For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but I cannot carry it out.

But if I do what I don't want to do, I am no longer the one who is doing it, but it is the sin that is living in me.

So I find this to be a principle: when I want to do what is good, evil is right there with me.

What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is infected by death?

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in union with the Messiah Jesus.

so that the righteous requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to human nature but according to the Spirit.

That is why the mind that focuses on human nature is hostile toward God. It refuses to submit to the authority of God's Law because it is powerless to do so.

But if the Messiah is in you, your bodies are dead due to sin, but the spirit is alive due to righteousness.

And if the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, then the one who raised the Messiah from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive by his Spirit who lives in you.

Consequently, brothers, we are not with respect to human nature, that is under an obligation to live according to human nature.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.

For the creation is eagerly awaiting the revelation of God's children,

However, not only the creation, but we who have the first fruits of the Spirit also groan inwardly as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

For we were saved with this hope in mind. Now a hope that can be observed is not really hope, for who hopes for what can be seen?

In the same way, the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, since we do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words,

And we know that for those who love God, that is, for those who are called according to his purpose, all things are working together for good.

What, then, can we say about all of this? If God is for us, who can be against us?

The one who did not spare his own Son, but offered him as a sacrifice for all of us, surely will give us all things, along with his Son, won't he?

Who will accuse God's elect? It is God who justifies!

Who is the one to condemn? It is the Messiah Jesus who is interceding on our behalf. He died, and more importantly, has been raised and is seated at the right hand of God.

Who will separate us from the Messiah's love? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or a violent death do this?

As it is written, "For your sake we are being put to death all day long. We are thought of as sheep headed for slaughter."

In all these things we are triumphantly victorious due to the one who loved us.

nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is ours in union with the Messiah Jesus, our Lord.

To the Israelis belong the patriarchs, and from them, the Messiah descended, who is God over all, the one who is forever blessed. Amen.

Now it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all Israelis truly belong to Israel,

and not all of Abraham's descendants are his true descendants. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that descendants will be named for you."

That is, it is not merely the children born through natural descent who were regarded as God's children, but it is the children born through the promise who were regarded as descendants.

For this is the language of the promise: "At this time I will return, and Sarah will have a son."

So it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

What can we say, then? God is not unrighteous, is he? Of course not!

A potter has the right to do what he wants to with his clay, doesn't he? He can make something for a special occasion or something for ordinary use from the same lump of clay.

including us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but from the gentiles as well?

As the Scripture says in Hosea, "Those who are not my people I will call my people, and the one who was not loved I will call my loved one.

Isaiah also calls out concerning Israel, "Although the descendants of Israel are as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore, only a few will be saved.

It is just as Isaiah predicted: "If the Lord of the Heavenly Armies had not left us some descendants, we would have become like Sodom and would have been compared to Gomorrah."

Why not? Because they did not pursue it on the basis of faith, but as if it were based on achievements. They stumbled over the stone that causes people to stumble.

As it is written, "Look! I am placing a stone in Zion over which people will stumble a large rock that will make them fall and the one who believes in him will never be ashamed."

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God about the Jews is that they would be saved.

For I can testify on their behalf that they have a zeal for God, but it is not in keeping with full knowledge.

For the Messiah is the culmination of the Law as far as righteousness is concerned for everyone who believes.

For Moses writes about the righteousness that comes from the Law as follows: "The person who obeys these things will find life by them."

But the righteousness that comes from faith says, "Do not say in your heart, "Who will go up to heaven?' (that is, to bring the Messiah down),

or "Who will go down into the depths?' (that is, to bring the Messiah back from the dead)."

But what does it say? "The message is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart." This is the message about faith that we are proclaiming:

If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

For one believes with his heart and is justified, and declares with his mouth and is saved.

There is no difference between Jew and Greek, because they all have the same Lord, who gives richly to all who call on him.

And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are those who bring the good news!"

But not everyone has obeyed the gospel, for Isaiah asks, "Lord, who has believed our message?"

And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who were not looking for me; I was revealed to those who were not asking for me."

So it is at the present time: there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

But if this is by grace, then it is no longer on the basis of actions. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.

As it is written, "To this day God has put them into deep sleep. Their eyes do not see, and their ears do not hear."

And so I ask, "They have not stumbled so as to fall, have they?" Of course not! On the contrary, because of their stumbling, salvation has come to the gentiles to make the Jews jealous.

If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch. If the root is holy, so are the branches.

If the Jews do not persist in their unbelief, they will be grafted in again, because God is able to graft them in.

After all, if you were cut off from what is naturally a wild olive tree, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much easier it will be for these natural branches to be grafted back into their own olive tree!

In this way, all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion; he will remove ungodliness from Jacob.

This is my covenant with them when I take away their sins."

As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake, but as far as election is concerned, they are loved for the sake of their ancestors.

For just as you disobeyed God in the past but now have received his mercy because of their disobedience,

so they, too, have now disobeyed. As a result, they may receive mercy because of the mercy shown to you.

I therefore urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercies, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, for this is the reasonable way for you to worship.

Do not be conformed to this world, but continuously be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God's will is what is proper, pleasing, and perfect.

We have different gifts based on the grace that was given to us. So if your gift is prophecy, use your gift in proportion to your faith.

If your gift is serving, devote yourself to serving others. If it is teaching, devote yourself to teaching others.

If it is encouraging, devote yourself to encouraging others. If it is sharing, share generously. If it is leading, lead enthusiastically. If it is helping, help cheerfully.

Your love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.

Do not pay anyone back evil for evil, but focus your thoughts on what is right in the sight of all people.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live in peace with all people.

Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath. For it is written, "Vengeance belongs to me. I will pay them back, declares the Lord."

But "if your enemy is hungry, feed him. For if he is thirsty, give him a drink. If you do this, you will pile burning coals on his head."

For the authorities are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you like to live without being afraid of the authorities? Then do what is right, and you will receive their approval.

But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for it is not without reason that they bear the sword. Indeed, they are God's servants to administer punishment to anyone who does wrong. Therefore, it is necessary for you to be acquiescent to the authorities, not only for the sake of God's punishment, but also for the sake of your own conscience.

This is also why you pay taxes. For rulers are God's servants faithfully devoting themselves to their work.

Pay everyone whatever you owe them taxes to whom taxes are due, tolls to whom tolls are due, fear to whom fear is due, honor to whom honor is due.

For the commandments, "You must not commit adultery; you must not murder; you must not steal; you must not covet," and every other commandment are summed up in this statement: "You must love your neighbor as yourself."

Love never does anything that is harmful to its neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfillment of the Law.

This is necessary because you know the times it's already time for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we became believers.

The night is almost over, and the day is near. Let's therefore put aside the actions of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Let's behave decently, as people who live in the light of day. No wild parties, drunkenness, sexual immorality, promiscuity, quarreling, or jealousy!

Accept anyone who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of arguing over differences of opinion.

For none of us lives for himself, and no one dies for himself.

Why, then, do you criticize your brother? Or why do you despise your brother? For all of us will stand before the judgment seat of God.

For it is written, "As certainly as I live, declares the Lord, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue will praise God."

Consequently, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

I know and have been persuaded by the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in and of itself, but it is unclean to a person who thinks it is unclean.

For if your brother is being hurt by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not destroy the person for whom the Messiah died by what you eat.

Do not allow what seems good to you to be spoken of as evil.

For the person who serves the Messiah in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people.

Do not destroy God's action for the sake of food. Everything is clean, but it is wrong to make another person stumble because of what you eat.

The right thing to do is to avoid eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that makes your brother stumble, upset, or weak.

As for the faith you do have, have it as your own conviction before God. How blessed is the person who has no reason to condemn himself because of what he approves!

But the person who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not act in faith; and anything that is not done in faith is sin.

Each of us must please our neighbor for the good purpose of building him up.

For even the Messiah did not please himself. Instead, as it is written, "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."

For everything that was written long ago was written to instruct us, so that we might have hope through the endurance and encouragement that the Scriptures give us.

Now may God, the source of endurance and encouragement, allow you to live in harmony with each other as you follow the Messiah Jesus,

Therefore, accept one another, just as the Messiah accepted you, for the glory of God.