Nov 19 - Romans 1-2
Romans
1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,2which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,3concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh4and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,5through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,6including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,7To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.9For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you10always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.11For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you--12that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.13I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.14I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.15So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.22Claiming to be wise, they became fools,23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.32Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
1Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.2We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who do such things.3Do you suppose, O man--you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself--that you will escape the judgment of God?4Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?5But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.6He will render to each one according to his works:7to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;8but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury.9There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,10but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek.11For God shows no partiality.12For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.13For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.14For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.15They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them16on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.17But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God18and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;19and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,20an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth--21you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?22You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?23You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.24For, as it is written, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you."25For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.26So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?27Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.28For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.29But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.