Romans. P aul wrote to Christian believers in Rome while he was on his third missionary. Q u i c k F a c t s

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1 Romns Romns Q u i k F t s Author The postle Pul Audiene Christins in Rome, most of whom were Gentiles Dte Aout AD 57 Setting Proly written from Corinth, regrding Pul s pending visit to Rome vi Jeruslem P ul wrote to Christin elievers in Rome while he ws on his third missionry journey. Sine Pul ouldn t ome to Rome in person t tht time, he wrote to them out the sis of the Christin fith. Although the ook of Romns is wrmly ffetionte, it ontins gret del of dotrinl tehing. This ook gives us vlule insights into Christin ehvior, our sinful nture, the ontent of the gospel nd the righteousness of God. It lso explins in detil how Jews nd Gentiles fit into God s pln. The ook of Romns ontins importnt tehing to ground new eliever in Christ; it explins how we n e sved from sin, how we re justified y fith nd how we n live in the power of the Holy Spirit. It lso explins in detil the nture of God nd how our reltionship with him rdilly hnges the wy we live. Pul pryed for the Romn Christins with gret fervor nd longed to see them (see Romns 1:9 11). His onern for them went eyond surfe things; he desired tht their lives e hnged s they lerned to follow Christ. We n follow Pul s exmple s we pry for our spouses with the sme kind of fervor, longing for their spiritul welfre ove ll else.

2 Romns 1 Pul, ser vnt of Christ Jesus, lled to e n pos tle nd set prt for the gos pel of God 2 the gos pel he prom ised e fore hnd through his proph ets in the Holy Srip tures 3 re grd ing his Son, who s to his erth ly life ws de sen dnt of Dvid, 4 nd who through the Spir it of ho li ness ws p point ed the Son of God in pow er y his res ur re tion from the ded: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through him we re eived gre nd pos tle ship to ll ll the Gen tiles to the oe di ene tht omes from fith for his nme s ske. 6 And you lso re mong those Gen tiles who re lled to e long to Jesus Christ. 7 To ll in Rome who re loved y God nd lled to e his holy peo ple: Gre nd pee to you from God our Fther nd from the Lord Jesus Christ. Pul s Longing to Visit Rome 8 First, I thnk my God through Jesus Christ for ll of you, e use your fith is eing re port ed ll over the world. 9 God, whom I serve in my spir it in preh ing the gos pel of his Son, is my wit ness how on stnt ly I remem er you 10 in my pryers t ll times; nd I pry tht now t lst y God s will the wy my e opened for me to ome to you. 11 I long to see you so tht I my im prt to you some spir i tu l gift to mke you strong 12 tht is, tht you nd I my e mu tu l ly en our ged y eh oth er s fith. 13 I do not wnt you to e un wre, roth ers nd sisters, d tht I plnned mny times to ome to you (ut hve een pre vent ed from do ing so un til now) in or der tht I might hve hrvest mong you, just s I hve hd mong the oth er Gen tiles. 14 I m o li gt ed oth to Greeks nd non Greeks, oth to the wise nd the fool ish. 15 Tht is why I m so e ger to preh the gospel lso to you who re in Rome. 16 For I m not shmed of the gos pel, euse it is the pow er of God tht rings slv tion to ev ery one who e lieves: first to the Jew, then to the Gen tile. 17 For in the gos pel the righ teous ness of God is re veled righ teous ness tht is y fith from first to lst, e just s it is writ ten: The righ teous will live y fith. f God s Wrth Aginst Sinful Humnity 18 The wrth of God is e ing re veled from hev en ginst ll the god less ness nd wik ed ness of peo ple, who sup press the truth y their wik ed ness, 19 sine wht my e known out God is plin to them, euse God hs mde it plin to them. 20 For sine the re tion of the world God s in vis i le qul i ties his eter nl pow er nd di vine n ture hve een ler ly seen, e ing under stood from wht hs een mde, so tht peo ple re with out ex use. 21 For l though they knew God, they neither glo ri fied him s God nor gve thnks to him, ut their think ing e me fu tile nd their fool ish herts were drk ened. 22 Although they limed to e wise, they eme fools 23 nd ex hnged the glo ry of the im mor tl God for im g es mde to look like mor tl hu mn e ing nd irds nd n i mls nd rep tiles. 24 There fore God gve them over in the sin ful de sires of their herts to sex u l impu ri ty for the de grd ing of their od ies with one n oth er. 25 They ex hnged the truth out God for lie, nd wor shiped nd served re t ed things rth er thn the Cre tor who is for ev er prised. Amen. 26 Be use of this, God gve them over to shme ful lusts. Even their wom en ex hnged nt u rl sex u l re l tions for un nt u rl ones. 3 Or who ording to the flesh 4 Or ws delred with power to e the Son of God 5 Or tht is d 13 The Greek word for rothers nd sisters (delphoi) refers here to elievers, oth men nd women, s prt of God s fmily; lso in 7:1, 4; 8:12, 29; 10:1; 11:25; 12:1; 15:14, 30; 16:14, 17. e 17 Or is from fith to fith f 17 H. 2:4

3 T M tuesday Re d R om n s 1:1 17 When Our Plns Don t Work OutT Sometimes, when I,m feeling defeted I long to see you so tht I my imprt to you some spiritul gift to mke you strong tht is, tht you nd I my e mutully enourged y eh other s fith. Romns 1:11 12 y my own spiritul mediority, I ll whine, OK, so I m not the postle Pul. But he hd few dvntges in his spiritulw life. The truth is, Pul fed the sme struggles I fe. Furthermore, God gives gre in equl mesure to everyone. In Mtthew 5:45 Jesus sid, [God] uses his sun to rise on the evil nd the good, nd sends rin on the righteousth nd the unrighteous. So euse we re ll on level plywht re some plns we hd ing field, it s good ide to see how Pul fred when he for the future tht still hven t een fulfilled? How might our experiened disppointments, delyed nswers to pryers, lives hve een less dependent detours round his plns, suffering, shortges, depriv- F on God hd those personl tion the kinds of things most mrriges fe tody. drems een fulfilled? How A husnd nd wife who hd reently grduted from might our mrrige hve een ollege hd wonderful plns for their lives. They were godifferent? ing to move to their drem town in the Colordo mountins, In wht wys is it wrong to pln get high-pying jos in their fields of expertise, py off theirsa for the future s ouple? In ollege lons, wit to strt fmily nd enjoy eing mrried. wht wys is it wrong not to pln? But God s plns for them were different. The ouple moved to not-so-dremy town, ut it ws one they ould Wht hppens inside us when we re grteful to God when fford to live in. They did onstrution work nd house len-su our plns don t work out? ing while witing, nd witing, for offers from ompnies they hd pplied to for those drem jos. Then, surprise! She got pregnnt. Wht would Pul sy to them? He proly wouldn t serve up ny pltitudes like We know tht in ll things God works for the good of those who love him (Romns 8:28). Although tht is true, Pul would understnd this young ouple s frustrtion in seeing none of their drems oming true. Insted, Pul might tell them it of his own story nd some of the lessons he lerned. He would wnt to e mutully enourged s he mentioned to the Christins in Rome (Romns 1:12) humly desiring oth to minister to them nd to e ministered to y them. He might tlk out how, even in the midst of our trils, we n hoose to thnk God for his guidne in our lives. We n sk for wisdom to view God s unfolding plns for us s unexpeted opportunities to serve him eome ville. We n rememer tht people re wthing to see how we ret to our hllenges. We n grow nd mture s we put fith to work in our lives. This ouple lerned those lessons. When they tlked with their prents out the oming y, they sid, We re lerning to trust God through ll this. We re not sure why it s hppening, ut we re not moving n inh from God, nd we ll just see wht hppens s these detours guide us down the rod we re to trvel. Wht prents wouldn t e thrilled to her their hildren express suh fith nd e enourged in their own fith y suh testimony? And s we trust in him, our hevenly Fther is plesed to give us, his hildren, the est life possile. let s tlk Mry Ann Jeffreys for your next devotionl reding, turn to pge _int_06_rom_rev_rm_ouples_devo_s4.indd /27/12 1:17 PM

4 1338 Romns 1:27 Romns 2: In the sme wy the men lso n doned nt u rl re l tions with wom en nd were inflmed with lust for one n oth er. Men ommit ted shme ful ts with oth er men, nd re eived in them selves the due pen l ty for their er ror. 28 Fur ther more, just s they did not think it worth while to re tin the knowl edge of God, so God gve them over to de prved mind, so tht they do wht ought not to e done. 29 They hve e ome filled with ev ery kind of wik ed ness, evil, greed nd de prv i ty. They re full of envy, mur der, strife, de eit nd ml ie. They re gos sips, 30 sln der ers, Godht ers, in so lent, r ro gnt nd ost ful; they in vent wys of do ing evil; they dis oey their pr ents; 31 they hve no un der stnd ing, no fi del i ty, no love, no mer y. 32 Al though they know God s righ teous de ree tht those who do suh things de serve deth, they not only on tin ue to do these very things ut lso pprove of those who pr tie them. God s Righteous Judgment 2 You, there fore, hve no ex use, you who pss judg ment on some one else, for t wht ev er point you judge n oth er, you re on demn ing your self, e use you who pss judg ment do the sme things. 2 Now we know tht God s judg ment ginst those who do suh things is sed on truth. 3 So when you, mere hu mn e ing, pss judgment on them nd yet do the sme things, do you think you will es pe God s judg ment? 4 Or do you show on tempt for the rih es of his kind ness, for er ne nd p tiene, not re l iz ing tht God s kind ness is in tend ed to led you to re pen tne? 5 But e use of your stu orn ness nd your un re pen tnt hert, you re stor ing up wrth ginst your self for the dy of God s wrth, when his righ teous judg ment will e re veled. 6 God will re py eh per son ord ing to wht they hve done. 7 To those who y per sis tene in do ing good seek glo ry, hon or nd im mor tl i ty, he will give eter nl life. 8 But for those who re self-seek ing nd who re jet the truth nd fol low evil, there will e wrth nd n ger. 9 There will e troule nd dis tress for ev ery hu mn e ing who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 ut glo ry, hon or nd pee for ev eryone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gen tile. 11 For God does not show f vorit ism. 12 All who sin prt from the lw will lso per ish prt from the lw, nd ll who sin un der the lw will e judged y the lw. 13 For it is not those who her the lw who re righ teous in God s sight, ut it is those who oey the lw who will e de lred righ teous. 14 (In deed, when Gen tiles, who do not hve the lw, do y n ture things re quired y the lw, they re lw for them selves, even though they do not hve the lw. 15 They show tht the re quire ments of the lw re writ ten on their herts, their on sienes lso er ing wit ness, nd their thoughts some times us ing them nd t other times even de fend ing them.) 16 This will tke ple on the dy when God judg es peo ple s se rets through Jesus Christ, s my gos pel de lres. The Jews nd the Lw 17 Now you, if you ll your self Jew; if you rely on the lw nd ost in God; 18 if you know his will nd p prove of wht is su pe ri or e use you re in strut ed y the lw; 19 if you re on vined tht you re guide for the lind, light for those who re in the drk, 20 n in stru tor of the fool ish, teh er of lit tle hil dren, e use you hve in the lw the em odi ment of knowl edge nd truth 21 you, then, who teh oth ers, do you not teh your self? You who preh ginst stel ing, do you stel? 22 You who sy tht peo ple should not om mit dul tery, do you om mit dul tery? You who hor idols, do you ro tem ples? 23 You who ost in the lw, do you dis hon or God y reking the lw? 24 As it is writ ten: God s nme is ls phemed mong the Gen tiles e use of you. 25 Cir um i sion hs vl ue if you o serve the lw, ut if you rek the lw, you hve e ome s though you hd not een ir umised. 26 So then, if those who re not irum ised keep the lw s re quire ments, will they not e re grd ed s though they were ir um ised? 27 The one who is not ir umised phys i l ly nd yet oeys the lw will on demn you who, even though you hve the writ ten ode nd ir um i sion, re lw rek er. 6 Pslm 62:12; Prov. 24:12 24 Isih 52:5 (see Septugint); Ezek. 36:20,22 27 Or who, y mens of

5 W M Judging Others wednesday Re d R om n s 2:1 16 T I ws silently fuming in the pssenger set So when you, mere humn eing, pss judgment on them nd yet do the sme things, do you think you will espe God s judgment? Romns 2:3 s we drove home. My husnd hd mde remrk out friend s nnoying hit, nd it mde me furious. I keptw getting mdder out the omment, thinking, Dvid is so judgmentl! He hs suh ritil spirit! He is so selfrighteous! I then mentlly took inventory of ll of my spouse s fults nd filings, most notly of ourse his judgmentlth Why is it tempting to e ritil spirit. Eventully, when I ould no longer ite my tongue, I of others? Wht s the effet? Do we eome less tolernt of let him hve it. ourselves when we fil? The not-so-sutle irony here, of ourse, is tht I ws the one who ws eing judgmentl! I hd slipped into self-righ- F When re we most judgmentl of eh other? Wht situtions teousness without relizing it. tend to fuel tht? Wht is The tempttion to judge others is so ppeling. It feeds usully the effet? our ppetite for self-ongrtultion. It strokes our ego, show n we help eh other suring us tht we re etter thn everyone else. And in mrgrow in humility, gre nd rige, this tempttion is mgnified s we view our spouse ssa forgiveness towrd eh fults, from ig issues of sin right down to everydy infrother? tions like negleting to p the toothpste. We n lern lesson out self-righteousness from the Jewish people desried in Romns 2. Beuse they were God s SU hosen people, the Jews thought they were exempt from the judgment poured out y God on unelieving Gentiles. And s Pul uilt his se ginst Gentile unelievers in Romns 1:18 32, we n imgine the Jews stnding k, nodding in greement, nd sying, Tht s right. Give it to them, Pul! Dirty sinners! Then Pul set things stright y, in effet, sying to his own people, You re even more guilty thn those Gentiles, for you know God s lw nd still do the evil things they do. Pul went on to revel rutl relity: We re ll on n even plying field. No one is exempt from God s wrth. All of us need Svior. And yet, even when we profess Jesus s our Svior, we still struggle with sin. Only when we ome to terms with the theologil relity tht eh of us is sinner reted nd tresured y God will we understnd tht pssing judgment on others is just plin wrong first, euse we re guilty of doing the sme things nd, seond, euse eing judgmentl only dds to tht sin. So Pul wrned: Do not think of yourself more highly thn you ought, ut rther think of yourself with soer judgment (Romns 12:3). The loser we get to people, the more we see their fults. Nowhere is tht more evident thn in mrrige. The relity is tht your spouse is sinner sved y gre. He or she will mess up, fll, fil, forget you, neglet you, nnoy you nd overlook you. But you will do the sme. So we must ontinully exmine ourselves, mesuring wht we do ginst the yrdstik of Sripture. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we ttle pride, eing judgmentl nd self-righteous nd ritil spirit so tht we my grow together in gre, forgiveness nd humility. let s tlk Dvid nd Kelli Trujillo for your next devotionl reding, turn to pge _int_06_rom_rev_rm_ouples_devo_s4.indd /27/12 1:18 PM

6 1340 Romns 2:28 Romns 3: A per son is not Jew who is one only out wrd ly, nor is ir um i sion mere ly outwrd nd phys i l. 29 No, per son is Jew who is one in wrd ly; nd ir um i sion is ir um i sion of the hert, y the Spir it, not y the writ ten ode. Suh per son s prise is not from oth er peo ple, ut from God. God s Fithfulness 3 Wht d vn tge, then, is there in eing Jew, or wht vl ue is there in irum i sion? 2 Muh in ev ery wy! First of ll, the Jews hve een en trust ed with the very words of God. 3 Wht if some were un fith ful? Will their un fith ful ness nul li fy God s fith ful ness? 4 Not t ll! Let God e true, nd ev ery humn e ing lir. As it is writ ten: So tht you my e proved right when you spek nd previl when you judge. 5 But if our un righ teous ness rings out God s righ teous ness more ler ly, wht shll we sy? Tht God is un just in ringing his wrth on us? (I m us ing hu mn r gu ment.) 6 Cer tin ly not! If tht were so, how ould God judge the world? 7 Some one might r gue, If my flse hood en hn es God s truth ful ness nd so in res es his glory, why m I still on demned s sin ner? 8 Why not sy s some sln der ous ly lim tht we sy Let us do evil tht good my re sult? Their on dem n tion is just! No One Is Righteous 9 Wht shll we on lude then? Do we hve ny d vn tge? Not t ll! For we hve l redy mde the hrge tht Jews nd Gentiles like re ll un der the pow er of sin. 10 As it is writ ten: There is no one righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understnds; there is no one who seeks God. 12 All hve turned wy, they hve together eome worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. 13 Their throts re open grves; their tongues prtie deeit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. d 14 Their mouths re full of ursing nd itterness. e 15 Their feet re swift to shed lood; 16 ruin nd misery mrk their wys, 17 nd the wy of pee they do not know. f 18 There is no fer of God efore their eyes. g 19 Now we know tht wht ev er the lw sys, it sys to those who re un der the lw, so tht ev ery mouth my e si lened nd the whole world held ount le to God. 20 There fore no one will e de lred righteous in God s sight y the works of the lw; rth er, through the lw we e ome onsious of our sin. Righteousness Through Fith 21 But now prt from the lw the righteous ness of God hs een mde known, to whih the Lw nd the Proph ets tes ti fy. 22 This righ teous ness is giv en through fith in h Jesus Christ to ll who e lieve. There is no dif fer ene e tween Jew nd Gen tile, 23 for ll hve sinned nd fll short of the glo ry of God, 24 nd ll re jus ti fied free ly y his gre through the re demp tion tht me y Christ Jesus. 25 God pre sent ed Christ s s ri fie of tone ment, i through the shed ding of his lood to e re eived y fith. He did this to dem on strte his righ teous ness, e use in his for er ne he hd left the sins ommit ted e fore hnd un pun ished 26 he did it to dem on strte his righ teous ness t the pres ent time, so s to e just nd the one who jus ti fies those who hve fith in Jesus. 27 Where, then, is ost ing? It is ex lud ed. Be use of wht lw? The lw tht re quires works? No, e use of the lw tht re quires fith. 28 For we min tin tht per son is justi fied y fith prt from the works of the lw. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gen tiles too? Yes, of Gen tiles too, 30 sine there is only one God, who will jus ti fy the ir um ised y fith nd the unir um ised through tht sme fith. 31 Do 4 Pslm 51:4 12 Pslms 14:1-3; 53:1-3; Eles. 7:20 13 Pslm 5:9 d 13 Pslm 140:3 e 14 Pslm 10:7 (see Septugint) f 17 Isih 59:7,8 g 18 Pslm 36:1 h 22 Or through the fithfulness of i 25 The Greek for srifie of tonement refers to the tonement over on the rk of the ovennt (see Lev. 16:15,16).

7 1341 Romns 4:1 Romns 5: we, then, nul li fy the lw y this fith? Not t ll! Rth er, we up hold the lw. Arhm Justified y Fith 4 Wht then shll we sy tht Ar hm, our fore f ther ord ing to the flesh, dis ov ered in this mt ter? 2 If, in ft, Arhm ws jus ti fied y works, he hd something to ost out ut not e fore God. 3 Wht does Srip ture sy? Ar hm elieved God, nd it ws red it ed to him s righ teous ness. 4 Now to the one who works, wg es re not red it ed s gift ut s n o li g tion. 5 Howev er, to the one who does not work ut trusts God who jus ti fies the un god ly, their fith is red it ed s righ teous ness. 6 D vid sys the sme thing when he speks of the less edness of the one to whom God red its righteous ness prt from works: 7 Blessed re those whose trnsgressions re forgiven, whose sins re overed. 8 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never ount ginst them. 9 Is this less ed ness only for the ir umised, or lso for the un ir um ised? We hve een sy ing tht Ar hm s fith ws red it ed to him s righ teous ness. 10 Un der wht ir um stn es ws it red it ed? Ws it f ter he ws ir um ised, or e fore? It ws not f ter, ut e fore! 11 And he re eived irum i sion s sign, sel of the righ teousness tht he hd y fith while he ws still un ir um ised. So then, he is the f ther of ll who e lieve ut hve not een ir umised, in or der tht righ teous ness might e red it ed to them. 12 And he is then lso the f ther of the ir um ised who not only re ir um ised ut who lso fol low in the footsteps of the fith tht our f ther Ar hm hd e fore he ws ir um ised. 13 It ws not through the lw tht Ar hm nd his off spring re eived the prom ise tht he would e heir of the world, ut through the righ teous ness tht omes y fith. 14 For if those who de pend on the lw re heirs, fith mens noth ing nd the prom ise is worth less, 15 e use the lw rings wrth. And where there is no lw there is no trns gres sion. 16 There fore, the prom ise omes y fith, so tht it my e y gre nd my e gurn teed to ll Ar hm s off spring not only to those who re of the lw ut lso to those who hve the fith of Ar hm. He is the fther of us ll. 17 As it is writ ten: I hve mde you f ther of mny n tions. He is our f ther in the sight of God, in whom he elieved the God who gives life to the ded nd lls into e ing things tht were not. 18 Aginst ll hope, Ar hm in hope elieved nd so e me the f ther of mny n tions, just s it hd een sid to him, So shll your off spring e. d 19 With out weken ing in his fith, he fed the ft tht his ody ws s good s ded sine he ws out hun dred yers old nd tht Sr h s wom ws lso ded. 20 Yet he did not w ver through un e lief re grd ing the prom ise of God, ut ws strength ened in his fith nd gve glo ry to God, 21 e ing ful ly per sud ed tht God hd pow er to do wht he hd promised. 22 This is why it ws red it ed to him s righ teous ness. 23 The words it ws red it ed to him were writ ten not for him lone, 24 ut lso for us, to whom God will red it righteous ness for us who e lieve in him who rised Jesus our Lord from the ded. 25 He ws de liv ered over to deth for our sins nd ws rised to life for our jus ti fi tion. Pee nd Hope 5 There fore, sine we hve een jus ti fied through fith, we e hve pee with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we hve gined ess y fith into this gre in whih we now stnd. And we f ost in the hope of the glo ry of God. 3 Not only so, ut we f lso glo ry in our suf fer ings, e use we know tht suf fer ing pro du es per se ver ne; 4 per se ver ne, hr ter; nd hr ter, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shme, e use God s love hs een poured out into our herts through the Holy Spir it, who hs een giv en to us. 6 You see, t just the right time, when we were still pow er less, Christ died for the ungod ly. 7 Very rre ly will ny one die for righ teous per son, though for good per son some one might pos si ly dre to die. 8 But God dem on strtes his own love for us in this: While we were still sin ners, Christ died for us. 3 Gen. 15:6; lso in verse 22 8 Pslm 32:1,2 17 Gen. 17:5 d 18 Gen. 15:5 e 1 Mny mnusripts let us f 2,3 Or let us

8 T M The Rewrds of Suffering thursday Re d R om n s 5:1 11 T Kren wited dedes for someone s spe- We lso glory in our sufferings, euse we know tht suffering produes perseverne; perseverne, hrter; nd hrter, hope. Romns 5:3 4 il s Wlly to ome long. She met him t the delership where she ought her r. They dted for two yers ndw then mrried. A few months fter the wedding, Wlly ws dignosed with ner. The ouple s plns to trvel nd lie on soft, sndy ehes evported. Insted, most of their time ws tken up with dotor ppointments, surgeries nd TH hemotherpy. Not ll suffering involves Kren nd Wlly depended on God s strength nd the illness nd deth. In wht wys hve we suffered sine eing support of friends to get through the hrd times. They even mrried? lened on their friends fith when their own fith wvered. Wlly s finl dys on erth were rough. Yet Kren s love F Wht lessons hs suffering tught us? for her husnd didn t wver. As trgi nd unfir nd terrile s Wlly s illness nd dying were he ws ig, urly How n suffering ter two mn nd to see him wste wy roke my hert it ws n people prt? Bring them together? inredile time, Kren sid. She didn t wnt Wlly to die in their ed, so Kren sked friends to trnsfer him to hospi-sa tl ed tht she hd set up in the living room. As they wited for their friends to ome, Wlly kept sking, Wht time is it? Wht time re they oming to move me? Their friends me, lened Wlly up nd moved him into the living room, diretly under skylight. As they ll gthered round the ed nd strted to pry, Wlly SUnd Kren s two dhshunds, Frnk nd Bens, surried irles round the ed, their toenils srthing on the re wood. Not more thn five minutes lter, Wlly died. As he did, the louds overhed prted nd two ems of light shot through the skylight. It ws wesome, Kren sid. God me! I will lwys hve tht memory. Jesus sid tht in this world we will hve troule, ut euse he hs overome the world, we n hve hope in our sorrow nd suffering (see John 16:33). As we see in Romns 5, pin, trils, herthe nd loss re not the end for elievers ut wy through whih God produes in us perseverne, whih produes hrter, whih produes hope ll of whih led us to eternl glory. Dys efore he died, Wlly sid to Kren, If I hd known out the ner, I never would hve mrried you. It s not fir to you to hve to tke re of me like this. Kren replied, If I hd known you would hve ner, I still would hve mrried you euse without tht I wouldn t hve lerned how powerful God is. I don t regret one minute of it. Tking re of you hs een my gret honor. Romns 5:5 tells us, Hope does not put us to shme, euse God s love hs een poured out into our herts through the Holy Spirit, who hs een given to us. Kren will miss her husnd s we ll will miss our spouses one dy when we re seprted y deth ut tht s not the end of the story. Wlly s suffering is over; he is now pin-free. He is with Christ, who is wthing over Kren. And one dy oth Kren nd Wlly, together with ll the sints, will worship their Lord nd Svior for ll eternity. let s tlk Nny Kennedy for your next devotionl reding, turn to pge _int_06_rom_rev_rm_ouples_devo_s4.indd /27/12 1:18 PM

9 1343 Romns 5:9 Romns 6: Sine we hve now een jus ti fied y his lood, how muh more shll we e sved from God s wrth through him! 10 For if, while we were God s en e mies, we were reon iled to him through the deth of his Son, how muh more, hv ing een re on iled, shll we e sved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, ut we lso ost in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we hve now re eived re on il i tion. Deth Through Adm, Life Through Christ 12 There fore, just s sin en tered the world through one mn, nd deth through sin, nd in this wy deth me to ll peo ple, euse ll sinned 13 To e sure, sin ws in the world e fore the lw ws giv en, ut sin is not hrged ginst ny one s ount where there is no lw. 14 Nev er the less, deth reigned from the time of Adm to the time of Mo ses, even over those who did not sin y rek ing ommnd, s did Adm, who is pt tern of the one to ome. 15 But the gift is not like the tres pss. For if the mny died y the tres pss of the one mn, how muh more did God s gre nd the gift tht me y the gre of the one mn, Jesus Christ, over flow to the mny! 16 Nor n the gift of God e om pred with the re sult of one mn s sin: The judg ment fol lowed one sin nd rought on dem ntion, ut the gift fol lowed mny tres psses nd rought jus ti fi tion. 17 For if, y the tres pss of the one mn, deth reigned through tht one mn, how muh more will those who re eive God s un dnt pro vi sion of gre nd of the gift of righ teous ness reign in life through the one mn, Jesus Christ! 18 Con se quent ly, just s one tres pss result ed in on dem n tion for ll peo ple, so lso one righ teous t re sult ed in jus tifi tion nd life for ll peo ple. 19 For just s through the dis oe di ene of the one mn the mny were mde sin ners, so lso through the oe di ene of the one mn the mny will e mde righ teous. 20 The lw ws rought in so tht the tres pss might in rese. But where sin inresed, gre in resed ll the more, 21 so tht, just s sin reigned in deth, so lso gre might reign through righ teous ness to ring eter nl life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Ded to Sin, Alive in Christ 6 Wht shll we sy, then? Shll we go on sin ning so tht gre my in rese? 2 By no mens! We re those who hve died to sin; how n we live in it ny lon ger? 3 Or don t you know tht ll of us who were ptized into Christ Jesus were p tized into his deth? 4 We were there fore ur ied with him through p tism into deth in or der tht, just s Christ ws rised from the ded through the glo ry of the F ther, we too my live new life. 5 For if we hve een unit ed with him in deth like his, we will er tin ly lso e united with him in res ur re tion like his. 6 For we know tht our old self ws ru i fied with him so tht the ody ruled y sin might e done wy with, tht we should no lon ger e slves to sin 7 e use ny one who hs died hs een set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we e lieve tht we will lso live with him. 9 For we know tht sine Christ ws rised from the ded, he n not die gin; deth no lon ger hs ms tery over him. 10 The deth he died, he died to sin one for ll; ut the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the sme wy, ount your selves ded to sin ut live to God in Christ Jesus. 12 There fore do not let sin reign in your mortl ody so tht you oey its evil de sires. 13 Do not of fer ny prt of your self to sin s n in stru ment of wik ed ness, ut rth er offer your selves to God s those who hve een rought from deth to life; nd of fer ev ery prt of your self to him s n in stru ment of righ teous ness. 14 For sin shll no lon ger e your ms ter, e use you re not un der the lw, ut un der gre. Slves to Righteousness 15 Wht then? Shll we sin e use we re not un der the lw ut un der gre? By no mens! 16 Don t you know tht when you offer your selves to some one s oe di ent slves, you re slves of the one you oey wheth er you re slves to sin, whih leds to deth, or to oe di ene, whih leds to righ teousness? 17 But thnks e to God tht, though you used to e slves to sin, you hve ome to 6 Or e rendered powerless

10 1344 Romns 6:18 Romns 7: oey from your hert the pt tern of teh ing tht hs now limed your l le gine. 18 You hve een set free from sin nd hve e ome slves to righ teous ness. 19 I m us ing n ex m ple from ev ery dy life e use of your hu mn lim i t tions. Just s you used to of fer your selves s slves to im pu ri ty nd to ever-in res ing wik edness, so now of fer your selves s slves to righ teous ness led ing to ho li ness. 20 When you were slves to sin, you were free from the on trol of righ teous ness. 21 Wht en e fit did you rep t tht time from the things you re now shmed of? Those things re sult in deth! 22 But now tht you hve een set free from sin nd hve e ome slves of God, the en e fit you rep leds to ho li ness, nd the re sult is eter nl life. 23 For the wg es of sin is deth, ut the gift of God is eter nl life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Relesed From the Lw, Bound to Christ 7 Do you not know, roth ers nd sis ters for I m spek ing to those who know the lw tht the lw hs u thor i ty over someone only s long s tht per son lives? 2 For ex m ple, y lw mr ried wom n is ound to her hus nd s long s he is live, ut if her hus nd dies, she is re lesed from the lw tht inds her to him. 3 So then, if she hs sex u l re l tions with n oth er mn while her hus nd is still live, she is lled n dul ter ess. But if her hus nd dies, she is relesed from tht lw nd is not n dul ter ess if she mr ries n oth er mn. 4 So, my roth ers nd sis ters, you lso died to the lw through the ody of Christ, tht you might e long to n oth er, to him who ws rised from the ded, in or der tht we might er fruit for God. 5 For when we were in the relm of the flesh, the sin ful ps sions roused y the lw were t work in us, so tht we ore fruit for deth. 6 But now, y dy ing to wht one ound us, we hve een re lesed from the lw so tht we serve in the new wy of the Spir it, nd not in the old wy of the writ ten ode. The Lw nd Sin 7 Wht shll we sy, then? Is the lw sinful? Cer tin ly not! Nev er the less, I would not hve known wht sin ws hd it not een for the lw. For I would not hve known wht ov et ing rel ly ws if the lw hd not sid, You shll not ov et. 8 But sin, seiz ing the op por tu ni ty f ford ed y the om mnd ment, pro dued in me ev ery kind of ov et ing. For prt from the lw, sin ws ded. 9 One I ws live prt from the lw; ut when the om mnd ment me, sin sprng to life nd I died. 10 I found tht the very om mndment tht ws in tend ed to ring life tu l ly rought deth. 11 For sin, seiz ing the op portu ni ty f ford ed y the om mnd ment, deeived me, nd through the om mnd ment put me to deth. 12 So then, the lw is holy, nd the om mnd ment is holy, righ teous nd good. 13 Did tht whih is good, then, e ome deth to me? By no mens! Nev er the less, in or der tht sin might e re og nized s sin, it used wht is good to ring out my deth, so tht through the om mnd ment sin might e ome ut ter ly sin ful. 14 We know tht the lw is spir i tu l; ut I m un spir i tu l, sold s slve to sin. 15 I do not un der stnd wht I do. For wht I wnt to do I do not do, ut wht I hte I do. 16 And if I do wht I do not wnt to do, I gree tht the lw is good. 17 As it is, it is no lon ger I myself who do it, ut it is sin liv ing in me. 18 For I know tht good it self does not dwell in me, tht is, in my sin ful n ture. d For I hve the de sire to do wht is good, ut I n not r ry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I wnt to do, ut the evil I do not wnt to do this I keep on do ing. 20 Now if I do wht I do not wnt to do, it is no lon ger I who do it, ut it is sin living in me tht does it. 21 So I find this lw t work: Al though I wnt to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my in ner e ing I de light in God s lw; 23 ut I see n oth er lw t work in me, wg ing wr ginst the lw of my mind nd mk ing me pris on er of the lw of sin t work with in me. 24 Wht wreth ed mn I m! Who will res ue me from this ody tht is su jet to deth? 25 Thnks e to God, who de liv ers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I my self in my mind m slve to God s lw, ut in my sin ful n ture e slve to the lw of sin. 23 Or through 5 In ontexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (srx) refers to the sinful stte of humn eings, often presented s power in opposition to the Spirit. 7 Exodus 20:17; Deut. 5:21 d 18 Or my flesh e 25 Or in the flesh

11 1345 Romns 8:1 Romns 8: Life Through the Spirit 8 There fore, there is now no on dem ntion for those who re in Christ Jesus, 2 e use through Christ Jesus the lw of the Spir it who gives life hs set you free from the lw of sin nd deth. 3 For wht the lw ws pow er less to do e use it ws wekened y the flesh, God did y send ing his own Son in the like ness of sin ful flesh to e sin of fer ing. And so he on demned sin in the flesh, 4 in or der tht the righ teous require ment of the lw might e ful ly met in us, who do not live ord ing to the flesh ut ord ing to the Spir it. 5 Those who live ord ing to the flesh hve their minds set on wht the flesh desires; ut those who live in or dne with the Spir it hve their minds set on wht the Spir it de sires. 6 The mind gov erned y the flesh is deth, ut the mind gov erned y the Spir it is life nd pee. 7 The mind gov erned y the flesh is hos tile to God; it does not sumit to God s lw, nor n it do so. 8 Those who re in the relm of the flesh n not plese God. 9 You, how ev er, re not in the relm of the flesh ut re in the relm of the Spir it, if in deed the Spir it of God lives in you. And if ny one does not hve the Spir it of Christ, they do not e long to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though your ody is sujet to deth e use of sin, the Spir it gives life d e use of righ teous ness. 11 And if the Spir it of him who rised Jesus from the ded is liv ing in you, he who rised Christ from the ded will lso give life to your mor tl od ies e use of e his Spir it who lives in you. 12 There fore, roth ers nd sis ters, we hve n o li g tion ut it is not to the flesh, to live ord ing to it. 13 For if you live ording to the flesh, you will die; ut if y the Spir it you put to deth the mis deeds of the ody, you will live. 14 For those who re led y the Spir it of God re the hil dren of God. 15 The Spir it you re eived does not mke you slves, so tht you live in fer gin; rth er, the Spir it you re eived rought out your dop tion to son ship. f And y him we ry, A, g Fther. 16 The Spir it him self tes ti fies with our spir it tht we re God s hil dren. 17 Now if we re hil dren, then we re heirs heirs of God nd o heirs with Christ, if in deed we shre in his suf fer ings in or der tht we my lso shre in his glo ry. Present Suffering nd Future Glory 18 I on sid er tht our pres ent suf fer ings re not worth om pr ing with the glo ry tht will e re veled in us. 19 For the re tion wits in e ger ex pe t tion for the hil dren of God to e re veled. 20 For the re tion ws su jet ed to frus tr tion, not y its own hoie, ut y the will of the one who sujet ed it, in hope 21 tht h the re tion it self will e li er t ed from its ond ge to de y nd rought into the free dom nd glo ry of the hil dren of God. 22 We know tht the whole re tion hs een gron ing s in the pins of hild irth right up to the pres ent time. 23 Not only so, ut we our selves, who hve the first fruits of the Spir it, gron in wrd ly s we wit e gerly for our dop tion to son ship, the re demption of our od ies. 24 For in this hope we were sved. But hope tht is seen is no hope t ll. Who hopes for wht they l redy hve? 25 But if we hope for wht we do not yet hve, we wit for it p tient ly. 26 In the sme wy, the Spir it helps us in our wek ness. We do not know wht we ought to pry for, ut the Spir it him self in teredes for us through word less grons. 27 And he who serh es our herts knows the mind of the Spir it, e use the Spir it in ter edes for God s peo ple in or dne with the will of God. 28 And we know tht in ll things God works for the good of those who love him, who i hve een lled ord ing to his pur pose. 29 For those God fore knew he lso 2 The Greek is singulr; some mnusripts me 3 In ontexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (srx) refers to the sinful stte of humn eings, often presented s power in opposition to the Spirit; lso in verses Or flesh, for sin d 10 Or you, your ody is ded euse of sin, yet your spirit is live e 11 Some mnusripts odies through f 15 The Greek word for doption to sonship is term referring to the full legl stnding of n dopted mle heir in Romn ulture; lso in verse 23. g 15 Armi for fther h 20,21 Or sujeted it in hope. 21 For i 28 Or tht ll things work together for good to those who love God, who; or tht in ll things God works together with those who love him to ring out wht is good with those who

12 F M friday Re d R om n s 8:1 17 Coming Clen With Eh Other T When Sheryl nd Gry got engged, they st Those who re led y the Spirit of God re the hildren of God. The Spirit you reeived does not mke you slves, so tht you live in fer gin. Romns 8:14 15 down nd hd some pretty frnk onverstions with one nother. They disussed their fmilies nd their pst rel-w tionships, trying to identify the wys their hildhoods nd dting histories might impinge on their present nd future together. Wht they didn t disuss t lest not dequtely ws their finnil history. In prtiulr, Gry didn t tell his fin-th Is there not-so-ig issue ée tht, six yers efore, he hd gotten into mssive redit one of us is keeping from the other? Wht is preventing full rd det. Gry figured he hd delt with the prolem so it dislosure? ws ehind him. Why ring up something tht wsn t n issue nymore? Does envisioning God s truly F present in our onverstions Of ourse, nytime we find ourselves thinking long those mke it esier to imgine lines, something more is going on. If the inident in question strting hrd onverstion is truly in the pst, we would feel OK shring it. Filing to with eh other out tht ring up redit rd det, porn use or n ffir mens the seret? SA shme of it hsn t relly left us, ut is still hoking us s we Look k to the hrd try to keep it seret. Over time we eome ptive to our onverstions we ve hd with fers of eing found out. eh other. Wht hve een Gry mnged to keep his finnil pst hidden from the fruits of those disussions? Sheryl for few yers, though he now sys tht, in hind-su sight, he n see tht his inility to tlk out money with Sheryl used him to dodge onverstions tht were importnt for their finnil future. Eventully, Gry hd to tlk out money nd fess up to his pst money mistkes nd his deeption when he nd Sheryl tried to uy house nd were turned down for lon euse of Gry s d redit rting. It ws hrd, of ourse, to hve those onverstions. It ws muh hrder thn if I d told Sheryl out my redit rd det yers efore, Gry sid. Then we ould hve strtegized together. And then I wouldn t hve hd to del with oth Sheryl s distress tht we were hving hrd time getting mortgge nd her even greter distress tht I hd, in effet, lied to her y not telling her the whole truth. It n e hrd even terrifying to revel long-uried seret to your spouse. You worry your spouse will e furious, will judge you, will e hurt. Indeed, your spouse might e hurt. Your spouse might e ngry. Your spouse might e stunned. But put yourself in your spouse s shoes; if your spouse ws keeping something from you, you would wnt to know, not only so tht you ould e in the know, ut so tht your spouse ould e freed from the hins of shme nd serey. Romns 8:14 15 tells us tht we re no longer slves to fer. As hildren of God, we live in the light of full dislosure sure of forgiveness, prdon nd restortion in our reltionship with God nd with eh other. let s tlk Luren Winner for your next devotionl reding, turn to pge _int_06_rom_rev_rm_ouples_devo_s4.indd /27/12 1:18 PM

13 1347 Romns 8:30 Romns 9: pre des tined to e on formed to the im ge of his Son, tht he might e the first orn mong mny roth ers nd sis ters. 30 And those he pre des tined, he lso lled; those he lled, he lso jus ti fied; those he jus tified, he lso glo ri fied. More Thn Conquerors 31 Wht, then, shll we sy in re sponse to these things? If God is for us, who n e ginst us? 32 He who did not spre his own Son, ut gve him up for us ll how will he not lso, long with him, gr ious ly give us ll things? 33 Who will ring ny hrge ginst those whom God hs ho sen? It is God who jus ti fies. 34 Who then is the one who on demns? No one. Christ Jesus who died more thn tht, who ws rised to life is t the right hnd of God nd is lso in ter ed ing for us. 35 Who shll sep rte us from the love of Christ? Shll trou le or hrd ship or per seu tion or fm ine or n ked ness or dn ger or sword? 36 As it is writ ten: For your ske we fe deth ll dy long; we re onsidered s sheep to e slughtered. 37 No, in ll these things we re more thn on quer ors through him who loved us. 38 For I m on vined tht nei ther deth nor life, nei ther n gels nor de mons, nei ther the pres ent nor the fu ture, nor ny pow ers, 39 nei ther height nor depth, nor ny thing else in ll re tion, will e le to sep rte us from the love of God tht is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Pul s Anguish Over Isrel 9 I spek the truth in Christ I m not lying, my on siene on firms it through the Holy Spir it 2 I hve gret sor row nd un es ing n guish in my hert. 3 For I ould wish tht I my self were ursed nd ut off from Christ for the ske of my peo ple, those of my own re, 4 the peo ple of Is r el. Theirs is the dop tion to son ship; theirs the di vine glo ry, the ov ennts, the re eiv ing of the lw, the tem ple wor ship nd the prom is es. 5 Theirs re the p tri rhs, nd from them is tred the hu mn n es try of the Mes si h, who is God over ll, for ev er prised! Amen. God s Sovereign Choie 6 It is not s though God s word hd filed. For not ll who re de send ed from Is rel re Is r el. 7 Nor e use they re his desen dnts re they ll Ar hm s hil dren. On the on trry, It is through Is tht your off spring will e rek oned. d 8 In oth er words, it is not the hil dren y phys i l desent who re God s hil dren, ut it is the hil dren of the prom ise who re re grd ed s Ar hm s off spring. 9 For this ws how the prom ise ws stt ed: At the p point ed time I will re turn, nd Sr h will hve son. e 10 Not only tht, ut Re ek h s hil dren were on eived t the sme time y our fther Is. 11 Yet, e fore the twins were orn or hd done ny thing good or d in or der tht God s pur pose in ele tion might stnd: 12 not y works ut y him who lls she ws told, The old er will serve the youn ger. f 13 Just s it is writ ten: J o I loved, ut Esu I ht ed. g 14 Wht then shll we sy? Is God un just? Not t ll! 15 For he sys to Mo ses, I will hve mery on whom I hve mery, nd I will hve ompssion on whom I hve ompssion. h 16 It does not, there fore, de pend on hu mn de sire or ef fort, ut on God s mer y. 17 For Srip ture sys to Phr oh: I rised you up for this very pur pose, tht I might dis ply my pow er in you nd tht my nme might e pro limed in ll the erth. i 18 There fore God hs mer y on whom he wnts to hve mer y, nd he hrd ens whom he wnts to hrd en. 19 One of you will sy to me: Then why does God still lme us? For who is le to re sist his will? 20 But who re you, hu mn e ing, to tlk k to God? Shll wht is formed sy to the one who formed it, Why did you mke me like this? j 21 Does not the pot ter hve the right to mke out of the sme lump of ly some pot tery for spe il purpos es nd some for om mon use? 22 Wht if God, l though hoos ing to show his wrth nd mke his pow er known, ore with gret p tiene the o jets of his wrth pre pred for de stru tion? 23 Wht 36 Pslm 44:22 38 Or nor hevenly rulers 5 Or Messih, who is over ll. God e forever prised! Or Messih. God who is over ll e forever prised! d 7 Gen. 21:12 e 9 Gen. 18:10,14 f 12 Gen. 25:23 g 13 Ml. 1:2,3 h 15 Exodus 33:19 i 17 Exodus 9:16 j 20 Isih 29:16; 45:9

14 1348 Romns 9:24 Romns 10: if he did this to mke the rih es of his glo ry known to the o jets of his mer y, whom he pre pred in d vne for glo ry 24 even us, whom he lso lled, not only from the Jews ut lso from the Gen tiles? 25 As he sys in Ho se: I will ll them my people who re not my people; nd I will ll her my loved one who is not my loved one, 26 nd, In the very ple where it ws sid to them, You re not my people, there they will e lled hildren of the living God. 27 Is ih ries out on ern ing Is r el: Though the numer of the Isrelites e like the snd y the se, only the remnnt will e sved. 28 For the Lord will rry out his sentene on erth with speed nd finlity. 29 It is just s Is ih sid pre vi ous ly: Unless the Lord Almighty hd left us desendnts, we would hve eome like Sodom, we would hve een like Gomorrh. d Isrel s Unelief 30 Wht then shll we sy? Tht the Gentiles, who did not pur sue righ teous ness, hve o tined it, righ teous ness tht is y fith; 31 ut the peo ple of Is r el, who pur sued the lw s the wy of righ teous ness, hve not t tined their gol. 32 Why not? Be use they pur sued it not y fith ut s if it were y works. They stum led over the stum ling stone. 33 As it is writ ten: See, I ly in Zion stone tht uses people to stumle nd rok tht mkes them fll, nd the one who elieves in him will never e put to shme. e 10 el ites is tht they my e sved. 2 For I n tes ti fy out them tht they re zel ous for God, ut their zel is not sed on knowledge. 3 Sine they did not know the righteous ness of God nd sought to es t lish their own, they did not su mit to God s righteous ness. 4 Christ is the ul min tion of the lw so tht there my e righ teous ness for ev ery one who e lieves. 5 Mo ses writes this out the righ teousness tht is y the lw: The per son who does these things will live y them. f 6 But the righteous ness tht is y fith sys: Do not sy in your hert, Who will s end into hev en? g (tht is, to ring Christ down) 7 or Who will de send into the deep? h (tht is, to ring Christ up from the ded). 8 But wht does it sy? The word is ner you; it is in your mouth nd in your hert, i tht is, the messge on ern ing fith tht we pro lim: 9 If you de lre with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, nd e lieve in your hert tht God rised him from the ded, you will e sved. 10 For it is with your hert tht you e lieve nd re jus ti fied, nd it is with your mouth tht you pro fess your fith nd re sved. 11 As Sripture sys, Any one who e lieves in him will nev er e put to shme. j 12 For there is no differ ene e tween Jew nd Gen tile the sme Lord is Lord of ll nd rih ly less es ll who ll on him, 13 for, Ev ery one who lls on the nme of the Lord will e sved. k 14 How, then, n they ll on the one they hve not e lieved in? And how n they e lieve in the one of whom they hve not herd? And how n they her with out some one preh ing to them? 15 And how n ny one preh un less they re sent? As it is writ ten: How eu ti ful re the feet of those who ring good news! l 16 But not ll the Is r el ites ept ed the good news. For Is ih sys, Lord, who hs e lieved our mes sge? m 17 Con se quently, fith omes from her ing the mes sge, nd the mes sge is herd through the word out Christ. 18 But I sk: Did they not her? Of ourse they did: Their voie hs gone out into ll the erth, their words to the ends of the world. n Broth ers nd sis ters, my hert s desire nd pryer to God for the Is r 25 Hose 2:23 26 Hose 1:10 28 Isih 10:22,23 (see Septugint) d 29 Isih 1:9 e 33 Isih 8:14; 28:16 f 5 Lev. 18:5 g 6 Deut. 30:12 h 7 Deut. 30:13 i 8 Deut. 30:14 j 11 Isih 28:16 (see Septugint) k 13 Joel 2:32 l 15 Isih 52:7 m 16 Isih 53:1 n 18 Pslm 19:4

15 1349 Romns 10:19 Romns 11: Agin I sk: Did Is r el not un der stnd? First, Mo ses sys, I will mke you envious y those who re not ntion; I will mke you ngry y ntion tht hs no understnding. 20 And Is ih old ly sys, I ws found y those who did not seek me; I reveled myself to those who did not sk for me. 21 But on ern ing Is r el he sys, All dy long I hve held out my hnds to disoedient nd ostinte people. The Remnnt of Isrel I sk then: Did God re jet his people? By no mens! I m n Is r el ite 11 my self, de sen dnt of Ar hm, from the trie of Ben j min. 2 God did not re jet his peo ple, whom he fore knew. Don t you know wht Srip ture sys in the ps sge out Eli jh how he p peled to God ginst Isr el: 3 Lord, they hve killed your proph ets nd torn down your l trs; I m the only one left, nd they re try ing to kill me d? 4 And wht ws God s n swer to him? I hve reserved for my self sev en thou snd who hve not owed the knee to Bl. e 5 So too, t the pres ent time there is rem nnt ho sen y gre. 6 And if y gre, then it n not e sed on works; if it were, gre would no lon ger e gre. 7 Wht then? Wht the peo ple of Is r el sought so er nest ly they did not o tin. The elet mong them did, ut the oth ers were hrd ened, 8 s it is writ ten: God gve them spirit of stupor, eyes tht ould not see nd ers tht ould not her, to this very dy. f 9 And D vid sys: My their tle eome snre nd trp, stumling lok nd retriution for them. 10 My their eyes e drkened so they nnot see, nd their ks e ent forever. g Ingrfted Brnhes 11 Agin I sk: Did they stum le so s to fll e yond re ov ery? Not t ll! Rth er, euse of their trns gres sion, sl v tion hs ome to the Gen tiles to mke Is r el en vi ous. 12 But if their trns gres sion mens rih es for the world, nd their loss mens rih es for the Gen tiles, how muh gret er rih es will their full in lu sion ring! 13 I m tlk ing to you Gen tiles. In s muh s I m the pos tle to the Gen tiles, I tke pride in my min is try 14 in the hope tht I my some how rouse my own peo ple to envy nd sve some of them. 15 For if their re jetion rought re on il i tion to the world, wht will their ep tne e ut life from the ded? 16 If the prt of the dough of fered s first fruits is holy, then the whole th is holy; if the root is holy, so re the rnh es. 17 If some of the rnh es hve een roken off, nd you, though wild ol ive shoot, hve een grft ed in mong the oth ers nd now shre in the nour ish ing sp from the ol ive root, 18 do not on sid er your self to e su pe ri or to those oth er rnh es. If you do, on sid er this: You do not sup port the root, ut the root sup ports you. 19 You will sy then, Brnh es were ro ken off so tht I ould e grft ed in. 20 Grnt ed. But they were ro ken off e use of un e lief, nd you stnd y fith. Do not e r ro gnt, ut tremle. 21 For if God did not spre the nt u rl rnh es, he will not spre you ei ther. 22 Con sid er there fore the kind ness nd stern ness of God: stern ness to those who fell, ut kind ness to you, pro vid ed tht you ontin ue in his kind ness. Oth er wise, you lso will e ut off. 23 And if they do not per sist in un e lief, they will e grft ed in, for God is le to grft them in gin. 24 Af ter ll, if you were ut out of n ol ive tree tht is wild y n ture, nd on trry to n ture were grft ed into ul ti vt ed ol ive tree, how muh more redi ly will these, the nt u rl rnh es, e grft ed into their own ol ive tree! All Isrel Will Be Sved 25 I do not wnt you to e ig no rnt of this mys tery, roth ers nd sis ters, so tht you my not e on eited: Is r el hs ex pe ri ened hrd en ing in prt un til the full num er of 19 Deut. 32:21 20 Isih 65:1 21 Isih 65:2 d 3 1 Kings 19:10,14 e 4 1 Kings 19:18 f 8 Deut. 29:4; Isih 29:10 g 10 Pslm 69:22,23