Paul of Tarsus

“ If God is for us, who is against us? 32He who did not hold back his own Son, but gave him up for all of us—how could he not freely give us everything? 33Who can charge God’s special people with anything? It is God who vindicates—34who can condemn? It is Christ Jesus who died—who was raised from the dead—who stands beside God, and who prays for us. ”

“ For in the eyes of God, Abraham trusted in the God who makes the dead alive and speaks of what does not yet exist as reality. 18Abraham hoped against all hope and trusted God, that he might become the father of many peoples, just as God had promised, “Think how many descendants you will have!” 19His trust in God did not weaken even though he thought his body was as good as dead (he was around a hundred years old) , and knew that Sarah was too old to have children. 20He hung on to God’s promise, and did not doubt. ”

“ Should we go on sinning so we can have more and more grace? 2Of course not! Since we have already died to sin, how can we live in sin any longer? 3Do you not realize that every one of us who was baptized into Christ Jesus was baptized into his death? 4Just as through baptism we were buried with him in death, so too we are raised from the dead like Christ through the glory of the Father, so that we can live a brand-new life. 5If we have been united with him in the same kind of death, then we will also be raised like him. ”

“ Was God unjust? Certainly not! 15As he said to Moses, “I will be merciful to whoever I show mercy, and I will have compassion on whoever I show compassion.” 16So it is not down to what we want, or what we run after, but the merciful nature of God. 17As Scripture records God’s words to Pharaoh: “I brought you to this for a reason—so that through you I could demonstrate my power, and so that my name could be made known throughout the earth.” 18So God is merciful to those he wishes to be, and hardens the hearts of those he wants to. ”

“ Do not destroy someone for whom Christ died with arguments over what you should eat. 16Do not let the good things you do be spoken of badly—17for God’s kingdom is not about eating and drinking, but living rightly, peacefully, and joyfully in the Holy Spirit. 18Whoever serves Christ like this pleases God, and is appreciated by people. 19So let us pursue whatever leads to peace, and find ways to build up each other. 20Do not demolish the work of God with arguments over food. Everything is clean—but it would be wrong for someone to eat and offend others. ”

“ They are God’s servants to punish sternly those who do wrong. 5So it is important to do as you are told, not just because of the threat of punishment, but because of what your conscience tells you. 6That is why you pay taxes, because as God’s servants they are always taking care of such things. 7So pay whatever is due, tax to the tax-collectors, custom dues to the customs, respect to those who should be respected, honor to those who should be honored. 8Do not owe anybody anything, except love for one other—for whoever loves their neighbor has kept the law. ”

“ In this way every objection is silenced, and everyone is made answerable to God. 20For no one is made right before God by doing what the law says, because the law only helps us understand what sin is.
21But now God has revealed how we can be made right—a way that does not have to do with the law, even though it was spoken of by the law and the prophets. 22This is God’s way of making right everyone who believes and trusts in Jesus Christ. It does not matter who we are: 23everyone has sinned and is a long way from reaching God’s glory. ”

“ Chapter 12 1So I urge you, my brothers and sisters, because of God’s compassion for you, to dedicate your bodies as a living, holy offering that will please God, which is the sensible way to worship him. 2Do not follow the ways of this world; rather be changed as your mind is spiritually renewed so you can demonstrate God’s will: good, satisfying, and entirely complete. 3Let me say to everyone of you there, through the grace given to me: no one should think of themselves better than they ought to. You should think sensibly, to the extent of the trust God has given you. ”

“ For anyone that does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10However if Christ is in you, even though your body is mortal because of sin, the Spirit gives life because you are now right with God. 11The one who raised Jesus from the dead—his Spirit lives in you, and he who raised Jesus from the dead will also make your dead bodies come alive through his Spirit that lives in you. 12So we Christians have a responsibility, but not to our human nature—living according our human desires. 13Because if you live under the control of your sinful nature, you definitely will die. ”

“ In whatever way you judge others, you condemn yourself, for you the judge do exactly the same things. 2And we know that when God judges those who do these things his judgment is absolutely right. 3Do you really think—you the one who is judging those who do such things—that you will escape being judged by God? ”

“ Instead dedicate yourselves to God, as people risen from the dead, and use the parts of your body as tools for doing what is right for God. 14Sin shall not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
15So then—shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Absolutely not! 16Do you not see that whoever you belong to as obedient servants, you are servants of your master? If you belong to sin, this results in death, if obedient to God the result is living right. ”

“ Chapter 5 1Now that we are made right by trusting God, we have peace with him through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2It is through him, trusting in God’s grace, that we have been brought to where we now stand, confidently expressing our hope of being part of God’s glory. 3Not only this: we also remain confident when troubles come, because we know that troubles develop endurance. 4Endurance in turn makes us mature, and maturity leads to hope. 5This hope will not disappoint, for God’s love is being poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit he gave to us. ”

“ Pay attention to what people consider to be good, 18and as long as it is in your power, live at peace with everyone. 19My dear friends, do not get revenge for yourselves, but leave it to God’s judgment—as Scripture points out, “‘It is for me to dispense justice, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” 20If those who hate you are hungry, give them food, if they are thirsty, give them a drink, because by doing so you pile up fiery coals on their heads. ”

“ Let everyone be completely convinced in their own minds. 6Whoever respects a special day, respects it for the Lord; and whoever eats without concerns [15] eats for the Lord since they give thanks to God; while whoever avoids eating does not eat for the Lord, and they also give thanks to God.
7For none of us lives for ourselves, or dies for ourselves. 8If we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord—so whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9This is why Christ died and came back to life, so that he could be the Lord of both the dead and the living. ”

“ It is those who do what the law says who will be set right. 14When even the foreigners who do not have the written law do what it says naturally, they operate according to law even without the written law. 15Through this they reveal the actions of the law that is written on their hearts. As they reflect on what they do their conscience either accuses or defends them. 16The good news I share is that a day is coming when God will judge, through Jesus Christ, the secrets of everyone. ”

“ For salvation is closer to us now than when we first started trusting God. 12The night is almost over, the day is almost here, so let us take off the clothes of our dark deeds and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave properly, like living in the daytime, not partying and drinking, not having affairs and being immoral, not fighting and being jealous. 14Instead put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not plan how to indulge the desires of your sinful nature. ”

“ Whatever is not based on trust is sin.
Chapter 15 1Those of us who are strong ought to support those whose trust is weak, and not just please ourselves. 2Each of us should encourage those around us to do right, to build them up. 3For Christ too did not please himself, but as Scripture says, “The insults of those abusing you fell on me.” ”

“ Dealing with the whole problem of sin [8] , he destroyed sin in human nature. 4In this way we could fulfill the right requirements of the law as we follow the Spirit and not our human nature. 5Those who follow their sinful human nature are preoccupied with sinful things, but those who follow the Spirit concentrate on spiritual things. 6The sinful human way of thinking results in death, but thinking as the Spirit does leads to life and peace. ”

“ If you do not want to be afraid of the authorities, then do what is right, and they will commend you. 4Authorities are God’s servants, there for your own good. If you do wrong, you should be afraid, for authorities do not have the power to punish for nothing. ”

“ Because we do not follow the law of observance, but the law of trust. 28We are convinced that people are made right through trust in God, not from legal observance. 29Or is God only the God of the Jews? ”

“ Chapter 11 1So I ask, “Has God thrown away his people?” Absolutely not! For I am an Israelite too, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God has not thrown away his chosen people. Do you not recall what Scripture says about Elijah? How he complained about Israel to God, 3“Lord they have killed your prophets, knocked down your altars. I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me as well.”
4How did God answer him? “I still have seven thousand left who have not worshiped Baal.” 5In just the same way today there is some faithful people left, by God’s grace. ”

“ Chapter 14 1Welcome those who find it hard to trust. 2One person may have the confidence to eat anything, while another who is weak just eats vegetables. [14] 3Those who will eat anything must not look down those that will not, and those who will not eat must not criticize those who do eat—for God has accepted them. 4Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? It is their own master who decides whether they are successes or failures. ”

“ It is the message of believing trust that we are presenting, 9for if you will personally say you accept Jesus as Lord, and are convinced in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. 10It is in your heart that you trust in God to make you right, and with your mouth you declare God’s salvation. ”

“ But as a result of their mistakes, salvation came to other nations, to “make them jealous.” 12Now if their failure is the benefit of the world, and their loss the profit of the foreigners, how much more a benefit it would be if they completely fulfilled God’s plan.
13I am talking to you foreigners. In whatever way I am a missionary to foreigners, I delight in my ministry, 14that somehow I might make my people jealous and so save some from among them. 15If the result of rejecting them is that the world becomes God’s friends, the result of accepting them would be to make the dead come alive! ”

“ Chapter 13 1Everyone should choose to obey the power of government, because there is no power to rule unless God gives it, and these authorities have been set up by God. 2So whoever resists the power of government opposes what God has put in place, and such opponents shall find themselves judged accordingly. 3For those in charge do not terrify those who do right, but those who do wrong. ”

“ In the end this way leads to death. 22But now you are freed from sin, and have become God’s servants, the results will be a pure life—and in the end, eternal life. 23Sin’s wage is death, but God’s free gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Chapter 7 1Do you not understand (here I am talking to people who know the law [6] ) that the law has authority over someone as long as they are alive? 2For example, a married woman is bound by the law to her husband while he is alive, but when he dies, she is released from this legal obligation to him. ”

“ We were considered sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No: in everything we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38I am absolutely convinced that not death, nor life, nor angels, nor devils, nor the present, nor the future, nor any kind of powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything in all creation, shall be able to part us from God’s love, revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ. ”

“ Maybe you can help me on my way once you have had enough of me! [18] 25Right now I am going to Jerusalem to help the believers there, 26because the folks in Macedonia and Achaia thought it was a good idea to send a contribution to the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. 27They were happy to do this, and they are in their debt. [19] For now that foreigners are sharing in their spiritual benefits, then they owe it to them to help them in material things. ”