1Paul, a bond-servant of ChristJesus, [a]1called as an apostle, 2setapart for 3the gospel of God,
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which He 4promisedbeforehandthrough His 5prophets in the holyScriptures,
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concerning His Son, who was born6of a [b]descendant of David7according to the flesh,
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who was declared8the Son of God with power[c]by the resurrection from the dead, according to the [d]Spirit of holiness, JesusChrist our Lord,
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throughwhom we have receivedgrace and 9apostleship[e]to bringabout the 10obedience of faithamong11all the Gentiles for His name'ssake,
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amongwhom you also are the 12called of JesusChrist;
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to all who are 13beloved of God in Rome, called as [f]14saints: 15Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the LordJesusChrist.
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First, 16I thank my GodthroughJesusChrist[g]for you all, because17your faith is being proclaimedthroughout the wholeworld.
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For 18God, whom I 19serve in my spirit in the preaching of the gospel of His Son, is my witness as to howunceasingly20I makemention of you,
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always in my prayersmakingrequest, ifperhapsnow at last by 21the will of God I may succeed in coming to you.
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For 22I long to see you so that I may impartsomespiritualgift to you, that you may be [h]established;
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that is, that I may be encouragedtogether with you while among you, each of us by the other'sfaith, bothyours and mine.
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23I do not want you to be unaware, 24brethren, that often I 25have planned to come to you (and have been preventedsofar ) so that I may obtainsome26fruitamong you also, even as among the rest of the Gentiles.
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27I am[i]underobligationboth to Greeks and to 28barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
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So, for my part, I am eager to 29preach the gospel to you alsowho are in Rome.
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For I am not 30ashamed of the gospel, for 31it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the 32Jewfirst and also to 33the Greek.
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For in it 34the righteousness of God is revealed[j]from faith to faith; as it is written, "[k]35BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."
Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For 36the wrath of God is revealed from heavenagainstallungodliness and unrighteousness of men who 37suppress the truth[l]in unrighteousness,
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because38that which is known about God is evident[m]within them; for Godmade it evident to them.
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For 39since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternalpower and divinenature, have been clearlyseen, 40being understood through whathasbeenmade, so that they are withoutexcuse.
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For even though they knewGod, they did not [n]honor Him as Godorgivethanks, but they became41futile in their speculations, and their foolishheart was darkened.
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and 43exchanged the glory of the incorruptibleGod for an image in the form of corruptibleman and of birds and four-footedanimals and [o]crawlingcreatures.
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Therefore44Godgave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be 45dishonoredamong them.
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For they exchanged the truth of God for [p]a 46lie, and worshiped and served the creatureratherthan the Creator, 47who is blessed[q]forever. Amen.
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For thisreason48Godgave them over to 49degradingpassions; for their womenexchanged the naturalfunction for that which is [r]unnatural*,
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and in the samewayalso the menabandoned the naturalfunction of the woman and burned in their desiretowardoneanother, 50men with mencommitting[s]indecentacts and receiving in [t]their ownpersons the duepenalty of their error.
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And just as they did not seefit[u]to acknowledge*God any longer, 51Godgave them over to a depravedmind, to dothose things which are not proper,
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being filled with allunrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are 52gossips,
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slanderers, [v]53haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, 54disobedient to parents,
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and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practicesuchthings are worthy of 56death, they not onlydo the same, but also57giveheartyapproval to those who practice them.