Romans 12
12
Give Your Lives to God
1So brothers, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him. This is the spiritual way for you to worship. 2Do not be shaped by this world. Instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you. And you will be able to know what is good and pleasing to God and what is perfect. 3God has given me a special gift. That is why I have something to say to everyone among you. Do not think that you are better than you are. You must see yourself as you really are. Decide what you are by the amount of faith God has given you. 4Each one of us has a body, and that body has many parts. These parts all have different uses. 5In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one body. Each one is a part of that body. And each part belongs to all the other parts. 6We all have different gifts. Each gift came because of the grace that God gave us. If one has the gift of prophecy, he should use that gift with the faith he has. 7If one has the gift of serving, he should serve. If one has the gift of teaching, he should teach. 8If one has the gift of encouraging others, he should encourage. If one has the gift of giving to others, he should give freely. If one has the gift of being a leader, he should try hard when he leads. If one has the gift of showing kindness to others, that person should do so with joy.
9Your love must be real. Hate what is evil. Hold on to what is good. 10Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give your brothers and sisters more honor than you want for yourselves. 11Do not be lazy but work hard. Serve the Lord with all your heart. 12Be joyful because you have hope. Be patient when trouble comes. Pray at all times. 13Share with God’s people who need help. Bring strangers in need into your homes.
14Wish good for those who do bad things to you. Wish them well and do not curse them. 15Be happy with those who are happy. Be sad with those who are sad. 16Live together in peace with each other. Do not be proud, but make friends with those who seem unimportant. Do not think how smart you are.
17If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. 18Do your best to live in peace with everyone. 19My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: “I am the One who punishes; I will pay people back,”# Quotation from Deuteronomy 32:35. says the Lord. 20But you should do this:
“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if your enemy is thirsty, give him a drink.
Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head.” Proverbs 25:21-22
21Do not let evil defeat you. Defeat evil by doing good.
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Romans 12: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Romans 12
12
A Living Sacrifice
1 #
1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 10:1; Eph. 4:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,#12:1 Or brothers and sisters by the mercies of God, #ch. 6:13, 16, 19; [Ps. 50:13, 14; 1 Cor. 6:20]; See 1 Pet. 2:5 to present your bodies #Heb. 10:20as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.#12:1 Or your rational service 2#1 Pet. 1:14; [1 John 2:15] Do not be conformed to this world,#12:2 Greek age but be transformed by #Titus 3:5; [Ps. 51:10; 2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 4:23; Col. 3:10] the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may #Eph. 5:10; 1 Thess. 4:3discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.#12:2 Or what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God
Gifts of Grace
3For #See ch. 1:5 by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you #ver. 16; ch. 11:20 not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, #1 Cor. 7:17 each according to #Eph. 4:7the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4For #1 Cor. 12:12-14; Eph. 4:4, 16as in one body we have many members,#12:4 Greek parts; also verse 5 and the members do not all have the same function, 5so we, #1 Cor. 10:17, 33 though many, #1 Cor. 12:20; Eph. 4:13; See John 17:11 are one body in Christ, and individually #Eph. 4:25; [1 Cor. 6:15; 12:27]members one of another. 6#1 Cor. 12:4; 1 Pet. 4:10, 11; [1 Cor. 7:7; 12:7-11] Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if #1 Cor. 12:10; See Acts 13:1 prophecy, #[2 Tim. 2:15]in proportion to our faith; 7if #See Acts 6:1service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; #1 Tim. 5:17; [1 Cor. 12:28] the one who leads,#12:8 Or gives aid with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with #2 Cor. 9:7cheerfulness.
Marks of the True Christian
9 #
2 Cor. 6:6; 1 Tim. 1:5; 1 Pet. 1:22 Let love be genuine. #Ps. 97:10; 101:3; Amos 5:15; [1 Thess. 5:21, 22]Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10#See Heb. 13:1 Love one another with brotherly affection. #ch. 13:7; Phil. 2:3; 1 Pet. 2:17Outdo one another in showing honor. 11Do not be slothful in zeal, #Acts 18:25 be fervent in spirit,#12:11 Or fervent in the Spirit #Acts 20:19serve the Lord. 12#See ch. 5:2 Rejoice in hope, #See Heb. 10:36 be patient in tribulation, #See Acts 1:14be constant in prayer. 13#ch. 15:25; 1 Cor. 16:1, 15; 2 Cor. 9:1, 12; Heb. 6:10; 13:16; [1 Tim. 6:18] Contribute to the needs of the saints and #See Matt. 25:35seek to show hospitality.
14 # See Matt. 5:44; 1 Pet. 3:9 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15#1 Cor. 12:26; [Job 30:25; Heb. 13:3]Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16#ch. 15:5; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 2:2; 4:2; 1 Pet. 3:8 Live in harmony with one another. #ver. 3; Ps. 131:1; Jer. 45:5 Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.#12:16 Or give yourselves to humble tasks #ch. 11:25; Prov. 3:7Never be wise in your own sight. 17#Prov. 20:22; Matt. 5:39; [ch. 14:19] Repay no one evil for evil, but #2 Cor. 8:21; [ch. 14:16]give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18If possible, so far as it depends on you, #See Mark 9:50live peaceably with all. 19Beloved, #Prov. 20:22; Matt. 5:39; [ch. 14:19] never avenge yourselves, but leave it#12:19 Greek give place to the wrath of God, for it is written, #Heb. 10:30; Cited from Deut. 32:35; [Ps. 94:1; 1 Thess. 4:6]“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20To the contrary, #Cited from Prov. 25:21, 22; [Ex. 23:4, 5; 2 Kgs. 6:22; Luke 6:27]“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.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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