Dead to Sin, Alive to God

¹What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase?

²Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer?

³Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

⁴We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.

⁵For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection.

⁶We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.

⁷For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him.

⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.

¹⁰The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.

¹¹So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

¹²Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires.

¹³Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness.

¹⁴For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

The Wages of Sin

¹⁵What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not!

¹⁶Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness?

¹⁷But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed.

¹⁸You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

¹⁹I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

²⁰For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness.

²¹What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death.

²²But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life.

²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Grace and Perseverance

¹You therefore, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

²And the things that you have heard me say among many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be qualified to teach others as well.

³Join me in suffering, like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

⁴A soldier refrains from entangling himself in civilian affairs, in order to please the one who enlisted him.

⁵Likewise, a competitor does not receive the crown unless he competes according to the rules.

⁶The hardworking farmer should be the first to partake of the crops.

⁷Consider what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all things.

⁸Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David, as proclaimed by my gospel,

⁹for which I suffer to the extent of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God cannot be chained!

¹⁰For this reason I endure all things for the sake of the elect, so that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.

¹¹This is a trustworthy saying:If we died with Him,we will also live with Him;

¹²if we endure,we will also reign with Him;if we deny Him,He will also deny us;

¹³if we are faithless,He remains faithful,for He cannot deny Himself.

The Lord’s Approved Workman

¹⁴Remind the believers of these things, charging them before Godto avoid quarreling over words, which succeeds only in leading the listeners to ruin.

¹⁵Make every effort to present yourself approved to God, an unashamed workman who accurately handles the word of truth.

¹⁶But avoid irreverent, empty chatter, which will only lead to more ungodliness,

¹⁷and the talk of such men will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,

¹⁸who have deviated from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already occurred, and they undermine the faith of some.

¹⁹Nevertheless, God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are His,”and, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord must turn away from iniquity.”

²⁰A large house contains not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay. Some indeed are for honorable use, but others are for common use.

²¹So if anyone cleanses himself of what is unfit,he will be a vessel for honor: sanctified, useful to the Master, and prepared for every good work.

²²Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

²³But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.

²⁴And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

²⁵He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.

²⁶Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.

Walking by the Spirit

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

²For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set youfree from the law of sin and death.

³For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin.He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

⁴so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

⁵Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

⁶The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace,

⁷because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

⁸Those controlled by the fleshcannot please God.

⁹You, however, are controlled not by the flesh, but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

¹⁰But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alivebecause of righteousness.

¹¹And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the deadwill also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

Heirs with Christ

¹²Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.

¹³For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”

¹⁶The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

¹⁷And if we are children, then we are heirs: heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with Him, so that we may also be glorified with Him.

Future Glory

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.

¹⁹The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.

²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope

²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time.

²³Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

²⁴For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see?

²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words.

²⁷And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

God Works in All Things

²⁸And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

²⁹For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

³⁰And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

³¹What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

³²He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

³³Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

³⁴Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.

More than Conquerors

³⁵Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

³⁶As it is written:“For Your sake we face death all day long;we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

³⁸For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,

³⁹neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Redeem Us, O God

¹We have heard with our ears, O God;our fathers have told usthe work You did in their days,in the days of old.

²With Your hand You drove out the nationsand planted our fathers there;You crushed the peoplesand cast them out.

³For it was not by their sword that they took the land;their arm did not bring them victory.It was by Your right hand,Your arm, and the light of Your face,because You favored them.

⁴You are my King, O God,who ordains victories for Jacob.

⁵Through You we repel our foes;through Your name we trample our enemies.

⁶For I do not trust in my bow,nor does my sword save me.

⁷For You save us from our enemies;You put those who hate us to shame.

⁸In God we have boasted all day long,and Your name we will praise forever.Selah

⁹But You have rejected and humbled us;You no longer go forth with our armies.

¹⁰You have made us retreat from the foe,and those who hate us have plundered us.

¹¹You have given us up as sheep to be devoured;You have scattered us among the nations.

¹²You sell Your people for nothing;no profit do You gain from their sale.

¹³You have made us a reproach to our neighbors,a mockery and derision to those around us.

¹⁴You have made us a byword among the nations,a laughingstockamong the peoples.

¹⁵All day long my disgrace is before me,and shame has covered my face,

¹⁶at the voice of the scorner and reviler,because of the enemy, bent on revenge.

¹⁷All this has come upon us,though we have not forgotten Youor betrayed Your covenant.

¹⁸Our hearts have not turned back;our steps have not strayed from Your path.

¹⁹But You have crushed us in the lair of jackals;You have covered us with deepest darkness.

²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our Godor spread out our hands to a foreign god,

²¹would not God have discovered,since He knows the secrets of the heart?

²²Yet for Your sake we face death all day long;we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

²³Wake up, O Lord! Why are You sleeping?Arise! Do not reject us forever.

²⁴Why do You hide Your faceand forget our affliction and oppression?

²⁵For our soul has sunk to the dust;our bodies cling to the earth.

²⁶Rise up; be our help!Redeem us on account of Your loving devotion.