Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible





But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, being testified about by the law and the prophets-- that is, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For [there] is no distinction,



For by grace you are saved through faith, and this [is] not from yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; [it is] not from works, so that no one can boast.


Why that? Because [they did] not [pursue it] by faith, but as [if] by works. They stumbled over the {stone that causes people to stumble}, Verse ConceptsProphecies Concerning ChristTrusting In WorksSaved By FaithWorks Of The LawConversion Of Israel


On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name?' And then {I will say to them plainly}, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!'



But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not by deeds of righteousness that we have done, but because of his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived! Neither sexually immoral people, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor passive homosexual partners, nor dominant homosexual partners, nor thieves, nor greedy persons, not drunkards, not abusive persons, not swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And some of you were these [things], but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

For we also were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, enslaved to various desires and pleasures, spending our lives in wickedness and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not by deeds of righteousness that we have done, but because of his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, read more.
whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we may become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed? For he went up like shoot before him, and like root from dry ground. He had no form and no majesty that we should see him, and no appearance that we should take pleasure in him. [He was] despised and rejected [by] men, a man of suffering, and acquainted with sickness, and like {one from whom others hide their faces}, [he was] despised, and we did not hold him in high regard. read more.
However, he was the one who lifted up our sicknesses, and he carried our pain, yet we ourselves assumed him stricken, struck down [by] God and afflicted. But he [was] pierced because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace [was] upon him, and by his wounds {we were healed}. All of us have wandered about like sheep; we each have turned to his own way; and Yahweh let fall on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was brought like lamb to [the] slaughter, and like a sheep is dumb before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth. He was taken by restraint of justice, and who concerned himself with his generation? For he was cut off from the land of [the] living; he [received a] blow because of the transgression of my people. He made his grave with [the] wicked, and with [the] rich in his death, although he had done no violence, and [there was] no deceit in his mouth. Yet Yahweh was pleased to crush him; he {made him sick}. If she places his life a guilt offering, he will see offspring. He will prolong days, and the will of Yahweh will succeed in his hand. From the trouble of his life he will see; he will be satisfied. In his knowledge, [the] righteous [one], my servant, shall declare many righteous, and he is the one who will bear their iniquities.

this [promise] God has fulfilled to our children [by] raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have fathered you.' But that he has raised him from the dead, no more going to return to decay, he has spoken in this way: 'I will give you the reliable divine decrees of David.' Therefore he also says in another [psalm], 'You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay.' read more.
For David, [after] serving the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and {was buried with} his fathers, and experienced decay. But he whom God raised up did not experience decay. "Therefore let it be known to you, men [and] brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all [the things] from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, by this one everyone who believes is justified!

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by his grace, through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus,

For [while] we were still helpless, yet at the proper time Christ died for the ungodly. For only rarely will someone die on behalf of a righteous person (for on behalf of a good person possibly someone might even dare to die), but God demonstrates his own love for us, [in] that [while] we were still sinners, Christ died for us. read more.
Therefore, by much more, [because we] have been declared righteous now by his blood, we will be saved through him from the wrath. For if, [while we] were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, by much more, having been reconciled, we will be saved by his life. And not only [this], but also [we are] boasting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Because of this, just as sin entered into the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death spread to all people because all sinned. For until the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not charged to one's account [when there] is no law. But death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the one who is to come. {But the gift is not like the trespass}, for if by the trespass of the one, the many died, by much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, multiply to the many. And the gift [is] not as through the one who sinned, for on the one hand, judgment from the one [sin] [led] to condemnation, but the gift, from many trespasses, [led] to justification. For if by the trespass of the one [man], death reigned through the one [man], much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ. Consequently therefore, as through one trespass [came] condemnation to all people, so also through one righteous deed [came] justification of life to all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man, the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous.

but knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, if not by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law {no human being will be justified}. But if [while] seeking to be justified by Christ, [we] ourselves also have been found [to be] sinners, then [is] Christ an agent of sin? May it never be! For if I build up again these [things] which I destroyed, I show myself [to be] a transgressor. read more.
For through the law I died to the law, in order that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and that [life] I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

then he has said, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second, by which will we are made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands every day serving and offering the same sacrifices many times, which are never able to take away sins. read more.
But this one, [after he] had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, from now on waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy.



this [promise] God has fulfilled to our children [by] raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have fathered you.' But that he has raised him from the dead, no more going to return to decay, he has spoken in this way: 'I will give you the reliable divine decrees of David.' Therefore he also says in another [psalm], 'You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay.' read more.
For David, [after] serving the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and {was buried with} his fathers, and experienced decay. But he whom God raised up did not experience decay. "Therefore let it be known to you, men [and] brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all [the things] from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, by this one everyone who believes is justified!

For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, "Cursed [is] everyone who does not abide by all [the things] that are written in the book of the law to do them." Now [it is] clear that no one is justified in the sight of God by the law, because "the one who is righteous will live by faith."

But do you want to know, O foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works [when he] offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was working together with his works, and by the works the faith was perfected. read more.
And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "And Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness," and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.


And some men came down from Judea [and] began teaching the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom [prescribed] by Moses, you cannot be saved." And [after] there was no little strife and debate by Paul and Barnabas against them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas and some others from among them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this issue. So they were sent on their way by the church, [and] passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, telling in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and bringing great joy to all the brothers. read more.
And [when they] arrived in Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and reported all that God had done with them. But some of those who had believed from the party of the Pharisees stood up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them and to command [them] to observe the law of Moses!" Both the apostles and the elders assembled to deliberate concerning this matter. And [after] there was much debate, Peter stood up [and] said to them, "Men [and] brothers, you know that in the early days God chose among you through my mouth [that] the Gentiles should hear the message of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them [by] giving [them] the Holy Spirit, just as he also [did] to us. And he made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. So now why are you putting God to the test [by] placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe [we] will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus in {the same} way those also [are]." And the whole group became silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul describing all the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. And after they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Men [and] brothers, listen to me! Simeon has described how God first concerned himself to take from among the Gentiles a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written: 'After these [things] I will return and build up again the tent of David that has fallen, and the [parts] of it that had been torn down I will build up again and will restore it, so that the rest of humanity may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles {who are called by my name}, says the Lord, who makes these [things] known from of old.' Therefore I conclude we should not cause difficulty for those from among the Gentiles who turn to God, but we should write a letter to them to abstain from the pollution of idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood. For Moses has those who proclaim him in every city from ancient generations, [because he] is read aloud in the synagogues on every Sabbath." Then it seemed best to the apostles and the elders, together with the whole church, to send men chosen from among them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas who was called Barsabbas and Silas, men [who were] leaders among the brothers-- writing [this letter] {to be delivered by them}: The apostles and the elders, brothers. To the brothers [who are] from among the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia. Greetings! Because we have heard that some have gone out from among us--to whom we gave no orders--[and] have thrown you into confusion by words upsetting your {minds}, it seemed best to us, {having reached a unanimous decision}, [and] having chosen men, to send [them] to you together with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives on behalf of the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, and they will report the same [things] by word of mouth. For it seemed best to the Holy Spirit and to us to place on you no greater burden except these necessary things: [that you] abstain from food sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. [If you] keep yourselves from {these things} you will do well. Farewell.



But when I saw that they were not being straightforward with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of [them] all, "If you, [although you] are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" We [are] Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles, but knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, if not by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law {no human being will be justified}. read more.
But if [while] seeking to be justified by Christ, [we] ourselves also have been found [to be] sinners, then [is] Christ an agent of sin? May it never be! For if I build up again these [things] which I destroyed, I show myself [to be] a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, in order that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and that [life] I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not declare invalid the grace of God, for if righteousness [is] through the law, then Christ died to no purpose.



since God [is] one, who will justify {those who are circumcised} by faith and {those who are uncircumcised} through faith. Verse ConceptsCircumcision, spiritualMonotheismJustification Under The GospelGod Is OneNecessity Of CircumcisionRighteous By FaithThe Gospel To Jew And Gentile







But their minds were hardened. For until this very day, the same veil remains upon the reading of the old covenant, not being uncovered, because it is done away with in Christ. But until today, whenever Moses is read aloud, a veil lies upon their heart, but whenever one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.


Consequently, [there is] now no condemnation for those [who are] in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what [was] impossible for the law, in that it was weak through the flesh, God [did]. [By] sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, read more.
in order that the requirement of the law would be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Or do you not know, brothers (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law is master of a person for as long a time [as] he lives? For the married woman is bound by law to [her] husband while he lives, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of the husband. Therefore as a result, if she belongs to another man [while] her husband is living, she will be called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress [if she] belongs to another man. read more.
So then, my brothers, you also were brought to death with respect to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to the one who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God. For when we were in the flesh, sinful desires were working through the law in our members, to bear fruit for death. But now we have been released from the law, [because we] have died [to that] by which we were bound, so that we may serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter [of the law]. What then shall we say? [Is] the law sin? May it never be! But I would not have known sin except through the law, for I would not have known covetousness if the law had not said, "Do not covet." But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all [kinds of] covetousness. For apart from the law, sin [is] dead. And I was alive once, apart from the law, but [when] the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died, and this commandment which [was] to [lead to] life was found with respect to me to [lead to] death. For sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed [me]. So then, the law [is] holy, and the commandment [is] holy and righteous and good. Therefore, [did that which is] good become death to me? May it never be! Rather [it was] sin, in order that it might be recognized [as] sin, producing death through [what is] good for me, in order that sin might become sinful to an extraordinary degree through the commandment. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am fleshly, {sold into slavery to sin}. For what I am doing I do not understand, because what I want [to do], this I do not practice, but what I hate, this I do. But if what I do not want [to do], this I do, I agree with the law that [it is] good. But now I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that lives in me. For I know that good does not live in me, that is, in my flesh. For the willing is present in me, but the doing [of] the good [is] not. For the good that I want [to do], I do not do, but the evil that I do not want [to do], this I do. But if what I do not want [to do], this I am doing, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that lives in me. Consequently, I find the principle with me, the one who wants to do good, that evil is present with me. For I joyfully agree with the law of God in my inner person, but I observe another law in my members, at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that exists in my members. Wretched man [that] I [am]! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks [be] to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself with my mind am enslaved to the law of God, but with my flesh [I am enslaved] to the law of sin.

but knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, if not by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law {no human being will be justified}. But if [while] seeking to be justified by Christ, [we] ourselves also have been found [to be] sinners, then [is] Christ an agent of sin? May it never be! For if I build up again these [things] which I destroyed, I show myself [to be] a transgressor. read more.
For through the law I died to the law, in order that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me, and that [life] I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not declare invalid the grace of God, for if righteousness [is] through the law, then Christ died to no purpose.

For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, "Cursed [is] everyone who does not abide by all [the things] that are written in the book of the law to do them." Now [it is] clear that no one is justified in the sight of God by the law, because "the one who is righteous will live by faith." But the law is not from faith, but "the one who does these [things] will live by them." read more.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law [by] becoming a curse for us, because it is written, "Cursed [is] everyone who hangs on a tree," in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

So also we, when we were children, we were enslaved under the elemental spirits of the world. But when the fullness of time came, God sent out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order that he might redeem those under the law, in order that we might receive the adoption. read more.
And because you are sons, God sent out the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, "Abba! (Father!)," so that you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, also an heir through God. But at that time [when you] did not know God, you were enslaved to the things which by nature are not gods. But now, [because you] have come to know God, or rather have come to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and miserable elemental spirits? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again? You carefully observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid [for] you, lest perhaps I have labored for you in vain!

But now in Christ Jesus you, the ones who once were far away, have become near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who made both one and broke down the dividing wall of the partition, the enmity, in his flesh, invalidating the law of commandments in ordinances, in order that he might create the two in himself into one new man, [thus] making peace,


Consequently, [there is] now no condemnation for those [who are] in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what [was] impossible for the law, in that it was weak through the flesh, God [did]. [By] sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, read more.
in order that the requirement of the law would be fulfilled in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.



this [promise] God has fulfilled to our children [by] raising Jesus, as it is also written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son; today I have fathered you.' But that he has raised him from the dead, no more going to return to decay, he has spoken in this way: 'I will give you the reliable divine decrees of David.' Therefore he also says in another [psalm], 'You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay.' read more.
For David, [after] serving the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and {was buried with} his fathers, and experienced decay. But he whom God raised up did not experience decay. "Therefore let it be known to you, men [and] brothers, that through this one forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and from all [the things] from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, by this one everyone who believes is justified!

Just as Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness, then understand that the ones {who have faith}, these are sons of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the good news in advance to Abraham: "In you all the nations will be blessed." read more.
So then, the ones [who have] faith are blessed together with Abraham who believed. For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse, for it is written, "Cursed [is] everyone who does not abide by all [the things] that are written in the book of the law to do them." Now [it is] clear that no one is justified in the sight of God by the law, because "the one who is righteous will live by faith."

For the law, possessing a shadow of the good [things] that are about to come, not the form of things itself, [is] never able {year by year} by means of the same sacrifices which they offer without interruption to make perfect those who draw near. For otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the ones who worship, having been purified once and for all, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in them [there is] a reminder of sins {year by year}. read more.
For [it is] impossible [for] the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. Therefore, [when he] came into the world, he said, "Sacrifice and offering you did not want, but a body you prepared for me; you did not delight in whole burnt offerings and [offerings] for sins. Then I said, 'Behold, I have come-- in the roll of the book it is written about me-- to do your will, O God.' [When he] says above, "Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and [offerings] for sin you did not want, nor did you delight in," which are offered according to the law, then he has said, "Behold, I have come to do your will." He takes away the first in order to establish the second, by which will we are made holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands every day serving and offering the same sacrifices many times, which are never able to take away sins. But this one, [after he] had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, from now on waiting until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are made holy. And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us, for after saying,

but knowing that a person is not justified by the works of the law, if not by faith in Jesus Christ, and we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law {no human being will be justified}. But if [while] seeking to be justified by Christ, [we] ourselves also have been found [to be] sinners, then [is] Christ an agent of sin? May it never be!

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this [is] not from yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; [it is] not from works, so that no one can boast.


Why that? Because [they did] not [pursue it] by faith, but as [if] by works. They stumbled over the {stone that causes people to stumble}, Verse ConceptsProphecies Concerning ChristTrusting In WorksSaved By FaithWorks Of The LawConversion Of Israel


On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name?' And then {I will say to them plainly}, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!'



But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not by deeds of righteousness that we have done, but because of his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this [is] not from yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; [it is] not from works, so that no one can boast.


Why that? Because [they did] not [pursue it] by faith, but as [if] by works. They stumbled over the {stone that causes people to stumble}, Verse ConceptsProphecies Concerning ChristTrusting In WorksSaved By FaithWorks Of The LawConversion Of Israel


On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many miracles in your name?' And then {I will say to them plainly}, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!'



But when the kindness and love for mankind of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not by deeds of righteousness that we have done, but because of his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit,