On the contrary, what does it say? The message is near you, in your mouth and in your heart. This is the message of faith that we proclaim:

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

But I ask, “Did Israel not understand?” First, Moses said:

I will make you jealous
of those who are not a nation;
I will make you angry by a nation
that lacks understanding.

as it is written:

God gave them a spirit of insensitivity,
eyes that cannot see
and ears that cannot hear,
to this day.

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. In view of the fact that I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry,

do not brag that you are better than those branches. But if you do brag—you do not sustain the root, but the root sustains you.

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

So that you will not be conceited, brothers, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery: A partial hardening has come to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.

so they too have now disobeyed, resulting in mercy to you, so that they also now may receive mercy.

For God has imprisoned all in disobedience, so that He may have mercy on all.

Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God.

For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong.

Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, yet he thanks God.

Christ died and came to life for this: that He might rule over both the dead and the living.

(I know and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself. Still, to someone who considers a thing to be unclean, to that one it is unclean.)

For if your brother is hurt by what you eat, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy that one Christ died for by what you eat.

It is a noble thing not to eat meat, or drink wine, or do anything that makes your brother stumble.

But whoever doubts stands condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from a conviction, and everything that is not from a conviction is sin.

For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.

so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with a united mind and voice.

For I say that the Messiah became a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises to the fathers,

and so that Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written:

Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles,
and I will sing psalms to Your name.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

My brothers, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.

to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of God’s good news. My purpose is that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

My aim is to evangelize where Christ has not been named, so that I will not build on someone else’s foundation,

That is why I have been prevented many times from coming to you.

I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that the gift I am bringing to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

and that, by God’s will, I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you.

Greet also the church that meets in their home.
Greet my dear friend Epaenetus, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.

that by Him you were enriched in everything—in all speech and all knowledge.

so that you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, that there be no divisions among you, and that you be united with the same understanding and the same conviction.

For it has been reported to me about you, my brothers, by members of Chloe’s household, that there is rivalry among you.

I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius,

so that no one can say you were baptized in my name.

I did, in fact, baptize the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t know if I baptized anyone else.

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to evangelize—not with clever words, so that the cross of Christ will not be emptied of its effect.

God has chosen what is insignificant and despised in the world—what is viewed as nothing—to bring to nothing what is viewed as something,

so that no one can boast in His presence.

in order that, as it is written: The one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

For

who has known the Lord’s mind,
that he may instruct Him?

But we have the mind of Christ.

According to God’s grace that was given to me, I have laid a foundation as a skilled master builder, and another builds on it. But each one must be careful how he builds on it.

For no one can lay any other foundation than what has been laid down. That foundation is Jesus Christ.

If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward.

Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s sanctuary and that the Spirit of God lives in you?

If anyone destroys God’s sanctuary, God will destroy him; for God’s sanctuary is holy, and that is what you are.

No one should deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, he must become foolish so that he can become wise.

and again, The Lord knows that the reasonings of the wise are meaningless.

In this regard, it is expected of managers that each one of them be found faithful.

It is of little importance to me that I should be evaluated by you or by any human court. In fact, I don’t even evaluate myself.

Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the saying: “Nothing beyond what is written.” The purpose is that none of you will be inflated with pride in favor of one person over another.

For who makes you so superior? What do you have that you didn’t receive? If, in fact, you did receive it, why do you boast as if you hadn’t received it?

You are already full! You are already rich! You have begun to reign as kings without us—and I wish you did reign, so that we could also reign with you!

It is widely reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and the kind of sexual immorality that is not even tolerated among the Gentiles—a man is living with his father’s wife.

And you are inflated with pride, instead of filled with grief so that he who has committed this act might be removed from your congregation.

turn that one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord.

Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast permeates the whole batch of dough?

Clean out the old yeast so that you may be a new batch. You are indeed unleavened, for Christ our Passover has been sacrificed.

Or don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest cases?

Don’t you know that we will judge angels—not to mention ordinary matters?

I say this to your shame! Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between his brothers?

Instead, believer goes to court against believer, and that before unbelievers!

Therefore, to have legal disputes against one another is already a moral failure for you. Why not rather put up with injustice? Why not rather be cheated?

Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality,

Don’t you know that your bodies are a part of Christ’s body? So should I take a part of Christ’s body and make it part of a prostitute? Absolutely not!

Don’t you know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For Scripture says, The two will become one flesh.

Don’t you know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

I wish that all people were just like me. But each has his own gift from God, one person in this way and another in that way.

and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the things of the world—how she may please her husband.

Now I am saying this for your own benefit, not to put a restraint on you, but because of what is proper and so that you may be devoted to the Lord without distraction.

But she is happier if she remains as she is, in my opinion. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.

About food offered to idols: We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge inflates with pride, but love builds up.

About eating food offered to idols, then, we know that “an idol is nothing in the world,” and that “there is no God but one.”

However, not everyone has this knowledge. In fact, some have been so used to idolatry up until now that when they eat food offered to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled.

But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block to the weak.

Therefore, if food causes my brother to fall, I will never again eat meat, so that I won’t cause my brother to fall.

If others have this right to receive benefits from you, don’t we even more?

However, we have not made use of this right; instead we endure everything so that we will not hinder the gospel of Christ.

Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar?

In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.

But I have used none of these rights, and I have not written this to make it happen that way for me. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast!

To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.

Now I do all this because of the gospel, so I may become a partner in its benefits.

Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.

Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

Now I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, all passed through the sea,

and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ.

Now these things became examples for us, so that we will not desire evil things as they did.

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.

The cup of blessing that we give thanks for, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?

Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for all of us share that one bread.

What am I saying then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything?

No, but I do say that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God. I do not want you to participate with demons!

Eat everything that is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience’ sake,

for the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it.

If one of the unbelievers invites you over and you want to go, eat everything that is set before you, without raising questions of conscience.