For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened.

Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves.

The males in the same way also left natural relations with females and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Males committed shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error.

Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusted with the spoken words of God.

For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly.

But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!

For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life!

For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

Or are you unaware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

Therefore we were buried with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new way of life.

But thank God that, although you used to be slaves of sin, you obeyed from the heart that pattern of teaching you were transferred to,

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free from allegiance to righteousness.

Therefore, my brothers, you also were put to death in relation to the law through the crucified body of the Messiah, so that you may belong to another—to Him who was raised from the dead—that we may bear fruit for God.

For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions operated through the law in every part of us and bore fruit for death.

What should we say then? Is the law sin? Absolutely not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin if it were not for the law. For example, I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, Do not covet.

Now in this hope we were saved, yet hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?

For I could almost wish to be cursed and cut off from the Messiah for the benefit of my brothers, my own flesh and blood.

And it will be in the place where they were told,
you are not My people,
there they will be called sons of the living God.

Why is that? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.

And Isaiah says boldly:

I was found
by those who were not looking for Me;
I revealed Myself
to those who were not asking for Me.

What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened,

Now if some of the branches were broken off, and you, though a wild olive branch, were grafted in among them and have come to share in the rich root of the cultivated olive tree,

Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”

True enough; they were broken off by unbelief, but you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid.

For if you were cut off from your native wild olive and against nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these—the natural branches—be grafted into their own olive tree?

for Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

Yes, they were pleased, and indeed are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual benefits, then they are obligated to minister to Jews in material needs.

Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow countrymen and fellow prisoners. They are noteworthy in the eyes of the apostles, and they were also in Christ before me.