By no means! God must prove true, though every man be false; as the Scripture says, "That you may be shown to be upright in what you say, And win your case when you go into court."

It is true sin was in the world before the Law was given, and men are not charged with sin where there is no law.

That is to say, it is not his physical descendants who are children of God, but his descendants born in fulfilment of the promise who are considered his true posterity.

It is true, they have not all accepted the good news, for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what we have told?"

If the first handful of dough is consecrated, the whole mass is, and if the root of a tree is consecrated, so are its branches.

That is true; but it was for their want of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you stand where you do. You ought not to feel proud; you ought to be afraid,

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,

Do not take your revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God's anger, for the Scripture says, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will pay them back, says the Lord."

You must not, just for the sake of food, undo the work of God. It is true, everything is clean, but it is wrong for a man to hurt the consciences of others by what he eats.

Remember me to my dear Epaenetus, who was the first man in Asia to turn to Christ.

Remember me to Ampliatus, my dear Christian friend.

Remember me to Urbanus, our fellow-worker in Christ's cause, and to my dear Stachys.

Remember me to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, those hard workers in the Lord's cause. Remember me to my dear Persis, who has worked so hard for the Lord,