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

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 yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the way Adam had, against a positive command. For Adam was a figure of Him who was to come.

But God's free gift is not at all to be compared with the offense. For if by one man's offense the whole race of men have died, to a much greater degree God's favor and His gift imparted by His favor through the one man Jesus Christ, has overflowed for the whole race of men.

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.

So, as through one offense there resulted condemnation for all men, just so through one act of uprightness there resulted right standing involving life for all men.

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.

What is our conclusion then? Are we to continue to sin for His unmerited favor to multiply?

For if we have grown into fellowship with Him by sharing a death like His, surely we shall share a resurrection life like His,

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.

For when a man is dead, he is freed from the claims of sin.

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

For by the death He died He once for all ended His relation to sin, and by the life He now is living He lives in unbroken relation to God.

and you must stop offering to sin the parts of your bodies as instruments for wrongdoing, but you must once for all offer yourselves to God as persons raised from the dead to live on perpetually, and once for all offer the parts of your bodies to God as instruments for right-doing.

For sin must not any longer exert its mastery over you, for now you are not living as slaves to law but as subjects to God's favor.

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?

I am speaking in familiar human terms because of the frailty of your nature. For just as you formerly offered the parts of your bodies in slavery to impurity and to ever increasing lawlessness, so now you must once for all offer them in slavery to right-doing, which leads to consecration.

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free so far as doing right was concerned.

What benefit did you then derive from doing the things of which you are now ashamed? None, for they end in death.

For the wages paid by sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life through union with Christ Jesus our Lord.

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?

For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies, she is freed from the marriage bond.

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.

What are we then to conclude? Is the law sin? Of course not! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have learned what sin was, for I should not have known what an evil desire was, if the law had not said, "You must not have an evil desire."

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.

Indeed, I do not understand what I do, for I do not practice what I want to do, but I am always doing what I hate.

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.

For in accordance with my better inner nature I approve God's law,

So then there is no condemnation at all for those who are in union with Christ Jesus.

For the life-giving power of the Spirit through union with Christ Jesus has set us free from the power of sin and death.

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,

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.

For to be thinking the things suggested by the lower nature means death, but to be thinking the things suggested by the Spirit means life and peace.

Because one's thinking the things suggested by the lower nature means enmity to God, for it does not subject itself to God's law, nor indeed can it.

for if you live by such a standard, you are going to die, but if by the Spirit you put a stop to the doings of your lower nature, you will live.

For all who are guided by God's Spirit are God's sons.

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."

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.

For all nature is expectantly waiting for the unveiling of the sons of God.

For nature did not of its own accord give up to failure; it was for the sake of Him who let it thus be given up, in the hope

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.

For we were saved in such a hope.

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.

In the same way the Spirit, too, is helping us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself pleads for us with unspeakable yearnings,

and He who searches our hearts knows what the Spirit thinks, for He pleads for His people in accordance with God's will.

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;

What are we then to say to facts like these? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Since He did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, will He not with Him graciously give us everything else?

who can condemn them? Christ Jesus who died, or rather, who was raised from the dead, is now at God's right hand, and is actually pleading for us.

As the Scripture says: "For your sake we are being put to death the livelong day; we are treated like sheep to be slaughtered."

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

for I could wish myself accursed, even cut off from Christ, for the sake of my brothers, my natural kinsmen.

For they are Israelites; to them belong the privileges of sonship, God's glorious presence, the special covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, the promises,

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

For this is the language of the promise, "About this time next year I will come back, and Sarah will have a son."

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,

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."

For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "I have raised you to your position for this very purpose of displaying my power in dealing with you, of announcing my name all over the earth."

So you will ask me, "Why does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?"

Has not the potter the right with his clay to make of the same lump one vessel for ornamental purposes, another for degrading service?

And what if God, though wishing to display His anger and make known His power, yet, has most patiently borne with the objects of His anger, already ripe for destruction,

so as to make known the riches of His glory for the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in ages past to share His glory --

for the Lord will completely and quickly execute His sentence on the earth."

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;

as the Scripture says: "See, I put on Zion a stone for causing people to stumble, a rock to trip them on, but no one who puts his faith in it will ever be put to shame."

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 they were ignorant of God's way of right standing and were trying to set up one of their own, and so would not surrender to God's way of right standing.

For Christ has put an end to law as a way to right standing for everyone who puts his trust in Him.

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

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.

For in their hearts people exercise the faith that leads to right standing, and with their lips they make the acknowledgment which means salvation.

For the Scripture says, "No one who puts his faith in Him will ever be put to shame."

But there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord is over them all, because He is infinitely kind to all who call upon Him.

For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

However, they have not all given heed to the good news, for Isaiah says, "Lord, who has put faith in what we told?"

But again I ask, Israel did not understand, did they? For in the first place Moses says: "I will make you jealous of a nation that is no nation; I will provoke you to anger at a senseless nation."

Then Isaiah was bold enough to say: "I have been found by a people who were not searching for me; I have made known myself to people who were not asking to know me."

But how did God reply to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand men who have never bent their knees to Baal."

What are we then to conclude? Israel has failed to obtain what it is still in search for, but His chosen ones have obtained it. The rest have become insensible to it,

For if the rejection of them has resulted in the reconciling of the world, what will the result be of the final reception of them but life from the dead?

Then you will say, "Branches have been broken off for us to be grafted in."

Very well, but it was for lack of faith that they were broken off, and it is through your faith that you now stand where you are. Stop your haughty thinking, rather continue to be reverent,

for if God did not spare the natural branches, certainly He will not spare you.

And they too, if they do not continue to live by their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is amply able to graft them in.

For if you were cut off from an olive wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted on to a fine olive stock, how much easier will it be for the natural branches to be grafted on to their own olive stock?

For to keep you from being self-conceited, brothers, I do not want to have a misunderstanding of this uncovered secret, that only temporary insensibility has come upon Israel until the full quota of the heathen peoples comes in,

As measured by the good news the Jews are God's enemies for your sakes, but as measured by God's choice they are His beloved because of their forefathers,

for the gracious gifts and call of God are never taken back.

For just as you once disobeyed God, but now have had mercy shown you because of their disobedience,

For God has locked up all mankind in the prison of disobedience so as to have mercy on them all.

For who has ever understood the thoughts of the Lord, or has ever been His adviser?

For from Him everything comes, through Him everything lives, and for Him everything exists. Glory to Him forever! Amen.