Romans 1

The Gospel Exalted

1Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, 12called as an apostle, 3set apart for 4the gospel of God, 2which He 5promised beforehand through His 6prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3concerning His Son, who was born 7of a 8descendant of David 9according to the flesh, 4who was declared 10the Son of God with power according to the 11Spirit of holiness 12by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5through whom we have received grace and 13apostleship 14to bring about the 15obedience of faith among 16all the Gentiles in behalf of His name, 6among whom you also are the 17called of Jesus Christ;

7to all who are 18beloved of God in Rome, called as 1920saints: 21Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

8First, 22I thank my God through Jesus Christ 23for you all, because 24your faith is being proclaimed throughout the world. 9For 25God, whom I 26serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to how unceasingly 27I make mention of you, 10always in my prayers requesting if perhaps now, at last by 28the will of God, I will succeed in coming to you. 11For 29I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be 30established; 12that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other’s faith, both yours and mine. 1331I do not want you to be unaware, 32brothers and sisters, that often I 33have planned to come to you (and have been prevented so far) so that I may obtain some 34fruit among you also just as among the rest of the Gentiles. 1435I am 36under obligation both to Greeks and to the 3738uncultured, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15So, for my part, I am eager to 39preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

16For I am not 40ashamed of the gospel, for 41it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the 42Jew first and also to 43the Greek. 17For in it 44the righteousness of God is revealed 45from faith to faith; as it is written: “4647But the righteous one will live by faith.”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

18For 48the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who 49suppress the truth 50in unrighteousness, 19because 51that which is known about God is evident 52within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For 53since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, 54being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21For even though they knew God, they did not 55honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became 56futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 2257Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and they 58exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and 59crawling creatures.

24Therefore 60God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be 61dishonored among them. 25For they exchanged the truth of God for 6263falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, 64who is blessed 65forever. Amen.

26For this reason 66God gave them over to 67degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature, 27and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations 68with women and burned in their desire toward one another, 69males with males committing 70shameful acts and receiving in 71their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28And just as they did not see fit 72to acknowledge God, 73God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper, 29people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are 74gossips, 30slanderers, 7576haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, 77disobedient to parents, 31without understanding, untrustworthy, 78unfeeling, and unmerciful; 32and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of 79death, they not only do the same, but also 80approve of those who practice them.