First I thank my God through Jesus Christ about you all, because the news of your faith is spreading all over the world.

In it God's way of uprightness is disclosed through faith and for faith, just as the Scripture says, "The upright will have life because of his faith."

For, as the Scripture says, the very name of God is abused among the heathen, because of you!

there is but one God, and he will make the circumcised upright on the ground of their faith and the uncircumcised upright because of theirs."

It is just like the way in which through one man sin came into the world, and death followed sin, and so death spread to all men, because all men sinned.

What follows, then? Are we to sin, because we live not under law but under mercy? Certainly not!

I use these familiar human terms because of the limitations of your nature. For just as you before gave up the parts of your bodies in slavery to vice and greater and greater license, you must now give them up in slavery to uprightness, which leads to consecration.

Did what was good, then, prove the death of me? Certainly not! It was sin that did so, so that it might be recognized as sin, because even through something that was good it effected my death, so that through the command it might appear how immeasurably sinful sin was.

nor are they all children of Abraham because they are descended from him, but he was told, "The line of Isaac will be called your descendants."

And why? Because they did not seek it through faith, but through doing certain things. They stumbled over that stone that makes people stumble,

From the point of view of the good news they are treated as enemies of God on your account; but from the point of view of God's choice, they are dear to him because of their forefathers,

For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because they disobeyed,

All this especially, because you know this critical time and that it is time for you to wake from your sleep, for our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

But, just to refresh your memories, I have written you pretty boldly on some points, because of the favor God has shown me