The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask, then, ^hhas God rejected his people? By no means! For ⁱI myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,¹ a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 ^jGod has not rejected his people whom he ^kforeknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 ^l“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God’s reply to him? ^m“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is ⁿa remnant, chosen by grace. 6 ^oBut if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

7 What then? ^pIsrael failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest ^qwere hardened, 8 as it is written,

9 And David says,

Gentiles Grafted In

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass ^usalvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion² mean!

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as ^vI am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and ^wthus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means ^xthe reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 ^yIf the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17 But if ^zsome of the branches were broken off, and you, ^aalthough a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root³ of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you ^bstand fast through faith. So ^cdo not become proud, but ^dfear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, ^eprovided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise ^fyou too will be cut off. 23 And ^geven they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation

25 ^hLest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers:^{4 i}a partial hardening has come upon Israel, ^juntil the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are ^obeloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the gifts and ^pthe calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as ^qyou were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now⁵ receive mercy. 32 For God ^rhas consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and ^swisdom and knowledge of God! ^tHow unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

36 For ^xfrom him and through him and to him are all things. ^yTo him be glory forever. Amen.

A Living Sacrifice

12 ^zI appeal to you therefore, brothers,¹ by the mercies of God, ^ato present your bodies ^bas a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.² 2 ^cDo not be conformed to this world,³ but be transformed by ^dthe renewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^ediscern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.⁴

Gifts of Grace

3 For ^fby the grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^gnot to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, ^heach according to ⁱthe measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For ^jas in one body we have many members,⁵ and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, ^kthough many, ^lare one body in Christ, and individually ^mmembers one of another. 6 ⁿHaving gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if ^oprophecy, ^pin proportion to our faith; 7 if ^qservice, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; ^rthe one who leads,⁶ with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^scheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

9 ^tLet love be genuine. ^uAbhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 ^vLove one another with brotherly affection. ^wOutdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, ^xbe fervent in spirit,^{7 y}serve the Lord. 12 ^zRejoice in hope, ^abe patient in tribulation, ^bbe constant in prayer. 13 ^cContribute to the needs of the saints and ^dseek to show hospitality.

14 ^eBless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 ^fRejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 ^gLive in harmony with one another. ^hDo not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.^{8 i}Never be wise in your own sight. 17 ^jRepay no one evil for evil, but ^kgive thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^llive peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, ^mnever avenge yourselves, but leave it⁹ to the wrath of God, for it is written, ⁿ“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, ^o“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person ^pbe subject to the governing authorities. For ^qthere is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you ^rwill receive his approval, 4 for ^she is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, ^tan avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also ^ufor the sake of conscience. 6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 ^vPay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

8 ^wOwe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^xthe one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, ^y“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^z“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore ^alove is the fulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you ^bto wake from sleep. ^cFor salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 ^dThe night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us ^ecast off ^fthe works of darkness and ^gput on the armor of light. 13 ^hLet us walk properly as in the daytime, ⁱnot in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, ^jnot in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But ^kput on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, ^lto gratify its desires.

Do Not Pass Judgment on One Another

14 As for ^mthe one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 ⁿOne person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and ^olet not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 ^pWho are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master¹ that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

5 ^qOne person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. ^rEach one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since ^she gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For ^tnone of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, ^uwhether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ ^vdied and lived again, that he might be Lord both ^wof the dead and of the living.

10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For ^wwe will all stand before ^xthe judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written,

12 So then ^zeach of us will give an account of himself to God.

Do Not Cause Another to Stumble

13 ^aTherefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide ^bnever to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus ^cthat nothing is unclean in itself, ^dbut it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, ^eyou are no longer walking in love. ^fBy what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. 16 ^gSo do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. 17 ^hFor the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but ⁱof righteousness and ^jpeace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever thus serves Christ is ^kacceptable to God and approved by men. 19 So then let us ^lpursue what makes for peace and for ^mmutual upbuilding.

20 ⁿDo not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. ^oEverything is indeed clean, but ^pit is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats. 21 ^qIt is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.³ 22 The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. ^rBlessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.⁴

The Example of Christ

15 ^sWe who are strong ^thave an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 ^uLet each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For ^vChrist did not please himself, but as it is written, ^w“The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” 4 For ^xwhatever was written in former days was written for our ^yinstruction, that through endurance and through ^zthe encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. 5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you ^ato live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify ^bthe God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Christ the Hope of Jews and Gentiles

8 For I tell you that Christ ^cbecame a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order ^dto confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, 9 and in order ^ethat the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

10 And again it is said,

11 And again,

12 And again Isaiah says,

13 May the God of hope fill you with all ^ljoy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

14 ^mI myself am satisfied about you, my brothers,¹ that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with ⁿall knowledge and able to instruct one another. 15 But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, ^obecause of the grace given me by God 16 to be ^pa minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles ^qin the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that ^rthe offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17 In Christ Jesus, then, I have ^sreason to be proud of ^tmy work for God. 18 For I will not venture to speak of anything except ^uwhat Christ has accomplished through me ^vto bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, 19 ^wby the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that ^xfrom Jerusalem and all the way around ^yto Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; 20 and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, ^zlest I build on someone else’s foundation, 21 but as it is written,

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

22 This is the reason why ^bI have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and ^csince I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go ^dto Spain, and ^eto be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, ^fI am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For ^gMacedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed ^hthey owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected,² I will leave ⁱfor Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing³ of Christ.

30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by ^jthe love of the Spirit, ^kto strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 ^lthat I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that ^mmy service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and ⁿbe refreshed in your company. 33 May ^othe God of peace be with you all. Amen.