61 What then shall we say? Are we to "continue in sin that grace may 2 increase"? God forbid We who died to sin, how shall we live in it 3 any longer? What! are you ignorant that all we who were baptized 4 into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried with him, then, through our baptism into that death of his, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the majesty of the Father, so we might also walk in newness of life. 5 6 78 8 9 10 11 12 13 23 14 15 For if we have become united with the likeness of his death, As we know that our old man was crucified with him, In order to do away with the body of sin, We believe we shall also live with him; For we know that as Christ was raised from the dead, he dies no more, In dying he died once for all to sin, But in living he lives for God. So also do you reckon yourselves as dead to sin, But alive for God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin then reign in your mortal body, getting its desires obeyed, And your members to God as implements for uprightness. For you are not under any law, but under grace. What then? are we to "sin, because we are not under the law but 16 under grace"? God forbid! Do you not know that you are the slaves of him whom you obey, to whom you present yourselves as obedient slaves, 17 be it of sin for death or of obedience for uprightness? But, thank God, though you were slaves of sin you became cordially obedient to that type 18 of teaching to which you were handed over. Freed from sin you became 19 slaves to uprightness. (I am speaking from a human standpoint, owing to the weakness of your flesh.) 20 21 22 22 As you presented your members to the service of impurity and wickedness for wickedness, So now present your members to the service of uprightness for sanctification. For when you were slaves to sin, you were free so far as uprightness is concerned. What fruit then had you at that time? simply fruit of which you are now ashamed, actions whose outcome is death. But now, freed from sin, and enslaved to God, You have your fruit in sanctification, and-as the outcome-life eternal. 23 For the pay of sin is death, 7, 1 But God's free gift is life eternal in Christ our Lord. What are you ignorant, brothers-I am speaking to men who know 2 what law is that the law is lord over a man during his lifetime? The married woman is by law bound to her husband while he is alive; but 3 if the husband dies, she has done with the law of "the husband." Well then, while the husband is alive, she shall be styled "adulteress " if she becomes another man's; but if the husband dies, she is free from the 4 law, so that she is no adulteress when she becomes another man's. So is it with you also, my brothers. You were made dead to the law through the body of Christ, so as to become Another's, to belong to him 5 who was raised from the dead-that we might bear fruit to God. For, when we were in the flesh, our sinful passions which were due to the 6 law wrought in our members to bear fruit to death. But now we have done with the law, we died to what held us; so that we serve in newness of spirit, and not in oldness of written law. 7 What then shall we say? That "the law is sin"? God forbid! Yet, had it not been for the law, I would not have come to know sin. For indeed I would not have understood what it is to covet, unless the law 8 had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin seized its opportunity and through the commandment its result in me was covetousness of every kind; for 9 apart from law, sin is lifeless. At one time I was living apart from law; 10 but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. Yea, the commandment which is for life, proved in my experience death. 11 For sin seized its opportunity, beguiled me through the commandment, 12 and through the commandment killed me. So the law at least is holy, 13 and the commandment holy, just, and of value.—Then did what is of value become death to me? God forbid! It was sin, sin resulting in death for me through what is good, that it might be exhibited as sin, that through the commandment sin might become sinful beyond measure. 14 For we know the law is spiritual; but I am a creature of flesh, sold 15 under sin; I know not what I am executing. I do not act according to 16 my will; I am doing what I hate. Now if I am acting against my will, 17 I concur in the excellence of the law. Yet as things are, it is no longer 18 I who execute, but sin which dwells within me. For in me, that is in my flesh, I know that no good dwells. To will I find is attainable, but 19 not to execute what is good. For I am not, according to my will, doing 20 good; I am acting against my will, for evil. Now if I am doing what is exactly against my will, it is no longer I who execute, it is sin which dwells 21 in me. As for the law then, this is my experience: when my will is to 22 do good, evil (I find) is alone attainable. For with the inner man I 23 gladly approve God's law; but in my members I discover another law, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me captive under 24 the law of sin, which is in my members. Wretched man that I am! who 25 shall rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! Well then, left to myself, I serve God's law with the 81 mind, but sin's law with the flesh. Now, therefore, there is no 2 condemnation for those in Christ Jesus; the law of the Spirit of life in 3 Christ Jesus has brought freedom 1 from the law of sin and death. For God effected what the law found impossible, as there the flesh made it weak:— by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as a sin-offering, 4 he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, as we walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. 5 6 7 8 For those who are after the flesh mind the affairs of the flesh, The mind of the flesh is death But the mind of the spirit is life and peace Inasmuch as the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; For to God's law it does not, indeed it cannot, subject itself. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God: 1 Omitting ε. 9 10 11 12 13 17 18 But you are not in the flesh, you are in the spirit, If anyone has not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his ; While the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of uprightness. And if the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall also make your mortal bodies live through his Spirit dwelling in you. Well then, brothers, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live after the flesh; But if by the Spirit you put the doings of the body to death, life shall be yours. For all who are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. And if children, then heirs, Heirs of God and heirs along with Christ, Seeing that we suffer with him, that with him also we may be exalted. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to 19 be compared with the majesty which is to be revealed in us. For in eager anticipation the creation waits for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was made subject to frailty, not from its own choice but 21 by the will of him who subjected it, the hope being that the creation itself also was to be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the 22 freedom of the majesty of God's children. Indeed we know that all the creation groans and travails in pain, together with them, up to the present 23 time. And not only so, but even we with the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for our sonship, even for the release 24 of our body. Yea for hope were we saved. Now a seen hope is no hope. 25 Who hopes for what he sees ?1 Whereas if we are hoping for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 27 Likewise the Spirit also helps our weakness; For we know not what to pray for, according to our need, But the Spirit itself pleads on our behalf with groans unutterable. And the Searcher of hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, Knows that it is pleading for the saints according to God's will. 28 Now we know that God makes all things work together for good to those who love him, to those who are called in virtue of his 29 30 31 purpose. For those whom he fore-knew, he also fore-appointed, That he might be the first-born among many brothers. And whom he fore-appointed, these he also called: And whom he called, these he also justified: And whom he justified, these he also exalted. What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also bestow on us all things with him? 1 Reading ὃ γὰρ βλέπει τίς ἐλπίζει. 33 34 35 36 Who shall bring a charge against God's chosen? Who is it that condemns? It is Christ who died-yes, and who was raised, Who also pleads for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Distress or calamity or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword (even as it is written : For thy sake are we killed the whole day long, We 37 Nay in all this we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor princi39 palities nor the present nor the future nor powers nor height nor depth nor aught else created shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 91 I speak the truth in Christ, I lie not--my conscience bears me witness 2 in the holy Spirit-that I suffer great sorrow and unceasing pain in my 3 heart. For I could wish myself accursed and banished from Christ for 4 the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh, men who are Israelites, whose are the sonship and the Glory and the covenants and the giving of the law and the services of worship and the promises, 5 whose are the fathers, and from whom is Christ (so far as regards the 6 flesh). He who is over all is God, blessed for ever: Amen. Not, however, that the word of God has failed! Far from it. 7 For not all those who belong to Israel are Israel; Nay, and all are not children because they are Abraham's offspring: 8 That is, the children of the flesh are not children of God, it is the 9 children of the promise who are counted as offspring. For this is the word of promise: About this time I will come and Sara shall have a son. 10 And further, when Rebekah also conceived by one man, by our father 11 Isaac-though the children were not yet born and had done nothing, either good or bad (that the Divine purpose which works by choice might 12 stand, independent of deeds, entirely a matter of his calling)—she was 13 told, The elder shall serve the younger; even as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. 14 What then shall we say? Is there injustice with God? God forbid ! 15 He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, And I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. 16 So then it is not a question of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but 17 of God who has mercy. For the scripture saith to Pharaoh, 18 19 For this very end have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be published abroad in all the earth. So then, he has mercy on whom he wills, And whom he wills he renders stubborn. Thou wilt say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? who can 20 oppose his purpose?" Nay, but who art thou, O man, to answer back to God? Shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why didst thou 21 make me thus?" What! has not the potter a right over the clay to make 1 Omitting [['Inσous]]. out of the same lump one part a vessel for honour and another for dis22 honour? And what if God, though wishing to show his wrath and display his power, tolerated with much longsuffering vessels of wrath 23 fashioned for destruction, that 1 he might display the riches of his majesty upon vessels of mercy which he had previously prepared for majesty, 24 even upon us whom he called not only from the Jews but also from the 25 Gentiles? As he saith also in Hosea: 26 Those who were not my people I will call "my people," And her who was not beloved, “beloved”; And it shall be that in the place where they were told, “ You are not my people," There shall they be called "Sons of the living God." 27 And Isaiah cries regarding Israel: Though the number of the sons of 28 Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is the remnant that shall be saved; for the Lord will accomplish his word upon the earth with completeness and despatch. 29 And even as Isaiah has foretold : Had not the Lord of Sabaôth left us a residue, We had become like Sodom, we had been made like Gomorra. 30 What then shall we say? That Gentiles who did not press on after uprightness overtook uprightness, aye and the uprightness which is from 31 faith; while Israel, who did press on after the law of uprightness, failed 32 to attain the law. And why? Because they pressed on, not by faith but as 33 by deeds. They stumbled over the stone of stumbling: even as it is written, Lo I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of hindrance, Yet he who believes on him shall not be disappointed. 10 1 Brothers, my heart's wish and my prayer to God is for their salva2 tion. I bear them witness: they have zeal for God, but not according 3 to knowledge. For, as they were ignorant of God's uprightness and sought to set up their own, they did not submit themselves to the up4 rightness of God. For Christ is the end of the law, that everyone who believes may have uprightness. 5 6 Moses writes of the uprightness which is from the law : But the uprightness which is from faith speaks in this way: Who shall ascend into heaven?" (That is, to bring Christ down) "Who shall descend into the abyss? 8 Nay, what does it say? 9 (That is, to bring Christ up from the dead). The word is near thee, In thy mouth and in thy heart (That is, the word of faith which we preach). For if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, "Jesus is Lord," And believe in thy heart that God raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved: With the heart man believes and is upright, With the mouth he makes confession and is saved. No one who believes on him shall be disappointed. 10 11 For, saith the scripture, 12 13 There is no difference between Jew and Greek, The same One is Lord of all, rich to all who call upon him: 1 Omitting [[xi]]. |