regarding his Son. He was a descendant of David with respect to his humanity

and was declared by the resurrection from the dead to be the powerful Son of God according to the spirit of holiness Jesus the Messiah, our Lord.

For if Abraham was justified by actions, he would have had something to boast about though not before God.

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."

Under what circumstances was it credited? Was he circumcised or uncircumcised? He had not yet been circumcised, but was uncircumcised.

Afterward he received the mark of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. Therefore, he is the ancestor of all who believe while uncircumcised, in order that righteousness may be credited to them.

He is also the ancestor of the circumcised those who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

His faith did not weaken when he thought about his own body (which was already as good as dead now that he was about a hundred years old) or about Sarah's inability to have children,

This is why "it was credited to him as righteousness."

Now the words "it was credited to him" were written not only for him

He was sentenced to death because of our sins and raised to life to justify us.

Certainly sin was in the world before the Law was given, but no record of sin is kept when there is no Law.

Therefore, through baptism we were buried with him into his death so that, just as the Messiah was raised from the dead by the Father's glory, we too may live an entirely new life.

for we know that the Messiah, who was raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has mastery over him.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were "free" as far as righteousness was concerned.

In the same way, my brothers, through the Messiah's body you also died as far as the Law is concerned, so that you may belong to another person, the one who was raised from the dead, and may bear fruit for God.

At one time I was alive without any connection to the Law. But when the rule was revealed, sin sprang to life,

and I died. I found that the very rule that was intended to bring life actually brought death.

For what the Law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did. By sending his own Son in the form of humanity, he condemned sin by being incarnate,

according to his calling and not by actions), Rebecca was told, "The older child will serve the younger one."

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.

In the very place where it was told them, "You are not my people,' they will be called children of the living God."

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 what was the divine reply to him? "I have reserved for myself 7,000 people who have not knelt to worship Baal."

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.

We have different gifts based on the grace that was given to us. So if your gift is prophecy, use your gift in proportion to your faith.

For everything that was written long ago was written to instruct us, so that we might have hope through the endurance and encouragement that the Scriptures give us.

Greet also the church in their house. Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first convert to the Messiah in Asia.

Now to the one who is able to strengthen you with my gospel and the message that I preach about Jesus, the Messiah, by revealing the secret that was kept hidden from long ago