Pauls letter to the *Romans

An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on the Book o !omans
www.easyenglish.info

Hilda Bright and Keith Simons

This commentary has been through Advanced Checking. Words in boxes are from the Bible. A word list at the end explains words with a *star by them.

About Pauls letter to the *Romans

About the first Christians in Rome
ome was the most important city in the world at the time of !aul. "t had a vast army. That army controlled all the countries that surround the #editerranean $ea. $o the rulers of ome were extremely powerful and wealthy. They employed many people. #any slaves had to work in ome. And ome was also an important city for trade. !aul had not visited ome at the time when he wrote this letter. !aul wrote most of his letters to churches that he himself had established. But the church at ome was different. There were already many Christians in ome long before !aul arrived there. The Bible and other ancient records help us to understand the history of this important church% &. About '( *A.).. The first Christian church began in *erusalem+ on the day called *!entecost. ,n that day+ !eter *preached to many visitors to *erusalem. Among them were -visitors from ome+ both **ews and *.entiles who believed the **ewish religion/. $ome of these were probably among the '((( that became Christians 0Acts 1%23&&4 1%5&6. They carried the *gospel to ome. 1. 52 *A.).. The *7mperor Claudius ordered **ews to leave ome. There had been some trouble among the **ews. A * oman called $uetonius wrote that someone called -Chrestus/ had caused the trouble. Chrestus may have been a **ew who caused the trouble. But -Chrestus/ may be the same as -Christus/ 0that is+ *Christ6. **ews opposed those who *preached the message about *Christ. $o the trouble might have begun at that time. '. A8uila and !riscilla from ome were probably Christians before they met !aul in Corinth 0Acts &9%&3'6. :ater they probably returned to ome+ after they worked in Corinth and 7phesus. Christians used to gather in their home 0 omans &;%'3<6. 5. <= *A.).. !aul probably wrote this letter about <= *A.).. >e had not yet visited ome. But he knew many people in the church at ome. #any *.entile as well as **ewish Christians were already members of the church there. "n his letter+ !aul says that *.entile Christians must not consider themselves more important than the **ewish Christian *brothers 0 omans &&%&931(6. <. ;( *A.).. !aul reached ome as a prisoner. Christians from ome met him on the Appian road to go with him to ome 0Acts 19%&53&;6. !aul spent two years in ome. Although he was a prisoner+ he was able to *preach and to teach 0Acts 19%'(3'&6. >is plan was to visit $pain 0 omans &<%156. But we do not know whether he was able to do this. ;. ;5 *A.).. Christians received the blame for the great fire that the *7mperor ?ero himself may have started. The writer Tacitus spoke about great numbers of Christians. >e called them -enemies of the human family of people/. =. There is evidence of Christian graves in the catacombs 0underground graves in ome6 before &(( *A.)..

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Pauls letter
&. !aul dictated his letter to Tertius 0 omans &;%116. !aul wrote it during his stay in Corinth+ probably about <= *A.).. 1. !aul established churches in many cities. But he was careful not to upset anyone else/s work 0 omans &<%1(6. >owever+ the church in ome was not the result of the work of any one particular person. $o !aul would not be upsetting anyone/s work if he visited ome. And for many years+ !aul had wanted to visit the Christians in ome. >e had completed his work in the east. There were elders 0leaders in the church6 to take care of the new churches. !aul wanted to visit ome on his way to $pain 0 omans &<%1'3156. '. There were several reasons for the letter% a6 to prepare the church in ome for his visit. b6 to give a clear explanation of the *gospel. c6 to give the truth about the Christian *faith to any Christians in ome who had false ideas about it. d6 to give practical advice about how Christians should behave towards each other 0chapters &53 &<6. e6 to give practical advice about how Christians should behave towards their rulers 0 omans &'%&3 =6. f6 to unite **ewish and *.entile Christians. "n many churches+ there had been serious arguments between **ewish Christians and *.entile Christians. The **ewish Christians said that .od had given his law in the Bible. $o they told the *.entile Christians to obey it. But the *.entile Christians said that .od had given them freedom. $o+ they did not want to obey any **ewish rules or traditions. g6 to urge the Christians in ome to help !aul in his work. >e might need their help in order to continue his @ourney to $pain 0 omans &<%156. And he needed the Christians in ome to support and to encourage him by their prayers 0 omans &<%'(3'16.

Chapter 1
Introduction 1:1-17
Greeting 1:1-7
1 Arom !aul. " consider myself to be a slave of *Christ *esus. .od called me to be an *apostle. .od separated me to tell his good news. ! :ong ago+ .od promised the good news by means of his *prophets in the *holy *scriptures. " The good news is about .od/s son. As a man+ *esus belonged to the family of Bing )avid. # !owerfully+ the *>oly $pirit showed *esus to be the $on of .od+ when he rose from death. >e is *esus *Christ our *:ord. $ And by him+ we received .od/s *grace. .od sent us+ as *apostles+ to *preach to people from all the nations. $o we work on his behalf. >e wants the *.entiles to obey .od and to trust him. % Cou also are among those whom .od has called to belong to *esus *Christ. 7 This letter is to everyone in ome whom .od loves. >e has made you into his *holy people. " pray that .od our Aather and the *:ord *esus *Christ will give *grace and *peace to you. Derse & !aul began his letter in the usual way at that time. The writer/s name came first. !aul then described himself as% &. a -slave/. "n the *,ld Testament+ -slave/ described a loyal servant of .od. 0Aor example+ Abraham and #oses in !salm &(<%;4 &(<%1;.6 !aul was a loyal servant of *esus *Christ. >e wanted to obey *esus. "n fact+ he wanted to obey .od as completely as a slave must obey his master.

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1. an -*apostle/. This showed that !aul had authority to *preach the *gospel. At first+ the word -*apostle/ described the &1 *disciples whom *esus had -sent out/ 0:uke ;%&'6. !aul said that he too had received a special command from -*esus *Christ and .od the Aather/ 0.alatians &%&6. All Christians should declare .od/s good news. But !aul knew that .od had given him a special task. *,ld Testament *prophets like *eremiah had previously carried out such a task on behalf of .od. .od had chosen *eremiah from before his birth 0*eremiah &%<6. .od chose !aul from before his birth to take the good news to the *.entiles 0.alatians &%&<6. Derse 1 The *prophets in the *,ld Testament explained that *Christ would free people from *sin. There are many true promises in the *,ld Testament about the birth+ life+ death and *resurrection of *esus. Derses '35 These two verses show what the good news is. !robably+ the Christians in ome would already know these facts. The words in these verses may come from an early statement about Christian belief. &. -*esus belonged to the family of Bing )avid/ 0verse '6. As a man+ *esus came from the family of Bing )avid. -$on of )avid/ was a name of the *#essiah. But *esus taught that the *#essiah was more important than a *descendant of )avid 0:uke 1(%5&3554 !salm &&(%&6. 1. -$on of .od/ 0verse 56. The *resurrection was the evidence that *esus was .od/s son. "n his speech at *!entecost+ !eter reminded his listeners about !salm &;%23&(. .od promised not to leave his -*>oly ,ne/ in the grave. The *apostles were witnesses of the *resurrection. This is the evidence for who *esus is 0Acts 1%153''6. The name -*Christ/ had a special meaning for **ews. *esus was the king that .od had promised to them. The word -*:ord/ would mean more to *.entile Christians. They had to obey human masters. But the word -*:ord/ was also the usual translation of .od/s special name in the *,ld Testament. $o it reminded people that *esus is .od. Derse < -*.race/ is a gift that nobody deserves. !aul used to think that he could please .od by his 0!aul/s6 own efforts. >e tried to obey all the details of the law. ?ow he knew that he could not -earn/ *eternal life by his deeds. "t was .od/s kind gift. !aul had received it by means of the death and *resurrection of *esus. !aul did not deserve to be an *apostle. "t was .od/s *grace that had chosen him. !aul did not want other people to praise !aul himself. !aul wanted to give honour to *esus *Christ. .od sent !aul to the *.entiles to teach them. The *.entiles must obey *esus if their *faith is sincere. Derse ; #ost Christians in ome were probably *.entiles. Derse = The words -in ome/ are not in some *manuscripts. $o perhaps churches other than the one at ome received copies of !aul/s letter. !aul calls the Christians in ome% .od/s -*holy people/. "n the *,ld Testament+ we can read how .od loved the *"sraelites. >e chose them to be his *holy nation. ?ow *.entiles in ome were also .od/s -*holy people/. .od loved them and he chose them to be his *holy people. "n the desert+ Aaron blessed the *"sraelites. >e prayed that .od would show love to them. And he prayed that .od would give them -*peace/ 0?umbers ;%1531;6. !aul used the same prayer on behalf of the Christians in ome. >e also used the prayer at the beginning of all his other letters. >e wanted everyone to know the inner *peace of .od/s love. >e also wanted **ewish and *.entile Christians to love each other. The *blessing of love and *peace is the gift of .od the Aather and the *:ord *esus Christ.

Paul and the Christians in Rome 1:&-1$

& Airst+ " thank my .od by *esus *Christ for all of you. " thank him because people all over the world are talking about your *faith. ' " serve .od with my whole heart as " *preach the good news about his son. .od knows that " always mention you in my prayers. 1( " always pray that+ somehow+ .od will give me the opportunity to visit you. " would be glad to come to you+ if .od desires so. 11 " have a great desire to see you. " want to give you some *spiritual gift that will make your *faith strong. 1! That is+ we shall encourage each other. Cour *faith will make me strong. And my *faith will make you strong.

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1" *Brothers and *sisters+ " want you to know this. ,ften+ " have tried to visit you. But something has prevented me until now. " want to see some results among you+ as " have seen among other *.entiles. 1# " have a duty to both *.reeks and *non3.reeks. " have a duty to both wise people and foolish people. 1$ Aor this reason " am very eager to *preach the *gospel to you in ome. Derse 9 !aul thanks .od for the Christians in ome. The news of their *faith has reached people everywhere. Derses 23&( !aul prays for the Christians in ome+ although he had not been responsible for their *faith. !aul also prays that he may be able to visit them. But he leaves the decision to .od. !aul always wanted to obey .od/s plan for his 0!aul/s6 life. Derses &&3&1 !aul wanted to make their *faith strong. -$ome *spiritual gift/ may not mean the gifts of the *>oly $pirit as in & Corinthians chapter &1. !erhaps !aul himself did not yet know what *spiritual gift the Christians in ome needed. But .od would show !aul what to teach them when he met them. !aul was careful not to emphasise himself as the giver. $o he corrected what he had said+ by the words -that is/. >e wanted to receive help from them as well. !aul was humble. >e knew that it encouraged Christians to meet together. Derses &'3&5 #any times !aul had tried to visit them. We do not know what had prevented him. !erhaps he thought that his work in .reece needed more time. -*.reeks/ did not merely mean -people who came from .reece/. "t meant those people who spoke the *.reek language. "t also meant those who followed the *.reek culture. -*?on3.reeks/ translates the word -barbarians/. "t describes people whose language sounded like -bar3bar/. #any *.reeks thought that this was an ugly and strange way to speak. !aul intended the *gospel to be for people who had received education. Also+ he intended it for people who had received no education. -Wise and foolish/ also means that !aul felt a duty to everyone. >e felt that duty because the *gospel is for everyone.

)he *gospel 1:1%-17

1% " am not ashamed about the *gospel. "t is .od/s power to *save everyone who believes. "t is first for the **ews and then for the *.entiles. 17 The *gospel shows how .od makes people *righteous. "t is about *faith from first to last. The *scripture explains this% -A *righteous person will live by *faith./ Derse &; !aul/s words about the *gospel were bold and clear. Whatever other people said+ !aul would declare the *gospel. The *gospel is essential because it is .od/s message. "t is a message for everyone+ from every nation. And the *gospel is essential because it is powerful. "t changes people/s lives. "t causes people who were .od/s enemies to become .od/s friends. There are other important messages that Christians teach. But the *gospel is the most important message. "t is the message about how people can become real Christians. "t is the message about what *esus achieved by his death and *resurrection. This is the *gospel message% 7veryone has done wrong things 0called *sin6 against .od 0 omans '%1'6. We all deserve .od/s punishment 0 omans ;%1'6. And we cannot save ourselves from that punishment by our own efforts. We cannot even save ourselves by good works or by religion 0 omans '%1(6. $o our situation is hopeless. But .od did not leave us in our hopeless state. .od sent his son+ *esus+ to this world 0*ohn '%&;6. *esus lived a perfect life+ without any *sin 0>ebrews 5%&<6. >e deserved no punishment. But when *esus died on the *cross+ he suffered the punishment for our *sins 0.alatians '%&'4 omans <%94 omans <%&96. But we cannot benefit from his death if we do nothing. We must be humble. .od will forgive us if we confess our evil deeds 0*sin6 to him 0Acts '%&26. We must invite him into our lives. And we must simply trust him. Then .od will change our lives 01 Corinthians <%&=6.

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This *gospel message does not impress everyone. !eople may say that it is too simple. ,r they may say that it is foolish. But !aul realised that many people would be ashamed to follow *esus. "n fact+ *esus himself realised that+ too. *esus knew the difficulty for his *disciples to remain loyal to him. *esus said that people would laugh at them. !eople would tell lies about them+ and people would even attack them 0#atthew <%&&6. $o *esus warned them not to be -ashamed/ of him 0#ark 9%'96. :ater+ !aul warned Timothy not to be ashamed about the *gospel 01 Timothy &%96. !aul himself suffered much because he was not ashamed about *esus. #any **ews could not believe the message about *esus. They were unable to believe that .od/s *#essiah would die on a *cross. *.entiles thought that the message about the *cross was -foolish/ 0& Corinthians &%1'6. But the message was not wrong or stupid. "t was a message to be proud of. "t was an honour for !aul to declare it. .od rescues a person from the wrong way of life 0#atthew &%1&6. .od gives him the strength to live in the right way. The person who believes .od/s work by means of *esus has a new life. This new life begins on earth. And it continues into the life in heaven. This good news is for everyone. "t came -first/ to the **ews because .od had prepared them during their history. Their *,ld Testament spoke about a *#essiah whom .od would send. **ewish *synagogues provided a suitable place for Christians to give their message. !aul usually began to *preach among the **ews. When the **ews refused to listen+ he turned to the *.entiles 0Acts &'%5;4 &9%;6. Derse &= !aul uses words from the *prophet >abakkuk 0>abakkuk 1%56. !aul would later use the same words in his letter to the .alatians 0.alatians '%&&6. The writer of >ebrews emphasises this verse too 0>ebrews &(%'96. These few words show what !aul will explain in the rest of his letter. ,nly by means of trust in .od/s son will .od declare a person to be *righteous. -Arom first to last/ is one translation of the *.reek words -from *faith to *faith/. They emphasise how necessary *faith is. They mean that *faith is necessary through the whole of life+ -from beginning to end/. By *faith+ a person accepts .od/s promise to forgive his *sins and to make him free from them. Then that person continues to trust .od/s promises for the rest of his life.

Gods anger against *sin 1:1&-"!

1* )he *+orship of *idols 1:1&-!$
1& .od shows his anger from heaven. >e opposes all the *unholy and wicked things that people do. They are so wicked that they even oppose the truth. 1' The truth about .od is plain to them. .od has made it plain to them. !( 7ver since .od created the world+ it has been possible to understand the 8ualities of .od. We cannot see .od/s 8ualities. But we can see the things that he has made. $o we know clearly about his *eternal power. And we know clearly that he is .od. $o people have no excuse for the way that they act. !1 They knew .od. But they did not give him the honour that .od deserves. They did not thank him. Their thoughts became nonsense. Their foolish minds became wicked. !! They said that they were wise. But they became fools. !" They preferred *idols instead of the real .od. They preferred an image instead of his greatness and beauty. They preferred a model of something weak instead of .od who lives always. $o they made *idols in the shape of people+ birds+ animals and snakes. !# And .od let them carry out their *sinful desires. Because of their evil attitudes+ they did not respect their own bodies. !$ They believed a lie instead of the truth about .od. They chose to *worship and to serve something that .od created. But they ought to *worship and to serve .od himself+ who created everything. >e should receive honour always. *Amen. Derse &9 .od is angry. But his anger is not like human anger+ which is often selfish. >e is angry because of *sin. 7specially+ he is angry because some people have chosen to be very wicked. $o .od/s anger is like a @udge/s anger when the @udge issues a @udgement 01 Thessalonians &%<3&(6. Derses &231< !eople can learn about .od/s character from the nature of the world round them. The writer of !salm &2%& said+ -The heavens 0sun+ moon and stars6 tell about the *glory of .od. The skies show the work of his hands./ !aul explained this to the *pagans at :ystra 0Acts &5%&<3 &=6. >e also explained it to the philosophers 0people who study the nature of knowledge6 in Athens 0Acts &=%153126.

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!aul was thinking about the account of how .od created the world+ in .enesis &%1531=. !eople chose not to *worship the real .od. "nstead+ they made *idols of what .od had created. "n the desert+ the *"sraelites had *worshipped a gold calf 0a young cow or *bull6. -They exchanged the *glory of .od for the image of an ox 0an animal that eats grass6/ 07xodus '1%&354 !salm &(;%1(6. $o the people refused to respect .od in their *worship. And then they refused to respect his law in their behaviour. *"sraelite men began to *worship the false gods of the country called #oab. And then they began to have sex with women from #oab 0?umbers 1<%&316.

!* *,e-ual *sins 1:!%-!7

!% Because of this false *worship+ .od has allowed them to become like prisoners to their own bad desires. 7ven their women exchanged natural *relationships for unnatural ones. !7 "n the same way+ men turned away from their natural behaviour towards women. "nstead+ they had very strong desires to have sex with other men. #en acted in bad ways with other men. They received in themselves the result of the wrong things that they did. Derses 1;31= .od intended the *sexual act to be an expression of the love between a husband and his wife. .od unites them so that they become as -one person/ 0.enesis 1%154 #atthew &2%53 ;6. But both men and women chose to use their bodies in bad ways. Women had *sexual *relationships with other women. #en wanted sexual relationships with other men. *!agan writers at the time of !aul recorded that human sexual behaviour was sometimes even worse than this. What !aul said about human bad behaviour was true. !eople were doing whatever they wanted to do. They did not care about .od/s law. !aul does not say what was the result of this bad behaviour. >e said that they -received it in themselves/. !erhaps he meant physical disease+ social troubles or .od/s final @udgement.

"* A list of +ic.ed beha iour 1:!&-"!

!& They did not think that it was important to know .od. $o .od allowed them to become like prisoners to their own wicked minds. As a result+ they acted in ways that were not right and proper. !' They *sin in every kind of way. They are completely wicked+ evil and greedy. They are @ealous. They murder. They fight and they cheat. They hate other people. They gossip. "( They tell lies about other people. They hate .od. They do not respect other people and they are proud. They *boast. They think of new ways to do evil things. They do not obey their parents. "1 They are foolish. They are not loyal. They have no love or pity. "! They know that .od/s command is right. Anyone who does such things deserves to die. They know that .od/s law says this. But they continue to do these things. And they even encourage other people to do such things. Derse 19 .od -allowed/ them to do these *sinful deeds. This does not mean that such behaviour is acceptable. "t means that .od gave to people the opportunity to make decisions. $o people should realise that they will suffer the results of their actions. Derses 123'1 There were lists of wrong social behaviour in other **ewish and Christian books. !aul himself has lists in & Corinthians ;%23&( and .alatians <%&231&. Derse 12 speaks about wrong actions in a general way. Then !aul gives several examples of how people destroy relations with each other. This happens% when people are @ealous4 when people murder other people4 when people fight4 when people cheat other people4 when people hate other people.

Derses 123'( "t is wrong to gossip or to lie. !eople use these methods to attack the character of other people. To hate .od or to *boast shows that a person is very proud. And anyone who does not respect other people is also very proud. $ome people try to get excitement by new ways to *sin. "n both **ewish and * oman society+ it was important to obey parents. The <th *commandment said that children should give honour to their father and mother. When people do not obey their parents+ all kinds of problems develop in society.
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Derse '& -Aoolish/ means that people do not learn from experience. They do not remain loyal to any agreement. They do not show any natural love+ even for their own children. -Without pity/ is an accurate description of the way in which many masters dealt with their slaves. #asters thought that slaves were mere possessions rather than people. * oman law allowed masters to punish and even to kill slaves because of a very small mistake or accident. This was a very wicked law. Derse '1 !eople had *sinned themselves. And they encouraged other people to *sin too. They knew that this behaviour was wrong. But *sin was controlling their lives. ,ur societies today may be as wicked as society was in !aul/s time. ,r+ they may be less wicked. ,r+ they may even be more wicked. But !aul/s words are still true. !eople still refuse to obey .od. They prefer to follow their own desires. And then their own evil thoughts begin to control their behaviour. And that is the reason why people behave in such a wicked manner.

Chapter !
Pauls ans+ers to those +ho */udge other people !:1-1%
1* )he0 cannot a oid Gods /udgement !:1-#
1 $o+ you who *@udge someone else have no excuse. When you accuse another person for whatever reason+ you yourself are guilty. Cou yourself are doing the same things for which you *@udge other people. ! ?ow we know that .od *@udges wrong actions. >e *@udges people who do evil things. And his @udgement is right. " Although you are only a man+ you *@udge other people. But you do the same things. $o do not imagine that you will avoid .od/s @udgement. # )o not neglect .od/s great kindness and patience. .od is kind because he wants to help you to turn away from your *sins. Derse & !aul begins to argue in the same way as the writers did at that time. >e imagines someone who does not agree with his opinion. Then he answers that person in various ways. "n the *.reek of verse & and verse '+ !aul speaks as if he is writing to a particular -man/. But !aul does not say who that man is. "t might be someone who is proud. >e is proud that he is not wicked. >e is not like the evil *pagans that !aul described before. >e might be a *.entile. >e would say that not all *pagans behaved in such wicked ways. But in verses 23&& !aul shows that he is speaking especially to **ews. #any **ews wanted to teach in the first Christian churches. Enlike the *.entiles+ these **ews knew .od/s law. $o they were happy to accuse other people. But !aul said that they should be accusing themselves too. Derses 13' .od/s @udgement is true. >e knows all the facts. But a man is very 8uick to accuse other people. >e does not want to think about his own *sin+ which may be worse. *esus spoke about this attitude. >e spoke about a man who had a great piece of wood in his eye. This man wanted to remove a tiny bit of dust from another person/s eye 0#atthew =%&3<6. A person who 8uickly blames other people cannot avoid .od/s @udgement. Derse 5 The proud person chooses to forget about .od/s @udgement. >e thinks that .od/s kindness and patience have no value. But .od waits patiently. >e wants people to *repent. >is time is not the same as human time. But suddenly the time will come when .od will *@udge everyone 01 !eter '%9326.

!* Gods /udgement is fair !:$-11

$ But you refuse to change. Cou are not sorry for your *sins. $o+ you are storing up the experience of .od/s *wrath against yourself. The day of .od/s *wrath is coming. Then people will see that .od/s @udgement is fair. % .od will give to everyone what their actions deserve. 7 $ome people patiently continue to do what is right. They desire *glory+ honour+ and life that never ends. And .od will give them *eternal life. & But some people are selfish. They do not obey the truth. They follow evil ways. $uch people will suffer .od/s anger and *wrath. ' There will be trouble and pain for everyone who does evil things. That will be first for the **ews+ and then for the *.entiles. 1( But there will be *glory+ honour and *peace for everyone who does the right things. That will be first for the **ews+ and then for the *.entiles. 11 .od does not prefer one person or nation to another. >e *@udges everyone in the same way.

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Derse < The *.reek word for -store up/ usually means to store something precious. But those who will not change their ways are storing up something terrible. They will suffer because of .od/s great anger. They will discover that .od/s @udgement is fair. Derse ; Both parts of the Bible record the fact that .od *@udges human actions. Aor example+ in the *,ld Testament+ see !salm ;1%&1 and *eremiah &=%&(. "n the *?ew Testament there are examples in #atthew &;%1= and evelation 1(%&1. !aul is not saying that a person can earn *eternal life by his good deeds. ,nly *faith in *esus will *save that person. But after a person has trusted *esus+ that person will want to please him. $o that person will do the right things+ because of the *faith that .od has given to him. $ee *ames 1%&=. Derses =3&& !aul speaks about people who continue to practise their *faith. >e contrasts them with selfish people. $elfish people care only about themselves. >e also contrasts what will happen to them. The good people will en@oy *eternal life. They will have close relations with *esus and the Aather 0*ohn &=%'6. !eople who continue to do wicked things will suffer .od/s @udgement. *esus told a story about this. Airst+ he spoke about a wise person. $uch a person practices what *esus taught. That person is like a man who built his house upon a rock. 7ven a terrible storm could not damage that house. But a foolish person does not practice what *esus taught. That person is like a man who built on sand. And the storm destroyed that house 0#atthew =%1531=6. A building without a proper base is weak. And a person/s life is weak+ if that person does not trust *esus. That person cannot avoid .od/s @udgement. -Airst for the **ews and then for the *.entiles/ shows that .od makes no difference between them. Both **ews and *.entiles can know .od/s *salvation or .od/s @udgement. !eter/s *vision and his visit to Cornelius taught !eter this truth. .od accepts anyone -who respects him/. .od accepts anyone -who does the right things/ 0Acts &(%'53'<6.

"* God +ill */udge e er0one1 both *2e+s and *Gentiles !:1!-1%
1! $ome people who have *sinned do not know the law. But their *eternal punishment does not depend on law. ,ther people know the law but they still *sin. .od will *@udge them by the law. 1" .od does not consider as *righteous people who merely listen to the law. >e will only consider as *righteous the people who obey the law. 1# *.entiles do not have the law. $ometimes they do naturally what the law orders. $o they have a law in themselves+ although they do not have the law. 1$ Their hearts know what the law orders. Their consciences tell them what is right. $ometimes their thoughts blame them. At other times+ their thoughts excuse their actions. 1% And so+ on the day of @udgement+ .od will *@udge everyone/s secret life. .od/s @udgement will happen by *esus. This is what my good news makes plain. Derses &13&' The **ews had the *written law. $o they knew about .od/s standards. The **ews had the opportunity to listen to the law every *$abbath in the *synagogue. But to hear the law was not enough. They must obey the law. -,bey my orders and laws. The man who obeys them will live by them/ 0:eviticus &9%<6. The *.entiles did not have the *written law. But .od is still their @udge. ?obody can avoid .od/s @udgement. Derses &53&< Derse &; follows verse &' naturally. But !aul interrupts the thoughts. >e explains more about the knowledge that *.entiles do have. >e says twice that the *.entiles do not have the law. But+ they do know something about .od/s standards. They have a conscience. This conscience is not as good as the *written law. $ometimes the conscience shows a person about that person/s *sin. But sometimes the conscience does not accuse that person+ and the person does not feel guilty. >owever+ the simple fact that the conscience exists shows the truth of .od/s law. Because of conscience+ people are aware that there is a difference between right and wrong behaviour. Derse &; .od/s @udgement will be fair because he knows every secret in a person/s life. >e has a true knowledge about the facts. >e also knows the reasons for an action. The writer of !salm &'2 wrote+ -*:ord+ you have searched me and you know me. Cou see my thoughts . . . you are familiar with all my ways/ 0!salm &'2%&3'6.

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.od will *@udge by *esus. *esus himself said that the Aather had given him authority to *@udge 0*ohn <%1=6. "n the story about the sheep and the goats+ *esus is the @udge 0#atthew 1<%'&3''6. "n Athens+ !aul said that the *resurrection proved this. *esus is the @udge whom .od has appointed 0Acts &=%'(3'&6. "t is good news that *esus is the @udge. >e knows what it is like to be a man. >e will not punish those people who trust him. >e has rescued them from *sin by means of his death on the *cross.

)he real *2e+ !:17-!'

1* )he *2e+s and the 3a+ !:17-!#
17 $uppose that you call yourself a **ew. Cou trust in the law. Cou *boast about your *relationship with .od. 1& Cou know what .od wants. Cou approve of right behaviour because the law teaches you. 1' Cou are sure that you can guide people. $ome people cannot see the right way to act. $o you have decided to act as a light for people in darkness. !( Cou can teach those people who have no *spiritual wisdom. Cou can teach those who are like mere babies in the Christian life. "n the law+ you have found the origin of true knowledge. !1 Cou teach other people. But you ought to be teaching yourself. Cou *preach that it is wrong to steal. But you steal. !! Cou say that husbands and wives must perform their marriage promises. But you are guilty of *adultery. Cou say that you hate *idols. But you rob *temples. !" Cou *boast about the law. But you do not obey it. When you behave in this evil way+ you do not respect .od. !# The *scripture says+ -The *.entiles say wicked things about the name of .od because of you./ Derses &=31( When *.entiles became Christians+ often they hardly knew anything about .od. $o they wanted people to teach them about the Bible. And there were many **ewish Christians who were pleased to teach them. Because these teachers were **ewish+ they knew much about .od/s law. Aor centuries+ their families had followed the law. $o these teachers felt well able to teach the *.entile Christians. Derses 1&31' >owever+ there was a problem with many of these **ewish teachers in the churches. !aul often had to warn the churches about teachers who were not sincere 0& Timothy &%'3=4 1 Corinthians &&%&'3&<4 Acts 1(%123'&6. $ome people were only teaching because they wanted to earn money. They seemed to have great knowledge of the Bible. But they themselves did not know .od properly. They thought that they could teach the *.entile Christians about .od. But in fact+ the *.entile Christians already knew .od better than these teachers didF !erhaps these teachers were not actually guilty of the wrong deeds that !aul mentions. !aul is emphasising their wrong attitudes+ not their outer physical acts 0verse 196. Aor example+ they were teaching that it is wrong to steal. But they themselves only cared about money. And they did not even care whether they obtained that money in an honest way 0Titus &%&&6. !aul writes here about people who -rob *temples/. !eople used to give expensive gifts to the *temples of false gods. And these gifts included images of the *temple/s own god. $ometimes a person might steal an image for himself or herself. They wanted to keep that image+ so they could *worship that god at home. This was a well3known crime 0.enesis '&%&24 Acts &2%'=6. These **ewish teachers said that they hated *idols. But they had the same attitudes as people who robbed *temples. "n public+ these teachers were telling people how to serve .od. But in private+ these same teachers did not even care about .od. $ee Titus &%&;. Derse 15 "n "saiah 0<1%<6 and 7Gekiel 0';%116+ .od says that the nations insulted him. 7nemies had defeated the **ews. $o the nations wondered whether .od had any power to protect his people. But these terrible things had happened because .od/s people were not obeying .od. !aul could see that the same things were happening again in the churches. Christians were appointing leaders and teachers who were not sincere. The results would be terrible. And people everywhere would insult .od when they saw the behaviour of those Christians.

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!* *Circumcision !:!$-!'
!$ *Circumcision is a good thing if you obey the law. But if you do not obey the law+ *circumcision does not benefit you. "n fact+ you have become like an *uncircumcised person. !% But suppose that *uncircumcised people obey the law. .od will accept them as if they were *circumcised. !7 $uch people will accuse you. They are *uncircumcised+ but they obey the law. .od has given you the *written law and *circumcision. But you still do not obey .od/s law. !& A person is not a real **ew if he is only a **ew on the outside. eal *circumcision is not @ust an outer physical act. !' A person is a real **ew if he is a **ew on the inside. eal *circumcision is *circumcision of the heart. "t is by the *>oly $pirit. "t is not by the *written law. A person who lives as a real **ew may not receive honour from other people. But .od will praise that person. Derse 1< *Circumcision was the sign that .od gave to Abraham. "t showed the *covenant between .od and his nation 0.enesis &=%23&(6. Because of the *covenant *relationship+ the **ews needed to obey .od/s law. !aul reminded the church in .alatia about this. -7veryone who receives *circumcision must obey the whole law/ 0.alatians <%'6. The **ewish teachers said that *.entile Christians needed to receive *circumcision. The teachers said that this was .od/s law. But really+ they were not sincere. Their real aim was to control people by means of the laws and traditions of religion 0.alatians 5%&=4 .alatians <%&316. But this is the opposite of the real Christian message. The Bible says that we must trust Christ alone. ,ur own efforts cannot save us from the punishment for our *sins. Derses 1;31= ?obody ever had a good *relationship with .od because of *circumcision. The act of *circumcision does not free a person from *sin. !eople who are not *circumcised can serve .od loyally. And many people who are *circumcised refuse to obey .od. The important 8uestion is whether a person obeys .od. Derses 19312 The *prophets taught that real *circumcision was not something physical. "t meant a pure 0sincere6 heart. #oses told the *"sraelites to -*circumcise their hearts/ 0)euteronomy &(%&;6. *eremiah used the same words 0*eremiah 5%56. The *>oly $pirit changes people/s lives. >e gives them power to live in the right manner. The law cannot do this. A -real **ew/ is anyone who obeys .od. That person does not need to belong to the natural families of the **ewish people. And that person/s body does not need to be *circumcised. But that person/s heart must be *circumcised 0see above6. And so that person receives the benefit of the promises that .od gave to Abraham 0.alatians '%126.

Chapter "
,ome *2e+ish protests against Pauls thoughts ":1-&
1 $omeone might ask whether the **ews received any real advantage. ,r+ someone might ask whether *circumcision provides any real benefit. ! But these are good things+ for every reason. Airst+ .od has given his own message to the **ews. " But some **ews did not believe. Their lack of *faith will certainly not change .od/s *faithfulness. # That could never happen. .od is true+ even if every man tells lies. The *scripture said+ -Cou are right when you speak. Cou overcome when men accuse you./ $ $o our wicked deeds prove more clearly that .od is good. But .od is not unfair when he is angry with us. 0" am using @ust human ways to speak.6 % We certainly cannot argue with thatF "f he were not fair+ he could not *@udge the world. 7 $omeone might argue like this+ -.od is truthful. This becomes clearer when " tell a lie. $o his *glory actually increases. Therefore+ it is unfair that he will *@udge me for my *sin. & We should do evil things+ so that good things will happen./ "n fact+ some people pretend that we are saying such things. But this is a lie. $uch people will receive the punishment that they deserve. Derse & !aul imagines that a **ew is protesting about !aul/s thoughts. "f !aul/s thoughts were correct+ then *circumcision seemed unnecessary.

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Derse 1 !aul was proud that he was a **ew. $o he answered that there were many advantages. >e spoke first about the honour that .od had given to the **ews. >e had trusted the **ews with all his messages 0)euteronomy 5%96. .od wanted to use the **ews in order to benefit the whole world 0.enesis &1%13'6. .od wanted the **ews to show the rest of the world what .od is like. !aul mentioned some other advantages later in his letter 0 omans 2%53<6. Derse ' $ome **ews did not obey the *covenant. They did not remain loyal to .od. But .od always does everything that he promises to do. Derse 5 !aul emphasised that .od/s promises are certain. .od/s words are always true+ even if every person tells lies. !aul refers to two passages from the Book of !salms in this verse. !salm &&;%&& says+ -All men tell lies./ And in !salm <&%5+ )avid became aware of his *sin. $o he prayed to .od+ -Cou are right when you speak. Cou are right when you *@udge./ Derses <3; "f people did not *sin+ they might not appreciate .od/s goodness. $o people might argue that even their evil deeds give honour to .od. And they might argue that .od is not fair to punish people for such deeds. This idea may seem clever+ but it is wrong. !eople who say such things are foolish. They are speaking as if .od is a mere man. But .od is perfect. >e is never unfair. !aul was sorry even to mention such an idea. "f .od is true to his nature+ he must *@udge human *sin. -The @udge of the entire world shall do what is right/ 0.enesis &9%1<6. Derses =39 $omeone might argue like this. .od ought to be grateful when people tell lies. $uch lies show how truthful .od is. The result is that his *glory becomes even greater. $o it would not be fair for .od to describe these people as guilty. "n fact+ !aul/s enemies pretended that !aul taught such ideas. $o !aul explained to the Christians in ome that this report was untrue. !aul had many such enemies. But !aul did not need to prove what he was teaching. .od knew the truth about !aul/s work. And that fact was enough to satisfy !aul 01 Corinthians &&%'(3'&6.

4 er0one has *sinned ":'-!(

' We certainly cannot argue that **ews are any better. We have already said that everybody+ both **ews and *.entiles+ is under the power of *sin. 1( The *scripture says% -?obody is *righteous+ not even one person. 11 ?obody understands. ?obody looks for .od. 1! They are like travellers who have wandered onto the wrong path. Together+ they have become evil. ?obody+ not even one person+ does anything good. 1" Their *throats are like open graves. With their tongues+ they tell lies. The words from their lips are like the poison from a snake. 1# They use their mouths to speak angry and bad words. 1$ They are 8uick to attack and they even kill other people. 1% Wherever they go+ they cause loss and pain. 17 They do not know how to be kind. 1& They do not respect .od./ 1' We know that the law has complete power. "ts commands control everyone who lives by its rules. ?obody can argue against it. 7verybody will suffer .od/s @udgement. !( And .od will not declare anyone to be *righteous because that person obeyed the law. "nstead+ the law proves that everyone has *sinned. Derse 2 !aul said in verse & that **ews had advantages. ?ow he said that they were not better than *.entiles. They were better if they thought about their honour and responsibility. But they had no real advantage. They did not realise that .od/s @udgement was on them too. .od would not show his kindness to one group of people more than to another. -Ender the power of *sin/ means this. *$in was like a master who had complete control over his slave. 7verybody H both **ews and *.entiles H is like a slave because of the power of *sin.

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Derses &(3&9 !aul used verses from the *,ld Testament. These verses show how wicked people can be. >e put the verses together in a way that **ewish teachers called -a string of precious stones/. !aul wanted to emphasise that *sin controls everybody. $o he repeated the word -all/. >e also said -nobody/ and -not even one person/ more than once. Derses &(3&1 are from 7cclesiastes =%1( and !salm &5%&3'. These verses explain the nature of *sin. *$in is the result of actions against .od. ?obody tries to discover what .od is like. ?obody cares about what .od wants. 7veryone has turned away from the right way to live. And that is why people *sin. Derses &'3&5 These verses describe the *sins of speech. "n other words+ these verses show how people *sin by their words. $uch *sins are the result when people use the *throat+ mouth+ tongue and lips in the wrong way. !aul uses !salms <%24 &(%= and &5(%'. !eople tell lies. Their words are like poison that can destroy other people/s happiness and character. "n his letter+ *ames also compared the tongue with something poisonous 0*ames '%96. Derses &<3&= 7vil actions are often the result of evil words 0*ames '%<3;6. "saiah <2%=39 emphasises how people are 8uick to attack and to hurt other people. They are even ready to kill them. They do not try to live at *peace. They cause trouble and pain wherever they go. "n@ury may hurt one person first. But such behaviour soon damages the rest of society too. Derse &9 !aul repeats his thought from verse &&. All *sin is against .od. !salm ';%& speaks about a man who has no fear of .od. All *sin comes from people/s lack of honour for .od who created them. Derses &231( $ome **ews would think that these verses were only about wicked *.entiles. *.entiles did not have the law. But !aul explains that the law cannot make people *righteous. That was not its purpose. The purpose of the law was to show the meaning of *sin to people. The law proves that everyone is guilty. $o the **ews could not become *righteous by means of their **ewish ceremonies. And they had many such ceremonies+ for example *circumcision+ the *$abbath+ and the food laws. And nobody can become *righteous by means of their own good works. 7verybody has *sinned. And *sin controls everybody/s life.

)he onl0 +a0 to become *righteous ":!1-!%

!1 But now+ .od has provided a way for people to be *righteous. This way does not depend on the law. But the *scriptures+ both the law and the *prophets+ show that this is true. !! .od gives this *righteousness to everyone who trusts in *esus *Christ. "t is his gift to everyone who believes. There is no difference between **ews and *.entiles. !" 7veryone has *sinned. ?obody is good enough because .od/s standards are perfect. !# But now+ .od makes people *righteous by his free and generous gift. >e frees people from *sin by means of *Christ *esus. !$-!% .od gave *esus as a *sacrifice so that people would receive a right *relationship with himself. *esus achieved this by the gift of his life 0in other words+ when he died for us6. And people receive a right *relationship with .od by *faith in what *esus did. $o we see that .od is *righteous. >e did not punish former *sins because he is patient. This now proves that he is *righteous. And also+ that he makes *righteous anyone who has *faith in *esus. Derses 1&311 -?ow/ can mean% &6 the next part of !aul/s discussion+ 16 the time at which !aul was writing+ '6 the new age that had come with *esus. The law and the *prophets are the two main parts of the **ewish *,ld Testament. !eople wrote down the *,ld Testament centuries before *esus was born. But they did not merely write their own ideas. The *>oly $pirit guided them 0& !eter &%&(3&&6. The >oly $pirit showed them what *esus would do 0for example+ !salm 11 and "saiah chapter <'6. And *esus/ death is the only way for people to become *righteous. This was .od/s plan. And everyone who receives *esus into their lives receives .od/s gift of *righteousness. !eople need .od/s *righteousness. And everybody needs it+ because everybody has *sinned. This is a more important matter than anything else in a person/s life. *esus taught that *righteousness is even more important than food and drink 0#atthew ;%'&3''6. #oreover+ it is impossible for anyone to earn *righteousness. But .od offers it as a free gift to everyone who trusts him.

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Derses 1'315 *$in is the greatest problem that people have. "t is a problem that affects everyone+ from every nation. "t is a terrible problem+ because *sin ruins the *relationship between people and .od. Because of *sin+ people have lost their right to enter heaven. *$in is the reason why people suffer in this world. *$in controls the lives of everyone. "t even controls the lives of the best people. !eople have tried to free themselves from the power of *sin. They have tried to do this in many different ways. But all their efforts have failed. .ood works cannot free anyone from the power of *sin. #oral behaviour cannot free anyone from *sin/s power. 7ven religion cannot succeed. !eople may be very sincere when they do such things. And it is better to be a good person than a bad person. But these methods still cannot make a person *righteous. They cannot make a person perfect. And .od/s standards are perfect. $o even the best person/s efforts are hopeless. But the wonderful news is that .od himself is willing to free us from the power of *sin. !eople have worked so hard to become *righteous+ and they have all failed. But .od offers *righteousness as a free gift. ?obody deserves this *righteousness. But *esus died in order to suffer the punishment for *sin. !eople simply need to trust him. They should confess their *sins to .od. And they should invite him into their lives. Then .od will forgive them. "n other words+ he will make them *righteous. ?obody could earn *righteousness. But it is .od/s free and generous gift. And he offers it to everyone+ from every nation. Derses 1<31; !aul uses three descriptions to explain what .od has done by means of *esus. &. "n a law court+ a @udge will free a person if he is not guilty. .od is the @udge of the whole world. All people are guilty in front of him. But *esus showed how much .od loves us. .od forgives those people who trust in *esus. They have become *righteous because of *faith in Christ. *Aaith is not a kind of work. "t is to trust .od because of what he has done by *esus. 1. $omeone could pay to free a slave. !eople are in the power of *sin+ as slaves were in the power of their masters. *esus paid the price to set us free. >e frees us from *sin. $o we can live as .od wants. *esus did this at the cost of his life. "n other words+ he died so that we can be free from *sin 0#ark &(%5<6. '. !eople used to offer animals as *sacrifices when they asked .od to forgive their *sins. The law told them to do this. But even at that time+ people knew that the death of an animal was not sufficient to pay for their *sin. 0$ee !salm <&%&=4 #icah ;%;39.6 $o sincere people realised that they needed to have a humble attitude. And they knew that they needed to trust .od. They knew that .od would provide the perfect *sacrifice. And this happened when *esus died 0>ebrews &(%&&3&16. .od is *holy but he also loves us. $o he gave himself by means of *esus to make people *righteous. ,ur translation says+ -the gift of his life/. "n the original language+ these words are% -the gift of his blood/. A person cannot live without blood. And one of the purposes of blood in the body is to remove anything impure 0not pure6. $o *esus gave his life and he makes us free from our *sins. .od shows by means of *esus that he is a perfect @udge. >e punishes *sin. But he himself suffered that punishment. $o he is a perfect *$aviour 0"saiah 5<%1&6. !aul said that by means of *Christ+ .od was -making the world at *peace with himself/ 01 Corinthians <%&96.

)he results of Gods *grace ":!7-"1

!7 There is no reason for human pride. There is no reason whatever. .od does not consider us *righteous in order to reward our good works. ?oF The only thing that we need to do+ is to have *faith. !& $o we say that .od makes a person *righteous by *faith in *esus *Christ. And that person does not have to live by the law. !' .od does not *save only the **ews in this way. >e is the .od of the *.entiles too. Ces+ he is the .od of people from every nation. There is only one .od. "( $o .od will establish again his friendship with both **ews and *.entiles. >e will do this by the same *faith. "1 Well then+ *faith does not make the law of no use. Iuite the oppositeF ather we make the law stronger. Derses 1=319 ?obody can *boast. ?obody deserves to be *righteous. ?obody earns *peace with .od by means of that person/s own good actions. A person becomes *righteous only when he accepts .od/s gift by means of *esus. !aul said that he would be proud of only one thing. *esus had died on the *cross for him 0.alatians ;%&56.

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Derses 123'( *Aaith is the same for everyone. There is only one .od. **ews said this every day in the words in )euteronomy ;%5. -:isten+ *"srael+ the *:ord our .od+ the *:ord is one./ *.entiles do not have a separate .od. $o **ews and *.entiles all have the same way of *faith. -Without *faith+ it is impossible to please .od/ 0>ebrews &&%;6. Derse '& The law still has value. !aul imagines someone who would oppose him about *faith. That person would say that !aul was telling people not to obey the law. But !aul was not saying that. Actually+ !aul was teaching people that the law was very important. "n fact+ the law teaches us that we need *faith. And we can only obey the law by means of *faith. -The law/ can mean% a6 the law of #oses+ which is in the first five books of the *,ld Testament. The purpose of the law was to show what *sin is. $o people will know that they need .od. They must confess their *sin to .od+ and they must trust him. Then .od by means of *Christ will forgive their *sin. When a person knows this+ he will want to obey the law. >e will no longer obey because he is afraid of .od/s punishment. "nstead+ that person will gladly obey because he loves .od. $o he is making the law stronger. b6 all the *,ld Testament. **ews sometimes meant this when they spoke about -the law/. "t is *faith that makes a person at *peace with .od. "n chapter 5+ !aul will talk about the *faith of Abraham and )avid. $o the law itself encourages *faith. But the real meaning of the law is how .od wants people to live. >e wants people to show love and kindness. >e wants people to be fair. >e wants people to have a humble attitude and to respect him. The rules in the *,ld Testament exist in order to teach people about this. But these rules are less important than the law itself 0#icah ;%94 !salm <&%&;3&=6. And *faith does not make the law weaker. *Aaith makes it possible for people to love .od with their whole heart. *Aaith teaches people to live as .od wants them to live. $o *faith makes the law stronger.

Chapter #
Abrahams *faith #:1-&
1 We shall talk about our *ancestor Abraham. >e discovered how to be *righteous. ! But he did not become *righteous because of his works. "f that were correct+ Abraham could *boast about it. But he could not *boast in front of .od. " This is what the *scriptures say% -Abraham trusted .od. .od accepted Abraham/s *faith. $o Abraham received *righteousness because of his *faith./ # When a person works+ he does not receive his pay as a gift. >e receives it because he has earned it. $ But it is different when a person receives *righteousness because of his *faith. That person does not work in order to achieve that result. "nstead+ he simply believes .od. And .od makes someone who was not *righteous+ to be *righteous. % )avid says the same. >e tells us how happy some people are. .od makes these people *righteous. They do not have to work to earn his *righteousness. )avid says% 7 ->appy are those people whose wicked deeds .od forgives. >appy are those people whose *sins .od excuses. & >appy is the person whom the *:ord never accuses of *sin./ Derses &3' !aul wanted to teach about *faith. And he wanted to prove that his message about *faith was not a new message. $o he explained how the *,ld Testament taught the same message about *faith. !aul chose Abraham and )avid in order to show *faith in the *,ld Testament. Abraham began the **ewish nation. )avid was the most famous king of the **ews. !aul wanted to show that they received *righteousness because of *faith+ and not because of their good deeds. Abraham was called the -friend of .od/ 0"saiah 5&%96. >e was a *righteous man 0"saiah <&%&316. >e might have been able to *boast to other people. But he could not *boast to .od his *Creator. .od did not accept Abraham because of his 0Abraham/s6 good works. .od accepted Abraham because he 0Abraham6 believed .od. "n other words+ Abraham had *faith. Abraham believed .od/s promise that he would have a son. >e would have more *descendants than there are stars in the sky. Abraham had *faith that .od would make this happen. >e had *faith although he was an old man. >is wife $arah was old too. $he was far beyond the age when women have children. .od accepted Abraham/s *faith and .od considered him *righteous 0.enesis &<%;6.

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Derses 53< A person who works receives wages. That person has earned those wages. But a person cannot earn a right *relationship with .od. * ighteousness is a free gift from .od. A person receives it because of *faith. That person used to be a *sinner. But+ because of .od/s great love+ .od has changed that person/s life. Derses ;39 "n !salm '1+ )avid describes the person who has real @oy. This person knows that .od has forgiven him. >e has not obeyed .od/s laws. >e has failed to reach .od/s standards. But then .od made that person *righteous. *esus told a story about a tax3collector 0a man whose @ob was to collect taxes for the government6 in :uke chapter &9. That tax3collector asked .od for *mercy 0:uke &9%&'3&56. The tax3collector was humble and he was sincere. >e put his trust in .od. .od does not accuse such a person because of his *sins. "nstead+ .od considers him *righteous.

Abraham is the *father of all +ho ha e *faith #:'-1!

' This happiness is not only for *circumcised people. "t is also for *uncircumcised people. We have said that .od accepted Abraham/s *faith. And that is how .od made Abraham *righteous. 1( .od did not consider Abraham to be *righteous only after Abraham was *circumcised. ?o+ .od considered Abraham to be *righteous even before Abraham was *circumcisedF 11 Abraham received the sign of *circumcision afterwards. "t was the proof of the *covenant that .od had made with Abraham. >is *faith made him *righteous while he was still *uncircumcised. $o Abraham is the *spiritual *father of everyone who believes .od. Although they have not been *circumcised+ Abraham is their *father. $o .od makes them *righteous too. 1! >e is also the *spiritual *father of the *circumcised. But it is not enough if they are merely *circumcised. They have to live by the same kind of *faith that our *father Abraham had. >e had that *faith before he was *circumcised. Derses 23&& **ews believed that a man needed *circumcision. They did not consider anyone a real **ew without *circumcision. A *.entile might believe the **ewish religion. But he could not be a proper member of the **ewish *faith without *circumcision. This matter caused a very serious argument in the first churches. #any **ewish Christians insisted that *.entiles had to be *circumcised in order to become real Christians. !aul dealt with this problem in his letter to the .alatians. .od considered Abraham *righteous before he received *circumcision. >is genuine *faith in .od began &5 years before the sign of *circumcision. *Circumcision was the proof of the *covenant that Abraham had already made with .od 0.enesis &<%;31&4 &=%&(6. Derses &&3&1 True *descendants of Abraham are those who trust .od in the same way as Abraham. Whether they are *circumcised or not makes no difference. -"n *Christ+ neither *circumcision nor *uncircumcision matters/ 0.alatians <%;6. Abraham is the *father of *.entiles who believe. >e is also the *father of **ews who believe. *Circumcision separated **ews from other people. *Aaith unites **ews and *.entiles who trust in *Christ.

Gods *grace #:1"-17

1" .od promised to Abraham and his *descendants that they would receive the world as their possession. Abraham did not receive the promise because he obeyed the law. "nstead+ he received it because he was *righteous. And he became *righteous because of his *faith in .od. 1# "f .od/s promise depended on the law+ *faith would have no value. And .od/s promise would have no value. 1$ The law can only bring *wrath. "f there were no law+ there could be no *sin against the law. 1% Therefore the promise comes from .od/s *grace. And people receive it by *faith. $o the *descendants of Abraham will be certain to receive the things that .od promised. The promise is not only to those people who have the law. "t is also to all those people who have the same *faith as Abraham. Abraham is the *father of us all. 17 As the *scripture says+ -" have made you a *father of many nations./ .od considers Abraham to be our *father. And Abraham believed .od. Abraham/s .od gives life to people who are dead. >e also brings into life things that do not exist.

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Derse &' The *.reek word for -promise/ means a promise that someone makes because of love. $o there must be no demand to give a promise back. .od promised to Abraham that by him 0Abraham6 all the people on earth would receive *blessing 0.enesis &1%'6. .od also promised that Abraham would have more *descendants than stars in the sky. But .od/s promises did not depend on law. .od did not give the law until 5'( years later 0.alatians '%&=6. Abraham accepted .od/s promises by *faith. That is+ Abraham trusted .od 0>ebrews &&%93&16. Derse &5 ,ne must not add to .od/s promise what the law orders. This would cancel the promise. ?obody can obey the law perfectly. $o if the promise depended on the law+ .od could not carry out his promises. *Aaith would no longer have any value. Derse &< The result of law is punishment+ because people do not obey the law. $o people could not receive the benefit of .od/s promise by means of the law. !eople must receive this benefit by *faith. And they can only receive it because of .od/s kindness 0his *grace6. Derse &; The promise comes from .od/s *grace. Abraham and his *descendants can be sure about .od/s gift. This is because they can accept it by *faith. The promise is for anyone who has the same *faith as Abraham. "t is for **ews and for those who never had the law. $o Abraham became the *father of those with *faith. !aul showed that the promise came true by means of *esus *Christ. By *faith+ people all over the world receive .od/s love. >e cares about them. The law would say that they are guilty. But people can become *righteous by *faith in .od. .od forgives them because of his great love. Derse &= The change of Abram/s name was a sign that .od had made a *covenant with him. -Abraham/ means -*father of many nations/ 0.enesis &=%<6. Abraham/s .od can bring life to dead people. >ere !aul is thinking especially about the promise of a son to Abraham. Abraham was so old that his body seemed -almost dead/ 0 omans 5%&24 >ebrews &&%&&3&16. But .od is the powerful .od who created the world from nothing. $o it would be no problem for .od to create many *descendants for Abraham.

)he *faith of Abraham #:1&-!$

1& There was no reason for hope. But Abraham had hope because he believed .od. $o he became the *father of many nations+ as .od had promised. .od had said+ -Cour children will be as many as this./ 1' Abraham/s *faith did not become weaker. >e was much too old to have children. >e was about &(( years old. >is wife $arah was also too old to have children. !( But he always believed in .od/s promise. >is *faith became stronger. >e gave honour to .od. !1 >e was sure about .od/s power. >e believed .od/s promise. And Abraham was confident that .od was able to do these things. !! $o .od considered Abraham to be *righteous. !" The words -considered to be *righteous/ are not only for Abraham/s benefit. !# They are also for us. We believe in the .od who raised *esus our *:ord from death. $o .od will consider us *righteous too. !$ >e handed over *esus to die because of our *sins. .od raised *esus to life in order to make us *righteous. Derses &931& Arom a human point of view+ it was impossible for Abraham to have children. Both he and his wife $arah were much too old. But Abraham believed in .od/s power. >e did not lose hope that .od would carry out his promise. "nstead+ Abraham/s *faith increased. >e trusted .od/s promise. >e was sure that .od would carry it out. Derses 11315 "t was not only Abraham whom .od would consider *righteous. We believe that .od raised *esus from death. $o .od considers us *righteous too. *esus becomes our *:ord. Derse 1< The priests and *udas handed over *esus to !ilate. The * omans then killed *esus on a *cross. These men thought that they had control over these events. But in fact+ these events were part of .od/s plan to -hand over/ *esus. .od -did not keep back 0rescue6 his own son+ but he gave him up for us all/ 0 omans 9%'16. *esus/ death was a *sacrifice to cancel the effect of human *sin. .od accepted his *sacrifice and raised him from death. $o if we believe in the death and *resurrection of *esus+ .od considers us at *peace with himself. >e considers us as *righteous.

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Chapter $
)he *blessings that +e recei e because of Gods *grace $:1-11
1 We are *righteous because of our *faith. $o we are friends with .od because of our *:ord *esus *Christ. ! By *esus+ we receive .od/s *grace. And we remain in this *grace. We are @oyful+ because we will have a part in .od/s *glory. " And that is not all. We are @oyful when we suffer. We know that our pain produces courage. # ,ur courage to continue produces character. Character produces hope. $ And hope will never disappoint us. .od has filled our hearts with his love. >e did it by means of the *>oly $pirit whom he has given to us. % At the right time+ *Christ died on behalf of bad people. >e died for us when we had no power of our own. 7 "t is very unusual for someone to die on behalf of a good person. !erhaps someone might even be willing to die on behalf of a good person. & But this is how .od has shown his love for us. *Christ died for us while we were still *sinners. ' The blood 0death6 of *esus has made us *righteous. $o we are even more sure that *esus will *save us from .od/s *wrath. 1( We used to be .od/s enemies. But the death of his son has brought us back to .od. $o we can be much more sure that his *resurrection life will *save us. 11 That is not all. We are @oyful in .od because of our *:ord *esus *Christ. .od has brought us back to himself by means of *esus. !aul shows the *blessings that come to people. These *blessings come to people after they have invited .od into their lives. $o they have trusted .od. And .od has made them *righteous because of their *faith. !aul says -we/. $o he includes in these *blessings himself and everyone who has *faith. Derse & &. Ariendship with .od. We used to be .od/s enemies 0*ames 5%56. But he has made us into his friends 07phesians 1%&'3&26. Derse 1 1. We receive .od/s *grace. Aor the word -receive/+ !aul uses the word -prosagoge/+ which means -introduction/. !eople use this word to introduce someone to a king. *esus prepares the way for us to approach .od the Bing. Then we can receive .od/s *grace. !aul uses the same idea in his letter to the 7phesians 01%&94 '%1(6. -We remain in this *grace./ This means that nothing can separate us from .od/s love. 0$ee omans 9%'93'2.6 >uman kings may sometimes be kind. But then they may stop their kindness to anyone who no longer pleases them. .od/s love never changes. '. A part in .od/s *glory. This promise gives great hope to Christians. !eople usually use the word -hope/ when they merely want something to happen. Aor example+ people say+ -" hope that it will rain./ They want it to rain. But they are not sure that it will rain. Christian hope is different. .od will do everything that he has promised to do. We can be sure about this. .od created people to have a part in his *glory 0"saiah 5'%=6. *$in has spoiled our *glory. But we are sure that one day we shall see .od in all his *glory. Then .od will change us+ so that we can have a part in his *glory 0& *ohn '%16. Derses '35 5. *oy when we suffer. !aul does not mean the ordinary pains and troubles in life. >e means when people suffer as Christians. This happens because other people oppose their *faith. !eople may insult Christians and attack them. But we should be @oyful even when we suffer. ,f course+ this does not mean that we want to suffer. But we are @oyful for a different reason. This is the reason. We are sharing what *Christ suffered. When we suffer it will help to prove our sincere *faith. When *Christ suffered+ the result was *glory. And when we suffer+ the result will be *glory too 0 omans 9%&=6. When a person suffers it can produce good 8ualities in his character. We know this from human experience. A person who is suffering may learn courage to continue his life as a Christian. The *.reek word for -character/ 0dokime6 means that his troubles are like fire. Aire removes anything dirty from metal. Troubles test a person. "t makes him a stronger and better Christian. Then his hope for the future will be stronger too.

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Derses <39 We know that .od will never disappoint us. ,ne writer says that .od/s love is -like rain that pours onto dry ground/. We know .od/s love in two ways% a6 >e has given us the *>oly $pirit. The $pirit helps us to know that .od loves us. >is love will never give us up. "t is like !aul/s words+ -The $pirit @oins with our spirit to declare that we are .od/s children/ 0 omans 9%&;6. b6 .od has proved his love by *Christ/s death on the *cross. When .od gave his son+ .od was giving himself. >e was giving his love to those who do not deserve it. -We had no power of our own./ $o we cannot rescue ourselves from *sin. But .od chose the right time to rescue us. .od is very different from men. ,n a rare occasion+ a person might be willing to die on behalf of a good person. But *Christ died for bad people. We were *sinners who could not earn our own *salvation. $o our *salvation was entirely the result of .od/s love. Derses 23&( .od considers us *righteous because of *esus/ death. $o .od has forgiven our *sin. This means that we will not suffer punishment from .od for our *sin. ,ur *salvation is complete. We have become .od/s friends+ although we used to be his enemies. This happened because of *esus/ death. But .od raised *esus to live. And the result is that we too have a new life 0 omans ;%56. Derse && "n chapter 1%&=+ !aul spoke about some **ews who were *boasting about their *relationship to .od. They were wrong to think only about themselves. !aul uses the same phrase here when he writes about our *relationship with .od. But here+ he means that we can be @oyful. ,ur @oy is because of everything that .od has done for us. >e has made us his friends.

Adam and *Christ $:1!-!1

Adams *sin $:1!-1#
1! *$in entered the world because one man *sinned. And death came because of *sin. 7veryone *sinned+ so death came to all people. 1" Before .od gave the law+ *sin was in the world. But the record of *sin depends on law. 1# )eath had authority from the time of Adam until the time of #oses. )eath ruled even over people who did not *sin in the same way as Adam. " shall now compare Adam with the *Christ. Derses &13&5 Adam *sinned because he did not obey .od/s command. There was one special tree in the garden. .od told Adam that he must not eat from that one. "f he did not obey this command+ he would die 0.enesis 1%&=6. $o death was the result of his *sin 0.enesis '%&26. All people *sin. $o death+ both physical and *spiritual+ came to everyone. There are different ideas on how this happened% &. 7veryone *sins because they behave like Adam. And he did not obey .od. 1. 7veryone has the same nature as Adam. $o everyone has a tendency to *sin. '. The *>ebrew name -Adam/ means -man/. Adam is more than @ust a person from the past. All people belong together. $o everyone *sins in Adam/s *sin. "n chapter '%231'+ !aul emphasised that everyone has *sinned. $o the result of Adam/s *sin is that everyone is guilty. "n <%&=+ !aul explains that Adam was @ust one man. And in <%&;+ !aul showed that Adam/s *sin was the first of many *sins. Adam *sinned the first time+ and since then+ everyone has continued to *sin. $o everyone is guilty. There was *sin in the world even before .od gave the law to #oses. The law made people recognise the nature of *sin more clearly.

)he difference bet+een Adam and *Christ $:1$-1'

1$ .od/s gift is different from Adam/s *sin. #any people died because of the *sin of that one man. But .od/s free gift is very different. >e gave it by the *grace of another man. That man is *esus *Christ. >is *grace will be more than sufficient for many people. 1% The result of .od/s gift is different from the result of Adam/s *sin. *udgement followed that first *sin. And the result was punishment. But .od/s gift came after many *sins and he made people *righteous. 17 ,ne man *sinned+ and death had authority because of that *sin. But .od has provided a huge amount of *grace. Those people who have accepted .od/s gift have become *righteous. By means of the one man+ *esus *Christ+ these people will rule in his *kingdom.

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1& The result of one man/s *sin was that everyone became guilty. $o the result of one *righteous act is that everyone can become *righteous. And everyone can receive *eternal life. 1' #any people became *sinners because one man did not obey .od. $o many will become *righteous by the one man who obeyed .od. Derse &< Adam chose to do what he wanted to do. *Christ/s gift came because he loves us. >e did what .od wanted. #any people died because of Adam/s *sin. #any people received the gift of life because of *esus. Derse &; Adam/s one *sin brought .od/s @udgement. Adam was guilty. Afterwards+ people *sinned very many times. But the death of *esus was sufficient to make people *righteous. >e did not need to die many times 0>ebrews 2%196. >is death was the perfect *sacrifice for *sin. Derse &= !eople suffer death because of the *sin of one man+ Adam. .od/s huge supply of *grace and his gift of *righteousness come by means of one man+ *esus *Christ. Those who accept .od/s gift will rule with *esus in his *kingdom. "n the end+ .od will defeat death 0& Corinthians &<%<53<=6. Derse &9 The result of Adam/s *sin makes everyone guilty. The result of *Christ/s *righteous act is that everyone can become *righteous. .od offers *righteousness to everyone who will invite him into their lives. Derse &2 #any people became *sinners because Adam did not obey .od. #any people became friends with .od because *Christ obeyed him.

Gods *grace $:!(-!1

!( The effect of the law was that *sin increased. But where *sin increased+ .od/s *grace increased even more. !1 *$in had authority+ and the result was death. But now *grace has authority. The *grace of .od makes people *righteous. And the *grace of .od brings *eternal life because of what *esus *Christ our *:ord has done. Derse 1( When the people received .od/s law+ they knew about .od/s standards. But few people even tried to live their lives by .od/s standards. !eople knew what .od wanted them to do. But most people preferred to continue their *sinful lives. $o people/s *sin increased. But .od/s *grace is greater than people/s *sin. .od had a wonderful plan to rescue people from the power of *sin. Derse 1& .od sent *esus to die on the *cross 0*ohn '%&;6. .od did this because of his great *grace+ in other words+ his kindness. And that act was sufficient to make people *righteous. "t was more than enough to bring *salvation to everyone who trusts him.

Chapter %
5reedom from *sin %:1-!"
6ead to *sin1 ali e in *Christ %:1-1#
1 .od/s *grace increased because *sin increased. But that is not a good excuse for anyone to continue to *sin. ! Certainly notF ,ur lives changed completely when we became Christians. "t was as if our *relationship with *sin died. $o we must not now live as *sinners. " emember what happened at your *baptism. ,ur *baptism united us with *Christ *esus. We were like him at his death. # At *baptism+ our bodies became like his body while it was still in the grave. Then the Aather/s *glorious power raised *Christ from death. And so now+ we also have a new life. $ By means of our *baptism we have been united with *Christ in his death. $o we shall certainly be united with him in his *resurrection. % !eople hammered nails into *esus when they killed him on the *cross. And we know that our former lives ended with him there. "t was as if we died with him. This happened so that our *sinful bodies would lose all their power. Therefore *sin does not still control us. 7 This is because a dead person is free from *sin. & "t was as if we died with *Christ. $o we believe also that we shall take part in his new life. ' We know this fact. Because *Christ rose from death+ he cannot die again. )eath does not continue to have power over him. 1( Because he died+ *sin has no power over him. ?ow that he lives+ he lives to give honour to .od.
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11 "n the same way+ consider that your old *sinful nature is dead. "nstead+ live for .od by *faith in *Christ *esus. 1! Therefore do not allow *sin to control your behaviour. )o not obey the wrong desires of your body+ which will die. 1" )o not use the parts of your body as tools to do evil deeds. "nstead+ give yourselves to .od. Cou are people whom .od has brought from death to life. ,ffer the parts of your body to him. >e will use them as tools to do what is right. 1# *$in shall not be your master. The law does not rule you now. .od/s *grace has made you free. Derses &31 !aul has emphasised .od/s *grace. $o some people were suggesting that they were giving .od honour by continuous *sin. They were providing .od with the opportunity to show more of his *grace. !aul opposed this idea very strongly. "t was a terrible idea. "t was a strange way to think. We know that *sin used to control our lives. But our *sinful lives ended when we became Christians. .od rescued us from the power of *sin. ,f course+ Christians still do wrong things. But they should certainly not allow *sin to control their lives again. Derses '3< !aul reminded them about the meaning of their *baptism. !eople decided to turn away from their *sins. *Baptism followed 0Acts 1%'96. $o by *faith they began a new *relationship with *Christ. Because of this experience+ we take part in his death and *resurrection. ,ur old+ *sinful lives have ended. And we rise again to a new life where we live in order to serve *Christ. Derses ;3= ,ur -*sinful bodies/ does not mean that the physical body itself is wicked. !eople called .nostics thought this. But it is not true. -*$inful bodies/ means that *sin controls our natural desires. Then our natural desires become *sin. Aor example+ it is natural for the body to need food. *$in can change our desire for food. We can want more food than we need. !erhaps we steal because we are greedy. And then other people suffer because we have taken their food away. But now we are united to *Christ by *faith. $o our old nature has ended. "t is as if our old nature died on the *cross with *Christ 0.alatians 1%1(6. Therefore *sin has no power over us. *$in was like a master and we were his slaves. *Christ has freed us to obey him. Derses 93&( We believe that we shall have a part in *Christ/s new life. We have a new kind of life in the present. We also have a part in his *resurrection. *Christ was not like :aGarus+ whom *Christ brought back to life 0*ohn &&%&3556. :aGarus would die again in the end. *Christ/s new life was a completely new kind of life. >e died once only. >e would never die again. >e lives always in order to praise .od the Aather. ,ur *resurrection will be like *Christ/s *resurrection. We too shall not die again. We shall live with *Christ always in order to give honour to .od. Derse && $o a Christian should remember the meaning of his *baptism. >e died with *Christ and rose again with *Christ. $o that Christian will have a new attitude to the way that he lives. -"f anyone is in *Christ+ he is a completely new person/ 01 Corinthians <%&=6. Derses &13&5 These verses show how Christians must behave in their new *resurrection life. Their whole attitude to *sin must change. 7very part of the body can *sin. With our eyes+ we can look at wrong things. With our ears+ we can listen to bad talk. ,ur mouth can say things that can hurt other people/s minds. ,ur hands can work in bad ways. ,ur feet can take us to places that we should avoid. We should not use our bodies as tools to serve *sin. "nstead+ Christians should use their bodies to serve .od. They should do what .od wants. They should go where .od wants them to go. Therefore *sin should not be a Christian/s master. The law orders us to obey .od. But .od/s *grace gives us the desire and power to obey him.

)+o .inds of sla e %:1$-!"

1$ We certainly shall not *sin @ust because the law no longer rules us. We certainly shall not *sin because of .od/s *grace. 1% Cou know this fact. When you give yourselves to obey someone+ you become that person/s slaves. "f *sin controls your life+ you will die. But if you obey .od+ you will become *righteous. 17 Thanks be to .odF Cou used to be slaves to *sin. But now you gladly obey what we taught you. 1& .od has freed you from *sin. ?ow *righteousness controls you.

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1' Because of your human weakness+ " have written this in a way that you can understand. Cou used to offer parts of your body as slaves to a *sinful life. Cou were becoming more and more wicked. But now give your bodies as slaves to a *righteous life. Then you will become *holy. !( Cou used to be slaves to *sin. At that time+ *righteousness did not matter to you. !1 Cou did things then that now cause you to be ashamed. Cou did not receive any benefit from them. The result of these things is death. !! But now that *Christ has freed you from *sin+ .od has made you his slaves. The benefit that you receive causes you to live a *holy life. And the result is *eternal life. !" When you *sin+ the only result of your efforts is death. But *eternal life is a free gift from .od. And we receive it because of what *Christ *esus our *:ord has done. Derse &< !aul repeats his thoughts from verse &. :aw no longer rules them. But to continue in *sin is a terrible and stupid idea. "f they have accepted .od/s *grace+ they will try to obey him. Derse &; !eople who choose to obey someone become that person/s slave. A slave must do everything that his master orders. A person who *sins becomes *sin/s slave 0*ohn 9%'56. The result of *sin will be *spiritual death. Those who obey .od will live in the right way. .od has forgiven them. >e has considered them to be *righteous. ?obody can serve *sin and serve .od at the same time. -?obody can serve two masters/ 0#atthew ;%156. Derse &= !aul praises .od because of the Christians in ome. They have accepted .od/s promises and they have obeyed him. And+ like other new Christians+ they learnt how to please .od. $ince the beginning of the first church+ the *apostles taught that 0Acts 1%516. And !aul too could write to the Christians in Thessalonica+ -We taught you how to live in order to please .od/ 0& Thessalonians 5%&6. $o Christians knew that they should not *sin. Derses &93&2 .od has freed them from *sin. $o they can become as slaves to a right manner of life. !aul is sorry to compare the life of a Christian to that of a slave. But he uses this language to help them. They are slow to understand. They need someone to remind them about the results of *sin. "t is like the effect when someone becomes a slave. That person has to learn how to obey his master. "n the end+ the master controls the slave completely. And if Christians begin to *sin+ they will soon become more and more wicked. "t is easy to *sin at first in small ways. But one *sin follows another sin. And worse *sins follow. >owever+ if Christians obey .od they will begin to live a *holy life. And their lives will please .od. Derses 1(311 *$in does not really benefit anyone. "t controls people. "t ruins people/s lives. And it causes death. -)eath/ is what evelation 01(%&54 1&%96 calls the -second death/. This is the terrible punishment that is the result of *sin. And it is permanent. But people do not have to suffer that punishment. *Christ died so that we can be free from the power of *sin. And we are free as soon as we invite him into our lives. Then+ because *Christ has freed us from *sin+ we can be .od/s slaves. We can live a *holy life on earth. And afterwards+ we will live with .od in heaven. Derse 1' A soldier received his pay because he had earned it. >is wages were what he deserved. A slave also had to work hard. But he did not receive any wages. >e worked because his master forced him to work. $o a slave/s efforts achieved nothing good for the slave !aul has explained that Christians used to be slaves to *sin. "n other words+ *sin was like a master. *$in controlled their lives. But they received no wages and no benefits for their efforts. )eath was the only result of their efforts. .od/s *grace is wonderful. >e gives a free gift that nobody deserves. !eople receive this gift of *eternal life by *faith in what *esus did. !eople receive this free gift when they invite *esus into their lives. ?obody could earn their own *salvation. ,nly *esus could pay the price to free people from *sin. And he did that when he died on the *cross. And so Christians are glad that *esus is their *:ord 0in other words+ their master6.

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Chapter 7
5reedom from 3a+ 7:1-!$
1* An e-ample from *marriage 7:1-%
1 Christian *brothers and *sisters+ " am speaking to people who know the law. Cou should know that the law has authority over a person. But it has authority over that person only while he lives. ! Aor example+ a married woman belongs to her husband all the time that he lives. But if her husband dies+ she is free from the law of *marriage. " $o+ while her husband lives+ she must not marry another man. "f she does+ she is guilty of *adultery. But if her husband dies+ she is free from the *marriage law. Afterwards+ if she marries another man+ she is not guilty of *adultery. # #y *brothers and *sisters+ when *Christ died+ you also died in relation to the law. This happened so that you may belong to *Christ instead. .od raised him from death. ?ow our lives can be useful to .od. $ ,ur human nature used to control us. The law brought to our thoughts *sinful desires that we carried out in our bodies. The result of our actions was death. % The law used to control us. But now we are free. "t is as if we died in relation to the law. $o we can serve .od in the new way of the *>oly $pirit. We do not serve in the old way of the *written law now. Derses &3' !aul wanted to emphasise a Christian/s freedom from law. $o he used an example from a law that the Christians in ome knew well. A woman belongs to her husband while he is alive. "f she marries another man during her husband/s life+ she is guilty of the crime called *adultery. But after her husband dies+ she can marry another husband. The first husband/s death ends the control that the law had over that woman. Derse 5 Before we became real Christians+ *sin controlled our lives completely. A cruel husband acts as if his wife is a mere slave. And *sin had a similar effect on us. We wanted the law to free us from *sin. But the law was unable to achieve this. "n other words+ our best efforts to obey the law could not free us from *sin. "nstead+ the law declared that we were guilty. And it declared that the punishment for our *sin was death. But+ because of .od/s *grace+ *Christ died for us. By *baptism we take part in the death of *Christ. $o+ like a woman whose husband has died+ we are free from the law. *$in used to control us like a cruel husband. But death has ended that situation. And we have chosen to love *Christ. ,ur *relationship with him is also like *marriage. But it is a good *relationship. We want to belong to him. We want to serve him. And we shall live with him always. Derses <3; Because of our human nature+ our desires were *sinful. We wanted to do what the law forbids. $o we did not obey the law. The result of this is death. But because we are now free from the law+ we can serve .od in a new way. The law told us that we must be loyal to .od. $o we obeyed the law because we were afraid of punishment. But now we belong to *Christ. $o we obey him because we want to. We obey *Christ because we love him.

!* )he la+ is good 7:7-1"

7 We certainly cannot say that the law is *sin. But " would not have known about *sin unless the law had told me. Aor example+ without the law " would not know that it is wrong to desire someone else/s possessions. But the law said+ -Cou must not want other people/s possessions./ & Because of this *commandment+ *sin caused all kinds of wrong desires in me. ?obody can fail to obey a law that does not exist. ' At that time+ " was living without knowledge of the law. But then " discovered about the law. And *sin began to control my life. And then my own life ended. 1( The *commandment ought to bring life. "nstead+ " discovered that it brought death. 11 When *sin had an opportunity by the *commandment+ *sin cheated me. The result was death. 1! $o the law is *holy. The *commandment is holy+ *righteous and good. 1" This certainly does not mean that something good caused death. But people have to recognise what *sin really is. *$in produced death in me because of the law+ which is good. $o by the *commandment+ the very wicked nature of *sin became clear.

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Derses =39 Derses &3; do not mean that the law is *sinful. !aul says that such an idea is certainly not correct. The law showed us what *sin is. !aul chose the last of the &( *commandments as an example. "t is easy to think that an action may be wrong. "t is more difficult to realise that our thoughts can be *sinful. To want other people/s possessions is a *sin. !aul would not know this until the law told him 07xodus 1(%&=6. $o the law is good. "t shows what *sin is. But our human nature seems to want things @ust because .od forbids them. $t. Augustine said that he and some of his friends stole some fruit. >e did not even want to eat them. >e knew that it was wrong. And that was the only reason why he stole them. Derses 23&& !aul discovered that *sin cheats us. This is what we think% -" shall be happy when " have more things. " want things that " cannot have./ But these things cannot satisfy us. We think that we can avoid the punishment for our *sin. But such things do not make our lives better. "nstead+ they bring death. !aul uses a military description. The word for -opportunity/ also means the place where soldiers begin an attack. *$in used the *commandment as a place from which to attack people. Derses &13&' The law is *holy because .od gave it. And .od is holy and perfect. $o the law is *righteous. .od intended the law to help people. !aul says that the law is good. "t is not responsible for death. "t is *sin that causes death. The law was good for people. But *sin used it to cause death. That is what *sin does. "t turns something good into something wicked. Aor example+ it can turn love into a wrong sex desire. *$in uses the law wrongly. This shows how terrible *sin is.

"* )he struggle against *sin 7:1#-!$

1# We know that the law is *spiritual. But " am not *spiritual. "t is as if *sin has bought me as a slave. 1$ " do not understand what " do. " do not do what " want to do. "nstead+ " do what " hate. 1% " am doing things that " do not want to do. $o " have to agree that the law is good. 17 " do not still control my own actions. "nstead+ *sin+ which lives in me+ controls me. 1& " know that nothing good lives in me. " mean that there is nothing good in my human nature. " want to do what is good. But " cannot. 1' " do not do the good things that " want to do. " continue to do the wicked things that " do not want to do. !( " do the things that " do not want to do. " do not choose to do such things. "nstead+ *sin+ which lives in me+ controls me. !1 $o " discover that this law 0principle6 is operating in my life. When " want to do good things+ evil desires are there with me. !! "n my spirit+ my delight is in .od/s law. !" But " see another law that works in the parts of my body. This other law fights against the law of my mind. "t makes me a prisoner of the law of *sin. The law of *sin controls the parts of my body. !# " am a very miserable person. " ask who will rescue me from this *sin. "t brings death to my body. !$ But " give thanks to .od. >e rescues me by means of *esus *Christ our *:ord. $o in my mind+ " am a slave to .od/s law. But in my human nature+ " am a slave to the law of *sin. Derses &531< !aul had used -"/ and -me/ in verses =3&'. >e spoke there about the past. "n verses &531<+ he speaks in the present tense. "t is clear that he is describing his own struggles with *sin. #ost people have had such an experience. $o !aul speaks for everyone+ not @ust for himself. There are two opinions about when this struggle took place% &. #aybe !aul was writing about his experiences before he became a Christian. At that time+ !aul wanted to please .od. $o !aul tried to obey .od/s law. !aul was very sincere. But he discovered that he was unable to obey .od/s law completely. !aul did not want to *sin. But *sin controlled his human nature. $o !aul was even doing things that he knew to be wrong 0verses &931(6. This was a terrible struggle for !aul. !aul loved .od/s law 0verse 116. But !aul could not obey it. $o he made himself rules in his mind 0verse 1'6. But he could not even obey those rules because the control 0law6 of *sin was too powerful for him. $o !aul felt miserable and desperate. >e needed someone to rescue him from *sin 0verse 156. At last+ he realised that he could not save himself by his own efforts. And that is when *Christ changed his life 0verse 1<4 Acts 2%&3114 .alatians &%&&3&=6.

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1. ,r maybe !aul was writing as a Christian. >e said that he loved the law 0verse 116. $omeone who does not believe probably would not say this. But a Christian is not -a slave to *sin/ 0verse 1<4 omans ;%&=3&96. And a Christian should not say+ -nothing good lives in me/ 0verse &96. "n fact+ .od/s *>oly $pirit lives in a Christian 0& Corinthians ;%&26. >owever+ many people still believe that !aul was writing here about his struggles as a Christian. !aul wondered how he could show his love for .od in actions. The Christian life is not easy. There is a struggle against *sin. !aul says in !hilippians 0'%&13&56 that he is not perfect. >e is like someone who is running a race. >e has to try very hard to reach the goal. !aul urges Timothy to -fight/ for his *faith. "f this opinion is correct+ !aul/s cry in verse 15 was not a cry of despair. >is cry expresses his great desire to be free from his weak human nature. >e wants to become more *holy. $o perhaps !aul was writing about the time when he was a !harisee. 0The !harisees were a group of **ews who tried to obey all of .od/s laws. !aul belonged to this group before he became a Christian.6 ,r perhaps he was writing as a Christian who was struggling to live a *holy life. But he shows clearly that human knowledge is not enough. We can know what is wrong. We may decide to do what is right. But our power to carry out our decision is weak. !eter said that he would never deny *Christ. But he failed soon afterwards. We cannot live in a manner that pleases .od by our own efforts. !aul emphasised this in .alatians '%'. We can only become Christians by the power of .od/s *>oly $pirit. And after we have become Christians+ we can only please .od by the power of his *>oly $pirit. Derse 1' !aul uses another military description. A law was fighting a war against his mind. The law of his human nature was making him a prisoner of the law of *sin. >e struggled to obey his conscience. >e knew what was right. But he could not do right things. >is cry in verse 15 is a cry of despair. Derse 15 !aul is grateful that he can win the *victory over his *sinful human nature because of *esus *Christ. !aul will explain in chapter 9 how the *>oly $pirit can give to Christians the power to live a *holy life. Derse 1< $ome people who have translated the Bible want to change the order of the verses. They think that the second part of verse 1< should be before the cry of verse 15. They say that it is in the wrong place after !aul/s words in verse 15. But there is no *manuscript evidence for this. "n verse 1< !aul emphasises again his moral struggle+ which he described in verses &5315. And the words lead naturally to omans 9%&+ which begins with the word -Therefore/.

Chapter &
)he *7ol0 ,pirit and Gods children &:1-"'
5reedom from *sinful nature &:1-#
1 Therefore the people who belong to *Christ *esus are not still guilty. ! Because of what *esus *Christ has done+ the law of his *>oly $pirit has given me life. >e has freed me from the law of *sin that brings death. " The *written law had no power+ because our human nature made it weak. But .od did what the law could not do. >e sent his own son to be like people who have a *sinful nature. .od sent *esus to be a *sacrifice for *sin. And so .od *@udged *sin in *Christ/s human nature. # ?ow we can obey all that the law sets out in order to make us *righteous. We do not live by our natural desires now. The *>oly $pirit rules our lives instead. Derse & !aul has explained how powerful *sin is. !eople might want to please .od. And they might try to obey his law. But human nature is too weak to oppose the power of *sin. .od/s law explains how he wants people to live. But *sin seems like another law+ which opposes .od/s law. $o people feel as if they are struggling against *sin. And their efforts to do the right thing seem hopeless. But the wonderful news is that .od frees people from the power of *sin. And he frees them completely. >e forgives their *sin. >e makes them *righteous. >e does these things because of his *grace. And he does these things for everyone who belongs to *Christ *esus. They are not guilty now. They have become .od/s special+ *holy people 07phesians 1%&326.

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Derse 1 *$in is like a law that controls people. ?obody could avoid its power. And *sin caused the most terrible troubles. !eople have to obey *sin+ but the only result of these efforts is death 0 omans ;%1'6. But .od made another law that would free people from the law of *sin. !aul does not mean the *written law+ which told people the nature of *sin. >e is writing about a new law+ which tells people how to live in order to please .od. *eremiah wrote about such a law 0*eremiah '&%''3'56. "t would not be like the *written law. "t would be in people/s hearts and minds. "t would show them how to know .od and to love .od. "t would give them a right *relationship with .od. And .od would forgive their *sins. This new *relationship with .od was possible because of the death of *esus. After *esus/ death+ .od sent the *>oly $pirit. And the $pirit lives in us+ if we are real Christians 0*ohn &5%&;3&=6. "t is the *>oly $pirit that gives life. "t is the *>oly $pirit who makes people able to breathe and so to live 0.enesis 1%=6. "t is the *>oly $pirit who gives *spiritual life to Christians 0.alatians <%&;6. And it is the *>oly $pirit who raises dead bodies to life 0verse &&6. Derse ' The *written law showed people the nature of *sin. But it could not free people from *sin+ because nobody can become *righteous by their own efforts. But .od/s *grace was more powerful than *sin was. And .od had a plan to rescue people from the power of *sin. .od sent his son to live in a human body. *esus had a real human nature that could be tired+ hungry and thirsty. 0-Thirsty/ means that he was sometimes desperate to drink.6 !aul says+ -like/ *sinful human nature. !aul knew that *Christ never *sinned. *Christ obeyed his Aather completely. Then+ on the *cross+ *Christ offered himself for human *sin. $o+ as a perfect *sacrifice+ he removed the punishment for human *sin. We can receive the benefit of his death. .od will forgive us and he will make us *righteous. But first+ we need to accept what .od did by *esus. .od did this because of his great love for people 0*ohn '%&;6. Derse 5 We could not become *righteous by our own efforts. And we could not obey .od/s *written law by our own efforts. But .od has changed our situation. ?ow we can be free from guilty feelings and from the fear of punishment. The *>oly $pirit will guide a Christian. >e will give to Christians the power to live a *holy life. -:ive by the $pirit. Then you will not do the *sinful things that you want to do because of your human nature/ 0.alatians <%&;6.

)+o .inds of life &:$-11

$ $ome people live under the control of their human nature. Their natural desires control their minds. ,ther people live under the control of the *>oly $pirit. The $pirit guides their minds. % The result of our natural thoughts and desires is death. But the result of the thoughts that come from the $pirit is life and *peace. 7 ,ur natural thoughts and desires oppose .od. $uch thoughts do not obey .od/s law. "n fact+ such thoughts are not even able to obey .od/s law. & ?obody who lives by their natural desires can ever please .od. ' But your natural desires do not control you. The *>oly $pirit controls you if the $pirit of .od lives in you. But anyone who does not have the $pirit of *Christ does not belong to *Christ. 1( *Christ lives in you. "t is as if your body is dead because of *sin. But your spirit is alive+ because *Christ has made you *righteous. 11 .od/s $pirit lives in you. This is the same $pirit that raised *esus from death. "n the end+ your bodies will die. But the $pirit+ who raised *Christ *esus from death+ will also bring life to your bodies. This will happen because the $pirit lives in you. !aul contrasts two kinds of life in these verses. a normal life without the power of the *>oly $pirit. $omeone who lives such a life cannot please .od. "nstead+ that person lives by their own thoughts and desires. And such a life will be *sinful+ because *sin controls that person/s mind. )eath is the result of such a life. a life that the *>oly $pirit controls. This is the kind of life that a real Christian should have. .od/s $pirit guides that person/s thoughts and desires. $o that person pleases .od. And the results of that person/s life are good. "n verses <39+ !aul speaks in a general manner. "n verses 23&&+ he speaks directly to the Christians in ome when he says -you/. But these words are also true for every Christian.

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!aul uses three different names for the *>oly $pirit. These are% the *>oly $pirit+ the $pirit of *Christ and the $pirit of .od. But !aul is not describing three different $pirits. The *>oly $pirit comes from .od the Aather and .od the $on. $o the *>oly $pirit is also the $pirit of *Christ and the $pirit of .od. And the *>oly $pirit works in the life of the real Christian. Derse < !aul contrasts two opposite situations. >uman nature causes *sinful behaviour. But life in the *>oly $pirit pleases .od. !aul shows this difference very clearly in .alatians <%&231&. >e sets out many kinds of behaviour that people follow because of human nature. But everything in that list is *sinful. And such things cause pain or trouble. Because of human nature+ people may desire power+ entertainment or possessions. And they do evil acts in order to gain these things. But then+ in .alatians <%1131'+ !aul sets out a very different list. This is the list of the results of the *>oly $pirit/s work in a believer/s life. 7verything in this second list is good. And everything there helps other people. This is because the *>oly $pirit works to achieve good things for other people by the believer/s life. Derses ;39 The results are different. )eath is the result of *sin. :ife and *peace come from the *>oly $pirit. A person will have the gift of *eternal life. >e will be at *peace with .od. >e will be at *peace with other people. >e will be at *peace in himself+ because he is not still afraid of death. >e can now obey .od. $o he is no longer .od/s enemy. These good things happen because that person is not still trying to please himself. "nstead+ the *>oly $pirit guides that person/s mind. $o that person/s natural thoughts and desires seem unimportant. A person can live in such a manner as soon as that person invites .od into his life. The *>oly $pirit is .od/s gift to every believer. And the *>oly $pirit gives to the believer the power to live in a manner that pleases .od. ,f course+ this does not mean that Christians have perfect lives. They do not. The devil continues to use their natural thoughts and desires in order to test them. $uch thoughts and desires cause *sinful acts. $o these thoughts and desires cannot please .od. But Christians learn to depend on the *>oly $pirit. This can be a slow process. They may make many mistakes. But Christians learn that .od is now controlling their lives. .od will provide the things that they need. !eople begin the Christian life by trust in .od. Then they should continue their Christian life in the same manner. Derses 23&( eal Christians do not need to worry about their human nature. .od has sent the *>oly $pirit to live in their lives. "t is as if their human nature is not still alive. "nstead+ their spirits are now alive. And .od/s *>oly $pirit guides and directs their lives. Derse && "n the end+ the human body will die. But the death of the body will not be important+ because the spirit will remain alive. .od raised *esus from death. Those who share *Christ/s life by the *>oly $pirit will rise again too. They will have a new body that will never die again. !aul explains this in & Corinthians chapter &<.

Gods children &:1!-17

1! Therefore+ *brothers and *sisters+ we have a duty. But this is not a duty to our human nature. $o we do not live in order to please our own desires. 1" "f you live to please your own desires+ you will soon die. "nstead+ live by means of the $pirit. "t is as if your body/s natural behaviour must die. Then+ you will really be alive. 1# Those whom the $pirit of .od leads are .od/s children. 1$ Cou did not receive a spirit that controls your life+ like a slave. $uch a spirit would make you afraid again. But you received the *>oly $pirit+ who makes you .od/s child. By the $pirit+ we call .od -Abba/ 0-)ad/6+ Aather. 1% The $pirit @oins with our spirit to declare that we are .od/s children. 17 ?ow+ the children in a family will receive their father/s wealth. And we are .od/s children. $o we shall share all the wonderful things that .od provides for us. We shall share these things with *Christ. We suffer together with him. $o we shall also share his *glory. Derses &13&' Christians must end all the wrong behaviour that belonged to their past life. "n .alatians <%15+ !aul wrote about this matter again. !eople who belong to *Christ should end all *sinful behaviour. They should act as if their human nature died on the *cross. And all the desires and emotions of the human nature have ended too. When people do this+ the $pirit of .od gives new life to them. They will know the real freedom that .od gives. And so they will really know what it means to be alive.

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Derses &53&= !aul speaks about the difference between a slave and a son. >e describes someone who adopts a child. At the time when !aul wrote+ a person might choose to adopt a child. That child would continue that person/s name. And that child would receive that person/s property. There was a serious ceremony in * oman law that handed over the child to his new father. The ceremony had to happen in front of witnesses. The former life of the child did not still exist. >e began a completely new life. >e had the same rights as children by birth. >e would receive his new father/s property. ,ur old life+ which the *sinful nature controlled+ has gone. We have begun a new life. We are the sons and daughters whom .od has adopted. The *>oly $pirit is the witness in us that we have become .od/s children. We can call .od -Abba/. -Abba/ is the word for -father/ in the language called Aramaic. This word shows the family love between father and child. Children in **ewish families still use it today. *esus used the word himself 0#ark &5%';6. "t showed the close *relationship between *esus and his Aather+ .od. *esus taught his *disciples to think about .od as Aather when they prayed. 0:uke &&%16. !aul added the *.reek word for -father/ for * omans who did not know the word in the Aramaic language. Christians receive similar benefits to children whom someone has adopted. Christians have the promise of .od/s property+ because he is their new Aather. They will share the *glory of .od/s own son+ *esus *Christ. *Christ suffered before he received his *glory. $o Christians must expect to suffer too. But they have the promise of future *glory. And that is a wonderful promise.

)he hope of *glor0 &:1&-!$

1& We suffer now. But our present troubles seem very slight when we think about the *glory. "n the future+ .od will show us that *glory. 1' 7verything that .od created waits eagerly for that time. Then .od will show who his children are. !( The world that .od created suffered defeat. This was not the fault of the world itself. But .od allowed this because there was a future hope. !1 .od promised that he would rescue the world. .od would free the world so it would not become bad. >e would free the world so that it can share in the wonderful freedom of .od/s children. !! We know how deeply everything suffers. 7verything that .od created is crying in pain right up to now. "t is in pain like the pain of a mother who is giving birth to a child. Derse &9 !aul could speak about troubles and pain from his own experience. !eople had opposed him and punished him. Those people hated !aul because he spoke .od/s message. !aul had suffered physical difficulties like cold and hunger as he travelled on land and sea. >e also seems to speak about a physical problem that was a painful nuisance to him. But he was sure that he would suffer for only a short time. *.lory would last always. !resent pain is very slight when we compare it with the splendid life of heaven. Derses &2311 When people *sinned+ the world itself suffered. The world lost its original purpose. And everything in the world suffered because of human *sin. !eople had *sinned. But often they knew that they were doing wrong deeds. ?ature had no choice. !lants and animals also suffer illness and death. We know how human *sin spoils .od/s earth. Aor example+ when people cut down trees for selfish reasons+ they make the land bare. Then animals that live in forests cannot continue to live there. And the crops that grow there are often weaker than the old trees. $o that place becomes poorer because people were selfish. >owever+ .od promised that he would free his world. Then the world could share the freedom of .od/s children 0that is+ the real Christians6. The **ews were expecting a new age when the *#essiah would rule. The *prophets spoke about this time. ?ations would be at peace with each other. !eople would make tools for war into tools for farmers 0#icah 5%'356. The land would produce plentiful fruit 0*oel '%&94 Amos 2%&'6. 7ven among animals+ natural enemies would not attack each other 0"saiah &&%;326. Entil .od changes his world+ the world will cry in pain. "t is like a woman who gives birth to a child in pain. ,r+ it is like someone who waits 0verse &26. "t is waiting for the new age to begin. That age will begin when *esus returns as king. When he returns+ everybody will see his *glory. And real Christians will share his *glory. They are the children whom .od adopted. And the world will have peace at last.

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!" That is not all. We ourselves already have the *>oly $pirit as a promise of future *blessing. But we are crying inside as we wait eagerly for .od to adopt us completely as his children. Then he will free our bodies as he raises them to a new life. !# .od *saved us because we had this hope. This would not be hope if we had already received these things. ?obody hopes for what he has already. !$ But we hope for what we do not have already. $o we wait for it patiently. Derse 1' !aul has described how the world seems to cry in pain. "t is waiting for the new age when .od/s children will have complete freedom. And .od/s children 0the real Christians6 also cry inside+ because they also desire that time. ?ow our bodies suffer pain. But then pain and death will end 0 evelation 1&%56. ?ow our *relationship with .od seems distant. But then we shall see his face 0& Corinthians &'%&16. ?ow our lives are not perfect. But then everything will be perfect. The word -promise/ means that the *>oly $pirit is like the -first fruit/ of the harvest. The first fruit is the beginning of the harvest. "t is like a promise that the full 0complete6 harvest will follow. $o Christians have received the *>oly $pirit. >e brings @oy in the present and a promise of *blessing in the future. But we share the pain of the world that .od made. We want to be free from the weakness of our physical bodies. We desire to be free from our human nature+ which still *sins. .od has adopted us as his children already 0 omans 9%&;6. But we are eager for the time when .od will change our human bodies. >e will change them to be like *Christ/s *glorious body 0!hilippians '%1&6. Derses 1531< We can be confident about .od/s plans for the future. We live in the time between pain and *glory. .od will do what he has promised to do. We know this. $o we wait eagerly and patiently at the same time.

)he *7ol0 ,pirit and pra0er &:!%-!7

!% "n the same way+ the $pirit helps us because we are weak. We do not know how we ought to pray. But the $pirit himself acts on our behalf. >e prays with cries of pain that words cannot express. !7 .od+ who knows our hearts+ knows the mind of the $pirit. The $pirit prays on behalf of .od/s people+ even as .od wants him to pray. Derses 1;31= We do not know how to pray in our present situation. We do not know what is best for other people or for ourselves. But we have the *>oly $pirit to help us. *esus promised that the *>oly $pirit would be our advocate 0someone who speaks to support another person6. The *.reek word is -paracletos/ 0*ohn &5%&;6. That is+ the *>oly $pirit will speak on our behalf. The $pirit knows about our pain and he knows about the pain in the world. >e knows what .od wants. $o the $pirit prays on behalf of us. .od knows our thoughts and the mind of the $pirit. $o .od will answer the prayer of the $pirit on behalf of us.

Gods *eternal lo e &:!&-"'

!& We know this. "n all things+ .od works to help those people who love him. They are the people whom .od chose because of his plan. !' .od decided long ago about the people whom he knew. >e decided that they would become like his son. Then *Christ would be the first among many *brothers and *sisters. "( .od had made his decision about them long ago. $o he called them. >e called them+ and he made them *righteous. >e made them *righteous+ and he gave them *glory. Derse 19 -We know/ means that Christians already have had this experience. .od is already working in our lives. We have suffered pain and disappointment. !eople have opposed us. ,ur troubles have been great. But even at the worst times+ .od was working for our benefit. >e was helping us. >e looked after us when nobody else cared. >e is our Aather+ who loves us. And .od promises to continue to look after the people who love him. $o we should not be afraid of future problems. And we should not be angry when unpleasant things happen. "nstead+ we should trust him. >e has a plan. >e chose to adopt us as his sons and daughters. >e is looking after us during our present troubles. And so he will bring us into his new age+ when we shall be free from all these troubles. Derse 12 !aul speaks about the people whom .od already knew. They are .od/s special people. .od loves them. >e has a plan for their lives.
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"n the *,ld Testament+ .od chose the people from *"srael to be his special people 0Amos '%16. .od looked after them in the desert 0>osea &'%<6. >e gave them many benefits 0 omans 2%53<6. And he still cares about them today 0 omans &&%&6. But .od also has a plan to benefit people from every nation. Because of his love+ .od made this plan before the world began. >e decided to *save people. >e would help them to be *holy. >e would do this by means of *Christ his son 01 Timothy &%24 & !eter &%1(6. *Christ shows us the *glory of .od 01 Corinthians 5%56. *Christ was the beginning of *creation 0Colossians &%&<6. By his *resurrection+ *Christ is the beginning of a new *creation. .od made a plan for people who trust in *Christ. .od would adopt them as his children. They would become *Christ/s *brothers and *sisters. >e would make them *righteous. And they would share his *glory. That is how they would become like *Christ 0& *ohn '%16. Derse '( "t was .od/s purpose since the beginning of the world to call people to himself. >e has made them *righteous. The *glory for Christians is in the future. But !aul speaks as if they have already received that *glory from .od. .od decided this before the world began. $o !aul is certain. .od will do everything that he has promised to do. -When *Christ appears+ you will appear with him in *glory/ 0Colossians '%56. "1 This then is what we shall say. .od is on our side so nobody can successfully oppose us. "! .od did not keep back 0rescue6 his own son. But he gave him up on behalf of us all. $o surely .od will freely give us all things+ with *Christ. "" ?obody will accuse .od/s special people. "t is .od who makes us *righteous. "# ?obody can declare that we are guilty. *Christ *esus died. But .od raised him to life. ?ow he is by .od/s right hand. >e too is praying on behalf of us. "$ ?othing can separate us from *Christ/s love. Trouble cannot+ neither can hard times. ?or can attacks from those who oppose our *faith. >unger or lack of clothing cannot separate us from *Christ/s love. )anger or war cannot. "% The *scripture says% -Because of you+ people are killing us all day long. They considered us as sheep that they kill./ Derses '&3'1 .od did not save 0rescue6 his son+ *esus. .od/s love is so great. >e gave his only son to die on the *cross. This was the greatest gift that people could ever receive. $o .od will certainly give us everything else that we need. Derses ''3'5 !aul thinks about a court of law. The Christian has to appear there in front of a @udge. .od is the @udge. >e has said already that the Christian is not guilty. $o nobody can accuse Christians when .od is on their side. Christians also have someone to speak on their behalf+ like a lawyer in court. "t is *Christ. !aul uses an early form of *creed. >e says that *Christ died. *Christ rose again to life. *Christ is now by .od/s -right hand/. .od/s -right hand/ means the place of greatest honour and authority. There *Christ is speaking on behalf of his people. $o Christians have the *>oly $pirit to speak for them on earth 0 omans 9%1;6. They also have *Christ to speak for them in heaven. >e speaks to .od the Aather. -"f anybody *sins+ we have someone who speaks for us to the Aather. *esus *Christ+ who is *righteous+ speaks for us/ 0& *ohn 1%&6. Derse '< !aul says+ -?othing can separate us from *Christ/s love./ >e gives a list of = possible troubles. !eople might think that such troubles could end our *relationship with *Christ. But !aul is sure that they cannot do so. "n fact+ !aul had known many of these troubles himself 01 Corinthians &&%1'31=6. The word -war/ is a translation of the word -sword/. !aul may mean something else. !eople may kill Christians because of their *faith. But even this will not separate them from .od/s love. Derse '; !aul reminds his readers that .od/s people suffered in the past. >e uses words from !salm 55%11. These words describe how the people in *"srael were suffering. They were suffering because they were loyal to .od. They appealed to .od to help them. :ike them+ we may suffer terrible troubles in this world. But like them+ we shall overcome because .od loves us. ?othing can separate us from *Christ/s love.

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"7 But in all these troubles+ we shall overcome. We shall do so by means of .od who loved us. "& " am completely sure that nothing can separate us from .od/s love. ?either death nor life can separate us from .od/s love. ?either *angels nor rulers can do so. ?either the present age nor the age to come can do so. ?o powers can do so. "' ?either height nor depth can separate us from .od/s love. ?othing whatever can do so. .od has shown us his love by means of *Christ *esus our *:ord. Derse '= 7ven while we are suffering+ we shall not be without hope. And that hope will not disappoint us. .od is on our side. ?obody can successfully oppose us 0verse '&6. And so we shall overcome. We shall win a great *victory. We shall win by the power of .od who loved us. Derses '93'2 !aul thinks about everything that might try to separate us from .od/s love. But nothing will be able to do that. While we are alive+ *Christ is with us. "f we die+ we will be nearer to *Christ in heaven. $o neither death nor life can separate us from .od/s love. Then !aul thinks about spirits. And he thinks about powerful rulers. Their power and authority is immense. But even they are unable to separate us from .od/s love. Then !aul tries to describe things that we can hardly imagine. >e refers to the entire period of history. >e refers to the future age and the new world that .od will create. Then !aul thinks about vast measurements of height and depth that seem to have no end. !erhaps he is thinking about the distance between heaven and hell. !erhaps he is thinking about the battle between the *spiritual forces that rule heaven and hell. "t is difficult for us even to think about such things. But !aul is confident that .od/s love is more powerful than anything else. There is nothing anywhere in time or space that can separate .od/s children from their Aather. .od loves us and he has shown us that love by means of *esus *Christ. When *esus died for us+ .od showed us his love 0*ohn '%&;6. >e did this because he wanted to adopt us as his sons and daughters. >e did not want *sin to control us. >e wanted to forgive us. >e wanted to make us *righteous. >e is our Aather .od+ who really loves his children. And *esus *Christ is our *:ord because we want to obey him. *esus is .od. $o *esus loves us as much as .od the Aather does.

Chapters '-11 Gods plan for *2e+s and *Gentiles

"n these chapters+ !aul explains .od/s future plans for the **ews 0in other words+ the *"sraelites6. .od had prepared the **ews during their history+ but most **ews had refused to accept their *#essiah. Because !aul was a **ew too+ he felt great pain in his spirit. >is own people had not accepted their *$aviour. !aul was an *apostle to the *.entiles. $o he explains how .od/s plan for the **ews agreed with his plan for the *.entiles too. Chapter &1 can follow chapters &39 easily. $o chapters 23&& may seem like an interruption. But they should not interrupt !aul/s thought. !aul had explained the *gospel in chapters &39. ?ow he discusses why his own people+ the **ews+ did not accept the *salvation of the *gospel. Also+ !aul may have wanted to explain the situation in ome. There were now many *.entile Christians in ome. **ewish and *.entile Christians may have had wrong ideas about each other/s importance to .od. !aul needed to write about this.

Chapter '
Gods *blessings for the *2e+s ':1-$
1 " speak the truth in *Christ. " am not lying. The *>oly $pirit guides my conscience. The $pirit agrees that " am telling the truth. ! " am very sad. The great pain in my spirit never ends. " " am sad because of my relatives. " mean the people from my own nation called *"srael. " would be willing to do anything to save them. " would even be willing to suffer .od/s punishment or to separate myself from *Christ. # .od adopted my *brother and *sister *"sraelites as his sons and daughters. .od gave to them *glory. They received the *covenants. They received the gift of the law+ the *worship in the *temple and the promises. $ Abraham+ "saac and *acob belong to them. *Christ was born into their family. And *Christ is .od over all. >e should receive honour always. *Amen.

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Derse & !aul wants his readers to understand that he is sincere. $o he makes three statements that will persuade them. >e is speaking the truth because *Christ is with him. >e is not lying. We cannot always trust the human conscience. But !aul has the *>oly $pirit as a witness. The *>oly $pirit is the $pirit of truth. Derses 13' !aul is so sad when he thinks about his relatives+ the **ews. They have not accepted their *#essiah. >e may remember what #oses prayed. "n #oses/ time+ the *"sraelites *sinned when they *worshipped a gold calf 0a model of a young cow or *bull6. #oses thought that .od might not forgive the *"sraelites. #oses asked .od to punish him instead. >e asked .od to -remove his name from the book of life/ 07xodus '1%'16. !aul+ like #oses+ would -suffer .od/s punishment/. This is a translation from the *.reek word -anathema/. "t means something that a person would destroy completely in order to hand it over to .od. "f possible+ !aul would be willing to suffer this punishment so that the **ews could receive .od/s *salvation. This statement shows how deeply !aul wanted the **ews to trust *Christ. "t shows how eagerly !aul was praying for them. !aul loved them so much that he did not even care about himself. "nstead+ he appealed to .od on their behalf. But !aul realised that nothing could separate him from .od/s love 0 omans 9%'96. And !aul knew that the **ews had to trust *Christ in order to receive .od/s *salvation. This is the answer that .od gave to #oses% -" will remove from my book the name of the person who has *sinned against me/ 07xodus '1%''6. ,ur prayers are powerful. But they do not change the principles of how .od acts. >is *mercy is great. But he will only *save people when they put their trust in him. Derses 53< !aul makes a list of the special ways that .od has shown his kindness to the **ews. &. .od had adopted them as his sons. -*"srael is my first born son/ 07xodus 5%116. -,ut of 7gypt " have called my son/ 0>osea &&%&6. 1. The *glory was the evidence that .od was present with his people. The name for it is the -$hekinah/. "t descended on the tent that the *"sraelites used for *worship in the desert 07xodus 5(%'56. Also it descended on the *temple that $olomon built 0& Bings 9%&(3&&6. "n the most *holy place in the *temple+ .od/s *glory was over the ark. That was the special box that contained the *commandments. '. The main *covenant that !aul refers to is the *covenant with Abraham. .od made a *covenant with Abraham that Abraham would have a son and many *descendants 0.enesis &=%53&26. .od would give them the country called *"srael. And .od would show his kindness to all nations by means of Abraham and his *descendant. >owever+ !aul does not @ust mention one *covenant. $o perhaps he also means the other agreements that .od gave to the **ews. When .od gave the :aw 0at the mountain called $inai6+ he made an agreement with #oses and the *"sraelites 07xodus 15%96. .od promised to Bing )avid that .od would establish his royal family 0!salm 92%'53'=6. 5. The :aw. .od had told his people how to obey him. <. The *worship in the *temple. The book of :eviticus gives all the rules for the priests and for the ceremonies. When !aul wrote to the * omans+ the **ews were still using the *temple to offer *sacrifices to .od. ;. The promises. .od promised to Abraham that by one of his *descendants+ .od would show kindness to all the families on earth 0.enesis &1%'6. .od promised a king who would belong to the family of )avid. An example is in "saiah 2%;3=. =. "n the original language+ !aul simply writes -the *fathers/. >e means Abraham+ "saac and *acob. *acob/s &1 sons were the *ancestors of the &1 tribes. 0That is+ the &1 large families which became the *"sraelites.6 9. *Christ was born as a **ew 0#atthew &%&6. The last words of verse < are words to praise .od. But there is no mark to separate words in the *.reek *manuscript. $o it is not clear whether -.od over all things/ refers to .od the Aather or to *Christ. "n the *?ew Testament+ people usually praise .od rather than praise *esus. Esually !aul calls *esus -.od/s son/ and not -.od/. But !aul thinks about *esus as .od. !aul calls *esus -*:ord/ and he speaks about *esus/ part in *creation 0Colossians &%&;3&=6. *esus is -our *:ord in life and in death/ 0 omans &5%26. $o *esus *Christ is -.od over all things/. >onour is due to him.
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Gods choice ':%-1"

% ,f course+ .od/s word has not failed. ?ot all the people who came from the family of *"srael really belong to *"srael. 7 ?ot all the *descendants of Abraham are his true children. But the *scripture says+ -"t is by means of "saac that you will have *descendants./ & "n other words+ someone does not become a child of .od by natural means. ,nly the children that .od promised became the *descendants. ' These are the words of .od/s promise+ -" will come back at the right time+ and $arah will have a son./ 1( And that is not all. ebecca/s children had the same father+ our *ancestor "saac. 11 .od spoke to ebecca before her two sons were born. .od spoke to her before the two sons did anything good or bad. .od showed his purpose and his choice. >e decided what would happen. 1! "t was not because of anything that the two sons did. "t was because .od chose it. $o .od told ebecca+ -The older son will serve the younger son./ 1" "t is even as the *scripture said+ -" loved *acob+ but " did not care for 7sau./ Derses ;32 Although they had all these special *blessings+ many **ews did not accept .od/s son. But !aul knows that .od/s plan for his people could not fail. !aul uses two examples from the *,ld Testament to explain this. The **ews 0or *"sraelites6 were the *descendants of Abraham+ "saac and *acob. .od made a *covenant with Abraham. But not all of Abraham/s *descendants are **ews. That is because the *covenant has a relationship with .od/s promise. Abraham had several sons. But "saac was the only son that .od promised to Abraham. .od/s promise has a relationship with the work of .od/s $pirit. "saac was not born in a natural way. $arah 0"saac/s mother6 was too old to have children. $o the real *descendants of Abraham are people who receive .od/s promise by means of his $pirit. And a person only becomes a child of .od when that person receives .od/s promise by means of his $pirit 0verse 96. $o+ not everyone who has *acob 0*"srael6 as his *ancestor is a true *"sraelite. A physical *descendant of Abraham might not be a real **ew in the *spiritual sense. Those who believe .od/s promises are Abraham/s real *descendants. !aul had explained this in chapter 5%&'3&;. .od promised to give to Abraham a son+ "saac. Abraham had a son already+ "shmael+ who was born to a slave called >agar. But it was by means of "saac that .od would give Abraham *descendants. !aul mentions the promise that Abraham/s wife $arah would have a son. This promise is in .enesis &9%&(. Derses &(3&' !aul gives a second example of .od/s choice. "saac/s wife ebecca gave birth to two babies at the same time+ *acob and 7sau. Before they were born+ .od said that the older son would serve the younger son. 7sau was born first+ but .od chose *acob. >is choice made no reference to their character. .od made his choice before their birth. >e chose before they could act in good or bad ways. 7sau/s *descendants were called the 7domites 0or 7dom6. *acob/s *descendants were called *"srael. The 7domites did serve *"srael at times in their history 0for example+ 1 $amuel 9%&'3 &56. >owever+ the words from #alachi &%&3' which refer to *"srael and 7sau emphasise .od/s choice. The original words -" hated 7sau/ mean -" did not choose 7sau/. These events show that *acob did not earn the benefit of the *covenant. *acob received the benefit because of .od/s *grace 0kindness6. !aul often emphasises that nobody can earn *salvation by their own efforts. And he repeats this principle in verse &1. ,ur *salvation depends completely on .od/s kindness. "t is a free gift. We can only accept or refuse that gift.

Gods right to act as he +ishes ':1#-!'

4 idence from the *8ld )estament ':1#-1&
1# We certainly cannot say that .od is unfair. 1$ >e said to #oses+ -" will choose the people who will receive my *mercy. And " will choose whom " will pity./

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1% $o our *relationship to .od does not depend on what we want. And it does not depend on what we do. "t depends on .od/s *mercy. 17 "n *scripture+ the *:ord says to !haraoh 0the ruler of 7gypt6+ -" had a special reason why " made you king. " used you to show my power. " wanted people everywhere in the world to know my name./ 1& $o .od does what he wants to do. >e shows *mercy to anyone whom he chooses. But he makes a person unwilling to change when he wants to. Derses &53&; .od does not choose a person merely because of that person/s *ancestors. And .od does not choose someone because of that person/s deeds. But !aul emphasises that .od is not unfair. >e is *righteous and he is perfect. !aul uses words from *scripture to show that .od cannot be unfair. .od told #oses that he is kind to people. >e acts with *mercy and love when he deals with people 07xodus ''%&26. >e does not deal with them as they deserve. >e shows his love to them as he chooses. Derses &=3&9 The *"sraelites used to be slaves in 7gypt. The !haraoh 0ruler of 7gypt6 refused continuously to let the *"sraelites go. .od sent #oses as a *prophet to !haraoh+ to tell !haraoh to free the *"sraelites. But still !haraoh refused. >e was unwilling to change his decision. We often say that such a person has a hard heart. $o !haraoh made his heart hard against #oses and the *"sraelites. $o in the end+ .od let his heart stay hard. "n verse &=+ !aul refers to 7xodus 2%&;. .od used the situation with !haraoh for his 0.od/s6 own purposes. .od himself overcame !haraoh/s strong army. And so .od freed his people. And people across the entire region heard what .od had done. The Bible contains many passages that warn people not to have the same attitudes as that !haraoh. "saiah knew that the hearts of unbelievers would become hard 0"saiah ;%23&(6. And *esus used "saiah/s words when the **ews refused to believe in him 0*ohn &1%'235(6. But .od is not unfair if he makes a person/s heart hard. The result of *sin is .od/s @udgement.

)he *Creators plans ':1'-!'

1' $omeone may say+ -.od should not still blame us. ?obody can oppose what .od wants to do./ !( " shall reply to such a person% you are a mere man. Cou have no right to accuse .od. *$cripture says+ -An ob@ect that someone has made cannot say to its maker+ JCou should not make me like this.K / !1 The *potter has the right to make different kinds of pot. $ome pots are for noble purposes. ,ther pots are for unclean use. But the *potter makes both kinds of pot from the same lump of *clay. Derse &2 !aul imagines a person who is complaining about .od. That person argues that .od should not blame people. !aul will now show that such an opinion is seriously wrong. Derse 1( !aul reminds people that .od is the *Creator. !eople exist because .od created them. "t would be very wrong for a person to accuse his *Creator. !aul is not talking about people who are sincere. They ask 8uestions because they want to know the truth. !aul is talking about people who do not want to obey .od. They try to find an excuse to oppose .od/s authority. Derse 1& !aul uses an example from the work of a *potter. "saiah had used the idea of *clay and a *potter. A *clay pot cannot pretend that the *potter has no skill. "n fact+ the pot is evidence of the *potter/s skill 0"saiah 12%&;4 5<%26. !aul uses a similar idea. >e says that the *potter has the right to make different kinds of pot. $ome pots may be beautiful. ,ther pots may be ordinary. $till other pots are for unclean use. $o .od has the right to deal with people as he chooses. .od does not have to explain to people what he does. !eople should respect .od. >is decisions are always right. >is @udgements are perfect. !! .od is like that *potter. .od shows his anger and his power. >e has been very patient with some people although he is angry with them. Those people are like the pots that the *potter will destroy. !" .od has done this so that he can show the greatness of his *glory. >e has prepared other people to receive this *glory+ because of his kindness to them. !# We are the people whom he has called. But he did not @ust call **ews to be his people. >e called people from all the nations. !$ That is why .od says in the Book of >osea+ -These people were not mine. But " will call them+ so that they will become my people. ?obody loved her. But " will love her.

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!% " told them+ JCou are not my people.K But+ in the same place+ " shall call them JChildren of the .od who always livesK./ Derses 1131' .od has the right to show his anger and his power. But he has been very patient with the people who oppose him. >e has delayed the time for @udgement. >e has given them more opportunity to *repent. Because they do wicked things+ they are preparing themselves for punishment. But .od is preparing for *glory the people who have received his *mercy. These people will see .od/s *glory. And they will share it themselves 0 omans 9%&=3&96. Derses 1531; !aul includes himself with the **ews to whom .od has shown *mercy. But !aul then says that *.entiles have become .od/s children too. !aul uses words from the *prophet >osea. These words show that .od intended this to happen. >osea had a wife who was not loyal to him. >osea thought that he was not the father of his wife/s second and third children. $o he named the second child :o3ruhamah. This name means that >osea felt unable to show love to this child. >osea named the third child :o3ammi+ which means -not my people/. These children were signs that *"srael had not been loyal to .od. But in the future+ .od would be able to call *"srael -my people/. And at that time+ .od would show real love to them 0>osea &%;+ 9324 1%1'6. >osea was speaking about *"srael in his time. !aul saw >osea/s words as a *prophecy. The *.entiles would also be people whom .od loved. And !aul could see that this was starting to happen by means of his own work among the *.entiles. !7 "saiah cries out about *"srael+ -The number of people from *"srael may be as many as the sand by the sea. But .od will rescue those people that remain. !& The *:ord will carry out his punishment on earth. >e will carry it out 8uickly and he will complete it./ !' 7arlier "saiah had said+ -The *:ord 0commander of heaven/s armies6 gave *descendants to us. ,therwise+ we would have become like $odom. We would have been like .omorrah./ Derses 1=312 .od has promised many wonderful things to the **ews. And he will do the things that he has promised to do. >is *salvation is for all the **ews who remain 0"saiah &(%1(4 Lechariah &'%&6. But that will only happen after terrible troubles+ which will affect the whole earth. Aew people will remain then to receive the benefit of .od/s promise 0Lechariah &'%9326. Derses 1=319 "saiah wrote at the time when an army from Assyria was attacking *udah+ the southern *kingdom of *"srael. .od had promised to Abraham that his *descendants would be very many. ?obody would be able to count them+ like the sand by the sea 0.enesis 11%&=6. But because of their *sin+ .od was using Assyria to punish the people in *"srael. $o only a few of them would remain 0"saiah &(%1131'6. Derse 12 When .od destroyed the wicked cities called $odom and .omorrah+ their punishment was total. ?othing remained in those places. 7verybody from those cities died 0except for :ot and his two daughters6. $o the people from $odom and .omorrah had no *descendants. Their punishment was sudden and final. But .od did not deal with the *"sraelites in the same manner. Their evil deeds had become very severe at the time of "saiah. And "saiah warned them that they would suffer a terrible punishment. But .od still had a plan for the *"sraelites. $o the punishment would not be total or final. >e would allow them to have *descendants 0"saiah &%26. "saiah gave his son the name+ $hear3@ashub 0"saiah =%'6. This name means -those who remain will return./ The name was a sign to the king and to the people. "f they trusted .od+ some **ews would remain free to return to their country. Aor !aul+ "saiah/s words were a *prophecy that many **ews would not trust .od. ,nly a few would accept his son and avoid @udgement. These few would -return/ to .od to obey him. And by them+ .od would carry out his promise to *save the **ews.

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)he stone that people trip o er ':"(-""

"( $o+ we say that the *.entiles were not trying to become *righteous. But many *.entiles did become *righteous. They achieved this simply because they trusted .od. "1 The people from *"srael were trying to become *righteous by means of their own efforts+ as they obeyed the law. But they did not succeed. They could not obey the whole law. "! This is the explanation. They were not trusting .od. They were trying to become *righteous by means of their own efforts. They were like someone who trips over a stone. "" The *scripture uses the same description% -:ookF " am laying in *Lion a stone that causes people to trip. That rock will cause trouble. The rock means someone whom people will trust. And he will never disappoint them./ Derses '(3'& !aul contrasts **ews and *.entiles. *.entiles were not looking for a way to have a right *relationship with .od. But when they discovered the *gospel+ they accepted it by *faith. But most **ews thought that they could earn their way to heaven. $o they tried to obey the law. They thought that .od would accept them because of their good deeds. But because they could never be perfect+ they could never receive a right *relationship with .od. They ought to have accepted the *gospel by *faith+ as the *.entiles were doing. The *gospel is for everyone+ both **ews and *.entiles. ?obody can earn *salvation by means of their own efforts. Derses '13'' #ost **ews did not accept .od/s offer to forgive them+ although *Christ died for them. !aul says that the message about the *cross was like a stone 0& Corinthians &%1'6. A large stone can be useful. "t can become a strong base for a building. But that stone is not useful to a person who does not recognise its value. That stone may cause trouble. $omeone may trip over it. And so the person who believes the message about the *cross benefits from that message. But the same message causes trouble for the person who refuses to believe it. !aul combines two *prophecies in "saiah. "saiah 9%&5 describes .od as a rock that could provide *"srael with a place of safety. But if they refuse his offer of security+ they will suffer. They will be like someone who falls over a rock. "saiah 19%&; speaks about a stone that is the most important stone in the building. "t is the corner stone that @oins two walls together. ,r it is the stone that completed a curve. !salm &&9%11 speaks about a stone. The builders thought that it had no value. But it became the most important stone in the building. *esus used these words about himself 0#atthew 1&%516. !eter combined the words from "saiah with !salm &&9%11 when he wrote about *Christ and his church 0& !eter 1%5396. *Christ will never disappoint those who trust in him. Another translation of "saiah 19%&; is% -Those who trust in .od will not be in a hurry./ They will not rush about in fear when other people are afraid. "nstead+ they will trust that .od will carry out his plans.

Chapter 1(
)he la+ and *faith 1(:1-1"
1 *Brothers and *sisters+ my greatest desire is for the people from *"srael to accept *salvation. " pray to .od on behalf of them. ! " am sure that they are eager about .od. But they do not know what he really wants. " They do not know how .od makes people *righteous. "nstead+ they try to become *righteous by their own efforts. $o they refuse the means by which .od makes people *righteous. # *Christ has completed the law. $o now everyone who believes can be *righteous. $ #oses wrote about people who want to become *righteous by means of the law. >e wrote+ -$omeone who obeys the law will live by means of the law./ % But the way to do what .od wants begins with *faith in him. *$cripture says+ -)o not imagine that you have to go up to heaven./ 0That means to go up into heaven in order to bring *Christ down.6 7 -And do not imagine that you have to go down into a deep place./ 0That means to bring *Christ up from death.6 & This is what it says. -The word is near you. $peak it with your mouthF Believe it in your heartF/ That means the message that we are *preaching. Cou must put your *faith in it.

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' $ay with your mouth+ -*esus is *:ord./ Believe in your heart that .od raised *esus from death. "f you do these things+ .od will *save you. 1( As you believe in your heart+ .od will make you *righteous. And as you declare this with your mouth+ .od will *save you. 11 *$cripture says+ -*Christ will never disappoint anyone who trusts in him./ 1! There is no difference between **ews and *.entiles. They all have the same *:ord. .od is generous to everyone who asks him for help. 1" *$cripture says+ -.od will *save everyone who calls upon the name of the *:ord./ Derses &31 !aul repeats his great desire. >e wants very much his own people to accept their *#essiah. >e knows from his own experience how much the **ews wanted to serve .od. !aul had been a !harisee 0a strict **ew6. At that time+ !aul thought that the Christians were wrong about .od. And !aul was so eager to please .od. $o !aul arrested many Christians 0!hilippians '%;6. But !aul had to learn an important lesson. "t is not good to be eager+ if one does not have knowledge 0!roverbs &2%16. Derses '35 The **ews were trying to please .od. But they did not know how to please .od. The **ews thought that they must obey all their laws. Then they would be in a right *relationship with .od. But this is not correct. ?obody can earn a right *relationship with .od by means of that person/s own efforts. A person has a right *relationship with .od if he or she believes in *Christ. The purpose of .od/s law is to show people that they need *faith in *Christ. *Christ showed more completely what the law meant 0#atthew <%&=6. >is death was the perfect *sacrifice for *sin. And he gives the *>oly $pirit. With the help of the >oly $pirit+ people can live in a manner that pleases .od. Derse < #oses had said+ -$omeone who obeys the law will live by means of the law/ 0:eviticus &9%<6. >e was explaining that people had to obey .od/s law completely. "f they did so+ they would have a right *relationship with .od. But !aul is emphasising that people did not obey the law. Apart from *Christ himself+ nobody had ever obeyed the law perfectly. But #oses explained that a proper *relationship with .od is not difficult to achieve. We do not achieve this by our own efforts. "nstead+ we need to believe his message in our hearts. And we declare the message that .od has given to us. We do this by *faith+ in other words+ because we trust him. 0$ee omans &(%;3&(.6 Derses ;3= !eople receive a right *relationship with .od by *faith in *Christ. "t is not difficult to find .od. !aul thinks about #oses/ words in )euteronomy '(%&13&5. What .od teaches is not difficult to find. !eople do not have to search for it in heaven or in the depths of the sea. !aul says the same thing about the *gospel as #oses said about .od/s law. There is no need to search for *Christ. >e had already come down from heaven as a man. And he had risen from death+ so there was no need to look for him in the grave. Derses 93&& The message that the *apostles *preached was about trust in *Christ and his *resurrection. "n other words+ it was about *faith. And .od would *save people who have *faith in *Christ. They would have a right *relationship with .od. .od would make them *righteous. >e would give them the *>oly $pirit. And .od/s $pirit would teach them how to live in a manner that pleases .od. Their *relationship with .od would not depend on the law. "t would depend on *Christ+ who made the law complete. By his death+ *Christ did everything that the law orders to make people *righteous. And by his *resurrection+ we too receive a new life. 0$ee omans ;%&39.6 That is why !aul emphasises *Christ/s death and *resurrection here. !aul tells the people to declare+ -*esus is *:ord./ The word -*:ord/ has two meanings. $laves would call their master+ -*:ord/. The word shows that the slave intends to obey his master. "n the same manner+ Christians should obey *esus completely 0*ohn &'%&'3&;6. But the word -*:ord/ is also a translation of .od/s most *sacred name. $o !aul was emphasising that *esus is .od. And !aul said that this belief was essential for Christians to declare. "n verse 2+ !aul is describing the moment when a person becomes a real Christian. Aor the first time+ that person has real *faith in .od. That person believes in his or her heart. "t is not sufficient simply to say the words without *faith. But if that person is sincere+ .od will give *faith to that person 0#atthew =%=396. And the actual words that a person speaks at that moment do not always need to be these words. But these are good words to say.

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"n fact+ -*esus is *:ord/ was the earliest form of *creed. !eople would declare in public+ -*esus is *:ord/ at their *baptism. Afterwards+ they would continue to tell other people about their *faith 0& !eter '%&<6. *Christ will never disappoint anyone 0"saiah 19%&;6. >e will *save everyone who trusts him. Derses &13&' *Christ is *:ord of both **ews and *.entiles. *Christ offers *salvation to everyone. >e will *save everyone who asks him. !aul uses words from *oel 1%'1 to emphasise this. !eter used the same words at the end of his speech on the day called *!entecost 0Acts 1%1&6.

Paul ans+ers *2e+ish e-cuses 1(:1#-!1

1# But people cannot call upon the name of the *:ord unless they believe in him. And they cannot believe in him if they have not heard about him. And they cannot hear about him unless someone *preaches to them. 1$ And nobody will *preach unless someone sends that person. $o+ the *scripture says+ -"t is wonderful when someone goes to declare a good message./ 1% But people do not always obey the good message. "n fact+ "saiah wrote+ -*:ord+ it seems that nobody believes our message./ 17 $o *faith comes when people hear the message. And the message that people hear is the word of *Christ. 1& But " consider that the people in *"srael heard .od/s message. "t is as the *scripture says% -The sound of their message has gone out into all the earth. !eople have heard their words even in distant places across the world./ 1' And also+ " consider that the people in *"srael understood .od/s message. Airst+ #oses says% -" 0.od6 will choose people whom you do not even consider to be a nation. And " will make you @ealous. " will choose people who seem foolish. And " will make you angry./ !( And "saiah declares boldly what .od says+ -!eople who were not looking for me have found me. " have shown myself to people who did not ask for me./ !1 But "saiah also explains what .od says about *"srael+ -All day long " have appealed to these people. But they continuously refuse to obey me. And they oppose me./ Derses &53&< These words are still true today. ?obody can believe in *Christ unless that person has heard about him. !eople cannot hear about *Christ unless someone tells them. .od must send someone to tell them the good news. A person must have *faith in order to please .od. The opposite of *faith is unbelief. But when many people hear the *gospel+ their reaction is unbelief. "n this passage+ !aul is thinking about the reasons for this reaction. 7specially+ he is thinking about the **ews. !aul was himself a **ew. .od had given many benefits to the **ews. But still most **ews had refused to accept *Christ. !aul shows that there is no proper excuse for unbelief. &. Derse &< $omeone might try to explain this unbelief. !erhaps the people would believe if they heard .od/s message. But that explanation cannot be correct. $omeone can only show unbelief after they have heard a message. !aul refers to "saiah <1%= to show how the people had heard .od/s message. "n that verse+ the person was bringing the good news about freedom to the **ews. They could return from Babylon where they were prisoners. !aul knows that the **ews have heard the good news of freedom from *sin. Because of *Christ/s death+ .od will free everyone who accepts him+ both **ews and *.entiles. 1. Derse &; ?ot everyone believed the good news+ even if they had heard it. !aul showed that this was true in "saiah/s time. ?obody would believe .od/s message about his suffering servant 0"saiah <'%&6. That message about the suffering servant was a *prophecy about *esus/ death. *esus died on the *cross so that .od would forgive people/s *sin. But not everyone obeys .od/s message. The reaction of many people is unbelief.

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'. Derses &=3&9 *Aaith comes when people hear the message. That is+ the message about *Christ. But the **ews could not say that they had no opportunity to hear this message. !aul replies with words from !salm &2%5. The words describe how the sun+ moon and stars are like witnesses to .od+ their *Creator. !aul uses the words to mean that the **ews have heard. "t is true that the *gospel message has still not gone out through the whole world. But many **ews lived in the countries round the #editerranean $ea. !aul knew that they had been able to hear the *gospel. !aul himself had *preached it in many cities. 5. Derses &231( $omeone might say+ -7ven if people had heard the message+ they might not understand it./ !aul answers with words from the two main parts of the *>ebrew Bible. These parts are the law and the *prophets. .od spoke by means of #oses. .od said that he would make the **ews @ealous of the *.entiles 0)euteronomy '1%1&6. Already !aul has used >osea/s message 0>osea 1%1'6 about people who were not .od/s people 0 omans 2%1<6. ?obody had taught the *.entiles about .od. $o they were people who -did not understand/. !aul adds a *prophecy from "saiah 0;<%&6. "saiah/s message to the *"sraelites was very bold. .od would show himself to people who were not looking for him. "n other words+ .od would *save people who were *.entiles. !aul has already explained how .od *saved *.entiles because of their *faith. But many **ews did not have *faith. "nstead+ they showed unbelief. .od offers *righteousness as a free gift. But they wanted to become *righteous by means of their own efforts. And that is impossible 0 omans 2%'(3'16. <. Derse 1& The answer to all these excuses was in "saiah 0;<%16. #ost **ews did not hear or understand the *gospel because of their *sinful attitudes. Because of their unbelief+ they would not obey the *gospel. All during their history+ .od had appealed to the **ews. :ike a father+ .od held out his hands+ ready to receive them like a child. But they did not want to obey him. They wanted to achieve *salvation by their own efforts. But that is simply not possible. .od offers *salvation as a free gift to everyone who trusts him. That is the only way to receive *salvation. And it is available to both **ews and *.entiles.

Chapter 11
Gods plan for *Israels future 11:1-"!
)he results of the *2e+s failure to obe0 God 11:1-1!
1 $o+ " tell you that .od did not decide to end his *relationship with his people. That is certainly not correct. " am an *"sraelite myself. " am a *descendant of Abraham. " belong to the family of Ben@amin. ! .od did not decide to end his *relationship with his people+ whom he chose long ago. Cou ought to know what *scripture says about 7li@ah. >e complained to .od about *"srael. " >e said+ -*:ord+ they have killed your *prophets. They have destroyed your *altars. " am the only person who is still loyal to you. And they are trying to kill me./ # This is how .od answered him. >e said+ -" have kept =((( people who are still loyal to me. They have not *worshipped Baal/ 0a false god6. $ $o too+ at the present time+ there remain some people who are loyal to .od. .od has chosen them because of his kindness. % And if .od chose them by his kindness+ then their *relationship with .od does not depend on their good deeds. "f that were true+ then kindness would not have any real meaning. 7 $o then+ the people in *"srael did not obtain what they wanted. But the people whom .od chose obtained it. The rest of the people became unwilling to change. & *$cripture says+ -.od made it hard for them to understand. "t was as if he made them blind. $o they could not see 0know6 the truth. "t was as if he made them deaf. $o they were unwilling to listen to his message. And they are still like that today./ ' And )avid says+ -" pray that their greedy attitudes will cause troubles for them. " pray that their enemies will hunt them with nets and traps. " pray that they will suffer a complete and proper punishment.

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1( #ake their eyes blind. Bend over their backs so that they can never recover./ 11 " am not saying that they could never recover from their troubles. That is certainly not correct. But because of their wrong deeds+ the *.entiles have received *salvation. .od wants to make the people in *"srael @ealous. 1! The whole world benefited as a result of their wrong deeds. The *.entiles benefited because of their error. But everyone will benefit much more when .od/s plan to *save *"srael is complete. Derse & .od had wonderful plans for the **ews. >e sent their *messiah+ who is *esus. >e offers them *grace+ *salvation and *righteousness. But the reaction of most **ews was unbelief. They refused to accept .od/s generous gifts. "t might seem that .od/s plans for the **ews had failed. But !aul shows in this chapter that .od/s plans had not failed. "n fact+ .od has an even more wonderful plan for the future of the **ews. !aul has already spoken about the effects of unbelief. "n omans 2%&=+ he spoke about !haraoh 0the ruler of 7gypt6. !haraoh tried to stop .od/s plans. !haraoh/s efforts could not succeed. !haraoh and his army suffered a terrible punishment. But of course+ .od/s plan was successful. >e even used !haraoh/s unbelief to win a great *victory. The situation at the time of !aul was similar. !eople had shown great unbelief. But they could not stop .od/s plan. And this is still true today. .od still has a plan for the **ews. Those people who show unbelief will not benefit. Enless they *repent+ they will suffer the punishment for their *sins. But .od/s plan will succeed. >e will win a great *victory. !aul shows in two ways that .od has not ended his *relationship with the **ews. &. !aul is a **ew himself. >e is a *descendant of Abraham. >e is from the family called Ben@amin. This was a small family+ but the first king of *"srael came from it. !aul had acted against .od in the past before he became a Christian. .od had forgiven him. $o .od could forgive other **ews as well. Derses 135 1. !aul reminds the **ews about the answer that .od gave to the *prophet 7li@ah. The 8ueen made plans to kill 7li@ah. >e knew that the people no longer *worshipped .od. They had destroyed .od/s *altars. *!rophets had died because of their *faith. 7li@ah thought that he was the only person in *"srael who was still loyal to .od. .od told him that this was not true. There were still =((( people who were loyal to .od. They had not *worshipped the false god+ Baal 0& Bings &2%&53&96. Derses <3; 7ven as in the time of 7li@ah+ there were still **ews who were loyal to .od. .od had chosen them because he loved them. They did not deserve his love. They could not receive *salvation because of their own deeds. .od showed his kindness when he *saved them. But if they deserved *salvation+ .od would not be showing any kindness. $o .od gives gifts to people that they do not deserve. Derses =39 "n !aul/s time+ there were two groups of **ews. This is still true in many nations today. ,ne group showed *faith. They were the people whom .od chose. >e *saved them because of his kindness. But the second group showed unbelief. They were unwilling to obey .od. !aul combines two passages of *scripture. >e shows what happens to people in that second group. They do not believe the *gospel. And they even become unable to hear or to understand it. Airst !aul uses "saiah 12%&(% -The *:ord has made you sleep. >e has closed your eyes./ Then !aul uses )euteronomy 12%5% -7ven today the *:ord has still not given you a mind that understands. "t is as if your eyes cannot see. "t is as if your ears cannot hear./ Derses 23&( !aul also uses words from !salm ;2%1131'. The writer of that !salm asks .od to act against his enemies. >is enemies are like people who sit at a *feast. They feel happy and safe. But enemies could attack them before they realise it. !aul associates that passage with the **ews who refused to believe .od/s good news. !aul suggests that they feel happy and safe. But their selfish satisfaction is like a trap that will cause terrible pain. The day will come when they cannot see 0know6 the truth at all. Then+ they will suffer. They will be like blind people. ,r+ they will be like a person who bends over with a great load on his back. Their wrong attitudes will cause them great trouble.

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Derses &&3&1 #any **ews refused to believe the *gospel. !aul has explained about the terrible punishments that those people will suffer because of their unbelief. But that is not the end of .od/s *relationship with the **ews. .od still has a plan for their families. !aul emphasises that the **ewish people will recover from their troubles. They will again be the people whom .od has chosen. But in the meantime+ .od offers *salvation to everyone who will accept it. Because *"srael has *sinned+ *salvation has come to the *.entiles. "n the Book of Acts+ :uke records 5 occasions when !aul began to *preach to *.entiles. But those **ews refused his message of *salvation. $o !aul offered it to the *.entiles 0Acts &'%5;4 &9%;4 &2%9324 19%196. The **ews would see how .od had brought *blessings to the *.entiles. $o the **ews would be @ealous and they would turn to .od themselves. Their *sin had brought *blessings. $o there will be an even greater *blessing for everyone in the end. The **ews will return to .od. The number of **ewish believers will be complete. And **ews and *.entiles will be glad together because of what .od has done.

Paul +arns the *Gentiles 11:1"-!#

1" " am talking to you who are not **ews. " am the *apostle to the *.entiles. $o " think that my work for them is very important. 1# " will make the **ews @ealous by my work among the *.entiles. $o " hope that some **ews will trust *esus. 1$ The result of their temporary loss was that the whole world could return to .od. But when the **ews return to .od+ the result will be wonderful. :ife will replace death. 1% !eople offer *dough to .od. "f the first piece is *holy+ all the *dough is *holy. "f the root of a tree is *holy+ so are the branches. 17 A gardener might remove some branches from an *olive tree. Then he might take some branches from a wild *olive tree. And he can bind the wild branches onto his own tree. Those branches would then share the strength that comes from its root. Cou *.entiles are like those wild branches. 1& But do not imagine that you are better than the **ewsF The branches of a tree do not support the root. "t is the root that supports the branches. $o remember who gave you the opportunity to know .od/s kindness. ?ow+ the **ews are like the branches that the gardener removed. 1' Cou+ who are *.entiles+ might say+ -They are like the branches that the gardener removed. And " have now taken their place./ !( Ces+ but this happened because they did not believe .od. Cou have taken their place simply because you believed .od. )o not be proud. Be afraid of .odF !1 .od did not *save them+ although they were like the natural branches. And he will not *save you 0unless you are humble6. !! ememberF .od is kind. But he is also strict. >e was strict with those who refused to obey him. But he was kind to you. $o you must continue to live in his kindness. ,therwise+ you cannot have a *relationship with .od. Cou would become again like branches that are not part of the tree. !" "f the people from *"srael do not continue in their unbelief+ .od will mend their *relationship with him. "t will be as if those natural branches are again part of the tree. .od is able to do this. !# A gardener can cut a branch from a wild *olive tree. And he can @oin that branch to an *olive tree in his own garden. But that is an unnatural event. emember that you *.entiles are like that wild branch. But the natural branches come from the same tree. $o it is much more natural that they should be part of the tree again. Derses &'3&< !aul was an *apostle to the *.entiles. $o he speaks to them about his work. !aul was teaching the *.entiles to become *righteous by means of *faith. >e knew that the **ews were also eager to become *righteous. But they were trying to do this by their own efforts. And such a method could not succeed. But the **ews would see that .od accepted the *.entiles. And the **ews would be @ealous. Then they too would want to have *faith in *Christ. !aul was sad that so many **ews had refused .od/s way of *salvation. But now the rest of the world had the opportunity to have a *relationship with .od. "n the end+ when the **ews believe the *gospel+ the result will be as wonderful as life from death. !erhaps !aul was thinking about 7Gekiel/s *vision of the dry bones 07Gekiel '=%&3&56. The bones came alive as a sign that .od would cause *"srael to live again. Derse &; !aul uses two word pictures. >e shows that .od would not turn away from the **ews permanently. &. The first piece of *dough was a gift to .od 0?umbers &<%&=31&6. The rest of the *dough became *holy too. -The first piece/ means the first people who believed the *gospel. They are the **ewish Christians. When they believed+ the rest of the **ews could become believers.
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1. The root of a tree affects the whole tree. -The root/ probably meant Abraham+ "saac and *acob+ who were the *ancestors of the **ewish nation. Their *descendants were the branches in !aul/s time. .od had made a *covenant with Abraham which would last always. >e would be the .od of Abraham/s *descendants 0.enesis &=%=6. As Abraham/s *descendants+ the **ews would benefit from the promises of .od/s *covenant. Derses &=315 !aul continues to think about a tree. There were very many *olive trees in the country. $o an *olive tree became a description of the **ewish nation. -The *:ord called you a healthy *olive tree/ 0*eremiah &&%&;6. !aul describes a techni8ue called grafting. Aarmers and gardeners world3wide still use grafting today. The problem is that a strong tree does not always yield good 8uality fruit. A weaker tree might yield better 8uality fruit. But because that tree is weak+ it cannot yield much fruit. "f both trees are of the same kind+ the gardener can try grafting. >e removes the branches from the strong tree. Then he binds a small branch of the weaker tree to the stem of the strong tree. This is a difficult task. ,nly a skilled gardener has a good possibility of success. But if the gardener succeeds+ he will have a much better tree. "t will be a strong tree that yields good fruit. And the fruit will be plentiful. #any **ews refused to believe .od. Those people lost their opportunity to have a right *relationship with .od. They were like the branches that the gardener removes from the tree. But many *.entiles believed .od. And they were able to have a real *relationship with .od. They would be like the new branches+ which would receive strength from the root. *esus used a similar description in *ohn chapter &<. .od had @oined the *.entiles to his people+ the **ews. !aul warns the *.entiles. They must not be too proud that they are now part of .od/s people. !aul may have worried about the way that many *.entiles thought about the **ews. These *.entiles did not understand the **ews and they laughed at the **ews. !aul did not want the *.entiles in ome to have the wrong attitude towards the **ews. The Christian *faith came from the root of the **ewish *faith. !aul imagines that a *.entile speaks proudly. >e says+ -The **ews are like the branches that the gardener removed. And " have now taken their place./ !aul warned that *.entile. "f .od had removed some branches+ he could remove another branch. >e could remove the branch that he had @oined to the tree. *.entiles can stay in .od/s *kingdom only if they remain firm in their *faith 0see also >ebrews '%&56. But this is not a reason for *.entile Christians to worry that they will lose their *salvation. .od is able to protect them 0*ude verse 156. They now belong to .od/s people. .od has chosen them to be his special people. They are his royal priests. They belong to his *kingdom 0& !eter 1%26. .od has changed their lives completely 0& !eter 1%&(6. .od had been firm with the **ews who refused to obey him. >e had been kind to the *.entiles. $o the *.entiles must remain loyal to .od. They did not deserve *salvation. They only received *salvation because of .od/s kindness. But long ago+ .od chose the **ews to be his own special people. >e made his *covenant with them. And his promises still stand today. !aul eagerly expected a time when his own people+ the **ews+ would believe the *gospel. .od can make this happen.

)he future for *Israel 11:!$-"!

!$ *Brothers and *sisters+ " want you to understand this mystery. " do not want you to become proud. !art of *"srael has become unwilling to trust .od. This will last only until the full number of *.entiles has come into .od/s *kingdom. !% And so .od will *save all the people in *"srael. "saiah writes+ -The *$aviour will come from *Lion. >e will remove all kinds of wicked things from *acob/s family. !7 This will make my *covenant with them become true+ when " take away their *sins./

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!& The **ews may seem to be your enemies when they oppose the good news. But .od chose them and he loves them because of his promise to Abraham+ "saac and *acob. !' .od does not take back his gifts. >e does not change his mind about those whom he has chosen. "( At one time+ you *.entiles did not obey .od. But now you have received his kindness. This happened because the **ews did not obey him. "1 And .od has a similar plan for the **ews. They do not obey him now. But .od has been kind to you so that they too will know his kindness. "! .od has made everyone like prisoners+ because they do not obey him. This is his plan so that he can show his kindness to them all. Derses 1<31= !aul tells his *.entile *brothers and *sisters about .od/s future plan for the **ews. #any *prophets wrote about that plan+ for example "saiah ;(%&3&54 )aniel &1%&4 #icah =%&&3&14 Lechariah 9%&31'. $o !aul was sure that .od has a plan to *save the **ews. !aul refers to !roverbs '%= as he warns the *.entiles not to -become proud/. "n the original language+ those words are+ -)o not become wise in yourselves./ $o !aul urges the *.entile Christians to trust .od/s wisdom and to believe .od/s plan. #any **ews who do not believe might behave like enemies. But Christians must love the **ews as friends+ because .od loves them 0verse 196. And .od wants Christians to impress the **ews by means of their 0the Christians/6 love for .od. Then the **ews too will want to receive .od/s kindness 0verse '&6. And that is .od/s plan to *save the **ews 0verse 1;6. !aul says that the **ews will not always oppose .od. When the full number of *.entiles has come into the *kingdom+ .od will *save all *"srael. "n other words+ he will *save all the **ews that remain 0Lechariah &'%9326. !aul uses words from "saiah to support this idea. >e uses the *.reek translation 0called the $eptuagint6. "saiah <2%1( says+ -The *$aviour will come from *Lion 0*erusalem6./ This may refer to the time when *esus came. *Lion was the place from which the *gospel came. But .od only *saved the first of the **ews at that time 0 omans &&%&;6. >is future plan is for those **ews that remain. And he will bring about his plan when *Christ returns. $o !aul was thinking also about the second time that *Christ will come. .od will take away the *sin of *"srael then 0"saiah 1=%26. The *prophet *eremiah said that .od had promised a new *covenant 0'&%''3'56. !eople will want to obey .od+ because he has taken away their *sins. At the last supper+ *esus spoke about this new *covenant. >is death would be the beginning of the new *covenant. .od/s promise would become true 0#atthew 1;%196. !eople start to receive the benefit of this *covenant when they invite *Christ into their lives. $o the **ews will also receive the benefit of this same *covenant. They will know .od/s kindness because of *Christ. Derses 19312 Because of unbelief+ many **ews opposed the first Christians. Those **ews acted as if they were enemies. But .od loved the **ews. .od had chosen them to be his people. >e would never forget the promise of *blessing that he had made to their *ancestors. .od is not like people. >e brings about the things that he promised 0?umbers 1'%&26. Derses '(3'& "n the past+ the *.entiles did not obey .od. ?ow+ because the **ews had not obeyed him+ the *.entiles receive .od/s *mercy. As the result of .od/s *mercy to the *.entiles+ the **ews themselves will receive .od/s *mercy. Derse '1 !aul has shown that there is no difference between **ews and *.entiles. They all have *sinned 0 omans '%26. They all can receive .od/s *salvation 0 omans &(%&13&'6. ?ow !aul adds that all people are like prisoners. They are like prisoners because they are unable to obey .od. Entil they receive .od/s *salvation+ *sin controls their lives. The *scripture says that the whole world is like a prisoner. This is because *sin controls everybody in the world 0.alatians '%116. There is only one way out of this prison. .od/s *mercy can make free everyone who trusts him.

A song to praise God 11:""-"%

!aul has explained the *gospel in the first && chapters of his letter. >e has written about .od/s great plan for both **ews and *.entiles. >e has written about .od/s great love+ which people can never deserve. $o he ends this part of his letter with a song to praise .od. "" .od/s wisdom and knowledge are very wonderfulF We can never understand his @udgements. And we can never find out his waysF "# ?obody can ever know what is in the mind of the *:ord. ?obody can ever give advice to him.
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"$ ?obody has ever given anything to .od so that .od has to pay him back. "% All things come from .od. 7verything exists by him and for him. We should always give the *glory to .odF *Amen. Derse '' !aul/s praises two things% .od/s wisdom and his decisions. "t is impossible for a person to understand .od/s ways. The word -wonderful/ shows that .od/s wisdom is far greater than the wisest thoughts of any wise person. >is @udgements are better than the @udgements of the wisest human @udge. A human @udge might know about a person/s actions. But only .od understands that person perfectly. .od knows the real reasons for an action. .od can *@udge thoughts as well as actions. Derse '5 !aul uses "saiah 5(%&'. The two statements remind us that -.od/s ways are not our ways. >is thoughts are not our thoughts/ 0"saiah <<%96. Derses '<3'; "n verse '<+ !aul refers to .od/s words in *ob 5&%&&. .od cannot owe us anything. Whatever we might give to him has come from him. )avid realised this% -7verything comes from you. We have given to you only what comes from you/ 0& Chronicles 12%&56. .od created everything. .od spoke+ and the world and everything in it started to exist. 7verything was for .od. $o he was the beginning+ and he will be the end. *.lory belongs to .od alone. !eople should not be proud. They should not behave as if they do not need .od. $o !aul prays that people will always praise .od. They should praise him because of who he is. And they should praise him because of what he has done.

Chapters 1!-1$ Practical ad ice

!aul has explained the *gospel. ?ow he gives practical advice. >e describes how a Christian should live in the world. >e gives advice about attitudes. A Christian should behave well towards other Christians and towards his enemies. !aul deals with the relationship of the Christian to the state and its laws. >e writes about responsibilities. A Christian has a responsibility to people whose *faith is weak. Ainally+ he writes about himself. >e writes about his work as an *apostle and his plans. And he re8uests prayer 0&<%&53''6.

Chapter 1!
)rue *+orship 1!:1-!
1 *Brothers and *sisters+ .od has shown you his kindness. Therefore " am appealing to you. ,ffer your bodies to him as a *sacrifice that is alive. Cour gift will please .od greatly. This is true *spiritual *worship. ! )o not live any longer in the way that this world lives. Change completely the way that you think. Then you will be able to test what .od wants. Cou will discover that .od/s plan is good and acceptable. "t is perfect. Derse & !aul appeals to all the Christians in ome. .od has shown his great love to them all. $o they should be grateful. "f they have the right attitude to .od+ then they will think rightly about themselves. This will make a difference to their *relationships with other people. !aul uses the idea of a priest who offers a *sacrifice. The *sacrifice had to be a perfect animal. Then it would please .od 0:eviticus &%'+ 26. Christians must offer their bodies as a *sacrifice to .od. !aul is not writing about death here. >e is explaining how Christians should live their lives in this world. They should try to use every part of their bodies in a manner that pleases .od. They will use their feet. They will go where .od wants them to go. They will use their hands to give practical help to other people. With their ears+ they will listen to other people/s problems. With their mouths+ they will speak to encourage other people and to tell them the good news about *Christ. The right use of the body will be like the perfect *sacrifice that pleased .od. Their *worship would not @ust be a ceremony. This is the right kind of *worship. "t is *spiritual. "t is the *worship that .od asks for.

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Derse 1 Christians must also change the way that they think. The word -change/ is the same word that describes the change in *esus/ body. *esus changed when he showed his *glory to the three *apostles 0#ark 2%16. "t is easy for people to copy what other people do. But Christians should not copy everything that people in the world do. Christians belong to .od/s world. $o they should behave in a different way from people who are not Christians. What Christians think will affect what they do. Christians will think differently about the use of money. Christians will remember that money belongs to .od. $o they will try not to waste it or to use it selfishly. They will have a different opinion about sex. They will make careful choices about what they read. They will select carefully what they watch on television. The *>oly $pirit will guide Christians as they try to please .od. They will want to obey .od+ so that they can -reflect the *:ord/s *glory. Then they will continue to change and to be like him/ 01 Corinthians '%&96.

9se of the s.ills that God gi es to Christians 1!:"-&

" .od has given to me his *grace. $o " say this to each one of you. )o not have too proud an opinion of yourself. But rather+ think clearly. **udge yourself by the *faith that .od has given to you. # 7ach of us has one body+ which has many parts. All these parts do not have the same function. $ $o we who belong to *Christ are many people. But we are like one body. We all belong to each other. % By the *grace of .od+ .od has given different skills to us. These skills are different because of the nature of .od/s *grace. Aor example+ someone might give a message from .od. But that person must be careful not to use this skill in a way that is greater than his *faith. 7 And a person who has some other skill should also use his skill in the same way. $o+ some people serve. ,ther people teach. & And other people can encourage. The person who gives should be generous. The person who leads should be eager. And the person who shows kindness should be cheerful. Derse ' !aul uses the words+ -" say to you./ ,ften *esus began an important statement with similar words 0for example+ *ohn '%'6. .od had shown his *grace to !aul+ so that he had become an *apostle. $o he speaks with authority. >e tells Christians to think properly about their skills. They must not be proud. They must not think that they are better than other people. The standard by which they must *@udge themselves is the standard of the *faith. That *faith means to trust in *Christ. >e lived and died for them. When they think about *Christ/s action they will be humble. Derses 53< !aul talks about the human body. All the different parts of a body are necessary. "n the same way+ all members of a Christian church should work together. Then the church can work properly. The people may have a variety of skills. But each skill is necessary for the purpose of .od/s work in that church. Derses ;39 Christians should be humble because their skills come from .od. Then !aul gives = examples of special skills that Christians should use. >e mentions other special skills in & Corinthians chapter &1 and in 7phesians chapter 5. &. *!rophecy. A Christian might receive a message from .od. That Christian would give this message to the local church. But he must only give such a message if he has *faith. "n other words+ he must trust .od that the message comes from .od. Christians must not give *prophecies that do not come from .od. $o any *prophecy must agree with the Bible/s message. 1. To serve. The *.reek word is -diakonia/. "t can mean various activities. The *apostles were -serving/ when they *preached 0Acts ;%56. And the same word describes the work of the = *disciples who gave food to poor widows 0see Acts ;%13'6. $o a person should use whatever skills he has in order to serve other people. '. To teach. After people become Christians+ they need to learn about the meaning of their *faith in their daily life. $omeone must teach them. 5. To encourage. This has two meanings% a6 to persuade with strong words. A *preacher can do this. b6 to comfort and give courage. Barnabas is an example of this meaning. >e was well3known among the first Christians because of the way that he encouraged people 0Acts 5%';3'=4 Acts 2%1=6. <. To give. "f we share our possessions+ money or time with other people+ we should do so in a generous way. We should en@oy ourselves as we give to other people. ;. To lead other people. Church leaders should carry out their responsibilities eagerly.
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=. To show kindness. This can mean a6 to forgive people who have offended us or b6 to give help wherever anyone needs help. The good $amaritan was a man from $amaria whom *esus spoke about. We can read this story in :uke chapter &(. This $amaritan had *mercy on a traveller who was hurting. The $amaritan delayed his own @ourney in order to help the man. And the $amaritan even paid so that the man could stay at a house 0:uke &(%'(3'=6.

)he +a0 of lo e 1!:'-1%

' Cour love must be sincere. >ate everything that is evil. :ove everything that is good. 1( As Christian *brothers and *sisters+ love each other fondly. .ive honour to each other. And do this even more than you care about your own honourF 11 )o not be laGy in your work on behalf of the *:ord. Beep your *spiritual energy. 1! Be @oyful in hope. Be patient when you suffer. Be *faithful in prayer. 1" $hare with .od/s people who are poor. "nvite strangers into your home. 1# Bless those who attack you. Bless them+ and do not speak bad things to them. 1$ Be happy with those people who are happy. Weep with those people who weep. 1% :ive in agreement with each other. )o not be proud. But be willing to be a friend to people who are not important. )o not think that you are better than other people. Christians are like a family. $o we should love each other. The *.reek word for this kind of love is -agape/. This is the love that .od has for us. $o this love benefits everyone. !aul gives a list of brief rules. Christians should do these things. Their actions will show that their love is real. There are &1 different rules. Derse 2 &. :ove must be sincere. The word -sincere/ is a translation of the *.reek word. "t means that a person is not pretending. !eople used that *.reek word to describe an actor in a play. The actor hid his real character behind a mask 0cover6 on his face. Christians must not be like actors. They must not merely pretend to love each other. 1. >ate everything that is evil. :ove everything that is good. *$in should disgust us. $ometimes people do not hate their *sin. They only hate the thought that someone will discover their *sin. They are afraid. $omeone may find out what they have done. $uch an attitude is not right. A Christian should confess his *sin to .od. And that Christian should pray for .od/s help+ so that he does not *sin in the same manner again. "nstead+ that Christian should try to do the things that please .od. Christians must desire greatly to love all good things. Derse &( '. :ove other Christians+ like *brothers and *sisters. !aul uses words that describe the good feelings between relatives in a human family. Christians form a *spiritual family. $o Christians should show the same kind of love to other Christians. They should look after each other like sisters and brothers. 5. Christians must give honour to other people. Christians should not insist on their rights. "n other words+ they should not always argue for their own benefit. They should not want thanks and honour for themselves. They should be humble and they should give honour to other people. Derse && <. Christians must work hard in their service for the *:ord. With the *:ord/s help+ Christians are opposing *sin and the devil+ so they must not be laGy. They must use all their energy in the battle on .od/s side. Derse &1 ;. >ope+ patience and prayer. A Christian can eagerly expect his future *glory with the *:ord. But he needs to be patient when he suffers in the present. >e must continue to pray on behalf of himself and other people as they all wait for the *:ord/s return. Derse &'

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=. $hare with people who are poor. "n the first church in *erusalem+ the Christians gave to anyone who needed help 0Acts 1%5535<6. The Christians in Antioch sent gifts to *erusalem when there was not enough food for the Christians there 0Acts &&%123'(6. We often read in the *?ew Testament about such gifts. And Christians should continue to act in the same manner today. 9. "nvite other people to stay in your home. "n !aul/s time+ there were not many places where travellers could stay. Travellers often had to sleep in unsafe places. $o Christians should invite travellers into their homes. The writer to the >ebrews said+ -)o not forget to entertain strangers. $ome people did this. And they did not even know that *angels were their guests/ 0>ebrews &'%16. Derse &5 2. Bless those who insult you. !ray for those who attack you. Be kind to them. )o not speak bad things to them. !aul was saying the same words as *esus 0:uke ;%1=3196. To bless and to pray for enemies is the evidence of Christian love. Derse &< &(. $ympathise with other people. Christians should share other people/s @oys and pains. Christians should care about other people. And Christians should look after other people. Derse &; &&. Christians should live in agreement with each other. This does not mean that they must always have the same opinions. But they should work together with the same purpose. They all should serve *Christ. !aul told the Christians at !hilippi to have -the same love and to be united in spirit and purpose/ 0!hilippians 1%16. "f they do this+ their work is more likely to be successful. &1. Christians must not *@udge other people by their wealth or by their important position in society. They must not be too proud to be friendly with poor people. Christians should be friendly with people whom the world considers unimportant. *esus was not afraid to be in the company of those whom other people did not approve of. *ames said that a poor person might not receive the same welcome at a meeting as a wealthy person. This was wrong because they were Christian *brothers and *sisters 0*ames 1%&356.

Christian attitudes to+ards enemies 1!:17-!1

17 $omeone may have done something wrong to you. But do not do something wrong yourself in order to punish them. )o the things that everyone knows to be right. 1& "f possible+ be friendly with everyone. 1' #y friends+ when your enemy hurts you+ do not try to punish him. :eave it to .od/s anger. .od says+ -" will *@udge people who do evil things. " will punish them./ !( "nstead+ -"f your enemy is hungry+ give him food to eat. "f he wants a drink+ give him something to drink. Then he will feel as if you have given him hot coals for his fireF 0"n other words+ your kindness will make him ashamed.6/ !1 )o not let evil things defeat you. But defeat evil things by your good behaviour. !aul had been a witness of $tephen/s death. At that time+ !aul was among $tephen/s enemies. But $tephen prayed for the people who were killing him 0Acts =%;(6. $tephen asked .od to forgive them. !aul also knew *esus/ words from the *cross 0:uke 1'%'56. >e knew what *esus taught about enemies 0#atthew <%'93596. $o !aul urges Christians not to behave wrongly. 7ven when someone hurts a Christian+ the Christian must not hurt that person. Derses &=3&9 Christians must refuse to do what is wrong. But they must also show that their actions are good. They must do everything possible to encourage *peace. "t may not be possible always to live in a 8uiet manner. 7nemies may oppose Christians+ even when the Christians are behaving well. And sometimes it is right for Christians to protest against wicked acts. 7specially+ a Christian should protest if other people are suffering rather than himself. But the Christian must do everything possible to avoid 8uarrels. Derses &231& A Christian must not attack back when someone has hurt him. !aul gives three reasons why. &. ,nly .od has the right to punish actions. !aul uses words from )euteronomy '1%'<. "n the present+ human law courts have the responsibility to show .od/s *wrath 0 omans &'%56. "n the end+ .od himself will show his fair @udgement 0 omans 1%<6.
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1. "f an enemy receives kindness+ he may be sorry for his actions. >e may change his ways. !aul uses words from !roverbs 1<%1&311. ->ot coals/ means that the enemy will be very ashamed. '. A Christian must not hate someone who hates him. $uch behaviour only makes the situation worse. And a Christian who hates is not behaving in the proper manner. A Christian should show love+ not hate. The enemy will have succeeded if the Christian starts to behave in a wicked manner. 7vil deeds cannot defeat someone who is evil. "nstead+ Christians overcome evil powers when they do the right things. They do the things that .od wants them to do. And that is the only way to defeat *sin.

Chapter 1"
A Christians dut0 to the state 1":1-7
1 7veryone ought to obey their rulers. ?o government has authority unless .od has allowed it. .od has appointed the people who are ruling now. ! $o when you oppose the rulers+ you oppose .od/s rule. !eople who do that must expect punishment. " >onest citiGens have no reason to be afraid of their rulers. But people who do evil things should be afraid of their rulers. Cou want to be free from fear of the person in authority. $o do what is right. Then the ruler will approve of you. # The ruler is .od/s servant who will do good things for you. But if you do evil things+ you ought to be afraid. The ruler carries a sword for a good reason. >e is .od/s servant. >e is acting for .od. >e will punish anyone who does evil things. $ Therefore you must obey the rulers. This is not merely because an evil person will receive punishment. Cou must also obey them because it is the right thing to do. % Cou should pay taxes for the same reason. The rulers are .od/s servants who give all their time to govern. 7 .ive to everyone what he ought to have. $o pay national and local taxes to the people who collect them. And show fear and honour to the people whom you should respect. !aul may have had several reasons to write about Christians/ duty to the state. &. The **ews hated to pay taxes to the * omans who had occupied their country. $ome **ews felt very angry that the * omans were in their country. Those **ews would attack the * omans wherever they could. !ossibly some **ewish Christians also had the same thoughts about the * omans. The * omans had considered that Christians belonged to the **ewish religion. But !aul was teaching the Christians not to oppose the government. 1. !aul believed that the state existed to protect its citiGens against attack and crime. The state punished people who did wrong acts. And it rewarded people who did right acts. !aul himself had received protection from angry **ews 0Acts &9%&13&;6. '. The state gives benefits+ which its citiGens en@oy. !aul was able to travel on good * oman roads on his @ourneys to *preach the *gospel. 5. Those who govern are .od/s servants 0)aniel 5%&=6. A few years after !aul wrote this letter+ the * oman government began to fight against the Christians. The * omans were very cruel and the Christians suffered greatly. #any Christians died during those troubles. The Christians who lived in ome suffered especially. But although the * omans attacked the Christians+ the Christians did not fight back. *esus had explained how they should behave in such situations 0:uke 1&%&13&26. !aul does not mention such troubles here. But in fact+ he was teaching them about the same sub@ects. !aul told the Christians to respect and to obey the rulers. Christians should try to be ideal citiGens. They should pay the taxes and they should obey the law. They should even consider their rulers to be .od/s agents on earth. The Christians in ome followed this advice. And they continued to do so even when the * omans attacked them. ,f course+ the Christians could not obey the * oman laws that ordered them to serve false gods. And the Christians did not obey laws that ordered them to insult *Christ. And they did not obey when rulers ordered them not to tell people about Christ. But the Christians obeyed all the other laws. They obeyed all the laws that did not oppose the Christian *faith.

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The result was that their confidence in .od impressed everyone. "t is true that those Christians suffered in the most awful manner. But .od helped them to be noble and brave. 7ven while they were dying+ they continued to speak about .od/s goodness. They were not afraid to die because they were glad to go to a better home+ in heaven. #any people who saw their attitudes wanted to become Christians too. The * omans thought they could destroy the Christian *faith. But in fact+ the numbers of Christians in ome actually increased. Three centuries afterwards+ the * oman government decided that the Christian religion would become their official religion. Derses &31 Christians should obey the rulers to whom .od has given power. To oppose people who have authority is to oppose .od. But+ if a powerful ruler or state does something wicked+ Christians do not have to agree with it. !aul does not mean that. *esus said that we must pay taxes to our rulers. But we must also give to .od everything that belongs to him 0#ark &1%&=6. When Christians have to choose between these two duties+ they must -obey .od rather than men/. !eter said this when the **ewish authorities told the *apostles not to speak about *esus 0Acts 5%&93 1(6. )aniel was also unable to obey a law. >e risked his life. >e continued to pray to .od when the king told him not to 0)aniel ;%&(6. Derses '35 ulers have a duty to punish people who are wicked. .ood citiGens have no reason to be afraid of them. !eople who do wrong acts must expect the rulers to punish them. $o they have reason to be afraid. A sword was the sign of a @udge/s power over life and death. >e carried it himself or someone carried the sword in front of him. "t showed that he had real power to punish people. Derse < Christians must obey the rulers for a better reason than the fear of punishment. Their conscience should tell them that it is the right thing to do. Derses ;3= Because the * omans were the rulers+ the **ews had to pay taxes to them. They had to pay a tax on their grain+ wine and fruit. 7ach person between the ages of &5 and ;< had to pay a personal tax. There was also a tax on income. "n addition to these+ people had to pay local taxes. There were customs taxes on the import and export of goods. There were taxes to use roads+ markets and harbours. !aul believed that Christians must pay all these taxes to the state and to the local government. "n this verse+ he uses a word for -servants/ that can also mean a priest. ,fficials are doing a public service and Christians should respect them.

3o e and the la+ 1":&-1(

& $o pay all your debts. The only debt that you should have is the duty to love each other. "f you do this+ you will be obeying the other laws completely. ' The law contains many commands. -,bey your marriage promises./ -)o not murder./ -)o not steal./ -)o not be @ealous of other people./ These and any other *commandments together make this one rule+ -:ove other people as much as you care about yourself./ 1( $omeone who loves other people does not do evil things to them. $o+ if you love+ you are obeying the law completely. Derse 9 !aul has spoken about a Christian/s debt to the state. ?ow he says that Christians should be careful to pay their personal debts. The duty to love other people is like a debt. But Christians always have that duty. "t is not like a debt that someone can pay off. Christians should always love other people. Derses 23&( !aul mentions the < *commandments that deal with *relationships in human society. >e does not mention them in the same order as in 7xodus 1(%&'3&=. $ome *manuscripts include 0in verse 26+ -Cou must not tell lies about other people./ The *sin of *adultery ruins families. But a person who loves does not want to spoil anyone/s life. !eople may steal+ or they may be @ealous. But the person who loves does not rob anyone. And the person who loves is not @ealous. "n fact+ the person who loves wants to give to other people. *esus said about the law+ -:ove your neighbour as yourself./ "t was one of only two laws that were necessary 0#atthew 11%'=3'26. !aul repeated those words in his letter to the .alatians 0.alatians <%&56. >e urged the Christians to -serve each other in love/. "f Christians show real love for other people+ they are obeying the law completely.

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:e read0 1":11-1#
11 When you do these things+ remember the importance of the present time. The present time is like the early morning+ when people should awake from sleep. $o you need to be aware of what is happening. ,ur final *salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 1! "t is as if the dark night is nearly over. The day when *Christ will return is almost here. $o we should free ourselves from all evil activity. $uch activity is like the darkness. "nstead+ we should prepare ourselves as soldiers who dress for battle. Then we will be ready for the daylight. 1" And we should behave as people ought to behave during the day. We should not have wild parties+ where there is excess alcohol. We should not *sin in relation to sex. We should not have @ealous arguments. 1# As you choose your clothes for the day+ choose also to live for the *:ord *esus *Christ. And do not make plans to satisfy your wrong human desires. Derses &&3&1 !aul describes someone who is asleep. This person needs to wake up in order to dress for a very important occasion. Christians should realise that *Christ will return soon. They must eagerly expect that time because then they will receive their new *resurrection bodies. Their *salvation will be complete. ?obody knows when *Christ will return 0#atthew 15%';6. $o everyone must be like servants whose master has gone on a @ourney. Entil the master returns+ the servants must carry out their duties *faithfully 0#atthew 15%5<3<(6. !aul tells the Christians to think about how people should behave during the day. When the night has ended+ people should wake up in order to work. "n the same manner+ Christians should not be laGy as they wait for *Christ to return. .od has given them important duties to carry out. !aul compares the work of Christians to the work of soldiers. A soldier cannot behave in the manner that he himself would choose. >e must be loyal and he must obey his captain. Christians too cannot behave in any manner that they themselves might prefer. "nstead+ they must behave in the manner that pleases .od. $oldiers need to put on special clothes for a battle. Those clothes will protect them as they fight. And Christians too need to prepare in a special way to do .od/s work 0verse &54 & Thessalonians <%94 7phesians ;%&&3&96. When !aul writes about the -dark night/+ he is thinking about the power of the devil and the power of *sin. *ohn used a similar description in *ohn &%<. 0*ob 15%&'3&= explains this idea. #any evil people would wait until nightfall before they carried out their wicked schemes. Aor example+ most thieves prefer to steal by night. They are afraid of daylight+ because people may recognise them.6 But !aul writes that the dark night is nearly over. $o the opportunity for people to do evil things is nearly over. *Christ defeated the power of *sin and the devil when he died for us. And our *salvation will be complete when he returns. Derses &'3&5 When $t. Augustine read these verses+ they changed him. >e became a Christian and he began a new life. !aul writes a list in verse &' to show how people should not behave. >e mentions some evil activities that often happen by night. !eople have parties where they are greedy. They drink so much alcohol that they cannot even control their own behaviour. They have sex with the wrong people and in the wrong manner 0 omans &%1;31=6. They argue. They are @ealous. !eople do such things by night. Then they feel sorry when the next day begins. They feel ill because they ate too much. They are ashamed because the alcohol caused them to do stupid things. They have upset their husbands or wives. They have made their friends angry. But Christians should not do such things. "t is as if those activities belong to the night. But Christians do not belong to the night+ if -the night/ means *sin and the devil. Christians belong to *Christ. -The day when *Christ will return is almost here/ 0verse &16. $o Christians must always choose right behaviour. They must live in the manner that pleases .od. They must live as *Christ wants them to live. They must not even think about things that would satisfy their *sinful human desires.

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Chapter 1#
Christian freedom 1#:1-1!
1 Accept people whose *faith is weak. But do not argue with them about their opinions. ! $ome people believe that they may eat anything. But other people eat only vegetables because their *faith is weak. " ?obody should be cruel to the person who does not dare to eat something. And that person should not accuse anyone who decides to eat that food. emember that .od has accepted that other Christian. # Cou have no right to *@udge someone else/s servant. ,nly the master can decide whether his servant/s work pleases him or not. And that other Christian will please the *:ord+ because the *:ord will support him. $ $ome people think that one day is more special than another day. ,ther people think that every day is the same. 7ach person should be completely clear in his own mind what he should do. % >e who thinks that one day is special does so to give honour to the *:ord. $omeone who eats meat gives thanks to .od. And so he gives honour to the *:ord. And the person who does not eat meat is trying to please the *:ord. That person also gives thanks to .od. 7 The life or death of any person among us is not a matter for that person alone. & "f we live+ we live to give honour to the *:ord. "f we die+ we die to give honour to the *:ord. $o whether we live or die+ we belong to the *:ord. ' *Christ died and he came back to life for this reason. "t was so that he might become our *:ord in life and in death. 1( Cou should not accuse another Christian. Cou should not be cruel to that person. We shall all stand in front of .od when he acts as @udge. 11 *$cripture says+ - JCou can be sure that " liveK+ says the *:ord. J$o you can be sure that everyone will kneel in front of me. And every person will give honour to .od.K / 1! $o each of us will have to explain to .od the things that we have done. There were many disagreements between the Christians in ome. The Christians could not agree whether they should be obeying the **ewish laws. !aul has already discussed this sub@ect in this letter. >e explains that .od gave the law. But the law could not make people *righteous 0 omans '%1(6. The purpose of the law was to show people that everyone has *sinned 0 omans =%=6. ?obody can become *righteous by means of their own efforts 0 omans &(%'6. ,nly *Christ+ by his death+ makes people *righteous 0 omans <%9326. Christians should allow .od/s *>oly $pirit to rule their lives 0 omans 9%56. Then they will be living in a manner that pleases .od. $o the **ewish law does not control their lives. "nstead+ the *>oly $pirit controls their lives. But this is not the opposite of the law 0 omans '%'&4 omans &'%&(6. "n fact+ such people are living in the manner that .od always wanted people to live. .od did not give the law so that people could obey lots of rulesF ather+ he wanted people to realise that they need to trust him completely. "n other words+ without *faith in .od+ it is impossible to please him 0>ebrews &&%;6. !aul wanted the Christians in ome to love each other. >e did not want them to argue about rules and customs. >e knew that some Christians only had a little *faith. >e asked the Christians whose *faith was stronger to encourage those people. Aor example+ some Christians thought that it was still necessary to obey certain food laws. They thought that they must be careful to keep special *holy days. Those Christians were -weak in the *faith/. They had not discovered the real meaning of Christian freedom. They were worried that certain practices were still necessary. !aul considered that he and other Christians were -strong/ 0 omans &<%&6. !aul did not believe that the **ewish law ruled him. >e had the freedom that .od/s *>oly $pirit gives. $o !aul was free to decide what he should eat. And he did not make any distinction between days. But !aul was very careful about how he used this freedom. >e chose to obey the **ewish law so that he did not offend **ewish people 0& Corinthians 2%1(4 Acts &;%'6. And !aul would not use his freedom in a manner that might cause another Christian to *sin 0verse 1&6.

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!aul did not hesitate to accuse people who denied the essential beliefs of the Christian *faith. But when people have different opinions about certain actions+ the -weak/ and -strong/ Christians should respect each other. "n things that are not essential to the *faith+ a Christian must be free to obey his own conscience. #artin :uther said+ -A Christian is a most free *lord of all 0in other words+ a free citiGen6+ under no other person./ Derses &35 -Accept/ means -give a welcome/. $o people in the church should be kind to a Christian whose *faith is weak. ?obody should *@udge him @ust because he has a different opinion. A Christian might decide to eat only vegetables. #any people did not prepare meat in the proper **ewish way. $o a Christian might not eat any meat. But that person should not argue with someone who eats meat. The first man should not think that the second man is not true to the *faith. $ome people feel free to eat whatever they choose. But they must not think that the -weak/ Christian is stupid. !aul gives two reasons in these verses why they must accept the weak Christian% &. .od has accepted him 0verse '6. 1. That Christian is *Christ/s servant. ,nly *Christ+ his master+ can decide whether he is a loyal Christian. Derses <3; The -weak/ Christians wanted to have some special holy days in the calendar. Aor example+ the new moon or the *$abbath 0Colossians 1%&;6. "t is not wrong to have special days for rest+ prayer and *worship. But !aul believed that every day is special. "t is a gift of time from .od and it is an opportunity to serve him. $ome people eat whatever they like. Then they thank .od. ,ther people eat only what their conscience allows them. But they also thank .od for their food. $o all these people are giving honour to .od. 7veryone must be sure that he does right things. -Whatever you choose to eat or to drink+ do it all for the *glory of .od/ 0& Corinthians &(%'&6. Derses =39 7ach Christian/s life affects other Christians. >e should feel responsible towards them. >e should not only think about himself. Derses 23&1 *Christ died and came back to life. $o he is *:ord of people who are dead. And he is *:ord of people who are alive. >e is the *:ord of everyone. $o the -weak/ Christian is also a servant of *Christ 0verse 56. $o the -strong/ Christian should not accuse the -weak/ Christian. 7veryone will have to appear in front of .od for @udgement. !aul uses words from "saiah 5<%1'. "n !hilippians 01%&(3&&6 !aul shows that everyone will have to respect *esus as *:ord. >ere the words remind Christians that we are all responsible to .od. We must be careful to help those Christians whose *faith is weak. We should not hurt them by our unkind words. "nstead+ we should love each other.

Christian lo e 1#:1"-!"
1" $o we should not continue to *@udge each other. "nstead+ decide not to do anything that will cause problems for your *brother. )o not make it difficult for him to live a Christian life. 1# " am completely sure that no food is actually unclean 0unacceptable for Christians to eat6. The *:ord *esus convinced me about this. But someone may think that something is unclean. "f he does+ then it is unclean for him. 1$ Cour *brother may be unhappy because of what you eat. "f so+ you are not still showing love to him. )o not destroy the *faith of your *brother by what you eat. *Christ died on his behalf. 1% $o do not cause people to say evil things because of something that you believe to be good. 17 The *kingdom of .od is not about food and drink. "t is about the *righteousness+ *peace and @oy that the *>oly $pirit gives. 1& 7veryone who serves *Christ in this way pleases .od. And other people approve of them. 1' $o let us work hard to have a calm and content attitude. :et us work hard to encourage each other.

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!( )o not damage the work of .od because of food. All food is clean 0acceptable6. But it is wrong for you to eat anything that causes problems for someone else. !1 )o not do anything that would cause your *brother to *sin. "t is better not to eat meat or not to drink wine if your action would have that result. !! $o whatever you believe about these things+ keep between yourself and .od. )o the things that you believe to be right. Act in the way that your conscience directs. And .od will approve. !" But a person should not eat anything that is against his conscience. "f that person eats+ he is guilty. That is so because *faith does not direct his actions. And everything that does not come from *faith is *sin. Derses &'3&< !aul urges the -strong/ Christians to think about their actions. These actions will affect their Christian *brothers and *sisters. $ome Christians thought that to eat meat is wrong. $ome Christians thought that they ought to obey the **ewish food laws. They thought that some food was unclean 0not acceptable for Christians to eat6. *esus had shown that all food was clean 0acceptable6 H #ark =%&2. !aul himself+ as a Christian+ felt free to eat any kind of food. But one Christian/s freedom to act might hurt another Christian/s conscience. To respect another Christian/s conscience in situations like this would be to show him love. A good reason to show him love is that *Christ died on his behalf. 7very person is valuable to *Christ. >owever+ if someone forced that -weak/ Christian not to obey his conscience+ that Christian/s *faith would become even weaker. >is *faith was already weak 0verse &6. $o other Christians ought to encourage that person. They ought to care about him+ because .od loves him. Derses &;3&9 Christians must not cause trouble for someone else because of their own personal opinion. They must not think that food and drink are more important than .od/s *kingdom. To be a member of .od/s *kingdom is not about food and drink. "t is to be in a right *relationship with .od. Then the *>oly $pirit will give a person *peace in himself. >e will give a Christian the power to have a calm and content *relationship with other people. A Christian will show sympathy for another person/s opinion. A Christian will have @oy when he makes other people glad. Derses &231' !aul includes himself by the word -us/. Christians must do everything possible to make the Christian *faith strong. A Christian must not do anything that will cause another Christian to *sin. !aul mentions -wine/ as well as meat. #any Christians feel free to drink a little wine on social occasions. But some believe that they should not drink wine. Christians do not have to tell everyone their opinions about such matters. But they should always obey their own conscience. To act against one/s conscience is a *sin. That is because a Christian must always act in *faith. "n other words+ a Christian must trust .od completely. Without *faith+ it is impossible to please .od 0>ebrews &&%;6.

Chapter 1$
6o not tr0 to please 0ourself 1$:1-%
1 Because we are strong+ we should assist weak people. ,ur *faith is strong+ so we should help them to deal with their weaknesses. We should not @ust please ourselves. ! "nstead+ we should serve other people. We should help them. And we should encourage them. " 7ven *Christ did not please himself. But as the *scripture says+ -The people+ who were insulting you+ have insulted me./ # The purpose of these ancient books is to teach us. The *scriptures encourage us. And they teach us to be patient. $o we have hope. $ ,ur .od gives to us patience and he encourages us. " pray that he will help you to overcome your differences. " pray that your thoughts will be alike+ because of *Christ *esus. % Then you can all @oin together to praise .od. >e is the .od and Aather of our *:ord *esus *Christ. Derses &3' !eople with a strong *faith should support those whose *faith is weak. !aul includes himself with the -strong/ when he says -we/. We should encourage other people. !aul did not mean that we should praise a person in an untrue way. And we should not encourage that person to continue his wrong acts. "nstead+ we should always act to help him and to encourage his *faith to grow. *Christ did not please himself. !aul uses words from !salm ;2%2. *Christ suffered because he was serving .od. The insults that people gave to .od came to *Christ.

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Derses 53; Because he has used words from the *,ld Testament+ !aul speaks about the purpose of the *scriptures. The study of the *scriptures will show how .od has acted in the past to rescue his people. $o the *scriptures will encourage Christians. The *,ld Testament speaks about .od/s *faithful love. And it promises to Christians -a future and a hope/ 0*eremiah 12%&&6. The hope that .od gives will never disappoint us. !aul prays that+ with the help of .od+ Christians may live in agreement with each other. "f the Christians do not argue+ their church will be strong. Together+ they will be able to declare the *gospel in a powerful manner. And they will bring *glory to .od.

*Christ and the *Gentiles 1$:7-1"

7 *Christ has given a welcome to you. $o give a welcome to each other in order to bring honour to .od. & " tell you this. *Christ acted as a servant to the **ews to show that .od is truthful. The purpose was to bring about the things that .od promised to our *ancestors. ' *Christ did this so that the *.entiles may praise .od because of his *mercy. The *scripture says+ -Therefore " will praise you among the *.entiles. " will sing in order to praise your name./ 1( Again it says+ -Cou *.entiles+ be @oyful together with .od/s people 0the **ews6./ 11 And again+ -!raise the *:ord+ all you *.entiles. !raise him+ all you nations./ 1! And again "saiah says+ -The root of *esse 0the *#essiah6 will come. >e will become great in order to rule the *.entiles. The *.entiles will put their hope in him./ 1" And .od gives hope. " pray that he will give you great @oy and *peace by your *faith. " pray that+ by the power of the *>oly $pirit+ you will have great hope. Derse = !aul repeats his command to give a welcome to other Christians 0&5%&6. *Christ has given a welcome to them. $o Christians should give a welcome to other Christians. When Christians show their love for each other+ .od will receive honour. Derses 932 *Christ became a servant for two reasons% &. >is life showed that we can trust .od. .od had do the things that he promised to *Christ/s **ewish *ancestors. Lechariah+ in his song of praise+ remembered .od/s promises. .od told Abraham that he 0.od6 would show his kindness to his 0Abraham/s6 *descendants 0:uke &%='3=<6. 1. The *.entiles would receive .od/s *mercy. !aul then uses a series of verses from all three parts of the **ewish *,ld Testament% the :aw+ the *!rophets and the other books. !aul is showing how the *,ld Testament teaches about .od/s plan for the *.entiles. The *.entiles would praise .od because .od has been kind to them. 0!aul was using the *.reek translation of the *,ld Testament+ called the -$eptuagint/. !aul himself would also be familiar with the original *>ebrew passages. !erhaps he used the $eptuagint so that the *.entiles would understand the words.6 "n !salm &9%52+ )avid+ the king of *"srael+ says that he will praise .od among the *.entiles. Derse &( This comes from the $ong of #oses in the book of the law. "t is )euteronomy '1%5'. Derse && The writer of !salm &&= declares that people from all nations should praise .od because of his love and *faithfulness. Derse &1 *esse was the father of )avid. The *#essiah came from the family of )avid. The *#essiah would rule the nations+ who would learn to trust him 0"saiah &&%&(6. Derse &' !aul has spoken about the hope of the *.entiles in verse &1. $o he speaks about the .od who brings hope. *Aaith brings @oy and *peace. !aul had already spoken about @oy and *peace as evidence of those who belong to .od/s *kingdom 0&5%&=6. >e prays that Christians will know that @oy and *peace completely. The *>oly $pirit will give hope to them. And that hope will encourage their Christian life.

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The hope that .od gives will not disappoint. Christians eagerly expect the time when *Christ will return. >e will then complete their *salvation when he will give to them a *resurrection body and a new life in heaven. -We wait for the wonderful things that we hope for. We wait for our great .od and *$aviour+ *esus *Christ/ to appear in his *glory 0Titus 1%&'6.

Pauls ser ice as an *apostle 1$:1#-!!

1# #y *brothers and *sisters+ " am 8uite sure about you. Cour goodness is extraordinary. With such complete knowledge+ you should be well able to teach each other. 1$ " have written to you very boldly about some matters. " wanted you to think about them again. 1% .od gave to me *grace to be a servant of *Christ *esus among the *.entiles. #y work is like the work of a priest. " take the gift that is .od/s good news. Then " want to offer the *.entiles to .od in a way that pleases him. And the *>oly $pirit makes them *holy. 17 Because " belong to *Christ *esus+ " can have pride about my work on .od/s behalf. 1& " will not try to speak about anything except what *Christ has done by means of me. >e has led the *.entiles to obey .od. >e has done this by means of my words and actions. 1' >e has given to me the power of the *>oly $pirit to do signs and *miracles. $o " have travelled the entire distance from *erusalem to "llyricum. And everywhere " declared the complete good news about *Christ. !( " have always wanted to *preach the *gospel where people do not know *Christ. " did not want to work in any place where someone else had already started to work. !1 ather+ as *scripture says+ -Although nobody told those people about him+ they will see. Although they have never heard about him+ they will understand./ !! This work has often stopped me so that " could not come to you. "t is the reason why " have delayed my visit. Derses &53&; !aul calls the Christians in ome his *brothers. >e then shows that he appreciates their good 8ualities. >e praises them in a fond manner. >e feels confident that they will understand his letter. They seem well able to teach the *gospel. And they will warn those people who are doing wrong things. "n fact+ !aul/s words may seem to praise the Christians in ome a little too much. But !aul did not want to offend them. !aul had not even visited their church yet+ but he had written to them in a bold way. >e wondered whether he had upset them. >e explained that he wrote this letter to remind them about important matters in the Christian *faith. !eople are 8uick to forget. $o there are many references in the *?ew Testament about the need to remember. Aor example+ & Corinthians &<%&4 1 !eter &%&1. !aul describes how .od had made him a servant to the *.entiles. !aul uses words which describe the *worship in the *temple. There a priest would offer a *sacrifice that pleased .od. !aul considered himself as a priest who was offering a gift. The *.entiles were like the gift that the *>oly $pirit made favourable to .od. .od/s law did not allow *.entiles to enter the inner *Temple. But the *gospel changed their situation. ?ow the *.entiles would have a real *relationship with .od. And .od/s *>oly $pirit would make them *holy. Derses &=3&2 !aul considers that he has received a great honour. .od has used !aul to bring the *.entiles into .od/s *kingdom. This honour comes only because *Christ is working by means of !aul. !aul is speaking on behalf of *Christ 01 Corinthians <%1(6. By !aul/s words and actions+ he has declared the Christian message. The *>oly $pirit gave !aul the power to do -signs and *miracles/. These showed that he was a genuine *apostle 01 Corinthians &1%&16. Aor example+ !aul ordered a man in :ystra to stand up. This man had a problem with his feet. >e had never been able to walk. But when !aul ordered the man to stand+ .od cured the man. The man stood on his feet+ and he walked 0Acts &5%93&(6. And .od did many other *miracles when !aul prayed. Aor example+ by !aul+ .od had cured many people in 7phesus 0Acts &2%&&3&16. !aul had finished his work in the east #editerranean area. >e had declared the Christian message across the whole region. Arom *erusalem to "llyricum+ he had established Christian churches in all the important towns and cities. "llyricum includes parts of Albania+ $erbia+ Bosovo+ Bosnia+ and Croatia+ today.

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Derses 1(311 !aul did not want to continue the work that other people had started. This was because !aul did not want to interrupt anyone else/s work. $o !aul was like a farmer who plants seed. ,r+ he was like a builder who lays a good foundation 0base for a building6 H & Corinthians '%;3&(. >e wanted to *preach the *gospel to people who had not heard it before. !aul uses words from "saiah <1%&< that describe the work of .od/s servant. *Christ was making these words true by means of !aul. At the beginning of his letter+ !aul said that he had decided to visit ome on many occasions. But he had not been able to do so 0 omans &%&'6. >e did not explain what had prevented him. But now he explains the reason. "t was important for him to finish his work in the east part of the * oman world 0that is+ in the regions that the * omans ruled in the east6.

Pauls plans for the future 1$:!"-!'

!" But now there is nowhere else where " could work in these regions. " have wanted to see you for many years. !# $o " want to see you when " am travelling to $pain. " hope to visit you while " travel through. And " hope that you will help me on my @ourney to $pain. But first+ " want to en@oy some time with you. !$ But now " am travelling to *erusalem to help .od/s people there. !% The Christians in #acedonia and Achaia were pleased to give some money for the poor people. They heard about the poor people among the Christians in *erusalem. !7 $o they wanted to give. And of course+ they owe it to them. The *.entiles have shared in the **ews/ *spiritual *blessings. $o the *.entiles should share their physical *blessings with the **ews. !& " want to finish my task. " want to make sure that the poor Christians in *erusalem receive this gift. Then " will go to $pain+ and " will visit you on the way. !' " am sure that " will come to you with a wonderful *blessing from *Christ. Derses 1'315 !aul wanted to go to $pain. >e hoped to *preach the *gospel -in the regions beyond/ Corinth 01 Corinthians &(%&;6. $pain+ at the western end of 7urope+ was part of the * oman *kingdom. "t was an important place for trade. There were famous writers whom !aul perhaps could persuade to believe the *gospel message. $eneca+ who became the *7mperor ?ero/s chief minister+ was from $pain. We do not know whether !aul actually reached $pain. >owever+ we know that !aul reached ome as a prisoner 0Acts 19%&53&;6. >e may have gained his freedom after two years of house arrest in ome 0Acts 19%'(6. 0->ouse arrest/ means that he lived as a prisoner in his own home.6 Afterwards+ !aul may have gone to $pain and worked there. >owever+ we know that the * omans killed !aul at some time during the rule of the *7mperor ?ero. Derses 1<312 "n the immediate future+ !aul made plans to go to *erusalem. >e had urged the Christians in #acedonia and Achaia 0north and south .reece6 to give some money to help the poor Christians in *erusalem. !aul spoke about this Christian aid in & Corinthians &;%&35 and 1 Corinthians 9%&3&5. The Christians in *erusalem may have been poor because of a lack of food in the region. Agabus gave a *prophecy about such an event 0Acts &&%196. ,r perhaps the poor Christians had no work. !erhaps they had lost their @obs when they became Christians. There were several reasons why !aul wanted the *.entile churches to help the poor Christians in *erusalem% &. The leaders of the church in *erusalem had agreed that !aul would work among the *.entiles. But they asked that he and Barnabas should continue to help poor people 0.alatians 1%23&(6. 1. !aul thought that the *.entiles had a debt to the **ews. **ews had *preached the *gospel to them. The *.entiles had received *spiritual *blessings when they heard it. ?ow the **ews were poor and they needed help. $o it was right that the *.entiles should help to provide for the **ews. '. The gift would help to unite **ewish and *.entile Christians. "t would remind them both that they were part of a world3wide church. 5. "t would show that Christians had a practical *faith. Christians were aware of other people/s problems and they acted to help them.

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!aul wanted to go with the Christians from the different churches 0Acts 1(%56. They would hand over the gift in *erusalem. When !aul had done this+ he intended to travel to ome on his way to $pain. !robably he thought that ome would be a useful place for his work. There were good roads from ome to many other important cities. And there was already a large church in ome. !aul hoped that the Christians in ome would help him on his @ourney. >e did not intend to stay in ome for a long time.

Pauls need of pra0er 1$:"(-""

"( Ariends+ " urge you by our *:ord *esus *Christ to @oin me in my struggles. !ray to .od on behalf of me. !ray for me because of the love that the *>oly $pirit gives. "1 #any people in *udea do not believe. !ray that .od will rescue me from them. !ray that .od/s people in *erusalem will accept my work. "! Then+ if .od wants+ " will come to you with @oy. Then you and " will en@oy a pleasant time together. "" " pray to .od who makes us calm and content. " pray that he will be with you all. *Amen. Derses '(3'& !aul knew that there was danger for him in *erusalem. The Christians in Caesarea had tried to stop him so that he would not go. But he refused to change his plans 0Acts 1&%&(3&56. >e needed prayer for two reasons% &. >e knew that the **ews in *erusalem would oppose him. Cears before+ he himself opposed the Christian *faith strongly. Then+ after !aul became a Christian+ he had spoken in *erusalem about his new *faith. !eople had plotted to kill him. $o !aul had left *erusalem and he had returned to Tarsus 0Acts 2%193'(6. 1. >e was not sure how the **ews would accept the gift from the *.entile churches. $ome **ewish Christians may have been unhappy about this gift. !aul had taught the *.entile Christians that they did not have to obey the **ewish laws. And those **ewish Christians considered their law to be very important. $o they might refuse the gift because !aul was bringing it. !aul asked for prayer because they all belonged to the same *:ord *esus *Christ. They had the *>oly $pirit+ who gave them love for each other. Derse '1 !aul prayed that he would reach ome. But he said+ -if .od wants/. >e had said this at the beginning of his letter 0&%&(6. !rayer helps us to agree with .od/s purposes. "f he did reach ome+ !aul and the Christians in ome would be a help to each other. We think that the **ewish Christians accepted the gift. :uke does not mention it when he describes !aul/s arrival in *erusalem. But :uke records what !aul told the ruler called Aelix. !aul said that he had returned to *erusalem to bring gifts to help poor people 0Acts 15%&=6. !aul/s prayer for safety had a different answer. The **ews in *erusalem caused trouble for him. The * omans had to rescue him. But the * omans did not free him. "nstead+ they kept him in prison. They later sent him to Caesarea because of a plot to kill him. After a series of court meetings+ and more than two years in prison+ he appealed to the *7mperor. $o !aul went to ome as a prisoner. "nstead of a brief stay+ he spent two years there. >e was under house arrest. "n other words+ he lived in his own home+ but a * oman soldier did not allow him to leave. But he was able to receive visitors. Also he *preached to his * oman guards 0Acts 19%&;3'&6. Derse '' !aul blesses the Christians in ome. >e prays that .od will cause them to be calm and content.

Chapter 1%
Personal Greetings
$ometimes a church leader may seem very strict when he *preaches. There are some very serious matters in the *scriptures. And !aul/s letters might also seem very severe if we did not know about his character.

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!aul really cared about people. 7specially+ he cared about the Christians whom he worked with 01 Corinthians &&%193126. >e genuinely loved them 01 Corinthians &&%&&6. We can see this at the end of his letters. >e asks the person who receives each letter to greet certain people on his behalf. >e remembers people who have been kind to him in the past. >e recommends church leaders whom he approves of. >e gives advice to some people. >e asks the Christians to encourage some other people. ,ccasionally he has to warn the church about someone. #any of these greetings are very personal. They show us much about !aul/s attitudes. They refer to events that we would otherwise know nothing about. They inform us about the problems in the first Christian churches. These greetings are still valuable for us to read. They remind us today about the love that Christians should have for each other. And the words of advice that they contain are still helpful today.

Paul recommends Phoebe 1%:1-!

1 " recommend to you our *sister called !hoebe. $he serves .od at the church in Cenchreae. ! Because of the *:ord+ give her the honour that a Christian deserves. Accept her into your company. .ive her any help that she needs. $he has been a great helper to many people+ including me. Derses &31 :etters of introduction were common in * oman society. !aul introduces !hoebe to the Christians in ome. !robably she was going to ome on business for herself. "t is very likely that she was delivering !aul/s letter to the Christians in ome. Cenchreae was the east port of Corinth. The *.reek word for -servant/ is -diakonos/. This word may mean that !hoebe had official responsibility as a leader in the church. This woman had used her wealth to support the work of the Christian church. $he also encouraged !aul. $o !aul asked the Christians in ome to give her a warm welcome. They should assist her in any way that she needed.

Pauls greetings to his friends 1%:"-1%

" .reet !riscilla and A8uila+ who have worked with me on behalf of *Christ *esus. # They risked their lives to save me. " am grateful to them. All the *.entile churches are grateful too. $ .reet also the church that meets in their house. .reet my dear friend 7penetus. >e was the first person to become a Christian in the region called Asia. % .reet #ary+ who worked very hard on your behalf. 7 .reet Andronicus and *unias+ my relatives. They have been in prison with me. They are leaders among the *apostles. They became Christians before " did. & .reet Ampliatus+ who is my dear friend because of our *relationship with the *:ord. ' .reet Erbanus+ who works with us to serve *Christ. And greet my dear friend $tachys. 1( .reet Apelles. .od tested him. Apelles proved that he was loyal to *Christ. .reet the people who belong to the *household of Aristobulus. 11 .reet >erodion+ my relative. .reet those who are Christians in the *household of ?arcissus. 1! .reet Tryphena and Tryphosa. These women work hard for the *:ord. .reet my dear friend !ersis. $he is another woman who has worked very hard for the *:ord. 1" .reet ufus. >e is a splendid Christian. And greet his mother. $he has been like a mother to me too. 1# .reet Asyncritus+ !hlegon+ >ermes+ !atrobas+ >ermas and the Christians with them. 1$ .reet !hilologus and *ulia. And greet ?ereus and his sister. And greet ,lympas and all .od/s people with them. 1% .reet each other with a *holy kiss. All the churches of *Christ send greetings. $ome people say that this list of 1; names is too long. !aul could not have known all these Christians in a city that he had never visited. >e even calls some of them his -dear friend/. But !aul had worked in 7phesus for more than two years. "t is possible that !aul sent a copy of this letter to 7phesus. "f so+ he may have attached chapter &; with its greetings. A8uila and !riscilla 0verses '3 <6 were in 7phesus when !aul wrote & Corinthians. Christians met in their house 0& Corinthians &;%&26. !aul also sent them his greetings when they were still in 7phesus 01 Timothy 5%&26. 7penetus 0verse <6 probably became a Christian in 7phesus+ which was the capital of the region called Asia. !erhaps it was by the work of A8uila and !riscilla. >e is next to them on !aul/s list of greetings. ,ther people disagree. They are confident that all these Christians were living in ome. They mention these facts and possibilities%

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&. !aul did not send many personal greetings to churches that he knew well. "f he was greeting Christians in 7phesus+ he would have known more than 1; people. >e would not want to upset anyone whom he forgot to name. 1. A8uila and !riscilla had lived in ome until Claudius ordered the **ews to leave in 52 *A.).. They had moved to Corinth+ where !aul had worked with them. Then they went on to 7phesus. They may have risked their lives to protect !aul there. Claudius died in <5 *A.).. $o it is likely that A8uila and !riscilla were then able to return to ome. ,ther **ews may have gone back to ome from the cities where they had met !aul. Christians would also travel to ome on business. '. ufus 0verse &'6 may have been the son of $imon from Cyrene. #ark mentions him as a well3 known person 0#ark &<%1&6. And many people think that #ark wrote his *gospel for the church in ome. 5. The words on graves in ome show that there were other Christian *households in ome. <. ome was not an ordinary city. We know that many people+ including **ews and Christians+ travelled to ome. And they lived and worked there. $o !aul might have known all these people before they lived in ome. ;. !archment 0the type of paper that people used for letters6 was expensive. !aul would not want to waste it. >e had completed his explanation of the sub@ects that were the main reasons for his letter. But perhaps some parchment still remained. And !aul really cared about his Christian *brothers and sisters. $o he wanted to greet each of them by name. Derse ; !aul mentions a woman called #ary. We know nothing about this particular woman except her hard work. Derse = *unias is probably a female name+ *unia. $o Andronicus and *unia may have been a married couple. They were Christians before !aul+ so they are probably before the time of $tephen. They were members of the first church in *erusalem. They are -among the *apostles/. $o+ like other people+ they may have seen *Christ when he came back to life 0& Corinthians &<%;6. Derse 9 -Ampliatus/ was a common name for a slave. But there is a splendid grave in the Christian catacombs 0ancient underground graves6 in ome. "t has the name Ampliatus on it. $o he was probably a Christian whom people thought well of in the church. Derse 2 -Erbanus/ means someone who belongs to the city. "t was a common name for someone who lived in ome. Derse &( Aristobulus was a grandson of >erod the .reat. >e lived privately in ome and he was a friend of the *7mperor Claudius. When Aristobulus died+ his servants and slaves became the property of the *7mperor. !eople would know them as the -*household of Aristobulus/. Derse && >erodion may have had some *relationship with the >erod family. - elative/ probably means a **ew+ like !aul+ rather than a relative by birth. ?arcissus was a secretary to the *7mperor Claudius. ?arcissus had made a large sum of money from people who wanted him to give their letters to the *7mperor. When ?ero became *7mperor+ ?arcissus had to die. When he died+ his slaves became ?ero/s property. They would be called the -*household of ?arcissus/. $o there were Christian slaves in the *7mperor/s *household 0!hilippians 5%116. Derse &1 Tryphena and Tryphosa were sisters+ and may have been born at the same time. Their names meant that they were attractive and delicate. But they worked hard for the *:ord. !ersis may have come from !ersia. $he too worked hard for the Christian *faith. Derse &' ufus meant -red/+ so he probably had red hair. $imon from Cyrene 0in Africa6 had to carry *esus/ *cross. >e may have become a Christian because of this experience. >is sons+ Alexander and ufus+ seem to be well3known as Christians+ because #ark mentions them by name 0#ark &<%1&6. $imon from Cyrene may be the same as $imeon ?iger 0which means $imon who was black6. $imeon ?iger was an important Christian in the church at Antioch 0Acts &'%&6. And that was the same church where !aul first worked as a leader. $o+ it may have been in Antioch that the mother of ufus acted like a mother to !aul. 0$ee Acts &'%&.6 Derse &< Tradition associates ?ereus with )omitilla+ a Christian lady from a royal family. ?ereus may have been an important official for )omitilla and her husband Alavius Clemens.

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Derse &; "n & Corinthians &;%1( there is another reference to the -*holy kiss/ of Christian greeting. !eter calls it the -kiss of love/ 0& !eter <%&56. Tertullian called it the -kiss of *peace/. A list of greetings like this is valuable. "t shows how much !aul appreciated his friends. >e encouraged them as he praised them. >e mentions a variety of Christians. >e mentions **ews and *.entiles. >e mentions both women and men. And he mentions slaves in addition to some important people. This list shows clearly that there is -neither **ew nor *.entile+ slave nor free+ male nor female/. All are united in *Christ *esus 0.alatians '%196.

Paul +arns about some teachers 1%:17-!(

17 Ariends+ " urge you to watch out for people who want to separate you. These people cause trouble. Cou have learned about Christian beliefs. But such people teach ideas that are opposite to these things. $tay away from such people. 1& !eople like this are not serving our *:ord *Christ. They are greedy people who care only about themselves. They speak well. Their words impress people. $o they *deceive people who are simple. 1' 7veryone has heard how you obey .od. " am glad because of you. But " want you to be wise about good things. And " want you to be *innocent in relation to evil things. !( $oon+ $atan/s 0the devil/s6 defeat will be complete. .od+ who brings *peace+ will overcome $atan. And you will be very glad. Cou will be like someone who places his foot on the head of a dead snake. " pray that the *grace of our *:ord *esus will be with you. Derses &=3&9 !aul wanted to warn the Christians in ome about some particular dangers. "n chapter 1+ !aul has written about some proud teachers who were working in the churches. These men had already caused serious problems in some churches. They were trying to separate **ewish Christians from *.entile Christians. They said that they were teaching .od/s law. But they were not sincere. They were using the Christian *gospel as a means to make a profit 0& Timothy ;%<4 Titus &%&&6. And they were not really teaching the *gospel. The *gospel message is that people become *righteous by *faith in *Christ. But these men said that people had to obey the law in order to become *righteous. !aul writes elsewhere about the arguments that these men caused 0& Timothy ;%'3<6. And it seems that these men intended to cause 8uarrels 0& Timothy &%'356. $ome men were believing them. $o !aul would tell Titus to choose church leaders who knew the *gospel well 0Titus &%23&(6. Those leaders could oppose the false teachers firmly 0Titus 1%&'3&56. Derse &2 !aul was pleased to hear that the Christians in ome were obeying .od. But he wanted them to recognise good things+ and to do those things. >e wanted them to avoid evil things. *esus had told his *disciples to be -as wise as snakes and as *innocent as doves 0a kind of bird6/ 0#atthew &(%&;6. Derse 1( !aul writes about the .od who brings *peace. "t is *$atan who causes disagreements and wars. -$oon/ does not mean immediately. "t means that at some time in the future+ .od will act to end the power of *$atan permanently. "n the original language+ !aul did not actually mention a -snake/ here. But we have included this word in our translation because !aul seems to be referring to .enesis '%&< here. !aul/s words are like .od/s promise that a woman/s *descendant would -destroy the snake/s head/ 0.enesis '%&<6. That verse is a *prophecy 0description of future events6. "t means that the *#essiah will overcome *$atan. !aul/s words also refer to an ancient custom after a battle. The captains of the army that won would place their feet on the necks of their chief enemies 0*oshua &(%156. This action showed that they had completely overcome their enemies. !salm &&(%& speaks about the *#essiah who puts his feet on his enemies. *Christ won *victory over *$atan at the *cross. But *$atan continues to oppose .od. And *$atan continues to cause trouble for .od/s people. But !aul was confident that *$atan/s final defeat is certain. *Christ/s death was sufficient to end *$atan/s power completely. At the present time+ we are still waiting for *$atan/s final defeat. .od has allowed this delay to give people the opportunity to trust him 01 !eter '%26. !eople who refuse will suffer the same punishment as all .od/s enemies 0 evelation 1(%&'3&<6. But .od does not want people to suffer that punishment. That is why he sent *Christ into the world. *Christ died on the *cross to suffer the punishment for *sin. !eople who trust him are not still .od/s enemies. They have become .od/s friends+ and they will overcome together with *Christ.

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Greetings from Pauls friends 1%:!1-!#

!1 Timothy+ who works with me+ sends his greetings to you. $o do :ucius+ *ason and $osipater+ my relatives. !! 0"+ Tertius+ who wrote this letter down+ greet you as a believer in the *:ord.6 !"-!# .aius is my host here. And the whole church meets in his house. >e sends you his greetings. 7rastus is the )irector of !ublic Works here in the city. >e and our *brother Iuartus send you their greetings. Derse 1& Timothy came from :ystra. There+ !aul decided to make Timothy a companion for his @ourneys 0Acts &;%&3'6. >e served !aul for many years. !aul wrote that their work together was -like a son with his father/ 0!hilippians 1%&23116. Timothy was with !aul when he was ready to go to *erusalem 0Acts 1(%56. 0$ee omans &<%1<.6 :ucius+ *ason and $osipater were **ews+ like !aul. We cannot be sure who they were. :ucius might be :ucius from Cyrene 0Acts &'%&6 or even :uke. *ason invited !aul to stay at his home in Thessalonica. The result was that the **ews attacked *ason/s house. They dragged him in front of the city rulers 0Acts &=%<326. >is name is not among the people who took the gift to *erusalem. But $opater 0the shorter form of $osipater/s name6 took the gift from Berea to *erusalem 0Acts 1(%56. Derse 11 Tertius is the only secretary of !aul whose name we know. >e sends his own greetings here. Derse 1' .aius was one of the only two people whom !aul *baptised in Corinth 0& Corinthians &%&56. "f his full name was .aius Titius *ustus+ he lived next to the *synagogue in Corinth. When !aul left the *synagogue+ he moved into .aius/s home to continue his work. -The whole church/ 0in other words+ all the church members6 met in .aius/s house 0Acts &9%=396. Clearly+ .aius had a very large house. 7rastus was the )irector of !ublic Works in Corinth. $o he was a very important man in that city. >is name is on a pavement 0stones which cover a street or path6 that people discovered in &212. The *:atin words say that he paid for the pavement himself. >e appreciated the honour that the city had given to him. ,ur -*brother/ Iuartus probably means that he was a Christian. The word -brother/ may of course mean a family relationship. Iuartus means -5th/. ,ne writer suggests that he was the brother of Tertius+ whose name means -'rd/. Another writer thinks that this is rather unlikelyF Derse 15 #any *manuscripts do not include this verse. But other *manuscripts have these words here% -" pray that the *grace of the *:ord *esus *Christ will be with you all. *Amen./ These *manuscripts have these words here+ instead of the end of verse 1(.

)he song to praise God 1%:!$-!7

!$ And so " pray to .od. >e is able to make your *faith strong by the good news which " *preach. We declare the good news about *esus *Christ. This secret truth was unknown for long ages in the past. !% But now .od has made it public. As the *prophets wrote+ people from all nations can know it. .od+ who lives always+ ordered this. >e wanted people everywhere to obey him and to trust him. !7 $o " praise .od+ who alone has all wisdom. All *glory will always belong to him+ because of *esus *Christ. *Amen. "n this song to praise .od+ !aul repeats the main ideas in his letter% Derse 1< &. .od has the power to make a Christian/s *faith firm. .od protects a Christian/s *faith from wrong beliefs. >e gives Christians the power to win against tendencies to *sin. >e gives them courage when people oppose them. 1. The good news about *esus *Christ comes to everyone by means of the people who declare it. !aul speaks about the *gospel that -" *preach/. .od had given to him the task to *preach+ especially to the *.entiles. '. Aor many centuries+ people did not know .od/s plan. "t was like a secret that .od has now made public. .od had decided to rescue people+ both **ews and *.entiles+ by means of *esus *Christ+ his son. Derse 1;

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5. The *,ld Testament *prophets said that *Christ was coming. .od made people understand that the *scriptures were a witness to *Christ. <. .od/s purpose was that the good news should be available to everyone in all the world. *esus himself had given the command to his *disciples to tell the good news to everyone everywhere 0#atthew 19%&231(6. ;. Christians must show that their *faith is real. They do this as they obey .od. >e has shown his love for them by means of *Christ. $o they should obey him as they show love to everyone. Derse 1= !aul wants .od to receive the honour that he deserves. And !aul himself praises .od. .od showed his wisdom when he sent his son+ *esus *Christ. And .od/s wisdom is so much greater than any person/s wisdom 0 omans &&%''3';6. $o !aul ends his letter with thanks and he praises .od. -*Amen/ shows that he wants everyone to @oin with him and to give *glory to .od.

;ord 3ist
A*6* M years after the birth of Christ. adulter0 M when someone has sex with another person/s wife or husband. altar M a table where people offered *sacrifices. amen M a word at the end of a prayer. "t shows agreement. ancestors M people or members of the family or nation in the past. angel M a servant from .od who brings his messages. apostle M someone who goes out to *preach about *esus4 one of the &1 men whom *esus sent out. baptise1 baptism M use water as a sign that *Christ has freed a person from *sin. baptise M to put a person in to water+ or to put water on a person4 the way that we show to everyone that a person belongs to Christ and to his *church. baptism M when they put a person into water+ or put water on a person4 the way that we show to everyone that we belong to Christ and his *church. blessing<s= M the good things that .od does for us. boast M to praise oneself. brother<s= and sister<s= M a friend and helper4 a member of the church. bull M the male animal which mates with a cow. Christ M the *.reek word for *#essiah+ that is+ *esus. church M 0&6 all Christians4 016 members of a local group of Christians. circumcise M cut off the loose skin from the end of the sex part of a boy or man. But the word -circumcise/ also has another meaning. By *circumcision+ the **ews showed that they wanted to obey .od. But some people circumcised their boys merely because of tradition. $uch people did not really want to obey .od. $o+ the Bible says that these people should -circumcise their hearts/. "n other words+ they should learn how to obey .od. circumcised M a description of a boy or man who has received *circumcision4 a **ew. circumcision M a sign of the *covenant between .od and the **ews. When a baby boy is 9 days old+ the **ews *circumcise that boy. They do this in order to obey the *covenant between .od and the **ews. cla0 M earth that people bake to make pots. commandment<s= M .od/s rule0s6. .od gave these &( special rules. They are called the &( commandments. $ee )euteronomy <%;31&. co enant M agreement between .od and a person or people. creation M the world that .od made4 or+ .od/s work when he made everything. Creator M .od+ who created everything. creed M a statement of belief. cross M two pieces of wood that people have fixed together in the shape of a cross. $oldiers would attach a criminal to a cross in order to kill that person.

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decei e M to make people believe things that are false. descendants M future members of a family or nation. disciples M students4 people who follow another person to learn from him. dough M flour and water that a person has mixed in order to make bread. 4mperor M ruler over many countries. eternal M without end. When we use the word -eternal/ to describe .od/s 8ualities+ we mean -without beginning or end/. faith M trust in someone or something4 the things that Christians believe about *esus. faithful> faithfulness M loyal4 someone or something that deserves trust. father M Abraham is called -father/ because all .od/s people came from him. Abraham was the *ancestor of the *"sraelites. But he is also called the -father/ of the Christians+ because all real Christians share his *faith in .od. feast M splendid meal. Gentile M someone hwo is not a **ew+ or+ a description of anything that has a relationship to people who are not **ews. glorious M a description of something that has great *glory. glor0 M great beauty and honour. ,nly .od 0or *Christ6 has perfect glory. gospel M good news. grace M .od/s love that people do not deserve. Gree. M the language in which the authors wrote the *?ew Testament4 or a word that describes anything that came from the country called .reece4 or the people who came from .reece4 or anyone who followed the same culture as people from .reece. 7ebre+ M the language that the **ews spoke. hol0 M something or someone that is special for .od. 7ol0 ,pirit M The >oly $pirit does .od/s work among people in the world. The >oly $pirit is .od+ even as *esus and the Aather are .od. But there are not three .ods. The Bible teaches that there is only one .od. household M the people who live together in a house+ including servants+ maids and slaves. A household might be very large. Aor example+ the *7mperor/s household meant everyone who lived in the *7mperor/s palace. idol<s= M image0s6 of false gods which people *worship. innocent M free from *sin. Israel M another name for *acob+ who was an *ancestor of the *"sraelites. "srael became a name for the country where the *"sraelites lived. And "srael is also a name for all the *"sraelites. Israelite M the people that are **ews. 2e+1 2e+ish M a person whose *ancestors were Abraham+ "saac and *acob. /udge M to act as a @udge4 to accuse other people4 to pretend to be a @udge. .ingdom M people or area which a king rules. 3atin M the language that people from ome spoke. 3ord M .od4 the word that we may use for *esus when we obey him4 someone who rules or who is a master. manuscript M a book that someone has written by hand. marriage M the *relationship between a husband and wife. merc0 M kindness+ the love that .od shows when he forgives. ?essiah M the **ews/ word for the king who would come to rescue them4 the *Christ 0that is+ *esus6. miracle M a wonderful event that could only happen by .od/s power. @e+ )estament M the last part of the Bible+ about *esus and the early church. non-Gree. M someone who did not follow the same culture as people from .reece did.

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8ld )estament M the first part of the Bible. The authors of the books in the ,ld Testament wrote their books centuries before *Christ/s birth. oli e M a small fruit. !eople used this fruit for food and to produce oil for their lamps. -,live trees/ are the trees that yield this fruit. pagans M people who believe in many gods. peace M a calm and content attitude. Pentecost M the time when .od gave his law to the **ews4 the time when .od gave the *>oly $pirit to the church. potter M someone who makes pots. preach M to tell and to explain the good news about *esus. prophec0 M words that .od gave someone to speak or to write down4 especially+ a message from .od about the future. prophet M a person who told the people what .od wanted. relationship M a friendship4 or way in which people know each other. repent M to change one/s mind totally4 when someone who was doing wrong things begins to obey .od. resurrection M when a dead person becomes alive again. righteous M good+ *holy. righteousness M goodness4 a right *relationship with .od. Roman M a person from the city called ome+ or a description of anything that has a relationship with ome. ome was the most important city in the world at the time when !aul wrote this letter. "t was the capital city where the *7mperor lived. ,abbath M seventh 0=th6 day of the week 0that is+ $aturday64 the **ewish day for rest. sacred M special for .od. sacrifice M something which people offer to .od+ especially an animal that they killed as a gift to .od. *esus/ death was the perfect sacrifice because+ by his death+ he freed people from *sin. sal ation M rescue from evil things4 when .od forgives us our evil deeds. ,atan M the chief evil spirit+ the devil. sa e M to rescue from the power of *sin. ,a iour M *esus+ who rescues people from *sin. scripture<s= M books of the Bible. se-ual M of sex. sin M evil deeds against .od/s law4 or to do such deeds. sinful M sinful people do things against .od or other people4 they do not obey .odNs commands4 they do not do what .od wants them to do4 sinful actions are actions that are against .od/s commands. sinners M people who *sin. .od has not forgiven these people because they have not *repented. sister<s= and brother<s= M a friend and helper4 a member of the church. spiritual M a description of something that belongs to the spirit. s0nagogue M a local **ewish meeting place for *worship. temples M places for *worship. )emple M the special building in *erusalem where **ews *worshipped .od. throat M the passage from the mouth which makes people able to speak. uncircumcised M a description of someone who has not received *circumcision4 a *.entile. uncircumcision M the state of someone who has not received *circumcision. unhol0 M not *holy. ictor0 M success against an enemy. ision M picture in the mind4 a wonderful sight that .od has given. +orship M to show honour to .od 0or to a false god6+ alone or with other people.
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+rath M great anger4 .od/s anger against *sin. +ritten la+ M .od/s law+ which #oses wrote down for the *"sraelites. Aion M *erusalem.

:oo. 3ist
Barclay+ William M The :etter to the * omans. )aily $tudy Bible M $t Andrew/s !ress 1((& 0revised edition &2=<6 Bruce+ A.A. M The :etter of !aul to the * omans. Tyndale *?ew Testament commentaries M "nter3 Darsity !ress 1((1 01nd edition &29<6 )odd+ C.>. M The 7pistle of !aul to the * omans. #offatt *?ew Testament commentary M >odder O $toughton 0Airst published &2&16 $tott+ *ohn M The #essage of * omans. The Bible speaks today M "nter3Darsity !ress 1((1 0first published &2256 Concise ,xford )ictionary M &2=; Chambers 1&st Century )ictionary M &22; 7nglish Thesaurus+ .eddes O .eddes M &222 :ibles: ?"D+ ?ew :ight Bible% eaders ?"D+ *erusalem Bible+ * B !hillips+ ?7B+ T7D
2007, Wycliffe Associates (UK) This publication is written in EasyEn lish !e"el # (2$00 wor%s)& 'une 2007 (isit our website) www&easyen lish&info

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