13All of you must be willing to obey completely those who rule over you. There are no authorities except the ones God has chosen. Those who now rule have been chosen by God. ²So when you oppose the authorities, you are opposing those whom God has appointed. Those who do that will be judged.

³If you do what is right, you won’t need to be afraid of your rulers. But watch out if you do what is wrong! You don’t want to be afraid of those in authority, do you? Then do what is right. The one in authority will praise you. ⁴He serves God and will do you good. But if you do wrong, watch out! The ruler doesn’t carry a sword for no reason at all. He serves God. And God is carrying out his anger through him. The ruler punishes anyone who does wrong.

⁵You must obey the authorities. Then you will not be punished. You must also obey them because you know it is right.

⁶That’s also why you pay taxes. The authorities serve God. Ruling takes up all their time. ⁷Give to everyone what you owe. Do you owe taxes? Then pay them. Do you owe anything else to the government? Then pay it. Do you owe respect? Then give it. Do you owe honor? Then show it.

Love, Because the Day Is Near

⁸Pay everything you owe. But you can never pay back all the love you owe each other. Those who love others have done everything the law requires. ⁹Here are some commandments to think about. “Do not commit adultery.” “Do not commit murder.” “Do not steal.” “Do not want what belongs to others.” These and other commandments are all included in one rule. Here’s what it is. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” ¹⁰Love does not harm its neighbor. So love does everything the law requires.

¹¹When you do those things, keep in mind the times we are living in. The hour has come for you to wake up from your sleep. Our full salvation is closer now than it was when we first believed in Christ. ¹²The dark night of evil is nearly over. The day of Christ’s return is almost here. So let us get rid of the works of darkness. Let us put on the armor of light.

¹³Let us act as we should, like people living in the daytime. Have nothing to do with wild parties. Don’t get drunk. Don’t take part in sexual sins or evil conduct. Don’t fight with each other. Don’t be jealous of anyone.

¹⁴Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ as your clothing. Don’t think about how to satisfy what your sinful nature wants.

The Weak and the Strong

14Accept those whose faith is weak. Don’t judge them where you have differences of opinion.

²The faith of some people allows them to eat anything. But others eat only vegetables because their faith is weak. ³People who eat everything must not look down on those who do not. And people who don’t eat everything must not judge those who do. God has accepted them.

⁴Who are you to judge someone else’s servants? Whether they are faithful or not is their own master’s concern. They will be faithful, because the Lord has the power to make them faithful.

⁵Some people consider one day to be more holy than another. Others think all days are the same. Each person should be absolutely sure in his own mind. ⁶Those who think one day is special do it to honor the Lord. Those who eat meat do it to honor the Lord. They give thanks to God. Those who don’t eat meat do it to honor the Lord. They also give thanks to God.

⁷We don’t live for ourselves alone. And we don’t die all by ourselves. ⁸If we live, we live to honor the Lord. If we die, we die to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

⁹Christ died and came back to life. He did this to become the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰Now then, who are you to judge your brother or sister? Why do you look down on them? We will all stand in God’s courtroom to be judged. ¹¹It is written,

“ ‘You can be sure that I live,’ says the Lord.

‘And you can be just as sure that every knee will bow down in front of me.

Every tongue will tell the truth to God.’ ”

¹²So we will all have to explain to God the things we have done.

¹³Let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put anything in your brother’s way that would make him trip and fall.

¹⁴I am absolutely sure that no food is “unclean” in itself. I say this as one who belongs to the Lord Jesus. But some people may consider a thing to be “unclean.” If they do, it is “unclean” for them. ¹⁵Your brothers and sisters may be upset by what you eat. If they are, you are no longer acting as though you love them. So don’t destroy them by what you eat. Christ died for them. ¹⁶Don’t let something you consider good be spoken of as if it were evil.

¹⁷God’s kingdom has nothing to do with eating or drinking. It is a matter of being right with God. It brings the peace and joy the Holy Spirit gives.

¹⁸Those who serve Christ in this way are pleasing to God. They are pleasing to people too.

¹⁹So let us do all we can to live in peace. And let us work hard to build each other up.

²⁰Don’t destroy the work of God because of food. All food is “clean.” But it is wrong for you to eat anything that causes someone else to trip and fall. ²¹Don’t eat meat if it will cause your brothers and sisters to fall. Don’t drink wine or do anything else that will make them fall.

²²No matter what you think about those things, keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who do not have to feel guilty for what they allow.

²³But those who have doubts are guilty if they eat. Their eating is not based on faith. Everything that is not based on faith is sin.

15We who have strong faith should help the weak with their problems. We should not please only ourselves. ²We should all please our neighbors. Let us do what is good for them. Let us build them up.

³Even Christ did not please himself. It is written, “Those who make fun of you have made fun of me also.” ⁴Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us strength to go on. They cheer us up and give us hope.

⁵Our God is a God who strengthens you and cheers you up. May he help you agree with each other as you follow Christ Jesus. ⁶Then you can give glory to God with one heart and voice. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Christ has accepted you. So accept one another in order to bring praise to God.

⁸I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews. He teaches us that God is true. He shows us that God will keep the promises he made to the founders of our nation. ⁹Jesus became a servant of the Jews so that people who are not Jews could give glory to God for his mercy. It is written,

“I will praise you among those who aren’t Jews.

I will sing praises to you.”

¹⁰Again it says,

“You non-Jews, be full of joy.

Be joyful together with God’s people.”

¹¹And again it says,

“All you non-Jews, praise the Lord.

All you nations, sing praises to him.”

¹²And Isaiah says,

“The Root of Jesse will grow up quickly.

He will rule over the nations.

Those who aren’t Jews will put their hope in him.”

¹³May the God who gives hope fill you with great joy. May you have perfect peace as you trust in him. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope.

Paul Serves the Non-Jews

¹⁴My brothers and sisters, I am sure that you are full of goodness. What you know is complete. You are able to teach one another.

¹⁵I have written to you very boldly about some things. I wanted you to think about them again. The grace of God has allowed me ¹⁶to serve Christ Jesus among those who aren’t Jews. My duty as a priest is to preach God’s good news. Then the non-Jews will become an offering that pleases God. The Holy Spirit will make the offering holy.

¹⁷Because I belong to Christ Jesus, I can take pride in my work for God. ¹⁸I will not try to speak of anything except what Christ has done through me. He has been leading those who aren’t Jews to obey God. He has been doing this by what I have said and done.

¹⁹He has given me power to do signs and miracles. He has given me the power of the Holy Spirit.

From Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have finished preaching the good news about Christ. ²⁰I have always wanted to preach the good news where Christ was not known. I don’t want to build on what someone else has started. ²¹It is written,

“Those who were not told about him will understand.

Those who have not heard will know what it all means.”

²²That’s why I have often been kept from coming to you.

Paul Plans to Visit Rome

²³Now there is no more place for me to work in those areas. For many years I have been longing to see you. ²⁴So I plan to see you when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while I am passing through. And I hope you will help me on my journey there. But first I want to enjoy being with you for a while.

²⁵Now I am on my way to Jerusalem to serve God’s people there. ²⁶The believers in Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to take an offering for those who were poor among God’s people in Jerusalem. ²⁷They were happy to do it. And of course they owe it to them. Those who aren’t Jews have shared from the Jews’ spiritual blessings. So the non-Jews should share their earthly blessings with the Jews.

²⁸I want to finish my task. I want to make sure that the poor in Jerusalem have received the offering. Then I will go to Spain. On my way I will visit you. ²⁹I know that when I come to you, I will come with the full blessing of Christ.

³⁰Brothers and sisters, I am asking you through the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray for me with the love the Holy Spirit provides. ³¹Pray that I will be saved from those in Judea who do not believe. Pray that my work in Jerusalem will be accepted by God’s people there. ³²Then, as God has planned, I will come to you with joy. Together we will be renewed.

³³May the God who gives peace be with you all. Amen.

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