Romans 1:1-15

1This letter is from me, Paul. I am a servant of Christ Jesus. God chose me to be his apostle. He sent me to tell his good news to people.

2God promised this good news long ago, before it became true. His prophets wrote about it in the Bible.

3This good news is about God's Son, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord. Jesus was born as a human baby from King David's family. But after Jesus died on the cross, God's Holy Spirit raised him to make him alive again. In that way God showed clearly that Jesus was his powerful Son.

5Because of Jesus Christ, God has been very kind to us. He has chosen me to serve him as an apostle. He sent me to tell his message to people from all countries. As a result they would know that Jesus Christ is great. They would trust him and obey him.

6You Christians in Rome are also among those people! God has chosen you to belong to Jesus Christ.

7So I am writing to all you Christians who are in Rome. God loves you and he has chosen you to be his own people. I pray that God, our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ will continue to help you. I pray that they will give you peace in your minds.

8First, because of what Jesus Christ has done for us, I thank my God for all of you. Everywhere in the world, people are talking about how you trust in Jesus Christ.

9God is the one that I serve with all my spirit. I tell people the message about his Son, which is good news. God himself knows that I pray for you all the time.

10Every time that I pray for you, I ask God for a chance that I might visit you soon. I pray that he will make it possible if that is what he wants.

11I want very much to come and see you. Then I can give some gift from God's Spirit to you. That will help you to be strong as you serve God.

12We can help each other to be strong like that, because both you and I trust Christ.

13My Christian friends, I want you to know that I have tried often to visit you. But until now, something has always stopped me. I want to help you to serve God well, in the way that I have already helped other Gentiles.

14Because God has been kind to me, I must tell his message to all people. I must tell his good news to people who have learned many things, and to those who have never been to school. I must tell it to people who are wise as well as to those who are not very clever.

15Because of that, I want very much to tell God's good news also to you people who live in Rome.