Day 276 of 365

¹Therefore I urge you, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service.

²And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.

³For I say, through the grace that was given me, to every man who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think reasonably, as God has apportioned to each person a measure of faith.

⁴For even as we have many members in one body, and all the members do not have the same function,

⁵so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

⁶Having gifts differing according to the grace that was given to us, if prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;

⁷or service, let us give ourselves to service; or he who teaches, to his teaching;

⁸or he who exhorts, to his exhorting: he who gives, let him do it with liberality; he who rules, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.

⁹Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good.

¹⁰In love of the brothers be tenderly affectionate one to another; outdo one another in showing honor;

¹¹not lagging in diligence; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;

¹²rejoicing in hope; enduring in troubles; continuing steadfastly in prayer;

¹³contributing to the needs of the saints; given to hospitality.

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse.

¹⁵Rejoice with those who rejoice. Weep with those who weep.

¹⁶Be of the same mind one toward another. Do not be arrogant, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own conceits.

¹⁷Repay no one evil for evil. Respect what is honorable in the sight of all men.

¹⁸If it is possible, as much as it is up to you, be at peace with all men.

¹⁹Do not seek revenge yourselves, beloved, but give place to God's wrath. For it is written, "Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord."

²⁰Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head."

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

¹Let every soul be in subjection to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those who exist are ordained by God.

²Therefore he who resists the authority, withstands the ordinance of God; and those who withstand will receive to themselves judgment.

³For rulers are not a terror to the good work, but to the evil. Do you desire to have no fear of the authority? Do that which is good, and you will have praise from the same,

⁴for he is a servant of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is a servant of God, an avenger for wrath to him who does evil.

⁵Therefore you need to be in subjection, not only because of the wrath, but also for conscience' sake.

⁶For this reason you also pay taxes, for they are servants of God's service, attending continually on this very thing.

⁷Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due; customs to whom customs; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor.

⁸Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

⁹For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and whatever other commandments there are, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

¹⁰Love does not harm a neighbor. Love therefore is the fulfillment of the law.

¹¹Do this, knowing the time, that it is already time for you to awaken out of sleep, for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first believed.

¹²The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let us therefore throw off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.

¹³Let us walk properly, as in the day; not in reveling and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and lustful acts, and not in strife and jealousy.

¹⁴But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.

¹Now accept one who is weak in faith, but not for disputes over opinions.

²One man has faith to eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.

³Do not let him who eats despise him who does not eat. Do not let him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.

⁴Who are you who judge another's servant? To his own lord he stands or falls. Yes, he will be made to stand, for the Lord has power to make him stand.

⁵One man esteems one day as more important. Another esteems every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind.

⁶He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. He who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

⁷For none of us lives to himself, and none dies to himself.

⁸For if we live, we live to the Lord. Or if we die, we die to the Lord. If therefore we live or die, we are the Lord's.

⁹For to this end Christ died, and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

¹¹For it is written, "'As I live,' says the Lord, 'to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.'"

¹²So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.

¹³Therefore let us not judge one another any more, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way, or an occasion for falling.

¹⁴I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself; except that to him who considers anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

¹⁵Yet if because of food your brother is grieved, you walk no longer in love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.

¹⁶Then do not let your good be slandered,

¹⁷for the Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

¹⁸For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.

¹⁹So then, let us follow after things which make for peace, and things by which we may build one another up.

²⁰Do not overthrow God's work for food's sake. All things indeed are clean, however it is evil for that man who creates a stumbling block by eating.

²¹It is good to not eat meat, drink wine, nor do anything by which your brother stumbles.

²²Do you have faith? Have it to yourself before God. Happy is he who does not judge himself in that which he approves.

²³But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because it is not of faith; and whatever is not of faith is sin.

¹Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

²Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.

³For even Christ did not please himself. But, as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."

⁴For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through patience and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

⁵Now the God of patience and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind one with another according to Christ Jesus,

⁶that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁷Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God.

⁸Now I say that Christ has been made a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers,

⁹and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore will I give praise to you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name."

¹⁰Again he says, "Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people."

¹¹Again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles! Let all the peoples praise him."

¹²Again, Isaiah says, "There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope."

¹³Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴I myself am also persuaded about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish others.

¹⁵But I write the more boldly to you in part, as reminding you, because of the grace that was given to me by God,

¹⁶that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest the Good News of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

¹⁷I have therefore my boasting in Christ Jesus in things pertaining to God.

¹⁸For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ worked through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,

¹⁹in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Good News of Christ;

²⁰yes, making it my aim to proclaim the Good News, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build on another's foundation.

²¹But, as it is written, "They will see, to whom no news of him came. They who have not heard will understand."

²²Therefore also I was hindered these many times from coming to you,

²³but now, no longer having any place in these regions, and having these many years a longing to come to you,

²⁴whenever I journey to Spain. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while.

²⁵But now, I say, I am going to Jerusalem, serving the saints.

²⁶For it has been the good pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are at Jerusalem.

²⁷Yes, it has been their good pleasure, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to serve them in fleshly things.

²⁸When therefore I have accomplished this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

²⁹I know that, when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of the Christ.

³⁰Now I beg you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

³¹that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints;

³²that I may come to you in joy through the will of God, and together with you, find rest.

³³Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.