This is so, because what can be known about God is plain to them; for God himself has made it plain.

For God set him before the world, to be, by the shedding of his blood, a means of reconciliation through faith. And this God did to prove his righteousness, and because, in his forbearance, he had passed over the sins that men had previously committed;

Do we, then, use this faith to abolish Law? Heaven forbid! No, we establish Law.

Is this blessing, then, pronounced upon the circumcised only or upon the uncircumcised as well? We say that-'Abraham's faith was regarded by God as righteousness.'

Under what circumstances, then, did this take place? After his circumcision or before it?

Not after, but before. And it was as a sign of this that he received the rite of circumcision-to attest the righteousness due to the faith of an uncircumcised man-in order that he might be the father of all who have faith in God even when uncircumcised, that they also may be regarded by God as righteous;

As Scripture says-'I have made thee the Father of many nations.') And this they do in the sight of that God in whom Abraham had faith, and who gives life to the dead, and speaks of what does not yet exist as if it did.

And not only that, but we exult in God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, through whom we have now obtained this reconciliation.

Did, then, a thing, which in itself was good, involve Death in my case? Heaven forbid! It was sin that involved Death; so that, by its use of what I regarded as good to bring about my Death, its true nature might appear; and in this way the Commandment showed how intensely sinful sin is.

This being so, the action is no longer my own, but that of Sin which is within me.

This, then, is the law that I find-When I want to do right, wrong presents itself!

Miserable man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body that is bringing me to this Death?

We know, indeed, that all Nature alike has been groaning in the pains of labor to this very hour.

And those whom God destined for this he also called; and those whom he called he also pronounced righteous; and those whom he pronounced righteous he also brought to Glory.

What are we to say, then, in the light of all this? If God is on our side, who can there be against us?

This means that it is not the children born in the course of nature who are God's Children, but it is the children born in fulfillment of the Promise who are to be regarded as Abraham's descendants.

For these words are the words of a promise-'About this time I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.'

In Scripture, again, it is said to Pharaoh-'It was for this very purpose that I raised thee to the throne, to show my power by my dealings with thee, and to make my name known throughout the world.'

I might rather ask 'Who are you who are arguing with God?' Does a thing which a man has molded say to him who has molded it 'Why did you make me like this?'

This, indeed, is what he says in the Book of Hosea-'I will call those my People who were not my People, and her my beloved who was not beloved.

What follows from this? Why, that Israel as a nation failed to secure what it was seeking, while those whom God selected did secure it.

The rest grew callous; as Scripture says--'God has given them a deadness of mind--eyes that are not to see and ears that are not to hear--and it is so to this very day.'

I entreat you, then, Brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, for this is your rational worship.

Do not conform to the fashion of this world; but be transformed by the complete change that has come over your minds, so that you may discern what God's will is--all that is good, acceptable, and perfect.

Rather--'If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him to drink. By doing this you will heap coals of fire upon his head.'

This, too, is the reason for your paying taxes; for the officials are God's officers, devoting themselves to this special work.

This I say, because you know the crisis that we have reached, for the time has already come for you to rouse yourselves from sleep; our Salvation is nearer now than when we accepted the Faith.

The very purpose for which Christ died and came back to life was this--that he might be Lord over both the dead and the living.

Let us, then, cease to judge one another. Rather let this be your resolve--never to place a stumbling-block or an obstacle in a Brother's way.

He who serves the Christ in this way pleases God, and wins the approval of his fellow men.

As for yourself--keep this faith of yours to yourself, as in the presence of God. Happy is he who never has to condemn himself in regard to the very thing which he thinks right!

And may God, the giver of this patience and this encouragement, grant you to be united in sympathy in Christ,

May God, who inspires our hope, grant you perfect happiness and peace in your faith, till you are filled with this hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

But in parts of this letter I have expressed myself somewhat boldly--by way of refreshing your memories--

Yes, they were glad to do so; and indeed it is a duty which they owe to them. For the Gentile converts who have shared their spiritual blessings are in duty bound to minister to them in the things of this world.

When I have settled this matter, and have secured to the poor at Jerusalem the enjoyment of these benefits, I shall go, by way of you, to Spain.

I Tertius, who am writing this letter, send you my Christian greeting.

I mean this, that every one of you says either 'I follow Paul,' or 'I Apollos,' or 'I Kephas,' or 'I Christ.'

This philosophy is not known to any of the leaders of to-day; for, had they known it, they would not have crucified our glorified Lord.

In this the man who plants and the man who waters are one; yet each will receive his own reward in proportion to his own labor.

Whatever is used by those who build upon this foundation, whether gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw,

Let no one deceive himself. If any one among you imagines that, as regards this world, he is a wise man, let him become a 'fool,' that he may become wise.

For in God's sight this world's wisdom is folly. Scripture tells of-'One who catches the wise in their own craftiness,'

All this, Brothers, I have, for your sakes, applied to Apollos and myself, so that, from our example, you may learn to observe the precept-'Keep to what is written,' that none of you may speak boastfully of one teacher to the disparagement of another.

To this very hour we go hungry, thirsty, and naked; we are beaten; we are homeless;

We meet slander with gentle appeals. We have been treated as the scum of the earth, the vilest of the vile, to this very hour.

It is with no wish to shame you that I am writing like this; but to warn you as my own dear children.

This is my reason for sending Timothy to you. He is my own dear faithful child in the Master's service, and he will remind you of my methods of teaching the Faith of Christ Jesus-methods which I follow everywhere in every Church.

Instead of grieving over it and taking steps for the expulsion of the man who has done this thing, is it possible that you are still puffed up?

For I myself, though absent in body, have been present with you in spirit, and in the name of our Lord Jesus I have already passed judgment, just as if I had been present, upon the man who has acted in this way.

To deliver such a man as this over to Satan, that what is sensual in him may be destroyed, so that his spirit may be saved at the Day of the Lord.

Do not you know that we are to try angels-to say nothing of the affairs of this life?

Why, then, if you have cases relating to the affairs of this life, do you set to try them men who carry no weight with the Church? To your shame I ask it.

Instead of this, you wrong and cheat others yourselves-yes, even your Brothers!

I say this, however, as a concession, not as a command.

My advice, then, to those who are not married, and to widows, is this: It would be well for them to remain as I am myself.

In any case, a man should continue to live in the condition which the Lord has allotted to him, and in which he was when God called him. This is the rule that I lay down in every Church.

What I mean, Brothers, is this-The time is short. Meanwhile, let those who have wives live as if they had none,

And those who use the good things of the world as using them sparingly; for this world as we see it is passing away.

I say this for your own benefit, not with any intention of putting a halter round your necks, but in order to secure for the Master seemly and constant devotion, free from all distraction.

Still, it is not every one that has this knowledge. Some people, because of their association with idols, continued down to the present time, eat the food as food offered to an idol; and their consciences, while still weak, are dulled.

What we eat, however, will not bring us nearer to God. We lose nothing by not eating this food, and we gain nothing by eating it.

But take care that this right of yours does not become in any way a stumbling-block to the weak.

For if some one should see you who possess this knowledge, feasting in an idol's temple, will not his conscience, if he is a weak man, become so hardened that he, too, will eat food offered to idols?

And so, through this knowledge of yours, the weak man is ruined-your Brother for whose sake Christ died!

In this way, by sinning against your Brothers and injuring their consciences, while still weak, you sin against Christ.

The defense that I make to my critics is this:

Am I, in all this, speaking only from the human standpoint? Does not the Law also say the same?

If others share in this right over you, do not we even more? Still we did not avail ourselves of this right. No, we endure anything rather than impede the progress of the Good News of the Christ.

I, however, have not availed myself of any of these rights. I am not saying this to secure such an arrangement for myself; indeed, I would far rather die-Nobody shall make my boast a vain one!

If I do this work willingly, I have a reward; but, if unwillingly, I have been charged to perform a duty.

But, if any one should say to you 'This has been offered in sacrifice to an idol,' then, for the sake of the speaker and his scruples, do not eat it.

Have you no houses in which you can eat and drink? Or are you trying to show your contempt for the Church of God, and to humiliate the poor? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I cannot praise you.

And, after saying the thanksgiving, broke it and said "This is my own body given on your behalf. Do this in memory of me."

And in the same way with the cup, after supper, saying "This cup is the new Covenant made by my blood. Do this, whenever you drink it, in memory of me."

For whenever you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death-till he comes.

Seek this Love earnestly, and strive for spiritual gifts, above all for the gift of preaching.

This being so, Brothers, what good shall I do you, if I come to you and speak in 'tongues,' unless my words convey some revelation, or knowledge, or take the form of preaching or teaching?

What, then, is my conclusion? Simply this-I will pray with my spirit, but with my mind as well; I will sing with my spirit, but with my mind as well.

It is said in the Law-'In strange tongues and by the lips of strangers will I speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.'

For God is not a God of disorder, but of peace.) This custom prevails in all the Churches of Christ's People.

Whether, then, it was I or whether it was they, this we proclaim, and this you believed.

If all that we have done has been to place our hope in Christ for this life, then we of all men are the most to be pitied.

Awake to a righteous life, and cease to sin. There are some who have no true knowledge of God. I speak in this way to shame you.

This I say, Brothers-Flesh and blood can have no share in the Kingdom of God, nor can the perishable share the imperishable.

For this perishable body of ours must put on an imperishable form, and this dying body a deathless form.

And, when this dying body has put on its deathless form, then indeed will the words of Scripture come true-

I, Paul, add this greeting in my own handwriting.

Indeed, our main ground for satisfaction is this--Our conscience tells us that our conduct in the world, and still more in our relations with you, was marked by a purity of motive and a sincerity that were inspired by God, and was based, not on worldly policy, but on the help of God.

With this conviction in my mind, I planned to come to see you first, so that your pleasure might be doubled--

As this was my plan, where, pray, did I show any fickleness of purpose? Or do you think that my plans are formed on mere impulse, so that in the same breath I say 'Yes' and 'No'?

I had this further object, also, in what I wrote--to ascertain whether you might be relied upon to be obedient in everything.

This, then, is the confidence in regard to God that we have gained through the Christ.

With such a hope as this, we speak with all plainness;

But their minds were slow to learn. Indeed, to this very day, at the public reading of the Old Covenant, the same veil remains unlifted; only for those who are in union with Christ does it pass away.

But, even to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies on their hearts.

Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart.

Men whose minds have been blinded by the God of this Age, unbelievers as they are, so that the light from the Good News of the glory of the Christ, who is the very incarnation of God, should not shine for them.

This treasure we have in these earthen vessels, that its all- prevailing power may be seen to come from God, and not to be our own.

For all this is for your sakes, that the loving-kindness of God, spreading from heart to heart, may cause yet more hearts to overflow with thanksgiving, to his glory.