The New Loneliness: Nurturing Connection When You Feel Isolated

Consider It All Joy

Building Living Bridges

A People Set Apart

Noah: A Covenant With Humanity

Quiet Time Moments for Women

Lent: The Journey of Letting Go

Redeemed: Ruth’s Story of Restoration

3-Day Bible Plan: How to Truly Love Thy Neighbor in Today’s World

The Uniqueness of Jesus

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">Peace and Hope</div><div class="p">1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we#5:1 Many manuscripts let us have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we#5:2 Or let us boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3Not only so, but we#5:3 Or let us also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not put us to shame, because God&#8217;s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.</div><div class="p">6You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.</div><div class="p">9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God&#8217;s wrath through him! 10For if, while we were God&#8217;s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.</div><div class="s1">Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ</div><div class="p">12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned&#8212;</div><div class="p">13To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone&#8217;s account where there is no law. 14Nevertheless, 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, who is a pattern of the one to come.</div><div class="p">15But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God&#8217;s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man&#8217;s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God&#8217;s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!</div><div class="p">18Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.</div><div class="p">20The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ</div><div class="p">1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don&#8217;t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.</div><div class="p">5For 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. 6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,#6:6 Or be rendered powerless that we should no longer be slaves to sin&#8212; 7because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.</div><div class="p">8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.</div><div class="p">11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, 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. 14For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.</div><div class="s1">Slaves to Righteousness</div><div class="p">15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16Don&#8217;t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey&#8212;whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.</div><div class="p">19I am using an example from everyday life 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 leading to holiness. 20When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in#6:23 Or through Christ Jesus our Lord.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch7" data-usfm="ROM.7">
 <div class="label">7</div><div class="s1">Released From the Law, Bound to Christ</div><div class="p">1Do you not know, brothers and sisters&#8212;for I am speaking to those who know the law&#8212;that the law has authority over someone only as long as that person lives? 2For 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. 3So then, if she has sexual relations with another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.</div><div class="p">4So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 5For when we were in the realm of the flesh,#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. the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death. 6But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.</div><div class="s1">The Law and Sin</div><div class="p">7What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, &#8220;You shall not covet.&#8221;#7:7 Exodus 20:17; Deut. 5:21 8But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead. 9Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.</div><div class="p">13Did 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 to bring about my death, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.</div><div class="p">14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.#7:18 Or my flesh For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do&#8212;this I keep on doing. 20Now 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.</div><div class="p">21So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God&#8217;s law; 23but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!</div><div class="p">So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God&#8217;s law, but in my sinful nature#7:25 Or in the flesh a slave to the law of sin.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch8" data-usfm="ROM.8">
 <div class="label">8</div><div class="s1">Life Through the Spirit</div><div class="p">1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you#8:2 The Greek is singular; some manuscripts me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh,#8:3 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; also in verses 4-13. God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering.#8:3 Or flesh, for sin And so he condemned sin in the flesh, 4in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.</div><div class="p">5Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. 7The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God&#8217;s law, nor can it do so. 8Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.</div><div class="p">9You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life#8:10 Or you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of#8:11 Some manuscripts bodies through his Spirit who lives in you.</div><div class="p">12Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation&#8212;but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.</div><div class="p">14For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.#8:15 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture; also in verse 23. And by him we cry, &#8220;Abba,#8:15 Aramaic for father Father.&#8221; 16The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God&#8217;s children. 17Now if we are children, then we are heirs&#8212;heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.</div><div class="s1">Present Suffering and Future Glory</div><div class="p">18I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that#8:20,21 Or subjected it in hope. 21 For the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.</div><div class="p">22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.</div><div class="p">26In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God&#8217;s people in accordance with the will of God.</div><div class="p">28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who#8:28 Or that all things work together for good to those who love God, who; or that in all things God works together with those who love him to bring about what is good&#8212;with those who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.</div><div class="s1">More Than Conquerors</div><div class="p">31What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all&#8212;how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died&#8212;more than that, who was raised to life&#8212;is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;For your sake we face death all day long;</div><div class="q2">we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.&#8221;#8:36 Psalm 44:22</div><div class="m">37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,#8:38 Or nor heavenly rulers neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">9</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Anguish Over Israel</div><div class="p">1I speak the truth in Christ&#8212;I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit&#8212; 2I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, 4the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. 5Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!#9:5 Or Messiah, who is over all. God be forever praised! Or Messiah. God who is over all be forever praised! Amen.</div><div class="s1">God&#8217;s Sovereign Choice</div><div class="p">6It is not as though God&#8217;s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. 7Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham&#8217;s children. On the contrary, &#8220;It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.&#8221;#9:7 Gen. 21:12 8In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God&#8217;s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham&#8217;s offspring. 9For this was how the promise was stated: &#8220;At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son.&#8221;#9:9 Gen. 18:10,14</div><div class="p">10Not only that, but Rebekah&#8217;s children were conceived at the same time by our father Isaac. 11Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad&#8212;in order that God&#8217;s purpose in election might stand: 12not by works but by him who calls&#8212;she was told, &#8220;The older will serve the younger.&#8221;#9:12 Gen. 25:23 13Just as it is written: &#8220;Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.&#8221;#9:13 Mal. 1:2,3</div><div class="p">14What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! 15For he says to Moses,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,</div><div class="q2">and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.&#8221;#9:15 Exodus 33:19</div><div class="m">16It does not, therefore, depend on human desire or effort, but on God&#8217;s mercy. 17For Scripture says to Pharaoh: &#8220;I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.&#8221;#9:17 Exodus 9:16 18Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.</div><div class="p">19One of you will say to me: &#8220;Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist his will?&#8221; 20But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? &#8220;Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, &#8216;Why did you make me like this?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;#9:20 Isaiah 29:16; 45:9 21Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?</div><div class="p">22What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath&#8212;prepared for destruction? 23What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory&#8212; 24even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? 25As he says in Hosea:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;I will call them &#8216;my people&#8217; who are not my people;</div><div class="q2">and I will call her &#8216;my loved one&#8217; who is not my loved one,&#8221;#9:25 Hosea 2:23</div><div class="m">26and,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;In the very place where it was said to them,</div><div class="q2">&#8216;You are not my people,&#8217;</div><div class="q2">there they will be called &#8216;children of the living God.&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;#9:26 Hosea 1:10</div><div class="m">27Isaiah cries out concerning Israel:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea,</div><div class="q2">only the remnant will be saved.</div><div class="q1">28For the Lord will carry out</div><div class="q2">his sentence on earth with speed and finality.&#8221;#9:28 Isaiah 10:22,23 (see Septuagint)</div><div class="m">29It is just as Isaiah said previously:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Unless the Lord Almighty</div><div class="q2">had left us descendants,</div><div class="q1">we would have become like Sodom,</div><div class="q2">we would have been like Gomorrah.&#8221;#9:29 Isaiah 1:9</div><div class="s1">Israel&#8217;s Unbelief</div><div class="p">30What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; 31but the people of Israel, who pursued the law as the way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. 32Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone. 33As it is written:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble</div><div class="q2">and a rock that makes them fall,</div><div class="q2">and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.&#8221;#9:33 Isaiah 8:14; 28:16</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">10</div><div class="p">1Brothers and sisters, my heart&#8217;s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. 2For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. 3Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God&#8217;s righteousness. 4Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.</div><div class="p">5Moses writes this about the righteousness that is by the law: &#8220;The person who does these things will live by them.&#8221;#10:5 Lev. 18:5 6But the righteousness that is by faith says: &#8220;Do not say in your heart, &#8216;Who will ascend into heaven?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;#10:6 Deut. 30:12 (that is, to bring Christ down) 7&#8220;or &#8216;Who will descend into the deep?&#8217;&#8198;&#8221;#10:7 Deut. 30:13 (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8But what does it say? &#8220;The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,&#8221;#10:8 Deut. 30:14 that is, the message concerning faith that we proclaim: 9If you declare with your mouth, &#8220;Jesus is Lord,&#8221; and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11As Scripture says, &#8220;Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.&#8221;#10:11 Isaiah 28:16 (see Septuagint) 12For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile&#8212;the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, 13for, &#8220;Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.&#8221;#10:13 Joel 2:32</div><div class="p">14How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: &#8220;How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!&#8221;#10:15 Isaiah 52:7</div><div class="p">16But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, &#8220;Lord, who has believed our message?&#8221;#10:16 Isaiah 53:1 17Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. 18But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Their voice has gone out into all the earth,</div><div class="q2">their words to the ends of the world.&#8221;#10:18 Psalm 19:4</div><div class="m">19Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;I will make you envious by those who are not a nation;</div><div class="q2">I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding.&#8221;#10:19 Deut. 32:21</div><div class="m">20And Isaiah boldly says,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;I was found by those who did not seek me;</div><div class="q2">I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me.&#8221;#10:20 Isaiah 65:1</div><div class="m">21But concerning Israel he says,</div><div class="q1">&#8220;All day long I have held out my hands</div><div class="q2">to a disobedient and obstinate people.&#8221;#10:21 Isaiah 65:2</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="label">11</div><div class="s1">The Remnant of Israel</div><div class="p">1I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. 2God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don&#8217;t you know what Scripture says in the passage about Elijah&#8212;how he appealed to God against Israel: 3&#8220;Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me&#8221;#11:3 1 Kings 19:10,14? 4And what was God&#8217;s answer to him? &#8220;I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal.&#8221;#11:4 1 Kings 19:18 5So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. 6And if by grace, then it cannot be based on works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.</div><div class="p">7What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, 8as it is written:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;God gave them a spirit of stupor,</div><div class="q2">eyes that could not see</div><div class="q2">and ears that could not hear,</div><div class="q1">to this very day.&#8221;#11:8 Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10</div><div class="m">9And David says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;May their table become a snare and a trap,</div><div class="q2">a stumbling block and a retribution for them.</div><div class="q1">10May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,</div><div class="q2">and their backs be bent forever.&#8221;#11:10 Psalm 69:22,23</div><div class="s1">Ingrafted Branches</div><div class="p">11Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. 12But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!</div><div class="p">13I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry 14in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. 15For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? 16If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.</div><div class="p">17If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, 18do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19You will say then, &#8220;Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.&#8221; 20Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.</div><div class="p">22Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. 23And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!</div><div class="s1">All Israel Will Be Saved</div><div class="p">25I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers and sisters, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in, 26and in this way#11:26 Or and so all Israel will be saved. As it is written:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;The deliverer will come from Zion;</div><div class="q2">he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.</div><div class="q1">27And this is#11:27 Or will be my covenant with them</div><div class="q2">when I take away their sins.&#8221;#11:27 Isaiah 59:20,21; 27:9 (see Septuagint); Jer. 31:33,34</div><div class="p">28As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your sake; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, 29for God&#8217;s gifts and his call are irrevocable. 30Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, 31so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now#11:31 Some manuscripts do not have now. receive mercy as a result of God&#8217;s mercy to you. 32For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.</div><div class="s1">Doxology</div><div class="q1">33Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and#11:33 Or riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God!</div><div class="q2">How unsearchable his judgments,</div><div class="q2">and his paths beyond tracing out!</div><div class="q1">34&#8220;Who has known the mind of the Lord?</div><div class="q2">Or who has been his counselor?&#8221;#11:34 Isaiah 40:13</div><div class="q1">35&#8220;Who has ever given to God,</div><div class="q2">that God should repay them?&#8221;#11:35 Job 41:11</div><div class="q1">36For from him and through him and for him are all things.</div><div class="q2">To him be the glory forever! Amen.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch12" data-usfm="ROM.12">
 <div class="label">12</div><div class="s1">A Living Sacrifice</div><div class="p">1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God&#8217;s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God&#8212;this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God&#8217;s will is&#8212;his good, pleasing and perfect will.</div><div class="s1">Humble Service in the Body of Christ</div><div class="p">3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your#12:6 Or the faith; 7if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead,#12:8 Or to provide for others do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.</div><div class="s1">Love in Action</div><div class="p">9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with the Lord&#8217;s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.</div><div class="p">14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.#12:16 Or willing to do menial work Do not be conceited.</div><div class="p">17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God&#8217;s wrath, for it is written: &#8220;It is mine to avenge; I will repay,&#8221;#12:19 Deut. 32:35 says the Lord. 20On the contrary:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;If your enemy is hungry, feed him;</div><div class="q2">if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.</div><div class="q1">In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.&#8221;#12:20 Prov. 25:21,22</div><div class="m">21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.</div>
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<div class="version vid111 iso6393eng" data-vid="111" data-iso6393="eng">
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 <div class="chapter ch13" data-usfm="ROM.13">
 <div class="label">13</div><div class="s1">Submission to Governing Authorities</div><div class="p">1Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4For the one in authority is God&#8217;s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God&#8217;s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.</div><div class="p">6This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God&#8217;s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.</div><div class="s1">Love Fulfills the Law</div><div class="p">8Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9The commandments, &#8220;You shall not commit adultery,&#8221; &#8220;You shall not murder,&#8221; &#8220;You shall not steal,&#8221; &#8220;You shall not covet,&#8221;#13:9 Exodus 20:13-15,17; Deut. 5:17-19,21 and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: &#8220;Love your neighbor as yourself.&#8221;#13:9 Lev. 19:18 10Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.</div><div class="s1">The Day Is Near</div><div class="p">11And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.#13:14 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.</div>
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