All of you there in Rome [i.e., the church there] are also among such obedient believers. You are called Jesus Christ's [people], loved by God and called to be His holy people. May you have unearned favor and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

These people know that God's decrees require that those who practice such things deserve to die [i.e., either spiritual or temporal punishment], yet they not only do the same things [themselves], but even approve of other people who practice them.

Now we [Jews] know that God's judgment against people who practice such things [i.e., the Gentiles] is according to truth. [Note: Some use "You say," at the beginning of the sentence, making it an assertion of the Jews which Paul sets about to answer].

So therefore, God considered him righteous [i.e., because of such faith].

And [having such] hope keeps us from being disappointed, because God's love [for us] has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who was given to us [by God].

What benefit did you receive at that time from doing the things you are now ashamed of? For the end of such behavior is [spiritual] death.

But if I do what I do not want to, I agree with the law [which condemns such conduct] that it is good.

But if I do what I do not want to, [then] I am no longer the one doing it, but [instead], it is sin which lives in me [i.e., that motivates such conduct].

And if we are [His] children, then we have an inheritance from God [i.e., blessings here and hereafter] and are fellow-sharers with Christ [of such blessings], providing we [are willing to] suffer with Him, so we can also be honored with Him [i.e., in the future life. See verses 18-25].

[What if He did this] in order to demonstrate His wealth of glory toward people who deserved His mercy, whom He had previously determined should receive [such special] honor?

And King David said [Psa. 69:22-23], "Let their table ensnare and trap them [i.e., let the Jews' devotion to such things as lavish feasts become the occasion for leading them astray], and become an occasion for their falling [away from God]. And let them be repaid [for such conduct with punishment].

One person has enough faith that allows him to eat anything [i.e., without it bothering his conscience that the food, such as animal meat, was used in an idolatrous worship ceremony]. But the weak person can eat only vegetables [conscientiously].

The person who can eat anything should not look down on the person who cannot eat [what was used in idolatrous worship]; and the person who cannot eat [such things] should not pass judgment on the person who can. For God accepts that person, too.

So then, let us pursue such things that produce peace and things that build one another up [spiritually].

But the person who has doubts about eating [a certain food] is self-condemned if he [goes ahead and] eats it, because his action is not based on faith [i.e., if he lacks the conviction that he is doing what is right]. And whatever is not done with such a conviction is a sin.

For such men are not serving our Lord Christ but their own [unspiritual] appetites. They are deceiving the minds of innocent people by their smooth talk and flattering words.