Romans 1
1
1I, Paul, am writing this letter. I serve Christ Jesus. I have been appointed to be an apostle. God set me apart to tell others his good news. 2He promised the good news long ago. He announced it through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures. 3The good news is about God’s Son. He was born into the family line of King David. 4By the Holy Spirit, he was appointed to be the mighty Son of God. God did this by raising him from the dead. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5We received grace because of what Jesus did. He made us apostles to the Gentiles. We must invite all of them to obey God by trusting in Jesus. We do this to bring glory to him. 6You also are among those Gentiles who are appointed to belong to Jesus Christ.
7I am sending this letter to all of you in Rome. You are loved by God and appointed to be his holy people.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Paul Longs to Visit Rome
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you. People all over the world are talking about your faith. 9I serve God with my whole heart. I preach the good news about his Son. God knows that I always remember you 10in my prayers. I pray that now at last it may be God’s plan to open the way for me to visit you.
11I long to see you. I want to make you strong by giving you a gift from the Holy Spirit. 12I want us to encourage one another in the faith we share. 13Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that I planned many times to visit you. But until now I have been kept from coming. My work has produced results among the other Gentiles. In the same way, I want to see results among you.
14I have a duty both to Greeks and to non-Greeks. I have a duty both to wise people and to foolish people. 15So I really want to preach the good news also to you who live in Rome.
16I want to preach it because I’m not ashamed of the good news. It is God’s power to save everyone who believes. It is meant first for the Jews. It is meant also for the Gentiles. 17The good news shows God’s power to make people right with himself. God’s power to be made right with him is given to the person who has faith. It happens by faith from beginning to end. It is written, “The one who is right with God will live by faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4)
God’s Anger Against Sinners
18God shows his anger from heaven. It is against all the godless and evil things people do. They are so evil that they say no to the truth. 19The truth about God is plain to them. God has made it plain. 20Ever since the world was created it has been possible to see the qualities of God that are not seen. I’m talking about his eternal power and about the fact that he is God. Those things can be seen in what he has made. So people have no excuse for what they do.
21They knew God. But they didn’t honor him as God. They didn’t thank him. Their thinking became worthless. Their foolish hearts became dark. 22They claimed to be wise. But they made fools of themselves. 23They would rather have statues of gods than the glorious God who lives forever. Their statues of gods are made to look like people, birds, animals and reptiles.
24So God let them go. He allowed them to do what their sinful hearts wanted to. He let them commit sexual sins. They made one another’s bodies impure by what they did. 25They chose a lie instead of the truth about God. They worshiped and served created things. They didn’t worship the Creator. But he is praised forever. Amen.
26So God let them continue to have their shameful desires. Their women committed sexual acts that were not natural. 27In the same way, the men turned away from their natural love for women. They burned with sexual desire for each other. Men did shameful things with other men. They suffered in their bodies for all the wrong things they did.
28They didn’t think it was important to know God. So God let them continue to have evil thoughts. They did things they shouldn’t do. 29They are full of every kind of sin, evil and ungodliness. They want more than they need. They commit murder. They want what belongs to other people. They fight and cheat. They hate others. They say mean things about other people. 30They tell lies about them. They hate God. They are rude and proud. They brag. They think of new ways to do evil. They don’t obey their parents. 31They do not understand. They can’t be trusted. They are not loving and kind. 32They know that God’s commands are right. They know that those who do evil things should die. But they continue to do those very things. They also approve of others who do them.
Currently Selected:
Romans 1: NIrV
Highlight
Share
Copy
![None](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2F58%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fweb-assets.youversion.com%2Fapp-icons%2Fen.png&w=128&q=75)
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Romans 1
1
1From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus and an apostle chosen and called by God to preach his Good News.
2The Good News was promised long ago by God through his prophets, as written in the Holy Scriptures. 3It is about his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: as to his humanity, he was born a descendant of David; 4as to his divine holiness, he was shown with great power to be the Son of God by being raised from death. 5Through him God gave me the privilege of being an apostle for the sake of Christ, in order to lead people of all nations to believe and obey. 6This also includes you who are in Rome, whom God has called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7And so I write to all of you in Rome whom God loves and has called to be his own people:
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
Prayer of Thanksgiving
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because the whole world is hearing about your faith. 9God is my witness that what I say is true — the God whom I serve with all my heart by preaching the Good News about his Son. God knows that I remember you 10every time I pray. I ask that God in his good will may at last make it possible for me to visit you now. 11For I want very much to see you, in order to share a spiritual blessing with you to make you strong. 12What I mean is that both you and I will be helped at the same time, you by my faith and I by yours.
13 #
Acts 19.21
You must remember, my brothers and sisters, that many times I have planned to visit you, but something has always kept me from doing so. I want to win converts among you also, as I have among other Gentiles. 14For I have an obligation to all peoples, to the civilized and to the savage, to the educated and to the ignorant. 15So then, I am eager to preach the Good News to you also who live in Rome.
The Power of the Gospel
16 #
Mk 8.38
I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God's power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles. 17#Hab 2.4For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it is through faith from beginning to end. As the scripture says, “The person who is put right with God through faith shall live.”#1.17 put right with God through faith shall live; or put right with God shall live through faith.
The Guilt of the Human Race
18God's anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known. 19God punishes them, because what can be known about God is plain to them, for God himself made it plain. 20Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all! 21#Eph 4.17–18They know God, but they do not give him the honour that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness. 22They say they are wise, but they are fools; 23#Deut 4.16–18instead of worshipping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortal human beings or birds or animals or reptiles.
24And so God has given those people over to do the filthy things their hearts desire, and they do shameful things with each other. 25They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised for ever! Amen.
26Because they do this, God has given them over to shameful passions. Even the women pervert the natural use of their sex by unnatural acts. 27In the same way the men give up natural sexual relations with women and burn with passion for each other. Men do shameful things with each other, and as a result they bring upon themselves the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing.
28Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do. 29They are filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and vice; they are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit, and malice. They gossip 30and speak evil of one another; they are hateful to God, insolent,#1.30 are hateful to God, insolent; or hate God, and are insolent. proud, and boastful; they think of more ways to do evil; they disobey their parents; 31they have no conscience; they do not keep their promises, and they show no kindness or pity for others. 32They know that God's law says that people who live in this way deserve death. Yet, not only do they continue to do these very things, but they even approve of others who do them.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
![None](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2F58%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fweb-assets.youversion.com%2Fapp-icons%2Fen.png&w=128&q=75)
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.