because God does not show partiality.

What advantage, then, does the Jew have, or what value is there in circumcision?

What, then, does this mean? Are we Jews any better off? Not at all! For we have already accused everyone, both Jews and Greeks, of being under the power of sin.

For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

However, to someone who does not work, but simply believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Now does this blessedness come to the circumcised alone, or also to the uncircumcised? For we say, "Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness."

Now this hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

What, then, does this mean? Should we go on sinning because we are not under Law but under grace? Of course not!

You, however, are not under the control of the human nature but under the control of the Spirit, since God's Spirit lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of the Messiah, he does not belong to him.

Therefore, God's choice does not depend on a person's will or effort, but on God himself, who shows mercy.

You may ask me, "Then why does God still find fault with anybody? For who can resist his will?"

A potter has the right to do what he wants to with his clay, doesn't he? He can make something for a special occasion or something for ordinary use from the same lump of clay.

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:

Again I ask, "Did Israel not understand?" Moses was the first to say, "I will make you jealous by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that doesn't understand."

What, then, does this mean? It means that Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking, but the selected group obtained it while the rest were hardened.

But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for it is not without reason that they bear the sword. Indeed, they are God's servants to administer punishment to anyone who does wrong. Therefore, it is necessary for you to be acquiescent to the authorities, not only for the sake of God's punishment, but also for the sake of your own conscience.

Love never does anything that is harmful to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the Law.

The person who eats any kind of food must not ridicule the person who does not eat them, and the person who does not eat certain foods must not criticize the person who eats them, for God has accepted him.

The one who observes a special day, observes it to honor the Lord. The one who eats, eats to honor the Lord, since he gives thanks to God. And the one who does not eat, refrains from eating to honor the Lord; yet he, too, gives thanks to God.

For God's kingdom does not consist of food and drink, but of righteousness, peace, and joy produced by the Holy Spirit.

But the person who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not act in faith; and anything that is not done in faith is sin.