1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—[ † ]1 Corinthians 1:11 Corinthians 9:11 Corinthians 15:92 Corinthians 1:11 Timothy 1:11Acts 9:15Acts 13:2Galatians 1:15 2the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,[ † ]Acts 26:6Galatians 3:8 3regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,[ † ]2 Samuel 7:121 Chronicles 17:11Isaiah 9:7Jeremiah 23:5Galatians 4:4 4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.[ † ]Psalms 2:7Acts 9:20Acts 13:33Hebrews 1:2Psalms 16:10Hebrews 9:14
5Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.[ † ]Ephesians 3:8Acts 6:7Romans 16:26Acts 9:15 6And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.
7To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.[ † ]Acts 9:13Romans 8:281 Corinthians 1:2-24Numbers 6:251 Corinthians 1:32 Corinthians 1:2Galatians 1:3Ephesians 1:2Philippians 1:2Colossians 1:21 Thessalonians 1:12 Thessalonians 1:2
8First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being proclaimed all over the world.[ † ]1 Corinthians 1:4Ephesians 1:15Philippians 1:3Colossians 1:31 Thessalonians 1:21 Thessalonians 2:13Acts 28:22Romans 16:19 9God, whom I serve with my spirit in preaching the gospel of His Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you[ † ]Romans 9:1Acts 27:231 Thessalonians 3:10 10in my prayers at all times, asking that now at last by God’s will I may succeed in coming to you. 11For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,[ † ]Romans 15:29 12that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.[ † ]Titus 1:4
13I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, how often I planned to come to you (but have been prevented from visiting until now), in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.[ † ]1 Thessalonians 2:18Philippians 4:17 14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.
16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.[ † ]Psalms 40:9-101 Corinthians 1:18-24Luke 2:30Acts 3:26Romans 2:9 17For the gospel reveals the righteousness of God that comes by faith from start to finish, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”[ † ]Romans 3:21Romans 9:30Philippians 3:9Habakkuk 2:4Galatians 3:11Hebrews 10:38
18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.[ † ]Acts 17:30Romans 6:132 Thessalonians 2:102 Peter 2:131 John 5:17 19For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.[ † ]Acts 14:17Acts 17:24John 1:9 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.[ † ]Job 12:7-9Psalms 19:1-6Jeremiah 5:22
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.[ † ]2 Kings 17:15Jeremiah 2:5Ephesians 4:17 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,[ † ]Jeremiah 10:141 Corinthians 1:20 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.[ † ]1 Timothy 1:171 Timothy 6:15-16Deuteronomy 4:16-18Psalms 106:20Jeremiah 2:11Acts 17:29
24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.[ † ]Psalms 81:12Acts 7:42Ephesians 4:18-191 Corinthians 6:18Leviticus 18:22 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.[ † ]1 Thessalonians 1:9Isaiah 44:20Jeremiah 10:14Jeremiah 13:25Jeremiah 16:19
26For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.[ † ]Leviticus 18:22Ephesians 5:12 27Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.[ † ]Ephesians 5:4 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. 31They are senseless, faithless, heartless, merciless.
32Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, they not only continue to do these things, but also approve of those who practice them.[ † ]Romans 2:2Romans 6:21Psalms 50:18Hosea 7:3