Romans:1-3

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* Paul , a servant of Jesus Christ , called to be an apostle , separated unto the gospel of God , * (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures ,) * Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord , which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh ; * And declared to be the Son of God with power , according to the spirit of holiness , by the resurrection from the dead : * By whom we have received grace and apostleship , for obedience to the faith among all nations , for his name : * Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ : * To all that be in Rome , beloved of God , called to be saints : Grace to you and peace from God our Father , and the Lord Jesus Christ . * First , I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all , that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world . * For God is my witness , whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son , that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers ; * Making request , if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you . * For I long to see you , that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift , to the end ye may be established ; * That is , that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me . * Now I would not have you ignorant , brethren , that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you , (but was let hitherto ,) that I might have some fruit among you also , even as among other Gentiles . * I am debtor both to the Greeks , and to the Barbarians ; both to the wise , and to the unwise . * So , as much as in me is , I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also . * For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ : for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the Jew first , and also to the Greek . * For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith : as it is written , The just shall live by faith . * For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men , who hold the truth in unrighteousness ; * Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them ; for God hath shewed it unto them . * For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen , being understood by the things that are made , even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they are without excuse : * Because that , when they knew God , they glorified him not as God , neither were thankful ; but became vain in their imaginations , and their foolish heart was darkened . * Professing themselves to be wise , they became fools , * And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man , and to birds , and fourfooted beasts , and creeping things . * Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts , to dishonour their own bodies between themselves : * Who changed the truth of God into a lie , and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator , who is blessed for ever . Amen . * For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections : for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature : * And likewise also the men , leaving the natural use of the woman , burned in their lust one toward another ; men with men working that which is unseemly , and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet . * And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge , God gave them over to a reprobate mind , to do those things which are not convenient ; * Being filled with all unrighteousness , fornication , wickedness , covetousness , maliciousness ; full of envy , murder , debate , deceit , malignity ; whisperers , * Backbiters , haters of God , despiteful , proud , boasters , inventors of evil things , disobedient to parents , * Without understanding , covenantbreakers , without natural affection , implacable , unmerciful : * Who knowing the judgment of God , that they which commit such things are worthy of death , not only do the same , but have pleasure in them that do them . * Therefore thou art inexcusable , O man , whosoever thou art that judgest : for wherein thou judgest another , thou condemnest thyself ; for thou that judgest doest the same things . * But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things . * And thinkest thou this , O man , that judgest them which do such things , and doest the same , that thou shalt escape the judgment of God ? * Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering ; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance ? * But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God ; * Who will render to every man according to his deeds : * To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality , eternal life : * But unto them that are contentious , and do not obey the truth , but obey unrighteousness , indignation and wrath , * Tribulation and anguish , upon every soul of man that doeth evil , of the Jew first , and also of the Gentile ; * But glory , honour , and peace , to every man that worketh good , to the Jew first , and also to the Gentile : * For there is no respect of persons with God . * For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law : and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law ; * (For not the hearers of the law are just before God , but the doers of the law shall be justified . * For when the Gentiles , which have not the law , do by nature the things contained in the law , these , having not the law , are a law unto themselves : * Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts , their conscience also bearing witness , and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another ;) * In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel . * Behold , thou art called a Jew , and restest in the law , and makest thy boast of God , * And knowest his will , and approvest the things that are more excellent , being instructed out of the law ; * And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind , a light of them which are in darkness , * An instructor of the foolish , a teacher of babes , which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law . * Thou therefore which teachest another , teachest thou not thyself ? thou that preachest a man should not steal , dost thou steal ? * Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery , dost thou commit adultery ? thou that abhorrest idols , dost thou commit sacrilege ? * Thou that makest thy boast of the law , through breaking the law dishonourest thou God ? * For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you , as it is written . * For circumcision verily profiteth , if thou keep the law : but if thou be a breaker of the law , thy circumcision is made uncircumcision . * Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law , shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision ? * And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature , if it fulfil the law , judge thee , who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law ? * For he is not a Jew , which is one outwardly ; neither is that circumcision , which is outward in the flesh : * But he is a Jew , which is one inwardly ; and circumcision is that of the heart , in the spirit , and not in the letter ; whose praise is not of men , but of God . * What advantage then hath the Jew ? or what profit is there of circumcision ? * Much every way : chiefly , because that unto them were committed the oracles of God . * For what if some did not believe ? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect ? * God forbid : yea , let God be true , but every man a liar ; as it is written , That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings , and mightest overcome when thou art judged . * But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God , what shall we say ? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance ? (I speak as a man ) * God forbid : for then how shall God judge the world ? * For if the truth of God hath more abounded through my lie unto his glory ; why yet am I also judged as a sinner ? * And not rather , (as we be slanderously reported , and as some affirm that we say ,) Let us do evil , that good may come ? whose damnation is just . * What then ? are we better than they ? No , in no wise : for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles , that they are all under sin ; * As it is written , There is none righteous , no , not one : * There is none that understandeth , there is none that seeketh after God . * They are all gone out of the way , they are together become unprofitable ; there is none that doeth good , no , not one . * Their throat is an open sepulchre ; with their tongues they have used deceit ; the poison of asps is under their lips : * Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness : * Their feet are swift to shed blood : * Destruction and misery are in their ways : * And the way of peace have they not known : * There is no fear of God before their eyes . * Now we know that what things soever the law saith , it saith to them who are under the law : that every mouth may be stopped , and all the world may become guilty before God . * Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight : for by the law is the knowledge of sin . * But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested , being witnessed by the law and the prophets ; * Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe : for there is no difference : * For all have sinned , and come short of the glory of God ; * Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus : * Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood , to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past , through the forbearance of God ; * To declare , I say , at this time his righteousness : that he might be just , and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus . * Where is boasting then ? It is excluded . By what law ? of works ? Nay : but by the law of faith . * Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law . * Is he the God of the Jews only ? is he not also of the Gentiles ? Yes , of the Gentiles also : * Seeing it is one God , which shall justify the circumcision by faith , and uncircumcision through faith . * Do we then make void the law through faith ? God forbid : yea , we establish the law . * What shall we say then that Abraham our father , as pertaining to the flesh , hath found ?

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