rsv Romans:1-2 SEEK
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Paul ,
a servant of Jesus Christ ,
called to be an apostle ,
set apart for the gospel of God
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which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures ,
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the gospel concerning his Son ,
who was descended from David according to the flesh
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and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead ,
Jesus Christ our Lord ,
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through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations ,
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including yourselves who are called to belong to Jesus Christ ;
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To all God '
s beloved in Rome ,
who are called to be saints :
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ .
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First ,
I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you ,
because your faith is proclaimed in all the world .
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For God is my witness ,
whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son ,
that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers ,
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asking that somehow by God '
s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you .
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For I long to see you ,
that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you ,
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that is ,
that we may be mutually encouraged by each other '
s faith ,
both yours and mine .
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I want you to know ,
brethren ,
that I have often intended to come to you (
but thus far have been prevented ),
in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles .
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I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians ,
both to the wise and to the foolish :
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so I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome .
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For I am not ashamed of the gospel :
it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith ,
to the Jew first and also to the Greek .
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For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith ;
as it is written , "
He who through faith is righteous shall live ."
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For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth .
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For what can be known about God is plain to them ,
because God has shown it to them .
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Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature ,
namely ,
his eternal power and deity ,
has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made .
So they are without excuse ;
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for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him ,
but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened .
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Claiming to be wise ,
they became fools ,
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and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles .
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Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity ,
to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves ,
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because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator ,
who is blessed for ever !
Amen .
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For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions .
Their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ,
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and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another ,
men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in their own persons the due penalty for their error .
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And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God ,
God gave them up to a base mind and to improper conduct .
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They were filled with all manner of wickedness ,
evil ,
covetousness ,
malice .
Full of envy ,
murder ,
strife ,
deceit ,
malignity ,
they are gossips ,
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slanderers ,
haters of God ,
insolent ,
haughty ,
boastful ,
inventors of evil ,
disobedient to parents ,
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foolish ,
faithless ,
heartless ,
ruthless .
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Though they know God '
s decree that those who do such things deserve to die ,
they not only do them but approve those who practice them .
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Therefore you have no excuse ,
O man ,
whoever you are ,
when you judge another ;
for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself ,
because you ,
the judge ,
are doing the very same things .
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We know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who do such things .
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Do you suppose ,
O man ,
that when you judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself ,
you will escape the judgment of God ?
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Or do you presume upon the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience ?
Do you not know that God '
s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance ?
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But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God '
s righteous judgment will be revealed .
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For he will render to every man according to his works :
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to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality ,
he will give eternal life ;
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but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth ,
but obey wickedness ,
there will be wrath and fury .
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There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil ,
the Jew first and also the Greek ,
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but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good ,
the Jew first and also the Greek .
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For God shows no partiality .
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All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law ,
and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law .
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For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God ,
but the doers of the law who will be justified .
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When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires ,
they are a law to themselves ,
even though they do not have the law .
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They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts ,
while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them
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on that day when ,
according to my gospel ,
God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus .
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But if you call yourself a Jew and rely upon the law and boast of your relation to God
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and know his will and approve what is excellent ,
because you are instructed in the law ,
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and if you are sure that you are a guide to the blind ,
a light to those who are in darkness ,
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a corrector of the foolish ,
a teacher of children ,
having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth --
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you then who teach others ,
will you not teach yourself ?
While you preach against stealing ,
do you steal ?
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You who say that one must not commit adultery ,
do you commit adultery ?
You who abhor idols ,
do you rob temples ?
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You who boast in the law ,
do you dishonor God by breaking the law ?
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For ,
as it is written , "
The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you ."
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Circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law ;
but if you break the law ,
your circumcision becomes uncircumcision .
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So ,
if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law ,
will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision ?
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Then those who are physically uncircumcised but keep the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law .
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For he is not a real Jew who is one outwardly ,
nor is true circumcision something external and physical .
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He is a Jew who is one inwardly ,
and real circumcision is a matter of the heart ,
spiritual and not literal .
His praise is not from men but from God .
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Then what advantage has the Jew ?
Or what is the value of circumcision ?