If we live, we are living for the Lord. And if we die, we are dying for the Lord. So living or dying, we belong to the Lord.
That is why Christ died and rose from death to live again—so that he could be Lord over those who have died and those who are living.
Romans 14:8-9 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.14.8-9.ERV
Be willing to accept those who still have doubts about what believers can do. And don’t argue with them about their different ideas.
You cannot judge the servants of someone else. Their own master decides if they are doing right or wrong. And the Lord’s servants will be right, because the Lord is able to make them right.
Romans 14:1, 4 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.14.1-4.ERV
We should live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or be drunk. We should not be involved in sexual sin or any kind of immoral behavior. We should not cause arguments and trouble or be jealous.
But be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when people see what you do, they will see Christ. Don’t think about how to satisfy the desires of your sinful self.
Romans 13:13-14 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.13.13-14.ERV
Love doesn’t hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.
Romans 13:10 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.13.10.ERV
People who do right don’t have to fear the rulers. But those who do wrong must fear them.
Do you want to be free from fearing them? Then do only what is right, and they will praise you.
Rulers are God’s servants to help you. But if you do wrong, you have reason to be afraid.
They have the power to punish, and they will use it. They are God’s servants to punish those who do wrong.
So you must obey the government, not just because you might be punished, but because you know it is the right thing to do.
Romans 13:3-5 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.13.3-5.ERV
Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy the good food and sweet drinks. Give some food and drinks to those who didn’t prepare any food.
Today is a special day to our Lord. Don’t be sad, because the joy of the Lord will make you strong.”
Nehemiah 8:10 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/neh.8.10.ERV
Come and worship him with songs of thanks. Let us sing happy songs of praise to him.
Psalms 95:2 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/psa.95.2.ERV
All of you must obey the government rulers. Everyone who rules was given the power to rule by God. And all those who rule now were given that power by God.
Romans 13:1 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.13.1.ERV
But you should do this:
“If you have enemies who are hungry, give them something to eat.
If you have enemies who are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this you will make them feel ashamed.”
Proverbs 25:21-22
Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.
Romans 12:20-21 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.12.20-21.ERV
Live together in peace with each other. Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others. Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else.
Romans 12:16 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.12.16.ERV
Wish only good for those who treat you badly. Ask God to bless them, not curse them.
If someone does you wrong, don’t try to pay them back by hurting them. Try to do what everyone thinks is right.
My friends, don’t try to punish anyone who does wrong to you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger.
In the Scriptures the Lord says, “I am the one who punishes; I will pay people back.”Deuteronomy 32:35
Romans 12:14, 17, 19 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.12.14-19.ERV
Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honor than you give yourself.
As you serve the Lord, work hard and don’t be lazy. Be excited about serving him!
Romans 12:10-11 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.12.10-11.ERV
Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.
Romans 12:2 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.12.2.ERV
So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him.
Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way.
Romans 12:1 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.12.1.ERV
Yes, God’s riches are very great! His wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain what God decides. No one can understand his ways.
Romans 11:33 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.11.33.ERV
All people have refused to obey God. And he has put them all together as people who don’t obey him so that he can show mercy to everyone.
Romans 11:32 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.11.32.ERV
God never changes his mind about the people he calls. He never decides to take back the blessings he has given them.
Romans 11:29 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.11.29.ERV
You might say, “Branches were broken off so that I could be joined to their tree.” That is true.
But those branches were broken off because they did not believe. And you continue to be part of the tree only because you believe.
Don’t be proud, but be afraid. If God did not let the natural branches of that tree stay, he will not let you stay if you stop believing.
So you see that God is kind, but he can also be very strict. He punishes those who stop following him. But he is kind to you, if you continue trusting in his kindness.
If you don’t continue depending on him, you will be cut off from the tree. And if the Jews will believe in God again, he will accept them back. He is able to put them back where they were.
Romans 11:19-23 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.11.19-23.ERV
It is the same now. God has chosen a few people by his grace. And if he chose them by grace, then it is not what they have done that made them his people.
If they could be made his people by what they did, his gift of grace would not really be a gift.
So this is what has happened: The people of Israel wanted God’s blessing, but they did not all get it. The people he chose did get his blessing, but the others became hard and refused to listen to him.
Romans 11:5-7 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.11.5-7.ERV
But before people can pray to the Lord for help, they must believe in him. And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about him.
And for anyone to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them. And before anyone can go and tell them, they must be sent. As the Scriptures say, “How wonderful it is to see someone coming to tell good news!”
So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.
Romans 10:14-15, 17 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.10.14-17.ERV
Jahaziel said, “Listen to me King Jehoshaphat and everyone living in Judah and Jerusalem! The Lord says this to you: ‘Don’t be afraid or worry about this large army, because the battle is not your battle. It is God’s battle!
You will not have to fight this battle. Just stand there and watch the Lord save you. Judah and Jerusalem, don’t be afraid. Don’t worry, because the Lord is with you. So go out to stand against those people tomorrow.’”
2 Chronicles 20:15, 17 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/2ch.20.15-17.ERV
Yes, the Scriptures say, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.”
It says this because there is no difference between those who are Jews and those who are not.
The same Lord is the Lord of all people. And he richly blesses everyone who looks to him for help.
Romans 10:11-12 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.10.11-12.ERV
If you openly say, “Jesus is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised him from death, you will be saved.
Yes, we believe in Jesus deep in our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we openly say that we believe in him, and so we are saved.
Yes, the Scriptures say, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.”
Romans 10:9-11 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.10.9-11.ERV
Christ ended the law so that everyone who believes in him is made right with God.
Romans 10:4 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.10.4.ERV
“So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it.
Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are?
You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.
“And why do you worry about clothes? Look at the wildflowers in the field. See how they grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers.
If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? It’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small!
“Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things.
What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need.
So don’t worry about tomorrow. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Tomorrow will have its own worries.
Matthew 6:25-34 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/mat.6.25-34.ERV
A clay jar does not question the one who made it. It does not say, “Why did you make me like this?” The one who makes the jar can make anything he wants.
He uses the same clay to make different things. He might make one thing for special purposes and another for daily use.
Romans 9:20-21 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.9.20-21.ERV
So what does all this mean? It means that people who are not Jews were made right with God because of their faith, even though they were not trying to make themselves right.
And the people of Israel, who tried to make themselves right with God by following the law, did not succeed.
They failed because they tried to make themselves right by the things they did. They did not trust in God to make them right. They fell over the stone that makes people fall.
Romans 9:30-32 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.9.30-32.ERV
But before the two sons were born, God told Rebecca, “The older son will serve the younger.” This was before the boys had done anything good or bad.
God said this before they were born so that the boy he wanted would be chosen because of God’s own plan. He was chosen because he was the one God wanted to call, not because of anything the boys did.
So what does this mean? That God is not fair? We cannot say that. God said to Moses, “I will show mercy to anyone I want to show mercy to. I will show pity to anyone I choose.”
So God will choose anyone he decides to show mercy to, and his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do.
Romans 9:11-12, 14-16 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.9.11-16.ERV
We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. These are the people God chose, because that was his plan.
God knew them before he made the world. And he decided that they would be like his Son. Then Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters.
God planned for them to be like his Son. He chose them and made them right with him. And after he made them right, he gave them his glory.
Romans 8:28-30 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.8.28-30.ERV
Also, the Spirit helps us. We are very weak, but the Spirit helps us with our weakness.
We don’t know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit himself speaks to God for us.
He begs God for us, speaking to him with feelings too deep for words.
God already knows our deepest thoughts. And he understands what the Spirit is saying, because the Spirit speaks for his people in the way that agrees with what God wants.
Romans 8:26-27 ERV
https://bible.com/bible/406/rom.8.26-27.ERV
