Book of Common Prayer

¹⁶ I am not ashamed of the good news of Jesus Christ. The good news is the power God uses to save every one who believes. The good news was for the Jews first, but also for those who are not Jews.

¹⁷ The good news shows how God puts a person right. God puts a person right when that person believes in his Son and keeps on believing. The holy writings say, `A person who is put right because he believes, will live for ever.'

¹⁸ God is angry. He has shown it from heaven. He is angry because of all the bad and wrong things people do. These people hold back God's truth by the wrong things they do.

¹⁹ They know about God. God himself has shown them.

²⁰ People cannot see that God has power which lasts for ever. They cannot see that he is really God. But ever since he made the world, he has clearly shown this by the things he made. So they cannot say, `I did not know about God.'

²¹ Even though they knew he was God, they did not worship him as God. They did not thank him. Their thoughts were no good. Their foolish minds became dark.

²² They said they were wise people, but they were foolish people.

²³ They did not worship God who cannot die. But they worshipped things made to look like a man who does die. They worshipped things made to look like birds and animals and snakes.

²⁴ So God left them to do the things their hearts wanted to do. They did the things that are not right to do with their bodies. They did not respect their own bodies.

²⁵ They would not believe what was true about God. They believed a lie. They worshipped and worked for something that was made by God. They did not worship God - God who made all things. He is the one to worship for ever. Amen. May it be so!

²² They were travelling in Galilee. Jesus said to his disciples, `The Son of Man will be given over to men.

²⁴ They will kill him. But he will be raised on the third day.' This troubled the disciples very much.

²⁵ They came to Capernaum. There the men who were collecting the tax for the temple came to Peter. They asked him, `Does not your teacher pay the tax for the temple?'

²⁶ Peter said, `Yes, he does.' When he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him about it first. He said, `Simon, what do you think? From whom do kings on earth take taxes? Do they take them from their own people or from other people?'

²⁷ Peter said, `From other people.' Jesus said, `Then the sons do not pay a tax.