with relation to his son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was of the lineage of David as to his body,

but as to his holy spirit miraculously declared to be the son of God, by his resurrection from the dead:

now I would not have you ignorant, my brethren, that I often purposed to come to you, tho' I have been hindered hitherto, that I might be useful among you as well as among other Gentiles.

so, that as far as it depends upon me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you also, who are at Rome.

There it is that divine justification is revealed to be wholly by faith: as it is written, " the just shall live by faith."

because when they knew God, they did not with gratitude glorify him as God, but their reasoning became extravagance, and their minds, void of judgment, were involv'd in darkness.

As they did not seek the favour of God, by worshipping him, God gave them over to a depraved sense, to act unworthy of human nature;

For as many as have sinned without the law, shall also perish without the law: and as many as have sinned under the law, shall be condemned by the law,

for not the bare hearers of the law, but they who observe the law, are such as shall be justified, before God.

for (as it is written) the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles by your miscarriages.

if therefore an uncircumcised Gentile keep the moral precepts contained in the law, shall not he be reckon'd, as if he were circumcised?

the faithfulness of God of no effect? by no means; yea, let God be acknowledged to be true, tho' men should be all deceivers; as it is written, " that you might be justified in your sayings, and might overcome when you are judged."

"but, say you, if the veracity of God hath appeared more illustrious thro' my unfaithfulness, why then am I condemned as a sinner?

as it is written, " there is none righteous, no not one:

the reward is not counted as a favour to him that has done good actions, but as a debt:

whereas he that trusts in God to be made righteous, tho' he has not done such actions, shall find his faith accounted as righteousness.

even as David also speaks of the happiness of the man whom God accounted righteous independently of his works,

and he received the sign of circumcision, as a seal of the justification by that faith, which the uncircumcised have: that he might be the father of all those who believe, tho' they are uncircumcised, that it might be accounted to them also for righteousness:

therefore the inheritance is of faith, that it might be meerly of favour, to the end the promise might be assured to all his posterity, not to that part only who have the law, but to that also who have the faith of Abraham, the father of us all, as it is written,

" I have made thee a father of many nations," then existing in the sight of God, whom he believed, who gives life to the dead, and calls forth things that are not, as if they were:

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, so death by this sin; and thereby death passed upon all men, who all by his means became mortal.

nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned by violating a positive law, as did Adam, who is

neither is the gift, as was the fall by one sin: for the sentence of condemnation, was for one offence; but the divine favour extends to justification from a multitude of sins.

Therefore as by one offence all men fell under condemnation: even so by one act of righteousness, all men are restored to life.

for as by one man's disobedience many receiv'd the punishment of sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many receive the reward of the righteous.

that as sin prevailed unto death, even so might the divine favour prevail by righteousness unto eternal life, thro' Jesus Christ our Lord.

therefore we are buried with him by being plunged into a sort of death: that as Christ was raised up from the dead into a state of glory with the father, even so we also should proceed to a new state of life.

for as to his death, he died upon the account of sin once for all; but as to his being alive, he lives to the glory of God for ever.

in like manner consider your selves as dead to sin; but alive to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

neither yield your members as instruments to iniquity: but yield yourselves unto God, as being alive after having been dead; and your members as instruments of righteousness.

(I allude to civil affairs, because of your unacquaintedness with spiritual matters:) as then you made your natural faculties subservient to impurity, and all manner of vice; make them now subservient to virtue and holiness.

God having sent his own son invested with a body like that of sinful men, as a sacrifice for sin, thereby destroyed its power; which the law could not effect, human nature being in such a corrupted state.

so that they who are in a carnal state, cannot be acceptable to the divine being. as for you,

as many as are actuated by the spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

for whom he before approv'd, he predispos'd to follow the example of his son, who was to conduct them all as their elder brother;

for as it is written, "for thy sake we are sacrificed every day; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter:"

for I could wish to be as one anathematiz'd from the christian church for my brethren, who are of the same race as my self,

who are the offspring of the patriarchs, and of whom as to the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

that is, the children by natural descent are not thereby the children of God: but the children of the promise are alone considered as his posterity.

as it is written, "Jacob have I loved, but Esau I have discarded."

thus some he pursues with his favours, and abandons others to their obduracy, according as he thinks fit.

and display his infinite goodness to such objects of mercy, as he had prepared for glory?

to such as we, whom he has called, both from among the Jews, and from among the Gentiles.

as he saith himself in Osee, "I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her, beloved, which was not beloved.

Esaias also breaks out concerning Israel, " tho' the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant only shall be saved.

and as Esaias said before, "except the God of heaven had left us a remnant, we had been as Sodoma, and brought to the state of Gomorrha."

as it is written, "behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone, and a rock of offence: and whosoever believeth in him, shall not be ashamed."

and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach except they be sent? as it is written, "how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!"

but still I ask, did not Israel know this? first, Moses saith, "I will provoke you to jealousy, by those that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you."

as it is written, "God hath given them up to a state of insensibility, so that their eyes could not see, and their ears could not hear."

let their eyes be darkned, so as not to see, and let their back be continually bowed down."

this concerns you Gentiles. for as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I should do honour to my character,

and then all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, "there shall come out of Sion the deliverer, and shall turn away Jacob from his impiety.

as you in times past did not obey God, yet have now obtained mercy upon the occasion of their disobedience:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to you, that you present your bodies a living victim, holy, acceptable unto God, as the service of a rational being.

for as there are many members in one and the same body, but all the members have not the same office:

Render no man evil for evil. mind such things as are approved not only by God, but by men.

thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self." the benevolent never does wrong to his neighbour: therefore benevolence is the fulfilling of the law.

let us behave with decency as in open view; not with rioting and drunkenness, not with lewdness and brutality, not with strife and envy.

A weak convert receive as a friend without regard to any difference of opinion.

he that observes a day, and he that obobserves it not, act both from a sense of duty. he that eats, consisiders it as the bounty of his Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that forbeareth to eat, considers his forbearance as enjoined by his Lord, and giveth God thanks for the rest.

for we neither live, nor die, as if we were our own masters.

if we live, our life is appropriated to the Lord; and if we die, we die as his servants: whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's.

for it is written, "as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God."

now if your brother be endanger'd by your eating, you violate the obligations of love: for such a matter as eating, will you risk his life, for whom Christ died?

do not for such a thing as meat, pull down what God has been raising. all things indeed are pure; but they become evil to him who by eating giveth offence.

for even Christ did not consult his own satisfaction; but as it is written, "the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me."

wherefore be kindly affected to one another, as Christ was to you, that you might glorify God.

and you Gentiles ought to glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, "for this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name ."

As to myself, I am persuaded, my brethren, that you abound in goodness, and in variety of knowledge, and are able to instruct one another.

I have effectually preached the gospel of Christ: yet so as studiously to avoid preaching it where Christ was owned, lest I should build upon another man's foundation; for,

as it is written, "they to whom he was not mentioned, shall see: and they that have not heard, shall understand."

they have thought fit, I say, and they owed them as much. for if the Gentiles have participated of their spirituals, they are bound on their side to minister to them in their temporals.

as becometh christians, and assist her in every thing her business requires: for she hath assisted many besides my self.

I value as a good christian. salute Urbane my assistant in the cause of Christ,

for such as these serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own selfishness; and by flourish and flattery, deceive the open-hearted simple.

your christianity is very well known in the world. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you as expert in that which is good, as unpractis'd in what is evil.