God’s Righteous Judgment

2 Therefore you have ^fno excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For ^gin passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on ^hthe riches of his kindness and ⁱforbearance and ^jpatience, ^knot knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are ^lstoring up ^mwrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

6 ⁿHe will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who ^oby patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking¹ and ^pdo not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress ^qfor every human being who does evil, the Jew ^rfirst and also the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and ^speace for everyone who does good, ^tthe Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For ^uGod shows no partiality.

God’s Judgment and the Law

12 For all who have sinned ^vwithout the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For ^wit is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, ^xby nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is ^ywritten on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 ^zon that day when, ^aaccording to my gospel, God judges ^bthe secrets of men ^cby Christ Jesus.

17 But if you call yourself a Jew and ^drely on the law and boast in God 18 and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law; 19 and if you are sure that you yourself are ^ea guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law ^fthe embodiment of ^gknowledge and truth— 21 ^hyou then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you ⁱrob temples? 23 You who ^jboast in the law ^kdishonor God by breaking the law. 24 For, ^las it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed ^mamong the Gentiles because of you.”

25 For circumcision indeed is of value ⁿif you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if ^oa man who is uncircumcised keeps ^pthe precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded² as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically³ uncircumcised but keeps the law ^qwill condemn you who have ^rthe written code⁴ and circumcision but break the law. 28 For ^sno one is a Jew ^twho is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one ^uinwardly, and ^vcircumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. ^wHis praise is not from man but from God.

God’s Righteousness Upheld

3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, ^xthe Jews were entrusted with ^ythe oracles of God. 3 ^zWhat if some were unfaithful? ^aDoes their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! ^bLet God be true though ^cevery one were a liar, as it is written,

5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict ^fwrath on us? (^gI speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could ^hGod judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God’s truth abounds to his glory, ⁱwhy am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not ^jdo evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.

No One Is Righteous

9 What then? Are we Jews¹ any better off?² No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both ^kJews and ^lGreeks, are ^munder sin, 10 as it is written:

19 Now we know that whatever ^vthe law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^wso that every mouth may be stopped, and ^xthe whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For ^yby works of the law no human being³ will be justified in his sight, since ^zthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

21 But now ^athe righteousness of God ^bhas been manifested apart from the law, although ^cthe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God ^dthrough faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^eFor there is no distinction: 23 for ^fall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 ^gand are justified ^hby his grace as a gift, ⁱthrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God ^jput forward as ^ka propitiation ^lby his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in ^mhis divine forbearance he had passed over ⁿformer sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 ^oThen what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith ^papart from works of the law. 29 Or ^qis God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since ^rGod is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and ^sthe uncircumcised through faith. 31 Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law.

Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, ^tour forefather according to the flesh? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but ^unot before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? ^v“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now ^wto the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but ^xbelieves in¹ him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works:

9 Is this blessing then only for ^athe circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? ^bFor we say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. 10 How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. 11 ^cHe received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was ^dto make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, 12 and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.

The Promise Realized Through Faith

13 For ^ethe promise to Abraham and his offspring ^fthat he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. 14 ^gFor if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. 15 For ^hthe law brings wrath, but ⁱwhere there is no law ^jthere is no transgression.

16 That is why it depends on faith, ^kin order that the promise may rest on grace and ^lbe guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, ^mwho is the father of us all, 17 as it is written, ⁿ“I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, ^owho gives life to the dead and calls into existence ^pthe 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, ^q“So shall your offspring be.” 19 He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was ^ras good as dead (^ssince he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered ^tthe barrenness² 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 ^uGod was able to do what he had promised. 22 That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” 23 But ^vthe words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, 24 but for ours also. It will be counted to us ^wwho believe in ^xhim who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, 25 ^ywho was delivered up for our trespasses and raised ^zfor our justification.

Peace with God Through Faith

5 ^aTherefore, since we have been justified by faith, ^bwe¹ have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also ^cobtained access by faith² into this grace ^din which we stand, and ^ewe³ rejoice⁴ in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we ^frejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering ^gproduces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and ^hhope does not put us to shame, because God’s love ⁱhas been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

6 For ^jwhile we were still weak, at the right time ^kChrist died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but ^lGod shows his love for us in that ^mwhile we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, ⁿwe have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from ^othe wrath of God. 10 For if ^pwhile we were enemies ^qwe were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by ^rhis life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received ^sreconciliation.

Death in Adam, Life in Christ

12 Therefore, just as ^tsin came into the world through one man, and ^udeath through sin, and ^vso death spread to all men⁵ because ^wall sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but ^xsin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not ^ylike the transgression of Adam, ^zwho was a type of ^athe one who was to come.

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

18 Therefore, as one trespass⁶ led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness⁷ leads to justification and life for ^fall men. 19 For as by the one man’s ^gdisobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s ^hobedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now ⁱthe law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, ^jgrace abounded all the more, 21 so that, ^kas sin reigned in death, ^lgrace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 What shall we say then? ^mAre we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can ⁿwe who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us ^owho have been baptized ^pinto Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were ^qburied therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as ^rChrist was raised from the dead by ^sthe glory of the Father, we too might walk in ^tnewness of life.

5 For ^uif we have been united with him in ^va death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 We know that ^wour old self^{1 x}was crucified with him in order that ^ythe body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For ^zone who has died ^ahas been set free² from sin. 8 Now ^bif we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that ^cChrist, being raised from the dead, will never die again; ^ddeath no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, ^eonce for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves ^fdead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12 Let not ^gsin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 ^hDo not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but ⁱpresent yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For ^jsin ^kwill have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Slaves to Righteousness

15 What then? ^lAre we to sin ^mbecause we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves ⁿto anyone as obedient slaves,³ you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But ^othanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the ^pstandard of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and, ^qhaving been set free from sin, ^rhave become slaves of righteousness. 19 ^sI am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For ^tjust as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members ^uas slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

20 ^vFor when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 ^wBut what fruit were you getting at that time from the things ^xof which you are now ashamed? ^yFor the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you ^zhave been set free from sin and ^ahave become slaves of God, ^bthe fruit you get leads to sanctification and ^cits end, eternal life. 23 ^dFor the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.