Through him we received grace and a commission as an apostle to bring about faithful obedience among all the gentiles for the sake of his name.

First of all, I thank my God through Jesus the Messiah for all of you, because the news about your faith is being reported throughout the world.

For God, whom I serve with my spirit by preaching the gospel about his Son, is my witness how constantly I mention you

For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God himself has made it plain to them.

Now if you call yourself a Jew, and rely on the Law, and boast about God,

As you boast about the Law, do you dishonor God by breaking the Law?

No, a person is a Jew inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, brought about by the Spirit, not by a written law. That person's praise will come from God, not from people.

What, then, is there to boast about? That has been eliminated. On what principle? On that of actions? No, but on the principle of faith.

What, then, are we to say about Abraham, our human ancestor?

For if Abraham was justified by actions, he would have had something to boast about though not before God.

His faith did not weaken when he thought about his own body (which was already as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old) or about Sarah's inability to have children,

Not only that, but we also continue to boast about God through our Lord Jesus the Messiah, through whom we have now been reconciled.

What, then, can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

For the Scripture says about Pharaoh, "I have raised you up for this very purpose, to demonstrate my power through you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God about the Jews is that they would be saved.

For Moses writes about the righteousness that comes from the Law as follows: "The person who obeys these things will find life by them."

But what does it say? "The message is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart." This is the message about faith that we are proclaiming:

How, then, can people call on someone they have not believed? And how can they believe in someone they have not heard about? And how can they hear without someone preaching?

But about Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and rebellious people."

God has not rejected his people whom he chose long ago. Do you not know what the Scripture says in the story about Elijah, when he pleads with God against Israel?

do not boast about being better than the other branches. If you boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

For I want to let you know about this secret, brothers, so that you will not claim to be wiser than you are: Stubbornness has come to part of Israel until the full number of the gentiles comes to faith.

Therefore, in the Messiah Jesus I have the right to boast about my work for God.

For I am bold enough to tell you only about what the Messiah has accomplished through me in bringing gentiles to obedience. By my words and actions,

Rather, as it is written, "Those who were never told about him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."

For your obedience has become known to everyone, and I am full of joy for you. But I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

Now to the one who is able to strengthen you with my gospel and the message that I preach about Jesus, the Messiah, by revealing the secret that was kept hidden from long ago