New Testament Plan

¹Or do you not know, brothers and sisters (for I am speaking to those who know the Law), that the Law has jurisdiction [to rule] over a person as long as he lives?

²For the married woman [as an example] is bound and remains bound by law to her husband while he lives; but if her husband dies, she is released and exempt from the law concerning her husband.

³Accordingly, she will be designated as an adulteress if she unites herself to another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from the law [regarding marriage], so that she is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

⁴Therefore, my fellow believers, you too died to the Law through the [crucified] body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God.

⁵When we were living in the flesh [trapped by sin], the sinful passions, which were awakened by [that which] the Law [identifies as sin], were at work in our body to bear fruit for death [since the willingness to sin led to death and separation from God].

⁶But now we have been released from the Law and its penalty, having died [through Christ] to that by which we were held captive, so that we serve [God] in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter [of the Law].

⁷What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, if it had not been for the Law, I would not have recognized sin. For I would not have known [for example] about coveting [what belongs to another, and would have had no sense of guilt] if the Law had not [repeatedly] said, "You shall not covet."

⁸But sin, finding an opportunity through the commandment [to express itself] produced in me every kind of coveting and selfish desire. For without the Law sin is dead [the recognition of sin is inactive].

⁹I was once alive without [knowledge of] the Law; but when the commandment came [and I understood its meaning], sin became alive and I died [since the Law sentenced me to death].

¹⁰And the very commandment which was intended to bring life, actually proved to bring death for me.

¹¹For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, beguiled and completely deceived me, and using it as a weapon killed me [separating me from God].

¹²So then, the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.

¹³Did that which is good [the Law], then become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, in order that it might be revealed as sin, was producing death in me by [using] this good thing [as a weapon], so that through the commandment sin would become exceedingly sinful.

¹⁴We know that the Law is spiritual, but I am a creature of the flesh [worldly, self-reliant—carnal and unspiritual], sold into slavery to sin [and serving under its control].

¹⁵For I do not understand my own actions [I am baffled and bewildered by them]. I do not practice what I want to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate [and yielding to my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity].

¹⁶Now if I habitually do what I do not want to do, [that means] I agree with the Law, confessing that it is good (morally excellent).

¹⁷So now [if that is the case, then] it is no longer I who do it [the disobedient thing which I despise], but the sin [nature] which lives in me.

¹⁸For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness—my sinful capacity]. For the willingness [to do good] is present in me, but the doing of good is not.

¹⁹For the good that I want to do, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.

²⁰But if I am doing the very thing I do not want to do, I am no longer the one doing it [that is, it is not me that acts], but the sin [nature] which lives in me.

²¹So I find it to be the law [of my inner self], that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.

²²For I joyfully delight in the law of God in my inner self [with my new nature],

²³but I see a different law and rule of action in the members of my body [in its appetites and desires], waging war against the law of my mind and subduing me and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is within my members.

²⁴Wretched and miserable man that I am! Who will [rescue me and] set me free from this body of death [this corrupt, mortal existence]?

²⁵Thanks be to God [for my deliverance] through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind serve the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh [my human nature, my worldliness, my sinful capacity—I serve] the law of sin.

¹Therefore there is now no condemnation [no guilty verdict, no punishment] for those who are in Christ Jesus [who believe in Him as personal Lord and Savior].

²For the law of the Spirit of life [which is] in Christ Jesus [the law of our new being] has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

³For what the Law could not do [that is, overcome sin and remove its penalty, its power] being weakened by the flesh [man's nature without the Holy Spirit], God did: He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful man as an offering for sin. And He condemned sin in the flesh [subdued it and overcame it in the person of His own Son],

⁴so that the [righteous and just] requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us who do not live our lives in the ways of the flesh [guided by worldliness and our sinful nature], but [live our lives] in the ways of the Spirit [guided by His power].

⁵For those who are living according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh [which gratify the body], but those who are living according to the Spirit, [set their minds on] the things of the Spirit [His will and purpose].

⁶Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever];

⁷the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God's law, since it cannot,

⁸and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.

⁹However, you are not [living] in the flesh [controlled by the sinful nature] but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God lives in you [directing and guiding you]. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him [and is not a child of God].

¹⁰If Christ lives in you, though your [natural] body is dead because of sin, your spirit is alive because of righteousness [which He provides].

¹¹And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.

¹²So then, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation, but not to our flesh [our human nature, our worldliness, our sinful capacity], to live according to the [impulses of the] flesh [our nature without the Holy Spirit]—

¹³for if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die. But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever.

¹⁴For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

¹⁵For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God's judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, " Abba! Father!"

¹⁶The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God.

¹⁷And if [we are His] children, [then we are His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance], if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory.

¹⁸For I consider [from the standpoint of faith] that the sufferings of the present life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us!

¹⁹For [even the whole] creation [all nature] waits eagerly for the children of God to be revealed.

²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration and futility, not willingly [because of some intentional fault on its part], but by the will of Him who subjected it, in hope

²¹that the creation itself will also be freed from its bondage to decay [and gain entrance] into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

²²For we know that the whole creation has been moaning together as in the pains of childbirth until now.

²³And not only this, but we too, who have the first fruits of the Spirit [a joyful indication of the blessings to come], even we groan inwardly, as we wait eagerly for [the sign of] our adoption as sons—the redemption and transformation of our body [at the resurrection].

²⁴For in this hope we were saved [by faith]. But hope [the object of] which is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he already sees?

²⁵But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait eagerly for it with patience and composure.

²⁶In the same way the Spirit [comes to us and] helps us in our weakness. We do not know what prayer to offer or how to offer it as we should, but the Spirit Himself [knows our need and at the right time] intercedes on our behalf with sighs and groanings too deep for words.

²⁷And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because the Spirit intercedes [before God] on behalf of God's people in accordance with God's will.

²⁸And we know [with great confidence] that God [who is deeply concerned about us] causes all things to work together [as a plan] for good for those who love God, to those who are called according to His plan and purpose.

²⁹For those whom He foreknew [and loved and chose beforehand], He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son [and ultimately share in His complete sanctification], so that He would be the firstborn [the most beloved and honored] among many believers.

³⁰And those whom He predestined, He also called; and those whom He called, He also justified [declared free of the guilt of sin]; and those whom He justified, He also glorified [raising them to a heavenly dignity].

³¹What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?

³²He who did not spare [even] His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?

³³Who will bring any charge against God's elect (His chosen ones)? It is God who justifies us [declaring us blameless and putting us in a right relationship with Himself].

³⁴Who is the one who condemns us? Christ Jesus is the One who died [to pay our penalty], and more than that, who was raised [from the dead], and who is at the right hand of God interceding [with the Father] for us.

³⁵Who shall ever separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

³⁶Just as it is written and forever remains written, "For Your sake we are put to death all day long; We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter."

³⁷Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors and gain an overwhelming victory through Him who loved us [so much that He died for us].

³⁸For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers,

³⁹nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit,

²that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

³For [if it were possible] I would wish that I myself were accursed, [separated, banished] from Christ for the sake [of the salvation] of my brothers, my natural kinsmen,

⁴who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, the glory ( Shekinah), the [special] covenants [with Abraham, Moses, and David], the giving of the Law, the [system of temple] worship, and the [original] promises.

⁵To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to His natural descent, came the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), He who is exalted and supreme over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

⁶However, it is not as though God's word has failed [coming to nothing]. For not all who are descended from Israel (Jacob) are [the true] Israel;

⁷and they are not all the children of Abraham because they are his descendants [by blood], but [the promise was]: "Your descendants will be named through Isaac" [though Abraham had other sons].

⁸That is, it is not the children of the body [Abraham's natural descendants] who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are counted as [Abraham's true] descendants.

⁹For this is what the promise said: "About this time [next year] I will come, and Sarah shall have a son."

¹⁰And not only that, but this too: Rebekah conceived twin sons by one man [under the same circumstances], by our father Isaac;

¹¹and though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything either good or bad, so that God's purpose [His choice, His election] would stand, not because of works [done by either child], but because of [the plan of] Him who calls them,

¹²it was said to her, "Theolder (Esau) will serve theyounger (Jacob)."

¹³As it is written and forever remains written, "Jacob I loved (chose, protected, blessed), butEsau I hated (held in disregard compared to Jacob)."

¹⁴What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Certainly not!

¹⁵For He says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion."

¹⁶So then God's choice is not dependent on human will, nor on human effort [the totality of human striving], but on God who shows mercy [to whomever He chooses—it is His sovereign gift].

¹⁷For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "I raised you up for this very purpose, to display My power in [dealing with] you, and so that My name would be proclaimed in all the earth."

¹⁸So then, He has mercy on whom He wills (chooses), and He hardens [the heart of] whom He wills.

¹⁹You will say to me then, "Why does He still blame me [for sinning]? For who [including myself] has [ever] resisted His will and purpose?"

²⁰On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers [arrogantly] back to God and dares to defy Him? Will the thing which is formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me like this?"

²¹Does the potter not have the right over the clay, to make from the same lump [of clay] one object for honorable use [something beautiful or distinctive] and another for common use [something ordinary or menial]?

²²What if God, although willing to show His [terrible] wrath and to make His power known, has tolerated with great patience the objects of His wrath [which are] prepared for destruction?

²³And what if He has done so to make known the riches of His glory to the objects of His mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory,

²⁴including us, whom He also called, not only from among the Jews, but also from among the Gentiles?

²⁵Just as He says in [the writings of the prophet] Hosea: "I will call those who were not My people, 'My people,' And [I will call] her who was not beloved, 'beloved.'"

²⁶"And it shall be that in the place where it was said to them, 'you are not My people,' There they shall be called sons of the living God."

²⁷And Isaiah calls out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be like the sand of the sea, it is only the remnant [a small believing minority] that will be saved [from God's judgment];

²⁸For the Lord will execute His word upon the earth [He will conclude His dealings with mankind] completely and without delay."

²⁹It is as Isaiah foretold, "If the Lord of Hosts had not left us seed [future generations from which a believing remnant of Israelites came], We would have become like Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah [totally rejected and destroyed]!"

³⁰What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness [who did not seek salvation and a right relationship with God, nevertheless] obtained righteousness, that is, the righteousness which is produced by faith;

³¹whereas Israel, [though always] pursuing the law of righteousness, did not succeed in fulfilling the law.

³²And why not? Because it was not by faith [that they pursued it], but as though it were by works [relying on the merit of their works instead of their faith]. They stumbled over the stumbling Stone [Jesus Christ].

³³As it is written and forever remains written, "Behold I am laying in Zion a Stone of stumbling and a Rock of offense; And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will not be disappointed [in his expectations]."