it brought spiritual death to me. 11 The power of sin in me used the rules of the law to deceive me, and it also in effect killed my spirit and soul.
12 The Law is certainly holy, and its rules are holy, true and good. 13 Does that mean that something good brought spiritual death to me? No! But the power of sin used something good with the result that I died spiritually. That happened so that I would be aware of how evil the power of sin was in me and that the power of sin used good rules as a tool for evil.
Paul speaks as a person who doesn’t yet know Christ
14 So we know that the Law is from God and was given to lead us to spiritual life. But I’m a weak human being. Because of my evil bodily desires, I became a slave of sin. 15 So I myself don’t understand my behavior. I don’t do the good things even though that’s what I want to do. And I do the bad things which I really don’t want to do at all. 16 And if I keep doing the things that I don’t want to do, that means I agree that the Law is good. 17 But actually, it isn’t me who does what’s evil, but it’s the power of sin which lives in me that does it. 18 I know that there’s no power within me to live right according to the Law. That means that I’m not able to live well because of my human weakness. I definitely want to do good, but I can’t. 19 In other words, I want to do good but I don’t do it, and I keep doing the evil things that I don’t like. 20 So if I do what I don’t like, it isn’t actually me who does it but the power of sin that’s in me!
21 So this is the conclusion, even though I want to do good things according to the Law, it's all too easy for me to do evil! 22 My heart is very happy with all the rules in God’s Law. 23 But there’s obviously some other rule that’s working in me. That rule is opposed to God’s rules which my mind likes. The other rule that works in the parts of my body is the power of sin, and it's that power of sin which binds me so that I become a slave to sin. 24-25 So this is my problem, in my mind, I want to carry out all of the rules of the Law that was given by God, but because of my bodily desires, I’m still enslaved to the power of sin.
I’m so unfortunate! Who will save me from the power of sin that's within my body and which entraps me into spiritual death? For that reason, I’m very thankful to God because of all that He did for us through our Lord Christ Jesus!
Chapter 8
Living united with God’s Spirit
1 So now we who are one with Christ Jesus don’t need to be afraid of the punishment that God has every right to give us! 2 Why don’t we need to be afraid? Because we who are one with Christ Jesus have received God’s Spirit which gives life! And His Spirit is what frees us from the power of sin in ourselves which previously always entrapped us to die spiritually. 3 In the past, the Law couldn’t help us defeat our evil bodily desires. But God Himself is the one who has overcome that problem by sending His own Son into this world in the form of a weak human body. And His Son is the one who became the sacrifice to free us from all the punishment because of our sins. So through His sacrifice, He has defeated the power of sin, specifically the desires of our bodies which make us desire to sin. 4 God did that so that the righteous way of life which the Law demands would be fulfilled in us because we’re one with Christ. For now we are enabled to live in obedience to the guidance of God’s Spirit and no longer follow the desires of our bodies.
5 For every person who still lives following the will of his weak human body, his life purpose is just to satisfy his own desires. But everyone who lives depending on the Holy Spirit is helped by Him to think according to His will. 6 If the goal of our lives is just to satisfy our own desires, we are entrapped to the death of our spirits and souls. But if our lives are controlled by God’s Spirit, we will have eternal life and will feel calm in the Lord’s protection. 7 If the goal of a person is just to satisfy the desires of his body, he opposes God. He doesn’t want to obey the rules of God’s Law and is totally unable to do it. 8 For a person who lives according to the desires of his own body can’t possibly please God.
9 But each of you who are one with Christ are no longer controlled by the desires of your bodies! Instead, you’re controlled by God’s Spirit, because Christ’s Spirit is truly inside you. [1] If the Holy Spirit is not inside someone, that means he doesn’t belong to Christ. 10-11 Of course your body that always wants to commit those sins will still die. But if Christ lives in you, His Spirit will make your spirit and soul alive because of living according to His Spirit’s guidance and made righteous by Him before God. And because God’s Spirit lives in us, that is the Spirit of Him who raised up Christ again from death, He’ll also raise us up again with new bodies.
12 So my Brothers and Sisters, we’re obligated now to live according to the guidance of God’s Spirit. Let’s not allow the desires of our bodies to entrap and guide our lives. 13 For if we live according to the desires of our bodies, our spirits and souls will still die. Instead with the help of God’s Spirit let's think that our bodies are dead toward the desire to sin, then we’ll live! 14 For everyone who is led by God’s Spirit are members of God’s family. 15 For His Spirit isn’t given to us to enslave us so that we’re afraid to face God. But His Spirit makes us His adopted children. [2] And as proof, His Spirit now leads us to cry out to God, “Abba, [3] oh Daddy!” 16 So His own Spirit assures our spirits that we are members of His family. 17 And if we are members of His family, we have the right to enjoy all of the riches that have been promised to His family. As members of God’s family, we own everything with Christ, our first-born adopted Brother. [4] And this is also proof, if we suffer for following Him, it's certain we will also take part in His glory!
We’ll take part in enjoying glory with Christ
18 Because of that, my opinion is that the suffering which we’re experiencing now can’t be compared with the glory that will be revealed to us. 19 In this present age, the whole universe is actually waiting and is as if truly longing for the moment when God will reveal all of His family members. [5] 20 For the whole universe has been hindered so that during this age it can’t fulfill God’s intent when He created it. That hindrance is part of God’s plan and that will continue until the fulfillment of His plan. And the plan of God 21 is that the universe and all of His created beings will be freed from death and from everything that wants to destroy them, and they too will enjoy glory along with God’s extended family.
22 For we know that the whole universe is as if it were heavy hearted and truly suffers until now, as if all created things were in severe pain and crying together. [6] 23 And it isn’t just the living creatures of this world that feel this trouble. But we who’ve received God’s Spirit have heavy hearts too. However, His Spirit is a guarantee for us that we’ll receive everything that God has promised. Because of that we wait with confidence and joy for the moment God reveals everything that He has prepared for all His adopted children. At that very moment, our bodies will be freed from the power of sin and death. 24 That’s what we’ve begun to hope for since we were saved by Christ. And we still keep hoping for things like that until now. The time will come later on when we no longer need to hope for something, because all that we hoped for will have been fulfilled. 25 But even though it hasn’t happened yet, we wait for it with confidence and patience.
26 The Holy Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we don’t actually know how to pray for what’s proper. But His own Spirit prays for us and gives our requests to God, full of feelings and in a way that can’t be explained in human languages. 27 God knows what’s in the hearts of people, of course. And God also knows as deeply as possible about the requests that are given by His own Spirit. And of course His Spirit makes requests to God for His people, according to His will.
28 Now we can be sure that for all of us who love Him, God always arranges everything that we face and experience so that those things produce good. For we’re people who’ve been chosen by Him according to His plan. 29 For from the beginning, God has known and loved us, and He planned that we would become like His Son. And His plan was also that Jesus would become the firstborn Son of many brothers and sisters. 30 We’ve entered into God’s plan from the beginning, and then we are called to become members of His family. And through Christ’s work we were made right in His sight. In the end we’ll enjoy His glory.
All who oppose us cannot stop God from loving us
31 So what’s our reaction to all of that? If God is on our side, everything that opposes us will never be able to defeat us. 32 The proof of this is that God didn’t spare His own Son so from experiencing suffering, but God Himself offered Him to be sacrificed for our salvation. If that’s so, He’ll certainly continue to be kind to us and give us everything else that He has promised us. 33 So who else is bold enough to accuse us?! For we were chosen by God, and He’s the one who has done those amazing things so that we’re made right before Him. 34 And what else can threaten us? Nothing! For Christ has died for us and has even come back to life from death. And He is now sitting in the most honored place next to God, which is at His right side. From there He defends us and prays for us. 35 If that’s so, is there any other being that can stop Christ from loving us? There isn’t! If we’re oppressed, or face misery or persecution, does it mean that Christ no longer loves us? No! Or if those who oppose Christ make us, His followers, unable to buy food or clothing or even kill us, does that mean that Christ no longer loves us? No!
36 For those things keep happening to us, of course, as it’s written in the Holy Bible,
“For Your sake, God, we’re in danger of death every day.
And we’re treated like sheep who are going to be slaughtered.” [16]
37 But in everything, we have complete victory through Christ who has shown His amazing love to us. 38-39 For I’m convinced that nothing that opposes us can keep Him from loving us, neither those who hurt us while we’re still alive, nor those who kill us. Neither angels nor all of the evil spirits are able to keep God from loving us. And we no longer need to be afraid of any accusation or threat, whether accusations or threats at this present time or those that will come, or from all the powers of darkness. For in all of God’s creation, whether that power is in the highest part of the sky or in the lowest part of the earth, there’s nothing that can keep God's love from us, which is the love that we have because we are one with our Lord Christ Jesus.
Chapter 9
God and the Israelites
1 But now I want to reveal my great sorrow! And what I’m saying now is really true, I’m not lying. I know this because I’m one with Christ and because the Holy Spirit gives assurance that this is true in God’s sight. 2 What I want to say is that my heart is very sad because of the Israelites. 3 For they’re my brothers and sisters of the same people group, and they’re like my own flesh and blood in this world. So I really want to help them, even to the point that I’m willing to be cursed and separated from Christ for them, if only that would save them! 4 For they’re the people of Israel who have been chosen by God and appointed to become His children. He has even shown His glory to them, made His great promises official with them and given the Law to them. This includes the rules on how to worship God in His House, and He’s also given promises about their future. 5 They’re the descendants of the Jewish forefathers. And they’re the physical family of Christ on this earth, even though actually Christ is God over everything. Praise to Him forever. Amen.
6 As I’ve said, those who are from my own people group make me very sad, but it doesn’t mean that God won’t fulfill His promises to them. For those promises were actually just given to true Israelites. You should realize that not everyone born as an Israelite person is considered by God to be a true Israelite. 7 So not all of Abraham’s descendants are included in God’s family that He promised to Abraham. But God said to him, “Only the offspring of Isaac will be called your descendants.” [17] 8 That means that when the Lord gave His promises to Abraham regarding his family, He didn’t mean that all of Abraham’s biological children were included as his family. But God meant that His promises were just for Abraham’s descendants who were chosen by God to be Abraham’s true descendants. Only those who were chosen as Abraham’s descendants are considered to be God’s family. [1] 9 For God promised Abraham, “In this same month next year, I will return, and Sarah will have a son.” [18]
10 There’s another example too. The same thing happened to Rebekah when she was pregnant with twins by her husband Isaac, our forefather. 11-13 Before those two children were born, God had already told Rebekah, “The descendants of the older child will serve the descendants of the younger child.” [19] And God told that to her before those two children had done anything good or evil. This agrees with what’s written in the Holy Bible, “I will love Jacob, but I will hate Esau.” [20] In that way it’s clear that God is the one who determines and chooses according to His plan, and it’s not based on what people do.
14 So what do we learn from that example? Does that mean God isn’t fair to people. Not at all! 15 For God has the right to choose anyone, like what He said to Moses. “If I want to have compassion on anyone, I will have compassion on him. And if I want to be kind to anyone, I will be kind to him.” [21] 16 So it doesn’t depend on the will or the effort of a person, but it just depends on the kindness of God. 17 An example in the Holy Bible is where God says to the king of Egypt, “I made you king for this purpose alone, so that everyone in this world will know Me through the great power that I show you.” [22] 18 So it’s clear that God makes people hard-headed according to His will, and He also shows compassion to the people He chooses.
19 Because of that, certainly some will ask me, “If it’s God who controls who becomes hard-headed or not, then why does He still blame us if we’re hard-headed?” 20 But we can’t talk like that! We’re just human beings. And humans don’t have the right to tell God that He’s wrong. A clay pot doesn’t have the right to blame the potter who made it! I mean, a clay pot doesn’t have the right to say, “Why did you shape me like this?!” 21 The potter has the right to make a pot that’s shaped according to his desire. He can use the same clay to make a pot just for a special use or a pot for everyday needs.
22 Now God acts like the potter does. He wants to show people that He has the right to show His power or His wrath against people's sin. He also has the right to save whom He wants to. So God also has the right to be patient with people who make Him angry, that is the people whom He has prepared to be destroyed. 23-24 And God also has the right to work patiently with the people whom He has chosen and prepared to receive His compassion, that is those of us who’ll see how abundant and glorious His compassion is. For He’s the one who has chosen us, not just from among the Jews but also from among people who aren’t Jews. 25 This agrees with what was written about non-Jews in the book of Hosea,
“To people who weren’t included as My own people in the past,
I will say, ‘You’re My people.’
And to a people group that I didn’t love in the past,
I will say, ‘You’re the people I love.’ [23]
26 “And to the residents of each region where God once said,
‘You aren’t My people,’
even there the residents will be called ‘children of the living God.’” [24]
27 Whereas the Prophet Isaiah has prophesied distinctly about the people of Israel saying,
“Even though the total number of the Israelite people is as many as the sand on the shore,
yet only a few will be saved.
28 For God will quickly inflict punishment on all the people of this world.” [25]
29 And in another verse Isaiah prophesied about the Jews again,
“The Lord Almighty
only allowed some of our people group to be saved.
If that wasn’t so,
we would all be destroyed, just like the residents of Sodom,
and we would become just like the residents of Gomorrah.” [26]
30 So what do we learn from all of this? The conclusion is as follows, in the past, the non-Jews didn’t seek God, of course, and didn’t try to become right in His sight. But now through fully believing in Christ, an opportunity has opened for them to become right in God’s sight. 31 Whereas the Jews, of course, have tried hard to live right in God’s sight by carrying out the Law, but they didn’t succeed. 32 Why didn’t they succeed? Because they refused to fully believe in God and tried to make themselves right before God based on their own works. They stumbled on the stumbling stone 33 that’s mentioned in the Holy Bible,
“Pay attention. I’m putting a Stone in Zion
that will make people stumble,
that is a large Stone that will make people fall.
But people who fully believe in Him
won’t be disappointed.” [27]
Chapter 10
1 My Brothers and Sisters, the longing of my heart and my sincere request to God is that all of the Jews will be saved. 2 I know well that the Jews sincerely try to live to please God’s heart, but their efforts aren’t based on correct understanding. 3 For they don’t understand how God makes people righteous. So they try in their own way, not in God’s way. And because of that they don’t want to obey and follow the way God determined. 4 They don’t understand that Christ has fulfilled all of the rules in the Law for us. So everyone who fully believes in Jesus is made right before God without relying on those rules any more.
5 Moses wrote about the way to be made right by obeying the rules of the Law, “The person who’s considered to be righteous before God has to follow all of the rules of this Law.” [28] 6-7 Because of that it would be best for us to wholeheartedly obey what is also written about people who are made right by God because they believe in Him, which is, “You don’t need to go up to the highest sky and go down to the deepest foundation of the earth anymore.” The meaning of that Word of the Lord's is: You no longer need to seek the way to heaven in order to bring Christ down to the world so that He can help you, and you don’t need to go down to the world of the dead to bring Christ up here. For Christ is already near us.
8 So the new way to be saved that we’re sharing isn’t difficult! It’s also like what’s stated in the Holy Bible, “The true message from God is already near you, in your mouth and in your heart.” [29] 9 And this is God’s message, if you admit with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and fully believe in your heart that God has brought Jesus back to life from among dead people, then you’ll be saved. 10 It’s like this, if we fully believe like that in our hearts, then we’re made right in God’s sight. Then we clearly admit with our mouths that we follow Jesus, so we’re saved. 11 For in the Holy Bible it’s written, “Whoever believes in Him won’t be disappointed.” [30] 12 God’s statement is valid for everyone, both for Jews and for people who aren’t Jews. For there’s only one God for everyone, and He abundantly blesses everyone who asks for His help. 13 For God’s Word also says, “Everyone who cries out to the Lord asking for his help will be saved.” [31]
14 But how can people ask for His help if they don’t yet believe in Him? And how can people believe in Him if they haven’t yet heard about Him? And how can people hear about Him if there isn’t anyone to tell them about Him? 15 And how can we tell them about Him if we aren’t sent? As it’s written in the Holy Bible, “The coming [1] of the people who are sent to tell the Good News is so beautiful.” [32]
16-17 So people become believers because they hear the news that’s told to them. And they hear the news because there’s a person who tells about Christ. But not everyone is ready to receive the Good News. That’s why the Prophet Isaiah complained to God, “Lord, hardly anyone believes the news that You ordered me to tell.” [33]
18 But what about the Jews? Can they say that they haven’t yet heard this news? They have no reason to talk like that because the Lord’s Word says,
“The sun, moon and all of the stars tell the news about God
to the whole world, that He’s the one who created everything.
So people have no reason
not to know God.” [34]
19 But I’m asking again: Why is it that the people of Israel can’t seem to understand the Good News? First we need to remember that God had said through Moses,
“I will make you jealous
when I bless other people groups whom you consider to be useless.
And I will use people groups who didn’t know Me in the past
as a tool to make you angry.” [35]
20 Then the Prophet Isaiah boldly delivered these words of God,
“People groups that didn’t seek Me in the past
will find Me.
And I will reveal Myself to people
who don’t know Me.” [36]
21 But God says about the people of Israel,
“I’ve held out My hand too long and waited for them to return to Me,
but they keep hardening their hearts and don’t want to obey Me.” [37]
Chapter 11
God is still planning to bless His chosen people
1 Does that mean God has decided to reject the people of Israel, His own chosen people?! Certainly not! And I myself am one example. I’m an Israelite, Abraham’s descendant from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God certainly won’t reject them, that is the people whom He chose from the beginning. And you should remember what was written in the Holy Bible about Elijah. He sincerely prayed to God asking that the people of Israel be punished, saying, 3 “Oh Lord, they’ve killed Your prophets and destroyed Your altars. I’m the only prophet who’s still alive, and they’re trying to kill me too!” [38] 4 But what was God’s answer to Elijah? He said, “I’ve chosen and kept seven thousand people of Israel for Myself, that is those who’ve never worshipped Baal.” [39]
5 So at the present time too, there’s still a small number of the people of Israel whom God has chosen as His people, just because of His kindness. 6 God chose a number of these people just because of His kindness and not because of the good things they’ve ever done for God. If God had chosen them based on their deeds, then His choice is no longer because of His kindness.
7 So this is what happened, in general, the Israelites didn’t get what they sought through their own efforts, which was how to be made right in God’s sight. And only a small number got that, who are the people who were chosen by God. But the others hardened their hearts. 8 As it’s written in the Holy Bible,
“God made them unaware,
like people who are sleeping.” [40]
“Even to this day, God hasn’t yet allowed them
to see with their eyes.
And He closed their ears,
so that they couldn’t hear.” [41]
9 And David prays,
“Lord, let them feel satisfied with an abundance of food and riches
so that they forget You.
And allow their prosperity to become a trap
that catches them.
10 Let their eyes remain closed,
so that they aren’t aware of what’s happening to them.
And may they be punished, so that they keep living in trouble
and carry heavy burdens so that they are bent over forever.” [42]
11 For that reason, certainly some of you will ask: “If the people of Israel have stumbled like that, does that mean that they’ll never be saved?” By no means! But as a result of their wrongs, the way of salvation for non-Jewish people groups has been opened. That’s included in God’s plan so that if the Jewish people see the blessings given to non-Jewish people, they’ll feel jealous. 12 The Jewish people are guilty because of the hardness of their hearts so that the opportunity would open up for all non-Jewish people groups to receive amazing blessings. But just think how much more amazing the blessing to the whole world will be when God calls the Jewish people to return, and they also follow the way of salvation.
13 Now I’m speaking to you who aren’t Jewish. I was sent as an apostle to non-Jewish people. So I make an effort so that my ministry will bring results and be praised. 14 For I hope that by doing that, my own people become jealous of other people groups. In that way, I hope that some of them are helped and are saved. 15 My intent is that when God turned away from the Jewish people, it meant that an opportunity opened up for all the other people groups in this world to be at peace with God. So at the time God receives the Jewish people back, that will certainly be surprising, as if those people have been brought back to life from death, and the whole world will join in rejoicing. 16 That will happen, for sure, because if their forefathers were accepted and made right by God, [1] then at a later time their offspring will certainly join in being made right too. For the Jewish people group is like an olive tree planted in God’s field as His own special possession. That means the branches remain His possessions too.
17 What has happened now is as if some branches of God’s olive tree were cut off and thrown away. Part of the Jewish people are like those branches. Then other branches were attached to His olive tree and those branches were taken from a wild olive tree. Those are you people groups who aren’t Jewish! Now you receive life and strength from the root of the tree that God planted. 18 So you branches who were just attached can’t consider yourselves to be greater than the original branches that were cut off and thrown away! And remember, it isn’t you that give life to the root, but it’s the root that gives life to you. 19 But of those of you who aren’t Jews, there will for sure be some who say, “Yes, true, but one of the former branches was cut off so that I could be attached to this tree of God’s.” 20 That’s true! But you need to remember that the first branches were cut off because they didn’t believe. And you non-Jews can remain one with that tree only because you believe. So don’t become arrogant. It’s better for you to fear being cut off too! 21 For if God didn’t allow those first branches to stay connected, then you could also be cut off if you stop believing.
22 So now it has been proven that God’s kindness is truly amazing, and His punishment is also truly terrifying! For He’ll give a harsh punishment to people who don’t want to follow the way of salvation which was given by Him, but He’s very kind to you, if you continue to depend on His kindness! If you don’t, you’ll be cut off from His tree too. 23 And if the Jews aren’t hard-headed anymore and believe in the news of salvation from God, then they’ll also be reattached to that tree. And God is certainly able to do that! 24 It wasn’t a normal thing that happened to you non-Jewish people, because the branches of a wild olive tree are seldom attached to an olive tree planted in a garden. The Jewish people are like the original branches from the olive tree in God’s garden. So the original branches will be more easily reattached to their original tree.
25 Brothers and sister who aren’t Jews, I want to reveal this mystery to you so that you don’t become arrogant and brag about yourselves. For the time being, God has made it so that some of the Jewish people are hard-headed. But that will change when everyone whom God has invited from other people groups have joined with us. 26 When that happens, God will open up the way of salvation again to all of the people of Israel. That’s in agreement with God’s words in the Holy Bible that say,
“Your Savior will appear in the holy city, which is Jerusalem. [2]
and He’ll remove all evil from the descendants of Jacob.
27 And I will fulfill My promise to them
when I wipe away their sins.” [43]
28 For the Jews didn’t want to receive the Good News from God, so they became His enemies. That happened in order to open up the opportunity for you non-Jews to be saved. But the Jews are still God’s chosen people, whom He loves very much. He still loves them because of His promises to their forefathers. 29 For if God chooses and blesses people, He never changes His plan and doesn’t take His blessing back from them. 30 In the past, you non-Jewish people didn’t want to obey God. But now you’ve received His mercy in order to repent. That happened because for the time being the Jews don’t want to obey. 31 It can also be explained like this, the Jews don’t want to obey now because for the time being God is showing His mercy to you. But that’s happening so that in days to come, they’ll also have another opportunity to receive His mercy! 32 God has obviously arranged it so that every people group experiences a time when they’re enslaved by sin and don’t want to obey God! In that way, He opens up an opportunity for everyone to receive His mercy.
Praise God
33 It’s so true, our God is really kind to all of us! His wisdom and knowledge can’t be understood by human beings. And we can’t possibly understand His decisions and how He arranges everything. 34 As it’s written in the Holy Bible,
“Who knows the Lord’s thoughts?
Who is able to become an adviser to God?” [44]
35 “Who has ever loaned anything to God
so that He’s obligated to pay him something?” [45]
36 For God alone has created everything. And everything continues to exist through Him and for Him. May all the glory be given to Him forever. Amen.
Chapter 12
Give your life to God
1 So since God has been so incredibly kind to us, it's only proper that we return His kindness! We should all think like this, “Lord, I give my body to you as a sacrifice”, even though we actually continue to live. That decision is a holy sacrifice which pleases the Lord. 2 This means that we can no longer follow a bad lifestyle like what has become the habit of worldly people. But let's surrender our bodies as sacrificial offerings to God, and He will renew our minds so that we can know what God's will is for us and what is best in every situation. By that I mean we can understand and choose what is good and what is most proper for us, along with whatever pleases the Lord.
3 So Brothers and Sisters, because God has been very kind to me so that He chose me as His apostle, I want to give this advice to each of you, don’t consider yourselves to be greater than you are. Instead, think honestly and humbly about the knowledge and special abilities given to you by the Lord, according to your faith regarding those gifts of His. [1] 4-5 For each of us who are one with Christ is a part of the body of Christ. And the body of Christ can be illustrated by the human body. Each of us has one body but it has many parts, and each part has its own job. It’s the same with us, even though there are many of us, yet each of us is a part of one body, which is the body of Christ. So each of us is connected to the others.
6 Each of us has been given different special abilities according to God’s kindness to each of us. So brother, if you’ve been given the gift to prophesy, you should tell each prophecy according to your faith. 7 If you’ve been given the gift to serve, you should serve. If you’ve been given the gift to teach, you should teach. 8 If you’ve been given the gift to encourage other people, you should encourage other people. Or if you’ve been given the gift to help other people, you should help them generously. If you’ve been given the gift to become a leader, you should lead others whole-heartedly. And if you’ve been given the gift of compassion, you should show compassion to other people with gladness.
9 Let’s not just pretend to love other people, but we should love sincerely and only do what’s good, as well as hate every kind of evil. 10 As brothers and sisters in the faith who are already one with Christ, we should love each other with all our hearts. And let’s try to honor all of our brothers in the faith more than ourselves. 11 We should be diligent to work and not be lazy! With the strength given by God’s Spirit, we should serve the Lord full of enthusiasm. 12 Be joyful, because we can be certain about what we hope for. When facing troubles we should stand firm. And we should keep praying in every situation! 13 When our brothers and sisters in the faith need help, help them. And if they need a place to stay, the door of your house should be open as a place for them to stay.
14 If someone hurts you, ask God to bless him. Yes, ask for His blessing on him and don’t ask God to curse him! 15 Rejoice with those who are joyful and cry with those who are crying. 16 We should have one heart and mind. Don’t let anyone think that he’s more important than other people, but always be ready to associate with ordinary people. And don’t think you’re so smart.
17 If someone does evil to you, don’t repay it with evil. But think carefully, so that what you want to do to that person is considered to be good by everyone. 18 Try to live in peace with everyone as much as it’s possible on your part. 19 Brothers and Sisters whom I love, don’t pay back the evil that someone does to you. Let God alone be the one to repay the evil that person has done, according to His wrath. For it’s written in the Lord’s Word, “I alone have the right to punish. I will repay everyone who does evil.” [46] 20 But we should do what’s in agreement with this verse from the Lord’s Word,
“If the one who opposes you is hungry, give him something to eat;
if the one who opposes you is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For in that way
you’ll make him ashamed.” [47]
21 Let’s not be defeated by evil. But let’s defeat evil by continually doing good.
Chapter 13
Obey government rules
1 We should all obey the government, because no official has a governmental position without God’s permission. And every official who rules now has been appointed by God. 2 So everyone who opposes the government is actually opposing what has been set up by God. And whoever does that will bring punishment on himself. 3 For people who do good don’t need to be afraid of the government. So if you want to be free from fear of the government, do what’s good, then you’ll receive praise from those who govern.
4 For each government official is God’s servant who serves for your sake. But if you do evil, you’ll be afraid of them, for sure! And don’t think you can escape from the official's authority to punish you. For they’re also God’s servants who have the duty to punish people who do evil. 5 So we have to obey the government, not because of being afraid of punishment if we don’t obey, but we obey because we know that it’s proper and right in God’s eyes.
6 We pay taxes to the government for that reason too, because government authorities work for God and give most of their time to govern. 7 So give to each government worker according to what’s proper to give. If you owe taxes, pay them. And give duty payments to those who have the right to receive duty. Respect and obey all of the government officials and everyone who deserves to be respected.
Loving others is the most important law
8 Don’t owe anything to anyone except to owe love to one another. For when we love our fellowman, it means that we’re also fulfilling the whole point of the Law about relationships between our fellowmen. 9 For it’s written in the Law, “Don’t commit adultery, don’t kill, don’t steal, don’t desire the possessions of another person.” [48] The Law consists of many commands, of course, but the point of all of those commands is actually one, which is “Love others like you love yourself.” 10 For by loving, we won’t hurt other people, of course. So in loving, it’s the same as if we’re obeying the whole Law.
11 I’m giving this advice because it’s very appropriate for those of us who live in this age. For the time has come now for us to wake up from sleep, because the time for us to be saved is much nearer now than when we first began to believe. 12 Night has almost passed and day will come soon. For that reason, we should stop doing everything that comes from darkness. And let’s prepare ourselves by equipping ourselves with weapons that come from the light, in order to oppose all the powers of darkness. 13 We should live right, like people who are in the light. Let’s not have wild parties and get drunk, and let’s not be immoral or commit other sins with our bodies either. Don’t quarrel with each other and don’t envy each other. 14 But let’s become like our Lord Christ Jesus, so that when people see what we do, it’s as if they see Christ in us. And don’t think about satisfying your own desires anymore.
Chapter 14
Don’t criticize other brothers in the faith
1 Willingly accept people who do not completely believe in the conviction about the freedom we who have become one with Christ have. Don’t waste time debating opinions with them. 2 For there are brothers and sisters of ours who are strong in their faith in Christ, who feel they have permission from God to eat all kinds of food. But there are also other brothers and sisters who doubt, who feel they’re permitted by God to eat vegetables only. 3 Those who are certain that you may eat all kinds of food must not think they are better than those who eat only vegetables. The same is true for those of you who have convictions to eat only vegetables, don’t consider those who eat all kinds of food to be wrong. For God has accepted those brothers and sisters in the faith without making an issue of their convictions about food. 4 For example, you don’t have the right to judge another person’s servant. Only his master has the right to determine if that servant is wrong or right. Consider this, we’re owned by the Lord! He’s certainly able to support us so that we won’t fall!
5 And there are brothers of ours who are sure that one day is more important than another day. But there are also other brothers and sisters who are sure that everyday is equally important. In situations like that, everyone should decide for himself according to his own convictions. 6 For the brothers and sisters who celebrate certain days do it for the Lord’s glory. [1] Our Brothers and sisters who feel that they can eat all kinds of food eat to glorify the Lord and are thankful to God for that food. And those who don’t eat some kinds of foods also do it to glorify the Lord, and they’re also thankful to God for it.
7 Not one of us live or die for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live to glorify the Lord. And if we die, we die to glorify the Lord also. So whether we live or die, we do everything to glorify the Lord because we’re the Lord’s possessions. 9 For that’s why Christ died and was brought back to life from death, so that He might become Lord over everyone, both those who are still living and those who’ve died.
10 So let’s not criticize each other as brothers in the faith! We don’t have the right to do that, and let’s not consider ourselves to be better than our other brothers and sisters in the faith. For we’ll all stand before God, and He’s the one who’ll judge us. 11 For it’s written in the Holy Bible,
“The Lord says,
‘I swear by Myself as the living God
that everyone will kneel down in worship before Me,
and everyone will confess that I am God.’” [49]
12 Each of us will be accountable to God for all our deeds.
Don’t cause other people to sin
13 We should stop criticizing each other, and let’s decide not to do things that make our brother become weak or fall into sin anymore. 14 Let me share my opinion as a person who’s one with the Lord Jesus. I’m certain that there’s no food that's forbidden for us. But for a person who’s convinced that a certain kind of food is forbidden, if he eats that forbidden food, he does wrong.
15 If you know that your brother in the faith considers some food forbidden yet he sees you still eating that food, then you’re destroying that brother’s faith and you aren’t truly showing love. So don’t shatter the confidence of your brother in the faith just because of a problem with food. Remember that Christ died for that brother of yours too. 16 Don’t let something that you consider to be good become something that’s viewed as evil by another brother of ours. 17 Food and drinks aren’t important things for us as citizens of God’s kingdom. But what’s important is living right before God, being at peace and rejoicing in the Holy Spirit. 18 For everyone who serves Christ in that way will certainly please God. And they’ll be well-accepted by other people too.
19 So let’s diligently try to do what brings peace among us and what builds up everyone’s spirit. 20 Don’t let the problem of food destroy the work of God in the life of your brother or sister in the faith, for all food is permitted. But we do wrong if we eat something in front of a person who considers that food forbidden. If he also eats that food, he has fallen into sin. 21 It’s better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything at all if it causes your brother or sister to fall into sin.
22 Keep your opinion about those kinds of things to yourself so just you and God know it. The person who does what he’s convinced is right before God so that he doesn’t feel accused is very happy. 23 But if you eat something and you aren’t sure that it’s permitted, then you do wrong because you didn’t do what you were convicted to do. For whoever goes against what he is convicted is right before God has sinned.
Chapter 15
1 Those of us who are mature in our convictions about our freedom in oneness with Christ must be patient and help members who still have doubts about things like that. So we can't just please ourselves. 2 Instead, let’s try to live to please each other so that we help and encourage each other. 3 For when Christ lived in this world, He didn’t live just to please Himself either. But what was written in the Holy Bible was fulfilled by Him, like when the writer complained to God, “Oh God, when people insult You, it’s as if they insult me.” [50] 4 Everything that’s written in the Holy Bible is a lesson for us. And all of those lessons are given to make us firm and strong so that we keep hoping in God as our Helper. 5 He’s the source of patience and strength for us. And I pray that God helps you all to live in harmony as Christ Jesus desires, 6 so that you’ll all be united and of one heart. In that way, you can with one heart and mind praise and glorify God who is the Father of our Lord Christ Jesus.
7 Because Christ has accepted you as His people, you should also accept each other as your fellow brothers and sisters in the faith so that God is glorified. 8 I speak like that because Christ became a servant for the Jewish people to show that God fulfills all of His promises to them. And Christ proved that all of God’s promises to the Jewish forefathers are true. 9 Christ also did that so that non-Jewish people groups will also take part in glorifying God because of His kindness which He revealed to them. It’s like what a person said to God in the Holy Bible,
“For that reason I will give thanks to You among the people groups that aren’t Jewish,
and I will sing praise songs to Your name.” [51]
10 And it’s also written,
“You people groups that aren’t Jews
rejoice with God’s people.” [52]
11 It’s also written,
“All of you people groups that aren’t Jewish, praise the Lord!
Let every people group praise the Lord.” [53]
12 And the Prophet Isaiah prophesied,
“A Person will come from the descendants of Jesse.
He’ll come forward to rule all the people groups,
and the people who aren’t Jews will hope in Him.” [54]
13 For that reason I pray for all of you who believe in Christ. I hope that God, the source of our hope, will truly bless you with joy and calmness within His protection. Because of His blessing and by the power of the Holy Spirit, you’ll definitely be more certain of His kindness to us.
Paul tells about his work
14 My Brothers and Sisters, I’m sure that you live a very good lifestyle, and I’m also sure that you already have all the knowledge that’s necessary in order to advise each other. 15 Even so, I dared to write this letter to firmly remind you about several things, according to the task that God gave me because of His kindness. 16 He’s the one who called me to be a servant of Christ Jesus, and He gave me the task to proclaim His Good News to non-Jewish peoples. So I serve like a priest because I also work as a mediator so that people who aren’t Jews can also give their lives to God like a living sacrificial offering. And God will accept them because they’ve been made pure by His Spirit.
17 For that reason I’m very glad about everything that Christ Jesus does through me for the glory of God. 18 Regarding my ministry, I don’t want to brag about myself. But I will only talk about what Christ has done through me, with the result that I've been able to lead non-Jewish people to obey God through what I’ve said and done. 19 And they became obedient to God because the Holy Spirit showed His power through me so that many miraculous signs happened. And I’ve told the Good News about Christ completely, beginning in the city of Jerusalem and as far as the region of Illyricum. 20 My desire is to always tell the Good News everywhere in places where people haven’t yet heard about Christ, because I don’t want to build the work of my ministry on a foundation that was already built by another person. 21 That’s also like what’s written in the Holy Bible,
“People who’ve not yet accepted the news about Him
will see Him.
And people who’ve not yet heard the news about Him
will understand.” [55]
Paul’s plan to visit Rome
22 I was often prevented from visiting you in the past because I was always busy in other regions. 23 But now I’ve finished my work in those other regions. And for years now I’ve wanted to visit you, so I will feel very happy if that happens soon. 24 I plan to visit you before I go to Spain. Yes, I hope to be able to visit you on my way to Spain. After some time, when my longing has been satisfied in fellowship with you, I hope you can help me to continue on my journey.
25 I’m going to Jerusalem now to give help to God’s people. 26 Quite a few of God’s people in Jerusalem are very poor. And some of the congregations in Macedonia and Achaia have decided to contribute funds to help them. 27 Our brothers and sisters in Macedonia and Achaia were very glad to do it. It’s appropriate for them to help the brothers and sisters in the faith in Jerusalem, of course, because even though they aren’t Jews they've taken part in receiving amazing spiritual blessings from the Jews. So they feel that they’re indebted to the Jews, and they’re sending material blessings. 28 So I’m going to Jerusalem to insure that this help is given to the poor members in Jerusalem. After finishing that task, I’ll leave for Spain. But on that trip I’ll visit you first. 29 And when I’ve arrived in Rome, and we’ve met each other, I’m certain that Christ will really bless us!
30 Brothers and Sisters, I ask for your help to sincerely pray to God about my work. Do that because together we’re one with our Lord Christ Jesus and because of the love that’s given to us by the Holy Spirit. 31 Also pray that I will be safe from people who don’t believe in Christ in Judea, and that the help I bring to Jerusalem will be pleasing to God’s people there. 32 In that way, if God allows, I’ll come to you with a joyful heart! And when we meet, we’ll have many opportunities to encourage one another. 33 I hope that God, that is He who always protects us so that we live with a feeling of calm, will continue to be with you. Amen.
Chapter 16
Final words from Paul
1 I request that you desire to know and trust Phoebe, our sister in the faith. She has been assigned as a special servant to the church in Cenchraea. 2 Accept her as is appropriate for God’s people, because she’s one with Christ. Please help her with anything she needs, because she herself has helped many people, including myself.
3 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila. They work with me because they’re one with Christ Jesus too. 4 They’ve risked their lives to save my life. I’m very grateful to them, and not just I, but all of the non-Jewish churches are also grateful to them because of that.
5 Give my greetings to the church that meets in their house too.
Give my greetings to my friend Epaenetus, whom I dearly love. He was the first person in Asia who became a follower of Christ. 6 Give my greetings to Mary. She has worked hard for the church in Rome.
7 Give my greetings to Andronicus and Junia. They’re Jews like me and were also in prison with me. They became followers of Christ before I did, and the two of them are known as messengers of Christ to do His work. [1]
8 Give my greetings to Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord.
9 Give my greetings to Urbanus, my friend in our ministry for Christ.
Also give my greetings to my beloved close friend Stachys.
10 Give my greetings to Apelles. He has been tested and proven that his love for Christ is pure.
Give my greetings to everyone in the family of Aristobulus.
11 Give my greetings to my friend Herodion who is from my people group.
Give my greetings to the family of Narcissus, our brothers and sisters in the faith in Christ.
12 Give my greetings to Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Both of those women truly work to serve the Lord.
Give my greetings to my close friend Persis, whom I love. He also works hard for the glory of the Lord.
13 Give my greetings to Rufus. He’s a very special person in the Lord’s eyes.
And give my greetings to his mother too, who has become like my own mother.
14 Give my greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers in the faith who are with them.
15 Give my greetings to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, along with Olympas, and also to all of God’s people who are with them.
16 Brothers and Sisters, as people who’ve been made pure by God, you should give each other greetings full of love. [2]
All of the churches of Christ send greetings to you.
17 Brothers and sisters, I advise you to watch out for people who like to cause division. Beware of people who like to destroy the faith of other people. They oppose the true teaching that you’ve received. Stay far away from them. 18 People like that don’t serve Christ our Lord. They just want to please themselves. They use fine words to trick people who are naive.
19 But all the brothers in the faith have heard about you, the church in Rome, that you’re very obedient to the Lord Jesus. So I really rejoice because of you! But I ask you to remain wise about everything that’s good and keep feeling that you don’t need to know anything about what’s evil. 20 God, who always guards us so that we live with the feeling of calm, will soon destroy the devil and put him under our authority. My prayer is that our Lord Jesus will always be kind to you.
21 Timothy, my close friend in ministry, sends greetings to you. Greetings from the friends of my own people too, Lucius, Jason and Sosipater.
22 I Tertius, also send greetings to you in the Lord. I’m the one who helped Paul write this letter, according to what he said.
23-24 Greetings from Gaius to you. He has allowed me Paul and the whole church here to use his house. Erastus, and Quartus who is our brother in the faith, send greetings to you. Erastus is the treasurer of this city. [3]
25 Glory to God! He’s the one who can strengthen you so that you keep believing in Christ according to the Good News that I teach, which is what God has revealed to us. That is the plan of God about Christ Jesus which was kept secret from people since the beginning. 26 But now God has revealed that plan of His. First, it was revealed in the writings of the prophets, which were written according to what God commanded. And now we proclaim that news to all people groups so that they fully believe in Christ and obey God who lives forever. 27 He’s the one and only God who is full of wisdom. Give glory to our God through Christ Jesus forever! Amen.