Romans 12-15

English Standard Version

A Living Sacrifice

12 ^(A)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,^[a] by the mercies of God, ^(B)to present your bodies ^(C)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^[b] ²^(D)Do not be conformed to this world,^[c] but be transformed by ^(E)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^(F)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.^[d]

Gifts of Grace

³For ^(G)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^(H)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^(I)each according to ^(J)the measure of faith that God has assigned. ⁴For ^(K)as in one body we have many members,^[e] and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵so we, ^(L)though many, ^(M)are one body in Christ, and individually ^(N)members one of another. ⁶^(O)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^(P)prophecy, ^(Q)in proportion to our faith; ⁷if ^(R)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^(S)the one who leads,^[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^(T)cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

⁹^(U)Let love be genuine. ^(V)Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. ¹⁰^(W)Love one another with brotherly affection. ^(X)Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹Do not be slothful in zeal, ^(Y)be fervent in spirit,^[g] ^(Z)serve the Lord. ¹²^(AA)Rejoice in hope, ^(AB)be patient in tribulation, ^(AC)be constant in prayer. ¹³^(AD)Contribute to the needs of the saints and ^(AE)seek to show hospitality.

¹⁴^(AF)Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ¹⁵^(AG)Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. ¹⁶^(AH)Live in harmony with one another. ^(AI)Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^[h] ^(AJ)Never be wise in your own sight. ¹⁷^(AK)Repay no one evil for evil, but ^(AL)give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. ¹⁸If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^(AM)live peaceably with all. ¹⁹Beloved, ^(AN)never avenge yourselves, but leave it^[i] to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^(AO)“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” ²⁰To the contrary, ^(AP)“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.” ²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^(AQ)be subject to the governing authorities. For ^(AR)there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For 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 ^(AS)will receive his approval, ⁴for ^(AT)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, ^(AU)an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also ^(AV)for the sake of conscience. ⁶For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. ⁷^(AW)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^(AX)Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^(AY)the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹For the commandments, ^(AZ)“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: ^(BA)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁰Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^(BB)love is the fulfilling of the law.

¹¹Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^(BC)to wake from sleep. ^(BD)For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. ¹²^(BE)The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^(BF)cast off ^(BG)the works of darkness and ^(BH)put on the armor of light. ¹³^(BI)Let us walk properly as in the daytime, ^(BJ)not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^(BK)not in quarreling and jealousy. ¹⁴But ^(BL)put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^(BM)to gratify its desires.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for ^(BN)the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. ²^(BO)One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. ³Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^(BP)let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. ⁴^(BQ)Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master^[j] that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

⁵^(BR)One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^(BS)Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^(BT)he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷For ^(BU)none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. ⁸For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^(BV)whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. ⁹For to this end Christ ^(BW)died and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^(BX)of the dead and of the living.

¹⁰Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^(BY)we will all stand before ^(BZ)the judgment seat of God; ¹¹for it is written,

^(CA)“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess^[k] to God.”

¹²So then ^(CB)each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

¹³^(CC)Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^(CD)never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. ¹⁴I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^(CE)that nothing is unclean in itself, ^(CF)but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. ¹⁵For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^(CG)you are no longer walking in love. ^(CH)By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. ¹⁶^(CI)So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. ¹⁷^(CJ)For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ^(CK)of righteousness and ^(CL)peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸Whoever thus serves Christ is ^(CM)acceptable to God and approved by men. ¹⁹So then let us ^(CN)pursue what makes for peace and for ^(CO)mutual upbuilding.

²⁰^(CP)Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^(CQ)Everything is indeed clean, but ^(CR)it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. ²¹^(CS)It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.^[l] ²²The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^(CT)Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. ²³But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.^[m]

The Example of Christ

15 ^(CU)We who are strong ^(CV)have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. ²^(CW)Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. ³For ^(CX)Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, ^(CY)“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” ⁴For ^(CZ)whatever was written in former days was written for our ^(DA)instruction, that through endurance and through ^(DB)the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ⁵May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ^(DC)to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, ⁶that together you may with one voice glorify ^(DD)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

⁸For I tell you that Christ ^(DE)became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order ^(DF)to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹and in order ^(DG)that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

^(DH)“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”

¹⁰And again it is said,

^(DI)“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”

¹¹And again,

^(DJ)“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”

¹²And again Isaiah says,

^(DK)^(DL)“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
^(DM)in him will the Gentiles hope.”

¹³May the God of hope fill you with all ^(DN)joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

¹⁴^(DO)I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,^[n] that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with ^(DP)all knowledge and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, ^(DQ)because of the grace given me by God ¹⁶to be ^(DR)a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ^(DS)in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that ^(DT)the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷In Christ Jesus, then, I have ^(DU)reason to be proud of ^(DV)my work for God. ¹⁸For I will not venture to speak of anything except ^(DW)what Christ has accomplished through me ^(DX)to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, ¹⁹^(DY)by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that ^(DZ)from Jerusalem and all the way around ^(EA)to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; ²⁰and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, ^(EB)lest I build on someone else's foundation, ²¹but as it is written,

^(EC)“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

²²This is the reason why ^(ED)I have so often been hindered from coming to you. ²³But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^(EE)since I have longed for many years to come to you, ²⁴I hope to see you in passing as I go ^(EF)to Spain, and ^(EG)to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. ²⁵At present, however, ^(EH)I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. ²⁶For ^(EI)Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. ²⁷For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^(EJ)they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. ²⁸When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,^[o] I will leave ^(EK)for Spain by way of you. ²⁹I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing^[p] of Christ.

³⁰I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^(EL)the love of the Spirit, ^(EM)to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, ³¹^(EN)that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^(EO)my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³²so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and ^(EP)be refreshed in your company. ³³May ^(EQ)the God of peace be with you all. Amen.