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,

always entreating God that somehow by His will I may some day at last succeed in getting to see you.

For I am longing to see you, to impart to you some spiritual gift, that you may be strengthened;

in other words, that we may be mutually encouraged, while I am with you, by one another's faith, yours and mine.

Furthermore, I want you to know, brothers, that I have often planned to come to see you (though until now I have been prevented), in order that I may gather some fruit among you too, as I have among the rest of the heathen.

For in the good news God's Way of man's right standing with Him is uncovered, the Way of faith that leads to greater faith, just as the Scripture says, "The upright man must live by faith."

So God has given them up to sexual impurity, in the evil trend of their heart's desires, so that they degrade their own bodies with one another,

for they had utterly transformed the reality of God into what was unreal, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

This is why God has given them up to degrading passions. For their females have exchanged their natural function for one that is unnatural,

And so, as they did not approve of fully recognizing God any longer, God gave them up to minds that He did not approve, to practices that were improper;

Although they know full well God's sentence that those who practice such things deserve to die, yet they not only practice them but even applaud others who do them.

Now we know that God's judgment justly falls on those who practice such sins as these.

And you, who pose as a judge of those who practice such sins and yet continue doing the same yourself, do you for once suppose that you are going to escape the judgment of God?

Do you think so little of the riches of God's kindness, forbearance, and patience, not conscious that His kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

for they show that the deeds the law demands are written on their hearts, because their consciences will testify for them, and their inner thoughts will either accuse or defend them,

and understand His will, and by being instructed in the law can know the things that excel,

and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those in darkness,

you who teach others, do you not teach yourself too? You who preach that men should not steal, do you steal yourself?

Now circumcision benefits you only if you practice the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision is no better than uncircumcision.

Not at all. Let God prove true, though every man be false! As the Scripture says, "That you may prove yourself upright in words you speak, and win your case when you go into court."

Not at all! If that were so, how could He judge the world?

Why should we not say, as people abusively say of us, and charge us with actually saying, "Let us do evil that good may come from it"? Their condemnation is just.

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,

Now we know that everything the law says is spoken to those who are under its authority, that every mouth may be stopped and the whole world be held responsible to God.

yes, to demonstrate His justice at the present time, to prove that He is right Himself, and that He considers right with Himself the man who has faith in Jesus.

So where has human boasting gone? It was completely shut out. On what principle? On that of doing something? No, but on the principle of faith.

For we hold that a man is brought into right standing with God by faith, that observance of the law has no connection with it.

Afterward he received the mark of circumcision as God's seal of his right standing with Him on condition of faith which he had before he was circumcised, that he might be the forefather of all who have faith while still uncircumcised, that they might have their faith credited to them as right standing with God;

For the promise made to Abraham and his descendants, that he should own the world, was not conditioned on the law, but on the right standing he had with God through faith.

So it is conditioned on faith, that it might be in accordance with God's unmerited favor, so that the promise might be in force for all the descendants of Abraham, not only for those who belong to the law party but also for those who belong to the faith group of Abraham. He is the father of us all,

as the Scripture says, "I have made you the father of many nations." That is, the promise is in force in the sight of God in whom he put his faith, the God who can bring the dead to life and can call to Himself the things that do not exist as though they did.

in full assurance that He was able to do what He had promised.

It was not for his sake alone that it was written, "It was credited to him";

And not only that, but this too: let us continue exulting in our sufferings, for we know that suffering produces endurance,

and hope never disappoints us; for through the Holy Spirit that has been given us, God's love has flooded our hearts.

But God proves His love for us by the fact that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.

So if we have already been brought into right standing with God by Christ's death, it is much more certain that by Him we shall be saved from God's wrath.

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.

And not only that, but this too: we shall continue exulting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained our reconciliation.

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.

For if by one man's offense death reigned through that one, to a much greater degree will those who continue to receive the overflow of His unmerited favor and His gift of right standing with Himself, reign in real life through One, Jesus Christ.

For just as by that man's disobedience the whole race of men were constituted sinners, so by this One's obedience the whole race of men may be brought into right standing with God.

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.

Or, do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into union with Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?

So through baptism we have been buried with Him in death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father's glorious power, so we too should live an entirely new life.

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.

So if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

for we know that Christ, who once was raised from the dead, will never die again; death has no more power over Him.

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,

Do you not know, brothers -- for I speak to those who are acquainted with the law -- that the law can press its claim over a man only so long as he lives?

So if she marries another man while her husband is living, she is called an adulteress, but if he dies, she is free from that marriage bond, so that she will not be an adulteress though later married to another man.

So, my brothers, you too in the body of Christ have ended your relation to the law, so that you may be married to another husband, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

For when we were living in accordance with our lower nature, the sinful passions that were aroused by the law were operating in the parts of our bodies to make us bear fruit that leads to death.

But now we have been freed from our relation to the law; we have ended our relation to that by which we once were held in bonds, so that we may serve in a new spiritual way and not in the old literalistic way.

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

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.

But if I am always doing what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is right.

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

For I know that nothing good has its home in me; that is, in my lower self; I have the will but not the power to do what is right.

Indeed, I do not do the good things that I want to do, but I do practice the evil things that I do not want to do.

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.

Wretched man that I am! Who can save me from this deadly lower nature?

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,

so that the requirement of the law might be fully met in us who do not live by the standard set by our lower nature, but by the standard set by the Spirit.

For people who live by the standard set by their lower nature are usually thinking the things suggested by that nature, and people who live by the standard set by the Spirit are usually thinking the things suggested by the Spirit.

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead has His home within you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give your mortal bodies life through His Spirit that has His home within you.

For you do not have a sense of servitude to fill you with dread again, but the consciousness of adopted sons by which we cry, "Abba," that is, "Father."

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirits that we are God's children;

and if children, then also heirs, heirs of God and fellow-heirs with Christ if in reality we share His sufferings, so that we may share His glory too.

For I consider all that we suffer in this present life is nothing to be compared with the glory which by-and-by is to be uncovered for us.

that even nature itself might finally be set free from its bondage to decay, so as to share the glorious freedom of God's children.

Yes, we know that all nature has gone on groaning in agony together till the present moment.

Not only that but this too, we ourselves who enjoy the Spirit as a foretaste of the future, even we ourselves, keep up our inner groanings while we wait to enter upon our adoption as God's sons at the redemption of our bodies.

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.

Yes, we know that all things go on working together for the good of those who keep on loving God, who are called in accordance with God's purpose.

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;

For I have full assurance that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor the present nor the future

that I have deep grief and constant anguish in my heart;

But it is not that God's word has failed. For not everybody that is descended from Israel really belongs to Israel,

That is, it is not Abraham's natural descendants who are God's children, but those who are made children by the promise are counted his true descendants.

Not only that but this too: There was Rebecca who was impregnated by our forefather Isaac.

For even before the twin sons were born, and though they had done nothing either good or bad, that God's purpose in accordance with His choice might continue to stand, conditioned not on men's actions but on God's calling them,

What are we then to conclude? It is not that there is injustice in God, is it? Of course not!

For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on any man that I choose to have mercy on, and take pity on any man that I choose to take pity on."

So He has mercy on any man that He chooses to, and He hardens any man that He chooses to harden.

On the contrary, friend, who are you anyway that you would answer back to God? Can the clay that is molded ask the man who molds it, "Why did you make me like this?"

Just as He says in Hosea: "I will call a people that was not mine, my people, and her who was not beloved, my beloved,

What are we then to conclude? That heathen peoples who were not in search for right standing with God have obtained it, and that a right standing conditioned on faith;

while Israel, though ever in pursuit of a law that would bring right standing, did not attain to it.

Why? Because they did not try through faith but through what they could do. They have stumbled over the stone that causes people to stumble,

Brothers, my heart's good will goes out for them, and my prayer to God is that they may be saved.

For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but they are not intelligently so.

For Moses says of the law-way to right standing with God that whoever can perform the law will live by it.

But here is what the faith-way to right standing says, "Do not say to yourself, 'Who will go up to heaven?'" that is, to bring Christ down;

or "'Who will go down into the depths?'" that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.

But what does it say? "God's message is close to you, on your very lips and in your heart"; that is, the message about faith which we preach.

For if with your lips you acknowledge the fact that Jesus is Lord, and in your hearts you believe that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.