Marks of the True Christian

^9 (A)Let love be genuine. ^(B)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ^10 (C)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(D)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(E)be fervent in spirit,^{[a] (F)}serve the Lord. ^12 (G)Rejoice in hope, ^(H)be patient in tribulation, ^(I)be constant in prayer. ^13 (J)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(K)seek to show hospitality.

^14 (L)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ^15 (M)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ^16 (N)Live in harmony with one another. ^(O)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^{[b] (P)}Never be wise in your own sight. ^17 (Q)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(R)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸ If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(S)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹ Beloved, ^(T)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[c] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(U)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰ To the contrary, ^(V)“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” ²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^(W)be subject to the governing authorities. For ^(X)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ² Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^(Y)will receive his approval, ⁴ for ^(Z)he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^(AA)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also ^(AB)for the sake of conscience. ⁶ For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ^7 (AC)Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

^8 (AD)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(AE)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments, ^(AF)“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^(AG)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(AH)love is the fulfilling of the law.