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The Gospel Exalted

¹ Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, ^(F1)(C1)called as an apostle, ^(C2)set apart for ^(C3)the gospel of God,² which He ^(C1)promised beforehand through His ^(C2)prophets in the holy Scriptures,³ concerning His Son, who was born ^(C1)of a ^(F1)descendant of David ^(C2)according to the flesh,⁴ who was declared ^(C1)the Son of God with power ^(F1)by the resurrection from the dead, according to the ^(F2)Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,⁵ through whom we have received grace and ^(C1)apostleship ^(F1)to bring about the ^(C2)obedience of faith among ^(C3)all the Gentiles for His name's sake,⁶ among whom you also are the ^(C1)called of Jesus Christ;

⁷ to all who are ^(C1)beloved of God in Rome, called as ^(F1)(C2)saints: ^(C3)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁸ First, ^(C1)I thank my God through Jesus Christ ^(F1)for you all, because ^(C2)your faith is being proclaimed throughout the whole world.⁹ For ^(C1)God, whom I ^(C2)serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly ^(C3)I make mention of you,¹⁰ always in my prayers making request, if perhaps now at last by ^(C1)the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.¹¹ For ^(C1)I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be ^(F1)established;¹² that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.^13 (C1)I do not want you to be unaware, ^(C2)brethren, that often I ^(C3)have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some ^(C4)fruit among you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.^14 (C1)I am ^(F1)under obligation both to Greeks and to ^(C2)barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.¹⁵ So, for my part, I am eager to ^(C1)preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

¹⁶ For I am not ^(C1)ashamed of the gospel, for ^(C2)it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the ^(C3)Jew first and also to ^(C4)the Greek.¹⁷ For in it ^(C1)the righteousness of God is revealed ^(F1)from faith to faith; as it is written, "^(F2)(C2)BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."

Unbelief and Its Consequences

¹⁸ For ^(C1)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who ^(C2)suppress the truth ^(F1)in unrighteousness,¹⁹ because ^(C1)that which is known about God is evident ^(F1)within them; for God made it evident to them.²⁰ For ^(C1)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, ^(C2)being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not ^(F1)honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became ^(C1)futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.^22 (C1)Professing to be wise, they became fools,²³ and ^(C1)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and ^(F1)crawling creatures.

²⁴ Therefore ^(C1)God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be ^(C2)dishonored among them.²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for ^(F1)a ^(C1)lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(C2)who is blessed ^(F2)forever. Amen.

²⁶ For this reason ^(C1)God gave them over to ^(C2)degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is ^(F1)unnatural,²⁷ and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, ^(C1)men with men committing ^(F1)indecent acts and receiving in ^(F2)their own persons the due penalty of their error.

²⁸ And just as they did not see fit ^(F1)to acknowledge God any longer, ^(C1)God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are ^(C1)gossips,³⁰ slanderers, ^(F1)(C1)haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, ^(C2)disobedient to parents,³¹ without understanding, untrustworthy, ^(C1)unloving, unmerciful;³² and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of ^(C1)death, they not only do the same, but also ^(C2)give hearty approval to those who practice them.