Romans 12-16

Evangelical Heritage Version

Offer Your Bodies to God as Living Sacrifices

12 Therefore I urge you, brothers,^[a] by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice—holy and pleasing to God—which is your appropriate worship. ² Also, do not continue to conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, so that you test and approve what is the will of God—what is good, pleasing, and perfect.

Humbly Use the Gifts God Gave You

³ So by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think in a way that results in sound judgment, as God distributed a measure of faith to each of you. ⁴ For we have many members in one body, and not all the members have the same function. ⁵ In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace God has given us. If the gift is prophecy, do it in complete agreement with the faith.^{[b] 7} If it is serving, then serve. If it is teaching, then teach. ⁸ If it is encouraging, then encourage. If it is contributing, be generous. If it is leadership, be diligent. If it is showing mercy, do it cheerfully.

Guidelines for Christian Living

⁹ Do not just pretend to love others. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another with brotherly love. Think of others as deserving more honor than yourselves. ¹¹ Do not be lagging behind in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, as you continue to serve the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope. Endure trials patiently. Persist in prayer. ¹³ Share with the saints who are in need. Be quick to welcome strangers as guests.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who are rejoicing; weep with those who are weeping. ¹⁶ Have the same respect for one another. Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble. Do not think too highly of yourselves.

¹⁷ Do not pay anyone back evil for evil. Focus on those things that everyone considers noble. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, maintain peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath. For it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay,”^[c] says the Lord. ²⁰ But:

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Governments Are Established by God

13 Everyone must submit to the governing authorities. For no authority exists except by God, and the authorities that do exist have been established by God. ² Therefore the one who rebels against the authority is opposing God’s institution, and those who oppose will bring judgment on themselves.

³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to evil. Would you like to have no fear of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will receive praise from him, ⁴ because he is God’s servant for your benefit. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because he does not carry the sword without reason. He is God’s servant, a punisher to bring wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore it is necessary to submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of conscience.

⁶ For this reason you also pay taxes, because the authorities are God’s ministers, who are employed to do this very thing. ⁷ Pay what you owe to all of them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, and honor to whom honor is owed.

Love One Another

⁸ Do not owe anyone anything except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. ⁹ For the commandments—do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal,^[e] do not covet^[f] (and if there is any other commandment)—are summed up in this statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^{[g] 10} Love does no harm to a neighbor, so love is the fulfillment of the law.

The End of the World Is Approaching

¹¹ And do this since you understand the present time. It is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is almost over, and the day is drawing near. So let us put away the deeds of darkness and put on the weapons of light. ¹³ Let us walk decently as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual sin and wild living, not in strife and jealousy. ¹⁴ Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not give any thought to satisfying the desires of your sinful flesh.

Strong and Weak Christians Both Belong to the Lord

14 Accept a person who is weak in faith, and do not pass judgment on things that are just a difference of opinion. ² One person believes it is right to eat anything. Another person who is weak eats only vegetables. ³ The one who eats everything should not look down on the person who does not do so, and the one who does not eat everything should not judge the person who does, because God has accepted him. ⁴ Who are you to pass judgment on someone else’s servant? It is up to his master to decide whether that servant stands or falls. And he will stand, because God^[h] is able to make him stand.

⁵ One person values one day above another. Another person values every day the same. Let each person be fully convinced in his own mind. ⁶ The person who honors a certain day does this for the Lord, and the person who eats does this for the Lord, because he gives thanks to God. And the person who does not eat does this for the Lord and gives thanks to God.

⁷ In fact, not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself. ⁸ Indeed, if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this reason he died, rose,^[i] and lived, to be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Do Not Cause a Weak Christian to Stumble in Faith

¹⁰ But you, why do you pass judgment on your brother? And you, why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s^[j] judgment seat. ¹¹ Indeed, it is written:

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

¹³ Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, resolve never to put an obstacle or a snare in the path of your brother. ¹⁴ I know, and I am convinced in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in and of itself, but it becomes unclean for the one who considers it to be unclean. ¹⁵ For example, if your brother is offended because of the food you eat, you are no longer walking in line with love. Do not destroy that person for whom Christ died by the food you eat! ¹⁶ So do not give others a reason to speak evil about what you consider good.

¹⁷ For the kingdom of God does not consist of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Certainly a person who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and has the approval of people. ¹⁹ Consequently, let us pursue those things that lead to peace and building up one another.

²⁰ Do not tear down God’s work for the sake of food. Everything is pure, but it is wrong for a person to eat if it causes anyone to stumble. ²¹ It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything if it causes your brother to stumble.

²² Keep the conviction that you have in these matters between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. ²³ But the one who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because it does not proceed from faith.^[l] Everything that does not proceed from faith^[m] is sin.

Serve One Another As Christ Served You

15 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the weaknesses of those who are not strong, and not just to please ourselves. ² Each of us should please his neighbor for the good purpose of building him up. ³ For even Christ did not please himself, but as it is written: “The insults of those who are insulting you fell on me.”^[n]

⁴ Indeed, whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that, through patient endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we would have hope. ⁵ And may God, the source of patient endurance and encouragement, grant that you agree with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, ⁶ so that with one mind, in one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷ For this reason, accept one another as Christ also accepted you to the glory of God. ⁸ For I am saying that Christ became a servant of those who are circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs. ⁹ He also did this so that the Gentiles would glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:

¹³ Now may the God of hope fill you with complete joy and peace as you continue to believe, so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s Goal: To Bring Christ’s Name Where It Was Not Known

¹⁴ I myself am convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are also full of goodness, filled with complete knowledge, and able to instruct one another. ¹⁵ But I have written a letter to you (rather boldly at times) as a reminder to you, because of the grace God has given me ¹⁶ to be a public minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. I am to do the priestly work of proclaiming the gospel of God so that the Gentiles would be an acceptable offering, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷ Therefore I have a reason to boast in Christ Jesus about my service to God. ¹⁸ For I will not dare to speak about anything except those things Christ accomplished through me that resulted in the Gentiles’ obedience. Christ accomplished them by word and deed, ¹⁹ along with the power of signs and wonders done by the power of God’s^[s] Spirit. As a result, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum. ²⁰ And so I consider it an honor to proclaim the gospel where Christ’s name is not known, so that I may not build on another man’s foundation. ²¹ Instead, as it is written:

Paul Hopes to Come to Rome on His Way to Spain

²² This is also the reason I have been prevented many times from coming to you. ²³ But now I no longer have a place to work in these regions, and I have longed for many years to come to you. ²⁴ So when I go to Spain, I hope to visit you on my way. After I have enjoyed being with you for a while, I hope that you will help me on my journey there.

²⁵ Right now I am going to Jerusalem bringing assistance^[u] to the saints. ²⁶ For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. ²⁷ Indeed, they were pleased to do this and, to be sure, they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual things, then the Gentiles owe it to them to serve them with material things.

²⁸ So, after I complete this project by delivering this fruit safely to them, I will set out for Spain and visit you on the way. ²⁹ And I know that when I come to you, I will arrive with the full blessing of Christ.^[v]

³⁰ Now I urge you, brothers, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to struggle with me in prayers to God on my behalf. ³¹ Pray that I may be rescued from those in Judea who are disobedient and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, ³² so that by God’s will I may come to you in joy and be refreshed in your company.

³³ May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Greetings to Christians in Rome

16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea. ² Welcome her in the Lord in a manner that is worthy of saints, and assist her in whatever way she may need your help, for she has certainly been a helper for many people, including me.

³ Greet Prisca^[w] and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, ⁴ who risked their necks for my life. I am not the only one who is thankful to them. All the churches of the Gentiles are as well.

⁵ Greet also the church that meets at their house.

Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.

⁶ Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.

⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia,^[x] my relatives and fellow prisoners, who are highly regarded by the apostles. They were in Christ before I was.

⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.

⁹ Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.

¹⁰ Greet Apelles, who was tested and approved in Christ.

Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.

¹¹ Greet Herodion, my relative.

Greet those from the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

¹² Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, who worked hard in the Lord.

Greet my dear friend Persis, who has worked very hard for the Lord.

¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who was a mother to me too.

¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.

¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷ But I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the teaching that you learned, and keep away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are not serving Christ our Lord but their own appetites.^[y] By smooth talk and flattery, they seduce the hearts of the unsuspecting.

¹⁹ Your obedience has become known to everyone, so I am very joyful about you. But I want you to continue to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. ²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Greetings From Those With Paul

²¹ Timothy, my coworker, greets you, along with Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.

²² I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³ Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you.

Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, the brother.^[z]

Doxology

²⁵ Now to him who is able to strengthen you—