The Promise Realized Through Faith

¹³ For ^(A)the promise to Abraham and his offspring ^(B)that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. ^14 (C)For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. ¹⁵ For ^(D)the law brings wrath, but ^(E)where there is no law ^(F)there is no transgression.

¹⁶ That is why it depends on faith, ^(G)in order that the promise may rest on grace and ^(H)be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, ^(I)who is the father of us all, ¹⁷ as it is written, ^(J)“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, ^(K)who gives life to the dead and calls into existence ^(L)the things that do not exist. ¹⁸ In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, ^(M)“So shall your offspring be.” ¹⁹ He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was ^(N)as good as dead (^(O)since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered ^(P)the barrenness^[a] of Sarah's womb. ²⁰ No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, ²¹ fully convinced that ^(Q)God was able to do what he had promised. ²² That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” ²³ But ^(R)the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, ²⁴ but for ours also. It will be counted to us ^(S)who believe in ^(T)him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, ^25 (U)who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised ^(V)for our justification.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 What shall we say then? ^(A)Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can ^(B)we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us ^(C)who have been baptized ^(D)into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were ^(E)buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as ^(F)Christ was raised from the dead by ^(G)the glory of the Father, we too might walk in ^(H)newness of life.

⁵ For ^(I)if we have been united with him in ^(J)a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ We know that ^(K)our old self^{[a] (L)}was crucified with him in order that ^(M)the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. ⁷ For ^(N)one who has died ^(O)has been set free^[b] from sin. ⁸ Now ^(P)if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹ We know that ^(Q)Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; ^(R)death no longer has dominion over him. ¹⁰ For the death he died he died to sin, ^(S)once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. ¹¹ So you also must consider yourselves ^(T)dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Future Glory

¹⁸ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time ^(A)are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the creation waits with eager longing for ^(B)the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation ^(C)was subjected to futility, not willingly, but ^(D)because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that ^(E)the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that ^(F)the whole creation ^(G)has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. ²³ And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have ^(H)the firstfruits of the Spirit, ^(I)groan inwardly as ^(J)we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, ^(K)the redemption of our bodies. ²⁴ For ^(L)in this hope we were saved. Now ^(M)hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, we ^(N)wait for it with patience.