Beginning
8 Now, because of this, those who belong to Christ will not suffer the punishment of sin. 2 The power of the Holy Spirit has made me free from the power of sin and death. This power is mine because I belong to Christ Jesus. 3 The Law could not make me free from the power of sin and death. It was weak because it had to work with weak human beings. But God sent His own Son. He came to earth in a body of flesh which could be tempted to sin as we in our bodies can be. He gave Himself to take away sin. By doing that, He took away the power sin had over us. 4 In that way, Jesus did for us what the Law said had to be done. We do not do what our sinful old selves tell us to do anymore. Now we do what the Holy Spirit wants us to do. 5 Those who let their sinful old selves tell them what to do live under that power of their sinful old selves. But those who let the Holy Spirit tell them what to do are under His power. 6 If your sinful old self is the boss over your mind, it leads to death. But if the Holy Spirit is the boss over your mind, it leads to life and peace. 7 The mind that thinks only of ways to please the sinful old self is fighting against God. It is not able to obey God’s Laws. It never can. 8 Those who do what their sinful old selves want to do cannot please God.
9 But you are not doing what your sinful old selves want you to do. You are doing what the Holy Spirit tells you to do, if you have God’s Spirit living in you. No one belongs to Christ if he does not have Christ’s Spirit in him. 10 If Christ is in you, your spirit lives because you are right with God, and yet your body is dead because of sin. 11 The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. If the same Holy Spirit lives in you, He will give life to your bodies in the same way.
12 So then, Christian brothers, we are not to do what our sinful old selves want us to do. 13 If you do what your sinful old selves want you to do, you will die in sin. But if, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you destroy those actions to which the body can be led, you will have life. 14 All those who are led by the Holy Spirit are sons of God. 15 You should not act like people who are owned by someone. They are always afraid. Instead, the Holy Spirit makes us His sons, and we can call to Him, “My Father.” 16 For the Holy Spirit speaks to us and tells our spirit that we are children of God. 17 If we are children of God, we will receive everything He has promised us. We will share with Christ all the things God has given to Him. But we must share His suffering if we are to share His shining-greatness.
18 I am sure that our suffering now cannot be compared to the shining-greatness that He is going to give us. 19 Everything that has been made in the world is waiting for the day when God will make His sons known. 20 Everything that has been made in the world is weak. It is not that the world wanted it to be that way. God allowed it to be that way. Yet there is hope. 21 Everything that has been made in the world will be set free from the power that can destroy. These will become free just as the children of God become free. 22 We know that everything on the earth cries out with pain the same as a woman giving birth to a child. 23 We also cry inside ourselves, even we who have received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the first of God’s gifts to us. We are waiting to become His complete sons when our bodies are made free. 24 We were saved with this hope ahead of us. Now hope means we are waiting for something we do not have. How can a man hope for something he already has? 25 But if we hope for something we do not yet see, we must learn how to wait for it.
26 In the same way, the Holy Spirit helps us where we are weak. We do not know how to pray or what we should pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays to God for us with sounds that cannot be put into words. 27 God knows the hearts of men. He knows what the Holy Spirit is thinking. The Holy Spirit prays for those who belong to Christ the way God wants Him to pray.
28 We know that God makes all things work together for the good of those who love Him and are chosen to be a part of His plan. 29 God knew from the beginning who would put their trust in Him. So He chose them and made them to be like His Son. Christ was first and all those who belong to God are His brothers. 30 He called to Himself also those He chose. Those He called, He made right with Himself. Then He shared His shining-greatness with those He made right with Himself.
31 What can we say about all these things? Since God is for us, who can be against us? 32 God did not keep His own Son for Himself but gave Him for us all. Then with His Son, will He not give us all things? 33 Who can say anything against the people God has chosen? It is God Who says they are right with Himself. 34 Who then can say we are guilty? It was Christ Jesus Who died. He was raised from the dead. He is on the right side of God praying to Him for us. 35 Who can keep us away from the love of Christ? Can trouble or problems? Can suffering wrong from others or having no food? Can it be because of no clothes or because of danger or war? 36 The Holy Writings say, “Because of belonging to Jesus, we are in danger of being killed all day long. We are thought of as sheep that are ready to be killed.” (A) 37 But we have power over all these things through Jesus Who loves us so much. 38 For I know that nothing can keep us from the love of God. Death cannot! Life cannot! Angels cannot! Leaders cannot! Any other power cannot! Hard things now or in the future cannot! 39 The world above or the world below cannot! Any other living thing cannot keep us away from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.
9 I am telling the truth because I belong to Christ. The Holy Spirit tells my heart that I am not lying. 2 I have much sorrow. The pain in my heart never leaves. 3 I could even wish that I might be kept from being with Christ if that would help my people to be saved from the punishment of sin. They are of my own flesh and blood. 4 They are Jews and are the people God chose for Himself. He shared His shining-greatness with them and gave them His Law and a way to worship. They have His promises. 5 The early preachers came from this family. Christ Himself was born of flesh from this family and He is over all things. May God be honored and thanked forever. Let it be so.
6 I am not saying that God did not keep His promises. Not all the Jews are people God chose for Himself. 7 Not all of Abraham’s family are children of God. God told Abraham, “Only the family of Isaac will be called your family.”(B) 8 This means that children born to Abraham are not all children of God. Only those that are born because of God’s promise to Abraham are His children. 9 This was the promise God made: “About this time next year I will come, and Sarah will have a son.” (C) 10 Not only this, but there was Rebecca also. Rebecca gave birth to two sons at the same time. Both of them were sons of Isaac. 11 Even before the two sons were born, we see God’s plan of choosing. God could choose whom He wanted. It could not be changed because of anything the older son tried to do about it. It was before either one had done anything good or bad. 12 Rebecca was told, “The older son will work for the younger son.” 13 The Holy Writings say, “I loved Jacob, but hated Esau.” (D)
14 What about it then? Can we say that God is not fair? No, not at all! 15 God said to Moses, “I will have loving-kindness and loving-pity for anyone I want to.” (E) 16 These good things from God are not given to someone because he wants them or works to get them. They are given because of His loving-kindness. 17 The Holy Writings say to Pharaoh, “I made you leader for this reason: I used you to show My power. I used you to make My name known over all the world.” (F) 18 So God has loving-kindness for those He wants to. He makes some have hard hearts if He wants to.
19 But you will ask me, “Why does God blame men for what they do? Who can go against what God wants?” 20 Who are you to talk back to God? A pot being made from clay does not talk to the man making it and say, “Why did you make me like this?” 21 The man making the pots has the right to use the clay as he wants to. He can make two pots from the same piece of clay. One can have an important use. The other one can be of little use. 22 It may be that God wants to show His power and His anger against sin. He waits a long time on some men who are ready to be destroyed. 23 God also wanted to show His shining-greatness to those He has given His loving-kindness. He made them ready for His shining-greatness from the beginning. 24 We are the ones He chose. He did not only choose Jews. He also chose some from among the people who are not Jews. 25 In the Book of Hosea He says, “Those who are not My people, I will call, ‘My people.’ Those who are not loved, I will call, ‘My loved ones.’” (G) 26 “And where it said, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be called sons of the living God.” (H) 27 Isaiah says this about the Jews, “Even if there are as many Jews as the sand by the sea, only a few of them will be saved from the punishment of sin. 28 For the Lord will do on earth what He says in His Word. He will work fast when He says what will happen here.” (I) 29 Isaiah said also, “If God had not left some of the Jews, we would have all been destroyed like the people who lived in the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.” (J)
30 What are we to say about these things? The people who are not Jews were not made right with God by the Law. They were made right with God because they put their trust in Him. 31 The Jews tried to be right with God by obeying the Law, but they did not become right with God. 32 Why? Because they did not put their trust in God. They tried to be right with God by working for it. They tripped over the most important Stone (Christ). 33 The Holy Writings say, “See! I put in Jerusalem a Stone that people will trip over. It is a Rock that will make them fall. But the person who puts his trust in the Rock (Christ) will not be put to shame.” (K)
10 Christian brothers, the desire of my heart and my prayer to God is that the Jews might be saved from the punishment of sin. 2 I know about them. They have a strong desire for God, but they do not know what they should about Him. 3 They have not known how God makes men right with Himself. Instead, they have tried to make their own way. They have not become right with God because they have not done what God said to do. 4 For Christ has put an end to the Law, so everyone who has put his trust in Christ is made right with God.
5 Moses writes that the man who obeys the Law has to live by it. 6 But when a man puts his trust in Christ, he is made right with God. You do not need to ask yourself, “Who will go up to heaven to bring Christ down?” 7 And you do not need to ask, “Who will go below and bring Christ up from the dead?” 8 This is what it says, “The Good News is near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart.” (L) This Good News tells about putting your trust in Christ. This is what we preach to you. 9 If you say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved from the punishment of sin. 10 When we believe in our hearts, we are made right with God. We tell with our mouth how we were saved from the punishment of sin. 11 The Holy Writings say, “No one who puts his trust in Christ will ever be put to shame.” (M) 12 There is no difference between the Jews and the people who are not Jews. They are all the same to the Lord. And He is Lord over all of them. He gives of His greatness to all who call on Him for help. 13 For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved from the punishment of sin.
14 But how can they call on Him if they have not put their trust in Him? And how can they put their trust in Him if they have not heard of Him? And how can they hear of Him unless someone tells them? 15 And how can someone tell them if he is not sent? The Holy Writings say, “The feet of those who bring the Good News are beautiful.” (N)
16 But they have not all listened to the Good News. Isaiah says, “Lord, who believed what we told them?” (O) 17 So then, faith comes to us by hearing the Good News. And the Good News comes by someone preaching it. 18 And so I ask, “Did they not hear?” For sure they did. The Holy Writings say, “Their voice was heard over all the earth. The Good News was told to the ends of the earth.” (P) 19 Again I ask, “Did the Jews not understand?” First of all, Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation. I will make you angry with a foolish nation of people who do not understand.” (Q) 20 Isaiah says even stronger words, “I have been found by men who did not look for Me. I have shown Myself to those who were not asking for Me.” (R) 21 This is what God says about the Jews, “All day long I held out my hand to a people who would not obey Me and who worked against Me.” (S)
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