1Romans 1

1From Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus. God chose me to be an apostle, and he appointed me to preach the good newsSelect Romans 1:1

2that he promised long ago by what his prophets said in the holy Scriptures.Select Romans 1:2

4This good news is about his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ! As a human, he was from the family of David. But the Holy Spirit proved that Jesus is the powerful Son of God, because he was raised from death.Select Romans 1:4

5Jesus was kind to me and chose me to be an apostle, so that people of all nations would obey and have faith.Select Romans 1:5

6You are some of those people chosen by Jesus Christ.Select Romans 1:6

7This letter is to all of you in Rome. God loves you and has chosen you to be his very own people. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!Select Romans 1:7

A Prayer of Thanks

8First, I thank God in the name of Jesus Christ for all of you. I do this because people everywhere in the world are talking about your faith.Select Romans 1:8

9God has seen how I never stop praying for you, while I serve him with all my heart and tell the good news about his Son.Select Romans 1:9

10In all my prayers, I ask God to make it possible for me to visit you.Select Romans 1:10

11I want to see you and share with you the same blessings that God's Spirit has given me. Then you will grow stronger in your faith.Select Romans 1:11

12What I am saying is that we can encourage each other by the faith that is ours.Select Romans 1:12

13My friends, I want you to know that I have often planned to come for a visit. But something has always kept me from doing it. I want to win followers to Christ in Rome, as I have done in many other places.Select Romans 1:13

15It doesn't matter if people are civilized and educated, or if they are uncivilized and uneducated. I must tell the good news to everyone. That's why I am eager to visit all of you in Rome.Select Romans 1:15

The Power of the Good News

16I am proud of the good news! It is God's powerful way of saving all people who have faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles.Select Romans 1:16

17The good news tells how God accepts everyone who has faith, but only those who have faith. It is just as the Scriptures say, “The people God accepts because of their faith will live.”Select Romans 1:17

Everyone Is Guilty

18From heaven God shows how angry he is with all the wicked and evil things that sinful people do to crush the truth.Select Romans 1:18

19They know everything that can be known about God, because God has shown it all to them.Select Romans 1:19

20God's eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse.Select Romans 1:20

21They know about God, but they don't honor him or even thank him. Their thoughts are useless, and their stupid minds are in the dark.Select Romans 1:21

22They claim to be wise, but they are fools.Select Romans 1:22

23They don't worship the glorious and eternal God. Instead, they worship idols that are made to look like humans who cannot live forever, and like birds, animals, and reptiles.Select Romans 1:23

24So God let these people go their own way. They did what they wanted to do, and their filthy thoughts made them do shameful things with their bodies.Select Romans 1:24

25They gave up the truth about God for a lie, and they worshiped God's creation instead of God, who will be praised forever. Amen.Select Romans 1:25

26God let them follow their own evil desires. Women no longer wanted to have sex in a natural way, and they did things with each other that were not natural.Select Romans 1:26

27Men behaved in the same way. They stopped wanting to have sex with women and had strong desires for sex with other men. They did shameful things with each other, and what has happened to them is punishment for their foolish deeds.Select Romans 1:27

28Since these people refused even to think about God, he let their useless minds rule over them. That's why they do all sorts of indecent things.Select Romans 1:28

29They are evil, wicked, and greedy, as well as mean in every possible way. They want what others have, and they murder, argue, cheat, and are hard to get along with. They gossip,Select Romans 1:29

30say cruel things about others, and hate God. They are proud, conceited, and boastful, always thinking up new ways to do evil. These people don't respect their parents.Select Romans 1:30

31They are stupid, unreliable, and don't have any love or pity for others.Select Romans 1:31

32They know God has said that anyone who acts this way deserves to die. But they keep on doing evil things, and they even encourage others to do them.Select Romans 1:32