about His Son, who on the physical side became a descendant of David, and on the holy, spiritual side

proved to be God's Son in power by the resurrection from the dead -- I mean, Jesus Christ, our Lord,

Indeed, my witness is God, whom I serve in my spirit by telling the good news about His Son, that I never fail to mention you every time I pray,

All who sin without having the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.

What is our conclusion then? Is it that we Jews are better than they? Not at all! For we have already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under the sway of sin,

Because no human creature can be brought into right standing with God by observing the law. For all the law can do is to make men conscious of sin.

Happy the man whose sin the Lord does not charge against him!"

For if while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, it is much more certain that since we have been reconciled we shall finally be saved through His new life.

So here is the comparison: As through one man sin came into the world, and death as the consequence of sin, and death spread to all men; because all men sinned.

Certainly sin was in the world before the law was given, but it is not charged to men's account where there is no law.

And the gift is not fit all to be compared with the results of that one man's sin. For that sentence resulted from the offense of one man, and it meant condemnation, but the free gift resulted from the offenses of many, and it meant right standing.

Then law crept in to multiply the offense. Though sin has multiplied, yet God's favor has surpassed it and overflowed,

so that just as sin had reigned by death, so His favor too might reign in right standing with God which issues in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What is our conclusion then? Are we to continue to sin for His unmerited favor to multiply?

Not at all! Since we have ended our relation to sin, how can we live in it any longer?

for we know that our former self was crucified with Him, to make our body that is liable to sin inactive, so that we might not a moment longer continue to be slaves to sin.

For when a man is dead, he is freed from the claims of sin.

For by the death He died He once for all ended His relation to sin, and by the life He now is living He lives in unbroken relation to God.

So you too must consider yourselves as having ended your relation to sin but living in unbroken relation to God.

Accordingly, sin must not continue to reign over your mortal bodies, so as to make you continue to obey their evil desires,

and you must stop offering to sin the parts of your bodies as instruments for wrongdoing, but you must once for all offer yourselves to God as persons raised from the dead to live on perpetually, and once for all offer the parts of your bodies to God as instruments for right-doing.

For sin must not any longer exert its mastery over you, for now you are not living as slaves to law but as subjects to God's favor.

Do you not know that when you habitually offer yourselves to anyone for obedience to him, you are slaves to that one whom you are in the habit of obeying, whether it is the slavery to sin whose end is death or to obedience whose end is right-doing?

But, thank God, that though you once were slaves of sin, you became obedient from your hearts to that form of teaching in which you have been instructed,

and since you have been freed from sin, you have become the slaves of right-doing.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free so far as doing right was concerned.

But now, since you have been freed from sin and have become the slaves of God, the immediate result is consecration, and the final destiny is eternal life.

For the wages paid by sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life through union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

What are we then to conclude? Is the law sin? Of course not! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have learned what sin was, for I should not have known what an evil desire was, if the law had not said, "You must not have an evil desire."

Sin found its rallying point in that command and stirred within me every sort of evil desire, for without law, sin is lifeless.

I was once alive when I had no connection with the law, but when the command came, sin revived, and then I died;

For sin found its rallying point in that command and through it deceived me and killed me.

Did that which is good, then, result in death to me? Of course not! It was sin that did it, so that it might show itself as sin, for by means of that good thing it brought about my death, so that through the command sin might appear surpassingly sinful.

For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am made of flesh that is frail, sold into slavery to sin.

Now really it is not I that am doing these things, but it is sin which has its home within me.

But if I do the things that I do not want to do, it is really not I that am doing these things, but it is sin which has its home within me.

but I see another power operating in my lower nature in conflict with the power operated by my reason, which makes me a prisoner to the power of sin which is operating in my lower nature.

Thank God! It has been done through Jesus Christ our Lord! So in my higher nature I am a slave to the law of God, but in my lower nature, to the law of sin.

For the life-giving power of the Spirit through union with Christ Jesus has set us free from the power of sin and death.

For though the law could not do it, because it was made helpless through our lower nature, yet God, by sending His own Son in a body similar to that of our lower nature, and as a sacrifice for sin, passed sentence upon sin through His body,

But if Christ lives in you, although your bodies must die because of sin, your spirits are now enjoying life because of right standing with God.

But a hope that is seen is not real hope, for who hopes for what he actually sees? But if we hope for something we do not see, we keep on patiently waiting for it.

For those on whom He set His heart beforehand He marked off as His own to be made like His Son, that He might be the eldest of many brothers;

Since He did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not with Him graciously give us everything else?

For this is the language of the promise, "About this time next year I will come back, and Sarah will have a son."

as the Scripture says: "See, I put on Zion a stone for causing people to stumble, a rock to trip them on, but no one who puts his faith in it will ever be put to shame."

and so in that way all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says: "From Zion the Deliverer will come; He will remove ungodliness from Jacob;

But the man who has misgivings about eating, if he then eats, has already condemned himself by so doing, because he did not follow his faith, and any action that does not follow one's faith is a sin.

And again Isaiah says: "The noted Son of Jesse will come, even He who rises to rule the heathen; on Him the heathen will set their hope."

Now the peace-giving God will soon crush Satan under your feet. The spiritual blessing of our Lord Jesus be with you.