THE GOSPEL OF GOD FOR ROME

1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostleA,a and set apartb for the gospel of Godc—2 which he promised beforehand d through his prophetse in the Holy Scriptures—3 concerning his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who was a descendant of DavidB,f according to the fleshg 4 and was appointed to be the powerfulh Son of Godi according to the Spirit of holinessC by the resurrection of the dead. 5 Through him we have received grace and apostleshipj to bring aboutD the obediencek of faith for the sake of his name among all the Gentiles,* l 6 including you who are also called by Jesus Christ.m

7 To all who are in Rome, loved by God,n calledo as saints.p

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

PAUL’S DESIRE TO VISIT ROME

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you because the news of your faithF is being reported in all the world.q 9 God is my witness,r whom I serve with my spirits in telling the good news about his Son—that I constantly mention you,t 10 always asking in my prayers that if it is somehow in God’s will, I may now at last succeed in coming to you.u 11 For I want very much to see you,v so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you, 12 that is, to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

13 Now I don’t want you to be unaware,w brothers and sisters, that I often planned to come to you (but was prevented until nowx) in order that I might have a fruitful ministryG among you,y just as I have had among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am obligated both to Greeks and barbarians,H,z both to the wise and the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospelaa to you also who are in Rome.

THE RIGHTEOUS WILL LIVE BY FAITH

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel,I,ab because it is the power of God for salvationac to everyone who believes, first to the Jew,ad and also to the Greek.ae 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith,J,af just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.K,L,ag

THE GUILT OF THE GENTILE WORLD

18 For God’s wrathah is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth,ai 19 since what can be knownM about God is evident among them,aj because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world,ak being understood through what he has made.al As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened.am 22 Claiming to be wise, they became foolsan 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.ao

24 Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their heartsap to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie,aq and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever.ar Amen.

FROM IDOLATRY TO DEPRAVITY

26 For this reason God delivered them over to disgraceful passions.as Their women* exchanged natural sexual relations* for unnatural ones. 27 The menC in the same way also left natural relations with women and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Men committed shameless acts with menat and received in their own personsD the appropriate penalty of their error.

28 And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a corrupt mind so that they do what is not right. 29 They are filled with all unrighteousness,E evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,a 30 slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful,b inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,c 31 senseless, untrustworthy, unloving,F,d and unmerciful. 32 Although they know God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to dieG,e—they not only do them, but even applaudH,f others who practice them.

GOD’S RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT

2 Therefore, every one of youI,g who judges is without excuse.h For when you judge another,i you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is based on the truth. 3 Do you think—anyone of you who judges those who do such things yet do the same—that you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you despise the riches of his kindness,j restraint,k and patience,l not recognizingJ that God’s kindnessm is intended to lead you to repentance? 5 Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrathn for yourself in the day of wrath,o when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. 6 He will repay each one according to his works:K,p 7 eternal lifeq to those who by persistence in doing goodr seek glory, honor,s and immortality;t 8 but wrath and anger to those who are self-seekingu and disobey the truthv while obeying unrighteousness. 9 There will be affliction and distressw for every human being who does evil, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek;x 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no favoritism with God.y

12 For all who sin without the lawz will also perish without the law, and all who sin underA the law will be judged by the law. 13 For the hearers of the lawaa are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.B 14 So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law,ab doC what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the lawD is written on their hearts.ac Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse themE 16 on the day when God judgesad what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.ae

JEWISH VIOLATION OF THE LAW

17 Now ifF you call yourself a Jew, and rely on the law,af and boast in God, 18 and know his will, and approve the things that are superior,ag being instructed from the law, 19 and if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light to those in darkness, 20 an instructor of the ignorant, a teacher of the immature, having the embodiment of knowledge and truthah in the law—21 you then, who teach another,ai don’t you teach yourself? You who preach, “You must not steal”—do you steal? 22 You who say, “You must not commit adultery”—do you commit adultery? You who detest idols, do you rob temples?aj 23 You who boast in the law,ak do you dishonor God by breaking the law?G 24 For, as it is written: The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.H,al

CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART

25 Circumcision benefits you if you observe the law, but if you are a lawbreaker, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.am 26 So if an uncircumcisedan man keeps the law’s requirements,ao will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 A man who is physically uncircumcised, but who keeps the law, will judge youap who are a lawbreaker in spite of having the letter of the law and circumcision. 28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly,aq and true circumcision is not something visible in the flesh. 29 On the contrary, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly,ar and circumcision is of the heart—by the Spirit, not the letter.I,as That person’s praise is not from people but from God.at

PAUL ANSWERS AN OBJECTION

3 So what advantage does the Jew have? Or what is the benefit of circumcision? 2 Considerable in every way. First, they were entrusteda with the very words of God.b 3 What then? If some were unfaithful,c will their unfaithfulness nullify God’s faithfulness? 4 Absolutely not!d Let God be true, even though everyone is a liar,e as it is written:

That you may be justified in your words

and triumph when you judge.A,f

5 But if our unrighteousness highlightsB God’s righteousness,g what are we to say?h I am using a human argument:C,i Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath? 6 Absolutely not! Otherwise, how will God judge the world?j 7 But if by my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?k 8 And why not say, just as some people slanderously claim we say, “Let us do what is evil so that good may come”?l Their condemnation is deserved!

THE WHOLE WORLD GUILTY BEFORE GOD

9 What then? Are we any better off?D Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jewsm and Greeksn are all under sin,E,o 10 as it is written:

There is no one righteous, not even one.

11 There is no one who understands;

there is no one who seeks God.

12 All have turned away;

all alike have become worthless.

There is no one who does what is good,

not even one.F,p

13 Their throat is an open grave;

they deceive with their tongues.G,q

Vipers’ venom is under their lips.H,r

14 Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.I,s

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;

16 ruin and wretchedness are in their paths,

17 and the path of peace they have not known.J,t

18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.K,u

19 Now we know that whatever the law says,v it speaks to those who are subject to the law,L,w so that every mouth may be shut and the whole world may become subject to God’s judgment.M,x 20 For no one will be justifiedN in his sight by the works of the law,y because the knowledge of sin comes through the law.z

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD THROUGH FAITH

21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed,aa attested by the Law and the Prophets.O,ab 22 The righteousness of God is through faithac in Jesus ChristP,ad to all who believe,ae since there is no distinction.af 23 For all have sinnedag and fall short of theQ glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his graceah through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.ai 25 God presented him as the mercy seatR,aj by his blood,ak through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint Godal passed over the sins previously committed.am 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

BOASTING EXCLUDED

27 Where, then, is boasting?an It is excluded. By what kind of law?A,ao By one of works? No, on the contrary, by a lawB of faith. 28 For we conclude that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law.ap 29 Or is God the God of Jews only?aq Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is one Godar who will justify the circumcised by faithas and the uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not!at On the contrary, we uphold the law.au

ABRAHAM JUSTIFIED BY FAITH

4 What then will we say that Abraham, our forefatherav according to the flesh, has found?C 2 If Abraham was justifiedD by works,aw he has something to boast about—but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.E,a 4 Now to the one who works,b pay is not credited as a gift, but as something owed. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly,c his faith is credited for righteousness.

DAVID CELEBRATING THE SAME TRUTH

6 Likewise, David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7 Blessed are those whose lawless acts are forgiven

and whose sins are covered.

8 Blessed is the person

the Lord will never charge with sin.F,d

ABRAHAM JUSTIFIED BEFORE CIRCUMCISION

9 Is this blessing only for the circumcised,e then? Or is it also for the uncircumcised? For we say, Faith was credited to Abraham for righteousness.E,f 10 In what way, then, was it credited—while he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? It was not while he was circumcised, but uncircumcised. 11 And he received the sign of circumcisiong as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith* h while still uncircumcised. This was to make him the fatheri of all who believej but are not circumcised, so that righteousness may be credited to them also. 12 And he became the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith our father Abraham had while he was still uncircumcised.

THE PROMISE GRANTED THROUGH FAITH

13 For the promise to Abrahamk or to his descendants that he would inherit the worldl was not through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 If those who are of the law are heirs,m faith is made empty and the promise nullified, 15 because the law produces wrath.n And where there is no law,o there is no transgression.

16 This is why the promise is by faith, so that it may be according to grace,p to guarantee it to all the descendantsq—not only to the one who is of the lawA but also to the one who is of Abraham’s faith. He is the father of us all. 17 As it is written: I have made you the father of many nations—B,r in the presence of the God in whom he believed, the one who gives life to the deads and callst things into existence that do not exist.u 18 He believed, hoping against hope, so that he became the father of many nationsB,v according to what had been spoken: So will your descendants be.C,w 19 He did not weaken in faith when he consideredD his own body to be already deadx (since he was about a hundred years old)y and also the deadness of Sarah’s womb.z 20 He did not waver in unbelief at God’s promise but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,aa 21 because he was fully convincedab that what God had promised, he was also able to do.ac 22 Therefore, it was credited to him for righteousness.E,ad 23 Now it was credited to himE was not written for Abraham alone,ae 24 but also for us. It will be credited to us who believe in himaf who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.ag 25 He was delivered up forF our trespassesah and raised for our justification.ai

FAITH TRIUMPHS

5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith,aj we have peaceG with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.ak 2 We have also obtained access through himal by faithH into this grace in which we stand,am and we boast* in the hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that,an but we also boast in our afflictions,ao because we know that affliction produces endurance,ap 4 endurance produces proven character,aq and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us,ar because God’s love has been poured out in our heartsas through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

THE JUSTIFIED ARE RECONCILED

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time,at Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. 8 But God provesau his own love for usav in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 How much more then, since we have now been justified by his blood,aw will we be saved through him from wrath.a 10 For if, while we were enemies,b we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.c 11 And not only that, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.d

DEATH THROUGH ADAM AND LIFE THROUGH CHRIST

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,e and death through sin,f in this way death spread to all people,g because all sinned.A 13 In fact, sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to a person’s account when there is no law.h 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam’s transgression.i He is a type of the Coming One.j

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one mank Jesus Christ overflowed to the many. 16 And the gift is not like the one man’s sin, because from one sin came the judgment,l resulting in condemnation, but from many trespasses came the gift, resulting in justification.B 17 If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in lifem through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is justification leading to lifen for everyone. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners,o so also through the one man’s obediencep the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came along to multiply the trespass.q But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even morer 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death,s so also grace will reignt through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.