Paul's Letter to the Church at Rome

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¹Paul, a slave of the Anointed Jesus, called [to be an] apostle designated for God's good message, which was promised beforehand by his prophets in holy scripture about his Son. [This Son] was born of David's lineage physically, but was ordained "God's Son" in power according to the Holy Spirit, by the resurrection from the dead; [He is] the Anointed Jesus, our Master. Through him we have received grace and a mission aimed at faithful obedience among all of the nations because of his name. You are among them, and you called by the Anointed Jesus.

To all who are in Rome and are dear to God--those called to be sanctified: grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Master, the Anointed Jesus.

Before I begin, I thank my God through the Anointed Jesus for all of you, because your faith is announced all over the world. God is my witness, whom I worshipfully serve with my spirit in the good message of his Son, as I incessantly mention you in my prayers, always begging that somehow, sometime, it may be granted to me in God's will to come to you. I long to see you, so I can give you a spiritual gift, that you may be strengthened. However, this will be a mutual comfort among you, because the faith that is in you is in me, too! Yet I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned often to come to you (but I have been prevented to this time), that I might have some fruit among you also, even like I have had among the rest of the nations. I am obligated to the Greeks and barbarians, to the wise and unlearned, and so I am ready with all that is in me to preach the good message to you who are in Rome, too! I am not ashamed of that good message, because it is God's power for salvation to all believers--to Jews first, but also to Greeks. In it, God's righteousness is revealed by faith, for faith, just like it is written: "The righteous shall live by faith."

You see, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all of the irreverent and wicked men who stifle the truth in their wickedness; because what is known about God is visible to them, because God has shown it to them. His invisible characteristics have been visible from the creation of the world because they can be recognized in what is made--even his eternal nature, power, and deity--so they are inexcusable. Although they recognized him as God, they did not glorify him like a god or give thanks. Rather, they became worthless in their arguments, and their foolish heart was darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, and they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for idols that resembled mortal men, birds, livestock, and reptiles. Therefore, God handed them over in the desires of their hearts to uncleanness, so that they might dishonor their bodies in [those desires]. Some exchanged God's truth for that lie, and worshipped and served the creation in place of the Creator, who is blessed forever, amen! Because of this, God handed them over into dishonorable passion. Even their women exchanged the natural sexual relationship for that which is against nature. In the same way, the men also left the natural sexual relationship with women and burned in their longings for one another--men doing shameful things with men, and receiving in their own bodies a fair punishment for their error. Also, just like they did not glorify God [so as to] keep him in their thoughts, God handed them over to an unthinkable mindset, that they would do what is not proper; they were full of all [kinds of] injustice, wickedness, excessive evil, full of jealousy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander; [they were] hateful toward God, violent, arrogant, proud, architects of evil, disobedient to parents, unwise, unfaithful, unloving, unmerciful. Such people know the God's justice--that those who do these things are worthy of death. Yet, not only do they do these things, they also applaud those who practice them!