| We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. | You and I are Jews by birth, not ‘sinners’ like the Gentiles. Yet we know that a person is made right with God by faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law. |
| Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. | We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. |
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| So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” | So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?” |
| But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. | But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. |
| Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. | Some nations boast of their chariots and horses, but we boast in the name of the Lord our God. |
| Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. | Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. |
| Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. | Lord, we show our trust in you by obeying your laws; our heart’s desire is to glorify your name. |
| We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him. | We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him. |
| No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. | No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. |
| This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. | This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. |
| See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. | See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. |
| Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. | So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. |
| And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness. | For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us. |
| The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. | Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us. |
| This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. | This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. |
| He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. | He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. |
| God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. | For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. |
| If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. | But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. |
| Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. | There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. |
| Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. | Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. |
| And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. | We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. |
| Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. | Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! |
| This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. | God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. |
| In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. | He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. |
| And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. | And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. |
