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Romans 4-7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Example of Abraham

4 What then are we to say was gained by[a] Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.(A) 3 For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed[b] God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.”(B) 4 Now to one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due.(C) 5 But to one who does not work but trusts him who justifies the ungodly, such faith is reckoned as righteousness. 6 So also David pronounces a blessing on those to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those whose iniquities are forgiven
    and whose sins are covered;(D)
8 blessed is the one against whom the Lord will not reckon sin.”

9 Is this blessing, then, pronounced only on the circumcised or also on the uncircumcised? We say, “Faith was reckoned to Abraham as righteousness.” 10 How then was it reckoned to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after but before he was circumcised. 11 He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith[c] while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the ancestor of all who believe[d] without being circumcised and who thus have righteousness reckoned to them,(E) 12 and likewise the ancestor of the circumcised who are not only circumcised but follow the example of the faith that our ancestor Abraham had before he was circumcised.

God’s Promise Realized through Faith

13 For the promise that he would inherit the world did not come to Abraham or to his descendants through the law but through the righteousness of faith.(F) 14 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 the law brings wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there transgression.(G)

16 For this reason the promise depends on faith, in order that it may rest on grace, so that it may be guaranteed to all his descendants, not only to the adherents of the law but also to those who share the faith of Abraham (who is the father of all of us,(H) 17 as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”), in the presence of the God in whom he believed,[e] who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.(I) 18 Hoping against hope, he believed that he would become “the father of many nations,” according to what was said, “So shall your descendants be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was already[f] as good as dead (for he was about a hundred years old), and the barrenness of Sarah’s womb.(J) 20 No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, 21 being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised.(K) 22 Therefore “it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 23 Now the words, “it was reckoned to him,” were written not for his sake alone(L) 24 but for ours also. It will be reckoned to us who believe[g] in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,(M) 25 who was handed over for our trespasses and was raised for our justification.(N)

Results of Justification

5 Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we[h] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,(O) 2 through whom we have obtained access[i] to this grace in which we stand, and we[j] boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.(P) 3 And not only that, but we[k] also boast in our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance,(Q) 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.(R)

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.(S) 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.(T) 9 Much more surely, therefore, since we have now been justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God.[l](U) 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.(V) 11 But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Adam and Christ

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned(W)— 13 for sin was indeed in the world before the law, but sin is not reckoned when there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in the likeness of Adam, who is a pattern of the one who was to come.(X)

15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died through the one man’s trespass, much more surely have the grace of God and the gift in the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded for the many. 16 And the gift is not like the effect of the one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the gift following many trespasses brings justification. 17 If, because of the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Therefore just as one man’s trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man’s act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 But law came in, so that the trespass might increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,(Y) 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so grace might also reign through justification leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dying and Rising with Christ

6 What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may increase?(Z) 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?(AA) 3 Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?(AB) 4 Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life.(AC)

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, so we might no longer be enslaved to sin.(AD) 7 For whoever has died is freed[m] from sin. 8 But if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.(AE) 10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives to God.(AF) 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.(AG)

12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal bodies, so that you obey their desires.(AH) 13 No longer present your members to sin as instruments[n] of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments[o] of righteousness.(AI) 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.(AJ)

Slaves of Righteousness

15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that, if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?(AK) 17 But thanks be to God that you who were slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted(AL) 18 and that you, having been set free from sin, have become enslaved to righteousness.(AM) 19 I am speaking in human terms because of your limitations.[p] For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness, leading to even more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness, leading to sanctification.(AN)

20 When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.(AO) 21 So what fruit did you then gain from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death.(AP) 22 But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the fruit you have leads to sanctification, and the end is eternal life.(AQ) 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.(AR)

An Analogy from Marriage

7 Or do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only during that person’s lifetime? 2 Thus a married woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives, but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the law concerning the husband.(AS) 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she belongs to another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she belongs to another man, she is not an adulteress.(AT)

4 In the same way, my brothers and sisters, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God.(AU) 5 For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death.(AV) 6 But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are enslaved in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the written code.(AW)

The Law and Sin

7 What then are we to say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”(AX) 8 But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law sin lies dead.(AY) 9 I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived 10 and I died, and the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.(AZ) 11 For sin, seizing an opportunity in the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. 12 So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and just and good.(BA)

13 Did what is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin that was working death in me through what is good, in order that it might be shown to be sin, so that through the commandment sin might become sinful beyond measure.

The Inner Conflict

14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin.[q] 15 I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.(BB) 16 Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. 17 But in fact it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me. 18 For I know that the good does not dwell within me, that is, in my flesh. For the desire to do the good lies close at hand, but not the ability.(BC) 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but sin that dwells within me.

21 So I find it to be a law that, when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self,(BD) 23 but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.(BE) 24 Wretched person that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God[r] through Jesus Christ our Lord!

So then, with my mind I am enslaved to the law of God, but with my flesh I am enslaved to the law of sin.

Footnotes

  1. 4.1 Other ancient authorities read say about
  2. 4.3 Or trusted in
  3. 4.11 Or trust
  4. 4.11 Or trust
  5. 4.17 Or trusted
  6. 4.19 Other ancient authorities lack already
  7. 4.24 Or trust
  8. 5.1 Other ancient authorities read let us
  9. 5.2 Other ancient authorities add by faith
  10. 5.2 Or let us
  11. 5.3 Or let us
  12. 5.9 Gk the wrath
  13. 6.7 Or justified
  14. 6.13 Or weapons
  15. 6.13 Or weapons
  16. 6.19 Gk the weakness of your flesh
  17. 7.14 Gk sold under sin
  18. 7.25 Other ancient authorities read I thank God
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Romans 4-7
New International Version

Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we say(A) that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,(B) discovered in this matter? 2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God.(C) 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”[a](D)

4 Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift(E) but as an obligation. 5 However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.(F) 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

7 “Blessed are those
    whose transgressions are forgiven,
    whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the one
    whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”[b](G)

9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised?(H) We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.(I) 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! 11 And he received circumcision as a sign, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised.(J) So then, he is the father(K) of all who believe(L) but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. 12 And he is then also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also follow in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise(M) that he would be heir of the world,(N) but through the righteousness that comes by faith.(O) 14 For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,(P) 15 because the law brings wrath.(Q) And where there is no law there is no transgression.(R)

16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace(S) and may be guaranteed(T) to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.(U) 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[c](V) He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life(W) to the dead and calls(X) into being things that were not.(Y)

18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations,(Z) just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[d](AA) 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead(AB)—since he was about a hundred years old(AC)—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.(AD) 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened(AE) in his faith and gave glory to God,(AF) 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.(AG) 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”(AH) 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us,(AI) to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him(AJ) who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.(AK) 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins(AL) and was raised to life for our justification.(AM)

Peace and Hope

5 Therefore, since we have been justified(AN) through faith,(AO) we[e] have peace(AP) with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,(AQ) 2 through whom we have gained access(AR) by faith into this grace in which we now stand.(AS) And we[f] boast in the hope(AT) of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we[g] also glory in our sufferings,(AU) because we know that suffering produces perseverance;(AV) 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope(AW) does not put us to shame, because God’s love(AX) has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit,(AY) who has been given to us.

6 You see, at just the right time,(AZ) when we were still powerless,(BA) Christ died for the ungodly.(BB) 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.(BC)

9 Since we have now been justified(BD) by his blood,(BE) how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath(BF) through him! 10 For if, while we were God’s enemies,(BG) we were reconciled(BH) to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!(BI) 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.(BJ)

Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man,(BK) and death through sin,(BL) and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned(BM)—

13 To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone’s account where there is no law.(BN) 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam,(BO) who is a pattern of the one to come.(BP)

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man,(BQ) how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ,(BR) overflow to the many! 16 Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death(BS) reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life(BT) through the one man, Jesus Christ!

18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people,(BU) so also one righteous act resulted in justification(BV) and life(BW) for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man(BX) the many were made sinners,(BY) so also through the obedience(BZ) of the one man the many will be made righteous.

20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.(CA) But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,(CB) 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death,(CC) so also grace(CD) might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life(CE) through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

6 What shall we say, then?(CF) Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?(CG) 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin;(CH) how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized(CI) into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death(CJ) in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead(CK) through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.(CL)

5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.(CM) 6 For we know that our old self(CN) was crucified with him(CO) so that the body ruled by sin(CP) might be done away with,[h] that we should no longer be slaves to sin(CQ)— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.(CR)

8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.(CS) 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,(CT) he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.(CU) 10 The death he died, he died to sin(CV) once for all;(CW) but the life he lives, he lives to God.

11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin(CX) but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign(CY) in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness,(CZ) but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.(DA) 14 For sin shall no longer be your master,(DB) because you are not under the law,(DC) but under grace.(DD)

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?(DE) By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey(DF)—whether you are slaves to sin,(DG) which leads to death,(DH) or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God(DI) that, though you used to be slaves to sin,(DJ) you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching(DK) that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin(DL) and have become slaves to righteousness.(DM)

19 I am using an example from everyday life(DN) because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness(DO) leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin,(DP) you were free from the control of righteousness.(DQ) 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!(DR) 22 But now that you have been set free from sin(DS) and have become slaves of God,(DT) the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.(DU) 23 For the wages of sin is death,(DV) but the gift of God is eternal life(DW) in[i] Christ Jesus our Lord.

Released From the Law, Bound to Christ

7 Do you not know, brothers and sisters(DX)—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law that binds her to him.(DY) 3 So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress.(DZ) But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

4 So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law(EA) through the body of Christ,(EB) that you might belong to another,(EC) to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the realm of the flesh,[j](ED) the sinful passions aroused by the law(EE) were at work in us,(EF) so that we bore fruit for death.(EG) 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law(EH) so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.(EI)

The Law and Sin

7 What shall we say, then?(EJ) Is the law sinful? Certainly not!(EK) Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law.(EL) For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”[k](EM) 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,(EN) produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead.(EO) 9 Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life(EP) actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment,(EQ) deceived me,(ER) and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.(ES)

13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! Nevertheless, in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it used what is good(ET) to bring about my death,(EU) so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.

14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual,(EV) sold(EW) as a slave to sin.(EX) 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.(EY) 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.(EZ) 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.(FA) 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[l](FB) For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.(FC) 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.(FD)

21 So I find this law at work:(FE) Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being(FF) I delight in God’s law;(FG) 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war(FH) against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin(FI) at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?(FJ) 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!(FK)

So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law,(FL) but in my sinful nature[m] a slave to the law of sin.(FM)

Footnotes

  1. Romans 4:3 Gen. 15:6; also in verse 22
  2. Romans 4:8 Psalm 32:1,2
  3. Romans 4:17 Gen. 17:5
  4. Romans 4:18 Gen. 15:5
  5. Romans 5:1 Many manuscripts let us
  6. Romans 5:2 Or let us
  7. Romans 5:3 Or let us
  8. Romans 6:6 Or be rendered powerless
  9. Romans 6:23 Or through
  10. Romans 7:5 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit.
  11. Romans 7:7 Exodus 20:17; Deut. 5:21
  12. Romans 7:18 Or my flesh
  13. Romans 7:25 Or in the flesh
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