A LIVING SACRIFICE

12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge youaq to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,ar holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.A 2 Do not be conformeda to this age,b but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,c so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect willd of God.

MANY GIFTS BUT ONE BODY

3 For by the gracee given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think.f Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faithg to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body,h and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are manyi are one body in Christj and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts:k If prophecy,l use it according to the proportion of one’s* faith; 7 if service,m use it in service; if teaching,n in teaching; 8 if exhorting,o in exhortation; giving, with generosity;p leading,q with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.r

CHRISTIAN ETHICS

9 Let love be without hypocrisy.s Detest evil;t cling to what is good. 10 Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters.u Take the lead in honoring one another.v 11 Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit;C,w serve the Lord.x 12 Rejoice in hope;y be patient in affliction;z be persistent in prayer.aa 13 Share with the saints in their needs;ab pursue hospitality.ac 14 Bless those who persecute you;ad bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice;ae weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another.af Do not be proud;ag instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.ah 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil.ai Give careful thought to do what is honorableaj in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.ak 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay,D,al says the Lord. 20 But

If your enemy is hungry, feed him.am

If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

For in so doing

you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.E,an

21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

A CHRISTIAN’S DUTIES TO THE STATE

13 Let everyone submit to the governing authorities,ao since there is no authority except from God,ap and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. 2 So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terroraq to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. 4 For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avengerar that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. 5 Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience.as 6 And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks.F 7 Pay your obligationsat to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes,au tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect,av and honor to those you owe honor.

LOVE, OUR PRIMARY DUTY

8 Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.aw 9 The commandments, Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal;G do not covet;H,ax and any other commandment, are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.I,ay 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

PUT ON CHRIST

11 Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the houraz for youJ to wake up from sleep,ba because now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.bb 12 The night is nearly over, and the day is near;bc so let us discard the deeds of darknessbd and put on the armor of light.be 13 Let us walk with decency,bf as in the daytime: not in carousing and drunkenness;a not in sexual impurity and promiscuity; not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,b and make no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires.c