God’s Sovereign Choice

9 ^sI am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— 2 that ^tI have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish that I myself were ^uaccursed and cut off from Christ ^vfor the sake of my brothers,¹ my kinsmen ^waccording to the flesh. 4 They are Israelites, and to them belong the ^xadoption, the ^yglory, ^zthe ^acovenants, ^bthe ^cgiving of the law, the ^dworship, and the ^epromises. 5 To them belong the patriarchs, and ^ffrom their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God ^gover all, blessed forever. Amen.

6 ^hBut it is not as though the word of God has failed. For ⁱnot all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, 7 and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ^j“Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 8 This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the ^kchildren of the promise are ^lcounted as offspring. 9 For this is what the promise said: ^m“About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son.” 10 And not only so, but also ⁿwhen Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11 though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s ^opurpose of ^pelection might continue, ^qnot because of works but because of him who calls— 12 she was told, ^r“The older will serve the younger.” 13 As it is written, ^s“Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”

14 ^tWhat shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15 For he says to Moses, ^u“I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16 So then it depends ^vnot on human will or exertion,² but on God, who has ^wmercy. 17 For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, ^x“For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18 So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he ^yhardens whomever he wills.

19 You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For ^zwho can resist his will?” 20 But ^awho are you, O man, to answer back to God? ^bWill what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 ^cHas the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump ^done vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much ^epatience vessels of wrath ^fprepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the ^griches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has ^hprepared beforehand for glory— 24 even us whom he has called, ⁱnot from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25 As indeed he says in Hosea,

27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: ^l“Though ^mthe number of the sons of Israel³ be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29 And as Isaiah predicted,

Israel’s Unbelief

30 ^oWhat shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a ^prighteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness^{4 q}did not succeed in reaching that law. 32 Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the ^rstumbling stone, 33 as it is written,

10 Brothers,^{1 v}my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a ^wzeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the ^xrighteousness of God, and ^yseeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4 For ^zChrist is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.²

The Message of Salvation to All

5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that ^athe person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the ^brighteousness based on faith says, ^c“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 “or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9 because, if you ^dconfess with your mouth that ^eJesus is Lord and ^fbelieve in your heart that ^gGod raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, ^h“Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is ⁱno distinction between ^jJew and Greek; for the same Lord is ^kLord of all, ^lbestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For ^m“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?³ And ⁿhow are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ^o“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But ^pthey have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ^q“Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So ^rfaith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

18 But I ask, have they not heard? ^sIndeed they have, for

19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,

20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,

21 But of Israel he says, ^z“All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

The Remnant of Israel

11 I ask, then, has God ^arejected his people? By no means! For ^bI myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,¹ a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he ^cforeknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 ^d“Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God’s reply to him? ^e“I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a ^fremnant, chosen by grace. 6 But ^gif it is by grace, it is ^hno longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be ⁱgrace.

7 What then? Israel ^jfailed to obtain what it was seeking. The ^kelect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written,

9 And David says,

Gentiles Grafted In

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass ^osalvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to ^pmake Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion² mean!

13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an ^qapostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus ^rsave some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the ^sreconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as ^tfirstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17 ^uBut if some of the branches were broken off, and you, ^valthough a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root³ of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. ^wSo do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, ^xprovided you continue in his kindness. ^yOtherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

The Mystery of Israel’s Salvation

25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this ^zmystery, brothers:⁴ a partial ^ahardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written,

28 As regards the gospel, they are enemies for your sake. But as regards election, they are ^dbeloved for the sake of their forefathers. 29 For the ^egifts and the ^fcalling of God are irrevocable. 30 For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience, 31 so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now⁵ receive mercy. 32 For God has consigned ^gall to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

33 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! ^hHow unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

36 For ^kfrom him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

A Living Sacrifice

12 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,¹ by the mercies of God, to ^lpresent your bodies as a ^mliving sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.² 2 ⁿDo not be conformed to this world,³ but be ^otransformed by the ^prenewal of your mind, that by testing you may ^qdiscern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.⁴

Gifts of Grace

3 For by ^rthe grace given to me I say to everyone among you ^snot to ^tthink of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each ^uaccording to the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 ^vFor as in one body we have many members,⁵ and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so ^wwe, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Having ^xgifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: ^yif prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,⁶ with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with ^zcheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be ^agenuine. ^bAbhor what is evil; ^chold fast to what is good. 10 ^dLove one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing ^ehonor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be ^ffervent in spirit,⁷ serve the Lord. 12 ^gRejoice in hope, ^hbe patient in tribulation, ⁱbe constant in prayer. 13 ^jContribute to the needs of the saints and ^kseek to show hospitality.

14 ^lBless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15 ^mRejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 ⁿLive in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.⁸ Never be wise in your own sight. 17 ^oRepay no one evil for evil, but ^pgive thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, ^qlive peaceably with all. 19 Beloved, ^rnever avenge yourselves, but leave it⁹ to the wrath of God, for it is written, ^s“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, ^t“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Submission to the Authorities

13 Let every person be subject ^uto the governing authorities. For ^vthere is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an ^wavenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of ^xconscience. 6 For because of this you also ^ypay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. 7 Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, ^zhonor to whom honor is owed.

Fulfilling the Law Through Love

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for ^athe one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, ^b“You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ^c“You shall ^dlove your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the ^efulfilling of the law.

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to ^fwake from sleep. For ^gsalvation is ^hnearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 ⁱThe night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the ^jworks of darkness and ^kput on the armor of light. 13 ^lLet us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But ^mput on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its ⁿdesires.