Paul Gives Up His Rights

9 Am I not as free as anyone else? Am I not an apostle? Haven’t I seen Jesus our Lord with my own eyes? Isn’t it because of my work that you belong to the Lord?

¹⁷ So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

⁷ And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about faith and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.

⁶ I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow.

¹¹ That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.”

³ As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him.

Greetings from Paul

1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I have been sent to proclaim faith to^[a] those God has chosen and to teach them to know the truth that shows them how to live godly lives. ² This truth gives them confidence that they have eternal life, which God—who does not lie—promised them before the world began. ³ And now at just the right time he has revealed this message, which we announce to everyone. It is by the command of God our Savior that I have been entrusted with this work for him.

¹⁹ Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ.

¹¹ And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News.

Freedom in Christ

5 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.