| Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. | And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. |
| Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. | Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. |
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| For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. | Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. |
| For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. | Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. |
| Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. | Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. |
| Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. | Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. |
| Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. | Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. |
| Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. | Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. |
| Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. | Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. |
| Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. | Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. |
| Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. | Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! |
| If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. | Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. |
| Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. | Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord. |
| Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. | Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. |
