But if our unrighteousness serves to confirm God's righteousness, what can we say? God is not unrighteous when he vents his wrath on us, is he? (I am talking in human terms.)

Or can we say as some people slander us by claiming that we say "Let's do evil that good may result"? They deserve to be condemned!

Now we know that whatever the Law says applies to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

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

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

What should we say, then? Should we go on sinning so that grace may increase?

What should we say, then? Is the Law sinful? Of course not! In fact, I wouldn't have become aware of sin if it had not been for the Law. I wouldn't have known what it means to covet if the Law had not said, "You must not covet."

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

What can we say, then? God is not unrighteous, is he? Of course not!

For he says to Moses, "I will be merciful to the person I want to be merciful to, and I will be kind to the person I want to be kind to."

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."

On the contrary, who are you mere man that you are to talk back to God? Can an object that was molded say to the one who molded it, "Why did you make me like this?"

As the Scripture says in Hosea, "Those who are not my people I will call my people, and the one who was not loved I will call my loved one.

What can we say, then? Gentiles, who were not pursuing righteousness, have attained righteousness, a righteousness that comes through faith.

But the righteousness that comes from faith says, "Do not say in your heart, "Who will go up to heaven?' (that is, to bring the Messiah down),

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:

The Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will never be ashamed."

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."

And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who were not looking for me; I was revealed to those who were not asking for me."

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?

And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a punishment for them.

Then you will say, "Branches were cut off so that I could be grafted in."

Again he says, "Rejoice, you gentiles, with his people!"

And again, Isaiah says, "There will be a Root from Jesse. He will rise up to rule the gentiles, and the gentiles will hope in him."