The Jews also joined in the charges and maintained that they were true.

At the governor's signal to Paul, he answered: "Since I know that you for many years have acted as judge for this nation, I cheerfully make my defense,

for you can verify the fact that not more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship,

But I certainly admit this as a fact that in accordance with The Way -- that they call heresy -- I continue to worship the God of my forefathers, and I still believe in everything taught in the law and written in the prophets,

and I have the same hope in God that they cherish for themselves, that there is to be a resurrection of the upright and the wicked.

So I am always striving to have a conscience that is clear before God and men.

unless it is for one thing that I shouted out as I stood among them, 'It is for the resurrection of the dead that I am here on trial before you today.'"

Festus answered that Paul was being kept in custody in Caesarea, and that he himself was going there soon.

If I am guilty and have done anything that deserves death, I am not begging to keep from dying, but if there is nothing in the charges which these men make against me, no one can give me up as a favor to them. I appeal to the emperor."

I answered them that it was not the Roman custom to give up anyone for punishment until the accused met his accusers face to face and had an opportunity to defend himself against their accusations.

Then Festus said: "King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you now see this man about whom the whole Jewish nation made suit to me, both in Jerusalem and here, continuously clamoring that he ought not to live any longer.

But I found that he had not done anything for which he deserved to die; however, as he has himself appealed to his Majesty, I have decided to send him up.

"I count myself fortunate, King Agrippa," said he, "that it is before you that I can defend myself today against all the charges which the Jews have preferred against me,

for they have known all along from the first, if they would but testify to it, that I as a Pharisee have lived by the standard of the strictest sect of our religion.

And now it is for the hope of the promise made by God to our forefathers that I stand here on trial,

which promise our twelve tribes, by devotedly worshiping day and night, hope to see fulfilled for them. It is for this hope, your Majesty, that I am accused by some Jews.

Why is it considered incredible by all of you that God should raise the dead?

That was what I did at Jerusalem; yes, I received authority from the high priests and shut behind the prison bars many of God's people. Yes, when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them, and often in all the synagogues

to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light and from Satan's power to God, so as to have their sins forgiven and have a possession among those that are consecrated by faith in me.'

Therefore, King Agrippa, I could not disobey that heavenly vision,

As Paul continued to make his defense, Festus shouted aloud, "You are going crazy, Paul! That great learning of yours is driving you crazy!"

The king, indeed, knows about this and I can speak to him with freedom. I do not believe that any of this escaped his notice, for it did not occur in a corner!

Paul answered, "In brief or at length, I would to God that not only you but all my hearers today were what I am -- excepting these chains!"

When it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they turned over Paul and some other prisoners to a colonel of the imperial regiment, named Julius.

by saying, "Men, I see that this voyage is likely to be attended by disaster and heavy loss, not only to the cargo and the ship, but also to our lives."

So keep up your courage, men, for I have confidence in my God that it will all come out just as I was told.

It was now the fourteenth night and we were drifting on the Adriatic sea, when at midnight the sailors suspected that land was near.

Although the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had actually lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they were going to run out anchors from the bow,

Then the soldiers cut the ropes that held the boat and let it drift away.

When day broke, they could not recognize the land, but they spied a bay that had a beach, and determined, if possible, to run the ship ashore.

After we had been rescued, we learned that the island was called Malta.

The natives kept on looking for him to swell up or suddenly drop dead, but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual take place on him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

The governor of the island, whose name was Publius, owned estates in that part of the island, and he welcomed us and entertained us with hearty hospitality for three days.

They also honored us with many presents, and when we set sail, they supplied us with everything that we needed.

After examining me the Romans wanted to set me free, because I was innocent of any crime that deserved the death penalty.

Now it is for this reason that I invited you to come, namely, to see you and speak with you, for it is on account of Israel's hope that I am wearing this chain."

But we think it fitting to let you tell us what your views are, for as to this sect it is known by all of us that it is everywhere denounced."

For this people's soul has grown dull, and they scarcely hear with their ears, and they have shut tight their eyes, so that they may never see with their eyes, and understand with their souls, and turn to me, that I may cure them."'

"So you must understand that this message of God's salvation has been sent to the heathen; and they will listen to it!"

yes, he continued to preach to them the kingdom of God, and to teach them about the Lord Jesus Christ, and that with perfect, unfettered freedom of speech.

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,

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?

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.