| I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual 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 be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. | 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. |
| For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. | 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 as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. | 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. |
| Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good. | Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. |
| Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. | Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. |
| Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. | Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. |
| Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere 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 them. | Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. |
| Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. | Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. |
| Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. | 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, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. | Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. |
| Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, 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. |
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