| But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. | But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile. |
| And every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. | And every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
|
| For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. | Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. |
| But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. | These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. |
| Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. | For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. |
| For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. | For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. |
| Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? | Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? |
| And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. | Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. |
| My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. | I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. |
| You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. | Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. |
| All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’” | All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). |
| And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. | And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. |
| Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. | Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. |
| And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. | And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. |
| But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. | But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. |
| Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. | Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. |
| For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. | We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. |
| But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) | But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. |
| Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. | Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves. |
| This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! | Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! |
| So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. | It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. |
| May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. | May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. |
| For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. | You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. |
| May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ. | May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance. |
| For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. | Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. |
