Parallel Bible results for "romans 4"

Romans 4

The Bible in Basic English BBE

1 What, then, may we say that Abraham, our father after the flesh, has got?

2 For if Abraham got righteousness by works, he has reason for pride; but not before God.

3 But what does it say in the holy Writings? And Abraham had faith in God, and it was put to his account as righteousness.

4 Now, the reward is credited to him who does works, not as of grace but as a debt.

5 But to him who without working has faith in him who gives righteousness to the evil-doer, his faith is put to his account as righteousness.

6 As David says that there is a blessing on the man to whose account God puts righteousness without works, saying,

7 Happy are those who have forgiveness for their wrongdoing, and whose sins are covered.

8 Happy is the man against whom no sin is recorded by the Lord.

9 Is this blessing, then, for the circumcision only, or in the same way for those who have not circumcision? for we say that the faith of Abraham was put to his account as righteousness.

10 How, then, was it judged? when he had circumcision, or when he had it not? Not when he had it, but when he did not have it:

11 And he was given the sign of circumcision as a witness of the faith which he had before he underwent circumcision: so that he might be the father of all those who have faith, though they have not circumcision, and so that righteousness might be put to their account;

12 And the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who keep to the way of that faith which our father Abraham had before he underwent circumcision.

13 For God's word, that the earth would be his heritage, was given to Abraham, not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14 For if they who are of the law are the people who get the heritage, then faith is made of no use, and the word of God has no power;

15 For the outcome of the law is wrath; but where there is no law it will not be broken.

16 For this reason it is of faith, so that it may be through grace; and so that the word of God may be certain to all the seed; not only to that which is of the law, but to that which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,

17 (As it is said in the holy Writings, I have made you a father of a number of nations) before him in whom he had faith, that is, God, who gives life to the dead, and to whom the things which are not are as if they were.

18 Who without reason for hope, in faith went on hoping, so that he became the father of a number of nations, as it had been said, So will your seed be.

19 And not being feeble in faith though his body seemed to him little better than dead (he being about a hundred years old) and Sarah was no longer able to have children:

20 Still, he did not give up faith in the undertaking of God, but was made strong by faith, giving glory to God,

21 And being certain that God was able to keep his word.

22 For which reason it was put to his account as righteousness.

23 Now, it was not because of him only that this was said,

24 But for us in addition, to whose account it will be put, if we have faith in him who made Jesus our Lord come back again from the dead,

25 Who was put to death for our evil-doing, and came to life again so that we might have righteousness.

Good News Translation GNT

1 What shall we say, then, of Abraham, the father of our race? What was his experience?

2 If he was put right with God by the things he did, he would have something to boast about - but not in God's sight.

3 The scripture says, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous."

4 A person who works is paid wages, but they are not regarded as a gift; they are something that has been earned.

5 But those who depend on faith, not on deeds, and who believe in the God who declares the guilty to be innocent, it is this faith that God takes into account in order to put them right with himself.

6 This is what David meant when he spoke of the happiness of the person whom God accepts as righteous, apart from anything that person does:

7 "Happy are those whose wrongs are forgiven, whose sins are pardoned!

8 Happy is the person whose sins the Lord will not keep account of!"

9 Does this happiness that David spoke of belong only to those who are circumcised? No indeed! It belongs also to those who are not circumcised. For we have quoted the scripture, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous."

10 When did this take place? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? It was before, not after.

11 He was circumcised later, and his circumcision was a sign to show that because of his faith God had accepted him as righteous before he had been circumcised. And so Abraham is the spiritual father of all who believe in God and are accepted as righteous by him, even though they are not circumcised.

12 He is also the father of those who are circumcised, that is, of those who, in addition to being circumcised, also live the same life of faith that our father Abraham lived before he was circumcised.

13 When God promised Abraham and his descendants that the world would belong to him, he did so, not because Abraham obeyed the Law, but because he believed and was accepted as righteous by God.

14 For if what God promises is to be given to those who obey the Law, then faith means nothing and God's promise is worthless.

15 The Law brings down God's anger; but where there is no law, there is no disobeying of the law.

16 And so the promise was based on faith, in order that the promise should be guaranteed as God's free gift to all of Abraham's descendants - not just to those who obey the Law, but also to those who believe as Abraham did. For Abraham is the spiritual father of us all;

17 as the scripture says, "I have made you father of many nations." So the promise is good in the sight of God, in whom Abraham believed - the God who brings the dead to life and whose command brings into being what did not exist.

18 Abraham believed and hoped, even when there was no reason for hoping, and so became "the father of many nations." Just as the scripture says, "Your descendants will be as many as the stars."

19 He was then almost one hundred years old; but his faith did not weaken when he thought of his body, which was already practically dead, or of the fact that Sarah could not have children.

20 His faith did not leave him, and he did not doubt God's promise; his faith filled him with power, and he gave praise to God.

21 He was absolutely sure that God would be able to do what he had promised.

22 That is why Abraham, through faith, "was accepted as righteous by God."

23 The words "he was accepted as righteous" were not written for him alone.

24 They were written also for us who are to be accepted as righteous, who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from death.

25 Because of our sins he was given over to die, and he was raised to life in order to put us right with God.