К Римлянам послание Апостола Павла

Written probably on the third journey of the Apostle, about 56 A.D. The Apostle Paul had long wanted to visit Rome, but various obstacles prevented his trips several times (Rom. 1; Acts 10). Finally, it seemed the opportunity was close. Going to Jerusalem, he intended from there, on the way to Spain, to spend some time in Rome (Rom. 15) and this letter was written with the aim of prefacing the Roman community about this and on this occasion, forward sending them written instructions on important subjects of faith. Philosophy, writes the Apostle, did not lead the pagans to the path of salvation. The law turned out to be ineffective for the Jews in this regard. In this message, the Apostle teaches that faith in Christ alone leads all humanity onto the path of salvation. To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called saints: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called an Apostle, chosen for the gospel of God. That is the gospel that God promised from ancient times through His prophets, in the Holy Scriptures, about His Son, who was in the flesh from the seed of David, called the Son of God, with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, through the resurrection from the dead - Jesus Christ our Lord. Through Him we received grace and apostleship, ordered to bring all languages to obedience to the faith of His name, among whom you also were called to Jesus Christ. First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. God is my witness, and Him I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that I constantly remember you, I always pray in my prayers that God’s will will one day make it possible for me to come to you. For I long to see you, so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift for your strengthening, that is, to be comforted with you by the common faith, yours and mine. I do not want, brethren, to leave you in the dark that many times I was going to go to you, but until now I have met obstacles - to come in order to have some fruit in you, as in other languages. The spiritual impotence of paganism I have a duty to the Greeks and to the barbarians, to the wise and to the ignorant. So, according to my zeal, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes - to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. In it is the revelation of God's righteousness from faith to faith, as it is written: “The righteous shall live by faith” (Hab. 2). The wrath of God is also revealed from heaven against all wickedness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. What can be known about God is obvious to them - that God Himself revealed to them. for from the creation of the world His invisible things - His ever-present power and Divinity - are visible and accessible to reason in His creations - so that they are irresponsible. But how, having understood God, they did not glorify Him as God and did not give thanks, but became futile in their speculations and their foolish hearts were darkened - calling themselves wise, they became fools, and they perverted the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed creatures, and creeping things, then God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness, so that they defiled their own bodies, They replaced the truth of God with a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, Who is blessed forever. Amen. And for this God gave them over to shameful passions: their wives perverted natural use into unnatural; Likewise, men, abandoning the natural use of the female sex, began to be inflamed with lust for each other, men committing shame on men, so that they receive in themselves the due retribution for their depravity. And since they did not learn to have God in their minds, God gave them over to a depraved mind - to do indecent things, so that they are filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, greed, malice; filled with envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; slanderers, slanderers, atheists, touchy, impudent, proud, resourceful for evil, disobedient to parents, reckless, treacherous, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful. They know the truth of God, that whoever does such things is worthy of death; however, they not only create, but also approve of those who create. So you are irresponsible, every man who sets himself up as a judge; for by the same judgment with which you judge another, you condemn yourself: after all, by judging another, you yourself do the same. And we know that there is truly God’s judgment on those who do such things. Do you really think, man, that you will escape God’s judgment when, condemning others for such deeds, you yourself do the same deeds? Or do you neglect the riches of God’s goodness, meekness and long-suffering, not realizing that God’s goodness leads you to repentance? But, due to your stubbornness and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and revelation of God’s righteous judgment. God will reward everyone according to his deeds. To those who seek glory, honor and immortality through constancy in good deeds, eternal life, and those who, out of stubbornness, do not submit to the truth, but indulge in unrighteousness, will be rewarded with rage and anger. Sorrow and distress to every soul of a person who does evil, the Jew first, and also the Greek. Glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. Those who sinned without the law will perish without the law, and those who sinned under the law will be judged according to the law: It is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. And when the pagans, not having the law, do what is lawful by nature, then, not having the law, they are a law to themselves. They show that a lawful matter is written in their hearts, and their conscience testifies to the same, and their thoughts also testify, alternating between themselves, now to accusation, now to justification, - on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secret affairs of men (the secrets of the human soul) through Jesus Christ. Behold, you are called a Jew, and you rest in the law, and you boast in God, and you understand His will, and, having studied the law, you know how to judge what is best in it; and I am confident in myself that you are a guide to the blind, a light to those who live in darkness, a guide to the ignorant, a teacher to babes, you have a form of knowledge and righteousness in the law. How is it that when you teach others, you don’t teach yourself? While preaching not to steal, are you stealing? You forbid: “You shall not commit adultery,” and you commit adultery? Do you abhor idols and steal holy things? Do you boast about the law, but by breaking the law you dishonor God? And so, for your sake, as it is written, “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles” 27 (Is. 52). Circumcision is beneficial if you keep the law; if you are a transgressor of the law, and your circumcision has become uncircumcision. If the uncircumcised man keeps the righteousness of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted against him as circumcision? And being uncircumcised by nature, when he fulfills the law, will he not condemn you, that you, both with the Scripture and with circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? For the one who is a Jew outwardly is not the same Jew, nor is the circumcision that is outwardly in the flesh. But he is a Jew in truth if he is a Jew in soul, and the circumcision that is in the heart is according to the Spirit, and not according to the letter of the Scripture. His praise is not from people, but from God. Chapter 3. Both Jew and Gentile have one hope for justification - faith What is the advantage of being a Jew? or what is the use of circumcision? The great advantage, in every way, and above all, is that they were entrusted with the words of God. What then? If some were unfaithful, will their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God? No way. God will be true, and every man will be a lie, as it is written: “You will be justified in Your words and will always overcome Your judgment” (Ps. 50). If our untruth brings into light the truth of God, what shall we say? Or is God unjust when he strikes with anger? (I speak for humanity). No way. For how else can God judge the world? If the truth of God in my lies was clearly revealed to His glory, for what else will I be condemned with sinners? And should we not do evil so that good may come out, as others slander us, saying that we teach this way? But judgment on such is righteous. So what? Do we (the Jews) have an advantage? Not at all. We have already said that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin, as it is written: “There is none righteous, not one; understand and seek God; they all evaded, together they were indecent; there is no one who would do goodness, not a single one. The grave was opened by their throat; They deceive with their tongues, the poison of asps is under their lips (Ps. 13:5-9); their mouths are full of slander and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood (Isa.59); contrition and bitterness are in their ways; there is no fear of God before their eyes (Ps. 35).” – But we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth will be stopped and the whole world will be guilty before God; By the works of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Now, besides the law, the righteousness of God has appeared, to which the law and the prophets testify, the truth of God through faith in Jesus Christ, in everyone and on everyone who believes (in Him); there is no difference, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but they are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; God placed Him as a sacrifice of cleansing through His Blood through faith, so that He might reveal His righteousness as a remission, through the forbearance of God, of sins previously committed. So now in this way the truth of God appears before everyone: and the man who is in the faith of Jesus is made righteous. So where is our praise? Destroyed. What law? The law of affairs? No, but by the law of faith. For we acknowledge that by faith a man is justified without the works of the law. Is God only the God of the Jews, or is He also the God of the pagans? Thus, He is God of the Gentiles: there is one God, He will justify both the circumcision by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Well, are we not destroying the law by faith? God forbid! We do not destroy the law, but we establish it. Chapter 4. Faith existed in justification even before the coming of the law. What, say, did Abraham, our father, acquire in the flesh? If Abraham was justified by works, he has praise, but not from God. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (Gen. 15). To the one who does the recompense, recompense is imputed not according to mercy, but according to duty, But to him who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. So David calls a person blessed, to whom God imputes righteousness not by works. “Blessed are those who have given up iniquity and those who have covered themselves with sin; blessed is the man, to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Ps. 31). Well, is this blessedness attributed to circumcision, or to uncircumcision? We say that Abraham's faith was counted as righteousness. When did it become imputed? After circumcision or before circumcision? Not after circumcision, but before circumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of righteousness through the faith of an uncircumcised man, so that he became the father of all those who believed in the uncircumcision, so that righteousness might be imputed to them, and he also became the father of those of the circumcision, not only those who have received circumcision, but also those who walk in the footsteps of the faith of our father Abraham, who was uncircumcised. For the promise was not given to Abraham or to his seed to be heir of the world, but to righteousness in faith. If those who stand on the law are heirs, then faith is abolished and the promise loses its force, for the law produces wrath, but where there is no law, there is no crime. Therefore, everything is by faith, so that it may be by grace, and so that the promise may be sure to all the descendants of Abraham, not only those who are of the law, but also those who are of the faith of Abraham. Abraham is the father of us all, as it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations” (Gen. 17); the father is before God, whom he believed, the God who gives life to the dead and imputes things that do not exist into being (who calls non-existent things into being). He believed in hope beyond hope, and through this he became the father of many nations, according to the word: “So shall your seed be” (Gen. 15). And not fainting in faith, he did not think that he was already almost a hundred years old and his body was already dead and Sarah’s womb was dead; He did not shake the promise of God through unbelief, but remained steadfast in faith, giving glory to God, and he was absolutely sure that God was able to do what He promised. Therefore, (faith) was imputed to him as righteousness. But the written word “it was counted unto him as righteousness” was not written about him alone, but also about us: it will be imputed to us who believe in Jesus Christ our Lord who rose from the dead, He was betrayed for our sins and rose again for our justification. Chapter 5. The Fruits of Righteousness in Christ Jesus Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him, by faith, we have gained access to the grace in which we stand, and we boast in the hope of (attaining) the glory of God. And not only this, but we boast in our sorrows, knowing that from sorrow comes patience, From patience comes experience, from experience comes hope. But hope does not put us to shame, for the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit given to us. Christ, while we were still weak, at the appointed time died for the wicked. It is unlikely that anyone will die for a righteous person - unless someone dares to die for a benefactor. God perfects His love for us in this, that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Much more therefore, having been justified by His Blood, we will be saved from wrath by Him. For if, having been His enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also boast (triumph) in God in our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men, since all sinned. Even before the law, sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. But death reigned from Adam to Moses and over those who did not sin like Adam’s crime (commandments). Adam is the image of the future. But the gift of grace is not like a crime (the effect of the gift of grace is not the same as the effect of a crime). For if for the sin of one many suffered death, much more will the grace of God and the gift by the grace of one man Jesus Christ abound for many. And the gift is not like judgment for one sinner, for judgment for one crime leads to condemnation, but the gift of grace for many crimes leads to justification. And if for the crime of one man death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through Jesus Christ. Therefore, just as the crime of one was condemnation for all men, so by the righteousness of one there was justification for all men in life. And just as through the disobedience of one man many became sinners, so through the obedience of one many will become righteous. Afterwards the law came, and with the law sin increased. And when sin increased, grace began to abound. And as sin reigned unto death, so through righteousness let grace reign unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Chapter 6. About slavery to sin. What shall we say? Should we remain in sin so that grace may increase? It won't happen. We died to sin - how else can we live in it! Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, and since Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too from now on walk in newness of life. For if we are united with Him by the likeness of His death, then we must also be united by the likeness of His resurrection, Knowing that our old man was crucified with Him, so that the body of sin might be abolished and we would no longer labor under sin: whoever dies like this is justified, free from sin. If we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having risen from the dead, then dies no more; death no longer possesses Him. What He died, He died once for sin, but what He lives, He lives for God. Likewise, consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore, let not sin reign in your mortal body, so that you do not obey it in its lusts; And do not yield your members to sin, as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness. And let not sin rule over you: you are not under the law, but under grace. What then? Should we sin, since we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid! Or do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as slaves to obey, you are also slaves to whom you obey, either slaves of sin to death, or slaves of obedience to righteousness? Thank God that, having previously been slaves of sin, you have become obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you have devoted yourself. Having been freed from sin, they became slaves of righteousness. I speak for humanity, for the sake of your weakness. Just as you presented your members as slaves to uncleanness and lawlessness for a wicked life, so present your members as slaves to righteousness for a holiness of life. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from righteousness. What fruit did you have then? Such deeds of which you are now ashamed, for their end is death. Now, when you have been freed from sin and become slaves of God, your fruit is holiness, and the end is eternal life. The reward of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Chapter 7. Does the Law Deliver From Sin? Don’t you know, brethren (I say to those who lead the law), that the law has power over a person only until the end of his life? And a married wife is bound by law to her living husband, and when the husband dies, she is free from the law of marriage. Therefore, if, while her husband is alive, she unites with another husband, she is called an adulteress; If her husband dies, she is free from the law and will not be an adulteress when she marries another husband. So you too, my brethren, died to the law through the body of Christ, in order to belong to another, the One who rose from the dead, so that we may bear fruit to God (with our lives). When we lived according to the flesh, then the sinful passions, raised by the law, acted in our members and bore fruit of death. But now, when we have renounced the law by which we were bound, we have freed ourselves from it in order to serve us God in the renewal of the spirit, and not according to the old letter. What shall we say? Is it really all the same – both sin and law? No way; but I would not know what sin is if it were not for the law; I would not have known lust if the law had not said: “Thou shalt not covet.” But sin, taking occasion from the commandment, produced in me all lust; for without the law sin is dead. I once lived without the law, but when the commandment came, sin came to life, and I died. So the commandment given for life served me for death. Sin, taking a pretext from the commandment, deceived me and killed me with it. So the law is holy and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. How? was it good, and did it bring me death? No way. It was sin that brought death to me—that is why it appeared, that it did good for me as a mortal, so that sin, through the commandment, appeared in much of its sinfulness. We know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold to sin. For I myself do not understand what I do: I do not do what I want, but what I hate, I do. If I do what I do not want, I thereby praise the law that it is good. And when this happens, it means that it is not I who do it, but the sin that lives in me. I know that good does not live in me, that is, in my flesh, because I willingly desire good, but I do not find it in myself to do good. And whatever good I want, I don’t do, but the evil that I don’t want, I do. If I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin that lives in me. So this is the law I find in myself, that when I want to do good, evil is present to me. According to the inner man I delight in the law of God, but in my members I see another law, which wars with the law of my mind and captivates me into obedience to the law of sin that is in my members. I'm a pathetic man! Who will deliver me from this body of death! I thank God Jesus Christ our Lord. So with the same mind I serve the law of God, but with the flesh I work the law of sin. Chapter 8. Christ and the Holy Spirit Deliver There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit: the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death. What the law was powerless to do, weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, for sin, and condemned sin in the flesh, so that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled (so that the requirement of the law would be fulfilled) in us, who walk not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on carnal things, but those who live according to the Spirit think on spiritual things. Carnal wisdom is death, and spiritual wisdom is life and peace, for carnal wisdom is enmity against God: it does not submit to the law of God, and cannot. Therefore those who live according to the flesh cannot please God. But you are not carnal, but spiritual, when the Spirit of God dwells in you. If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, he is not Christ. And if Christ is in you, the flesh is dead because of sin, but the spirit is alive because of righteousness. If the spirit of Jesus who rose from the dead lives in you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So, brethren, we are not debtors to the flesh, that we should live according to the flesh. If you live according to the flesh, you will inevitably die; But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. You did not receive the spirit of slavery to live in fear again, but you received the Spirit of adoption, and in that Spirit we cry: “Abba Father.” This very Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. If children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, when we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified with Him. I think that the suffering of this time is worth nothing in comparison with the glory that will be revealed in us. And all creation with burning hope awaits the revelation of the sons of God, for the creation is subject to vanity not by its own will, but by the will of the one who subjected it to this - and in the hope that creation itself will be freed from the slavery of corruption, into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. And we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together even to this day. And not only she, but we too, having the firstfruits of the Spirit, and we ourselves groan within ourselves, awaiting adoption, the redemption of our body. Our hope is our salvation. Hope, when it is already visible in front of it what one expects, is not hope, for if someone already sees something, how can he expect it? But when we see something that we do not see, then we wait with patience. So the Spirit also helps us in our weaknesses. We ourselves do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. He who searches the hearts knows what is the wisdom of the Spirit, for He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we also know that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are the called according to His purpose, for those whom He knew from the beginning He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. And those whom he predestined, he also called; whom he called, he also justified; whom he justified, those he also glorified. What can I say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? Who did not spare even His own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will He not also freely give us all things with Him? Who will accuse God's elect? God justifies. Who is judging? Christ Jesus died, but also rose again. He is also at the right hand of God, and He intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of God: is it sorrow or distress? or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword? as it is written: “For your sake we are put to death every day, counted as sheep of the slaughter” (Ps. 43). But we overcome all this for Him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor the present, nor the future, neither height, nor depth, nor any other creature can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. I speak the truth about Christ, I do not lie, my conscience is my witness in the Holy Spirit, that there is great sorrow and constant pain in my heart: and I myself would like to be excommunicated from Christ for my brothers, my relatives according to the flesh - they are Israelites, and to them is the adoption, and to them is the glory, and the covenants, and the law, and the worship, and the promises. Theirs are the fathers, and from them is Christ according to the flesh, who is God above all, blessed forever. Amen. But it is not that the word of God did not come true. Not all who are of Israel are true Israelites, and not all are children of Abraham, that came from his seed; but it is said: “Your seed will be called in Isaac” (Gen. 21). That is, the children of the flesh are not the children of God, but the children of the promise are recognized as the seed. And the word of promise is this: “at this same time I will come and Sarah will have a son” (Gen. 18). And not only about Sarah: the same thing happened with Rebecca, when she conceived two from the same bed of Isaac our father. When they were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that the purpose of God in election would not come from works, but from the Caller it was said to her: “The older will do the work of the younger” (Gen. 25), just as it is written: “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated” (Mal. 1). What shall we say? Is it really not true with God? No way. For God says to Moses: “I will have mercy on him if I have mercy, and I will show mercy on him if I have mercy” (Ex. 33). So everything depends not on will, nor on human achievement, but on a merciful God. And the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I have appointed you for this purpose, that I might show My power in you, and that My name might be preached throughout all the earth” (Ex. 9). So, whoever he wants, he has mercy on, and whomever he wants, he hardens. You will tell me: “What else are you accusing me of? Who will resist His will? – And who are you, man, that you argue with God? Will the product say to the one who made it: why did you make me like this? Does not the potter have power over the clay - from the same mixture to make one vessel for the best use, and another for the lower? What if God, although He showed His wrath and revealed His power, with great patience spared the vessels of wrath that were ready for destruction, that He might display the riches of His glory upon the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, over us, whom did he call not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles? As in Hosea he says: “I will call not my people my people, and not my beloved, beloved; and in the place where it was said to them, “You are not my people,” there they will be called sons of the living God” (Hosea 2). And Isaiah cries out for Israel: “Even though the children of Israel were as many as the sand of the sea, only a remnant will be saved. For it is the Lord who finally decides and decides the decisive work on earth” (Is. 10). And, as Isaiah predicted: “if the Lord of hosts had not left us a seed, we would have become like Sodom and Gomorrah” (Is. 1). What shall we say? The Gentiles, who did not seek righteousness, received righteousness, the righteousness of faith; but Israel, who sought the law for righteousness, did not attain to the law of righteousness. Why? because they sought not in faith, but in works of the law; for they have stumbled over the stumbling stone, as it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a stone of offense; but whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame” (Ps. 117; Is. 8). Chapter 10. About faith and righteousness Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God is for Israel, for salvation. I testify of them that they have a zeal for God, but not according to understanding. Not understanding the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to the righteousness of God. But the end of the law is in Christ, that there may be justification for everyone who believes in Him. Moses writes about the righteousness of the law: “the man who does it will live by it” (Lev.18). But the righteousness of faith says this: “Do not say in your heart: Who will ascend to heaven?” that is, to bring Christ together; “or: who will descend into the abyss?” that is, to raise Christ from the dead (Deut. 30). But what does Scripture say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith that we preach. For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. He believes with his heart for righteousness, and confesses with his lips for salvation. And the Scripture says: “Whoever believes in Him will not be put to shame” (Is. 28). There is no difference between Jew and Greek, for there is one Lord, rich in mercy for all who call on Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2). But how can we call upon Him in whom we have not believed? How to believe in Him about whom you have not heard? How to hear without a preacher? And how can we preach if they are not sent? Thus it is written: “How red are the feet of those who bring good news of peace, who bring good news!” (Isa.52). But not everyone listened to the gospel. Isaiah says, “Lord, who believes our hearing?” (Isa.53). So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. But I ask: didn’t they hear? On the contrary, “their broadcasts went out into all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world” (Ps. 18). And I’ll ask again: didn’t Israel know? But first of all, Moses says: “I will arouse jealousy in you because of a foolish people; I will provoke you to anger because of a foolish people” (Deut. 32). And Isaiah says decisively: “Those who did not seek Me found Me, I revealed myself to those who did not ask about Me” (Is. 65). About Israel he says: “All day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and stubborn people” (Is. 65). Chapter 11. Advice of God's mercy in the rejection of Israel So I ask: has God really rejected His people? It won't happen. For I also am an Israelite, from the seed of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject His people, whom He had chosen from the beginning. Or don’t you know what Scripture says about Elijah, how he calls out to God against Israel? and says: “Lord! They killed Your prophets, They destroyed Your altars; I’m left alone, and they’re looking for my soul.” What does the Divine answer tell him? “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who did not bow the knee to Baal” (1 Kings 19). So at this time, according to the election of grace, a remnant has been preserved. But if by grace, then not by works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. But if it is by works, then it is no longer grace; otherwise the matter is no longer a matter. What then? Israel did not receive what it sought, but the elect received it, but the rest became hardened, as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of slumber, eyes not to see, and ears not to hear, even to this day” (Deut. 29). And David says: “Let their table be a snare, and a trap, and a temptation, and a reward for them, let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and their spine be bent forever” (Ps. 68). So I ask: did they really stumble in order to completely fall? It won't happen. But from their fall salvation comes to the Gentiles, so that jealousy may be aroused in them. If from their fall the wealth is to the world, and from the failure of their wealth to the Gentiles, then how much more from their fulness (from their complete restoration). But I tell you, the pagans: I am the Apostle of the pagans and I glorify my ministry; Shall I not arouse jealousy in my relatives according to the flesh and save some of them? For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, then what will their reception be if not life from the dead? If the first fruit is holy (if the particle of the mixture is holy), then the whole mixture is holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive tree, were grafted in in their place and became a partaker of the root and juice of the olive tree, then you did not boast about the branches; if you are arrogant, then remember that it is not you who hold the root, but the root that holds you. You will say: the branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in. Fine. They were broken off through unbelief, but you hold on by faith: do not be proud, but be afraid. If God did not spare the natural branches, then see if He will spare you too. So you see the goodness and severity of God: severity towards those who have fallen away, but the goodness of God towards you if you continue in goodness; otherwise you too will be cut off. But even those, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. And if you were cut off from the olive tree that is wild by nature, and were not grafted into the good olive tree by nature, how much more will these natural ones be grafted into their own olive tree. And so, brethren, so that you do not dream about yourself, I do not want to leave you ignorant of this mystery - that bitterness has come upon Israel in part, until the time when the full number of the Gentiles comes in, and so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “He who delivers will come from Zion and turn away wickedness from Jacob” (Ps. 13; Is. 59). “And this covenant is from Me to them, when I take away their sins” (Is. 27). According to the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but according to election they are beloved of God for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable. Just as you were once disobedient to God, but have now received mercy on the day of your disobedience, so they too are now disobedient, on the day of your mercy, so that they themselves may receive mercy. For God imprisoned everyone in disobedience in order to have mercy on everyone. Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are His destinies and how unsearchable are His ways! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who was His adviser? Or who gave it to Him first in order to receive recompense?” (Job 15–35). For from Him are all things, and by Him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Chapter 12. Christian rules of life So I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living, holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, so that this may be your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. By the grace given to me, I say: let each of you not think more of himself than he ought to think, but think modestly. according to the measure of faith that God has given to each. Just as we have many members in one body, but not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. And since, by the grace given to us, we have various gifts, then - if you have a prophecy, prophesy according to the measure of faith; if service. remain in service; if you are a teacher, in teaching; exhorter - exhort; when you are a distributor, distribute in simplicity; you are the boss - lead carefully, with zeal; If you show mercy, show mercy with good will. Let love be unfeigned; turn away from evil, cling to good; be brotherly loving, kind to one another; warn each other with honor; Do not weaken in zeal, working for the Lord with a burning spirit. Be comforted by hope; be patient in sorrow and constant in prayer. Provide for the needs of the saints, be zealous for hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless, not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Be unanimous among yourselves; do not be arrogant, but communicate with the humble; don't dream about yourself. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, provide for good before all people. If it is possible in your will, be at peace with all men. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but give room to the wrath of God. For it is written: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Deut. 32). So, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink: by doing this, you are heaping coals of fire on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Chapter 13. Obedience to Established Authorities Let every soul obey the powers that be: there is no power that is not from God, but the existing powers have been established by God. So, whoever resists the authority resists God’s institution, and those who resist bring condemnation upon themselves. Rulers are not terrible for good deeds, but for evil ones. Do you want to not be afraid of power? Do good, and you will have praise from her. He is God's servant, for your good. If you do evil, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain - he is God’s servant, an avenger of punishment for those who do evil. So it is necessary to obey not only out of anger (out of fear), but also out of conscience. This is why you pay taxes - they are servants of God, they are assigned to this work. So give everyone their due: to whom it is due, to give; to whom the quitrent (collection) is due; to whom there is fear, fear; to whom it is honor, honor. Do not owe anyone anything except mutual love, for whoever loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. And those commandments: “do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not covet someone else’s,” and all the others, are all fulfilled in this one word: “love your neighbor as yourself” (Ex. 20; Lev. 19; Deut. 5). Love does not do evil to one's neighbor: therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law. And let us observe all this, knowing what time has come, and the hour has come for us to rise from sleep. For salvation is closer to us now than when we believed. The night passed and the day approached. Let us therefore reject the works of darkness and put on the weapons of light. As in the light of day, let us begin to live piously, not in feasting and drunkenness, not in sensuality and debauchery, not in quarrels and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ and do not turn caring for the flesh into lusts. Chapter 14. About the weak in faith and about respect for the conscience of one's neighbor Accept him who is weak in faith, without quarreling about opinions. Others believe that they can eat everything, and those who are weak (who doubt their faith) eat vegetables. He who eats, do not despise the one who does not eat, and he who does not eat, do not condemn the one who eats: God accepted him too. Who are you that you became a judge to someone else's slave? To his Lord he stands and falls. And it will become so, for God is strong in establishing it. Another judges the days, distinguishing them, while another judges every day equally. Let everyone act according to the evidence of his own mind. He who distinguishes the days, for the sake of the Lord distinguishes; and whoever does not discriminate, also for the sake of the Lord. Whoever eats eats for the glory of God, for he thanks God. And whoever does not eat, also for the glory of God, and thanks God. None of us lives only for ourselves, and none of us dies only for ourselves. Whether we live, we live for the Lord; we die - for the sake of the Lord we die. So, whether we live or die, we are always the Lord's. For this reason Christ died and rose again and came to life, in order to possess both the dead and the living. Why are you judging your brother? Or are you also that you despise your brother? We will all appear at the judgment seat of Christ. Thus it is written: “As I live, says the Lord, every tribe will worship Me, and every tongue will confess to God” (Is. 45). So each of us will give an account to God for himself. Let us not judge each other in the future, but rather judge how not to give your brother a reason for stumbling or temptation. I know and am confident about the Lord Jesus that there is nothing unclean in itself: only whoever considers something unclean, to him it is unclean. If your brother is upset over food, then you are no longer acting out of love: do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died. And what is good for you. should not be reproached. For the Kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and has justified himself in human opinion. Let us therefore seek what serves for peace and mutual edification. For the sake of food, do not ruin the work of God: everything is pure, but it is bad for a person when he eats to offend his neighbor. It is better not to eat meat and not to drink wine, and to abstain from all that from which your brother stumbles or is offended or becomes weak. Do you have faith? Have it within yourself, before God. Blessed is he who does not condemn himself in that on which he affirms. But whoever doubts, if he eats, is condemned, because it is not by faith; and everything that is not from faith is sin. Be established in the faith, according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, hidden from eternity, but now revealed and through the writings of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, proclaimed to all nations in obedience of faith. To Him who is able to establish you, the Only Wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever. Amen. Chapter 15. Advice on leniency towards one's neighbor We, the strong, must endure the weaknesses of the weak, and not please ourselves. Let each of you please your neighbor for good and edification. For Christ did not please Himself, but, as it is written: “The slander of those who slandered You fell on Me” (Ps. 68). Everything that was previously written was written for our instruction, so that we, learning patience and drawing consolation from the Scriptures, might be strengthened in hope. May the God of patience and consolation grant you to be of one mind with one another, in Christ Jesus, so that with one accord, with one mouth, you may glorify God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Attracting pagans to the faith of Christ Therefore accept one another, as Christ accepted you, for the glory of God. I mean that Jesus accepted the ministry for the circumcision - for the sake of the truth of God, in order to fulfill the promises given to the fathers; and for the pagans - for mercy, so that they glorify God, as it is written: “For this reason we will confess to You among the Gentiles, O Lord, and I will sing to Your name” (Ps. 17). And it is also said: “Rejoice, O nations, with His people” (Deut. 32). And again: “Praise the Lord, all you nations, and praise Him, all you people” (Ps. 116). And Isaiah also says: “The root of Jesse will be, and he will rise to rule the tongues: the tongues will trust in Him” (Is. 11). May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. And I myself am confident about you, brethren, that you too are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and can instruct one another; but I wrote to you more decisively, partly as a reminder to you, according to the grace given to me from God to be a servant of Jesus Christ among the pagans and to perform the gospel of God sacredly, so that the offering of the pagans, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, may be acceptable. So may I have praise in Christ Jesus in my work for the sake of God. I dare not talk about anything that Christ would not have accomplished through me in the work of bringing the pagans to faith, in word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God. So, starting from Jerusalem and the surrounding places, to Illyricum I spread the gospel of Christ, Moreover, he tried to preach not where the name of Christ was already known, so as not to build on someone else’s foundation, but according to what is written: “Those who have not heard about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand” (Is. 52). Guess about upcoming travels This is what prevented me from coming to you many times. Nowadays there is no longer a place in these countries, and I have been striving for you for a long time, and as soon as it becomes necessary to go to Spain, I will come to you. And I hope that, as I pass, I will see you, and you will take me there, as soon as I am at least partially consoled by communication with you. Now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints, for Macedonia and Achaia are zealous in collecting benefits for the poor saints living in Jerusalem. They are zealous, and they are in debt to them. If the pagans became partakers of spiritual good with them, then they should serve them in the physical. Having finished this and having faithfully delivered to them the fruit of this zeal, I will go through your place to Spain, and I know that when I come to you, I will come full of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. But I pray to you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, help me in praying for me to God, that I may be delivered from those who oppose the faith in Judea, and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, and I would be delighted, if God pleases, to come to you and rest with you. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Chapter 16. Farewell greetings I present to you Thebe, our sister, a minister of the Church of Cenchrea. Receive her in the Lord, as is worthy of saints, and help her whatever you need, for she was a helper to many and to myself. Greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus: They laid down their lives for my soul - and I am not the only one who thanks them, but also all the pagan churches. Hello to their home church. Hello Epenetus, my beloved - he is the firstfruits of Achaia in Christ. Hello Mariami, who worked hard for us; Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and prisoners with me - they are glorious among the Apostles and believed in Christ before me. Greetings to Amplius, my beloved in the Lord. Greetings to Urban, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachy, my beloved. Greetings to Apelles, tried in Christ. Greetings to those from the house of Aristobulov. Greetings to Herodion, my relative. Greetings to those who are near Narkis, who are in the Lord; Tryphen and Tryphos, who labor for the Lord; Beloved Persida, who has labored much for the Lord. Greetings to Rufus, chosen by the Lord, and to his mother and mine. Greetings to Asinkritus, Phlegonitus, Herm, Patrov, Hermius and the brethren who are with them. Greetings to Philologus and Julia, Nireus and his sister and Olympanus and all the saints who are with them. Greet each other with a holy kiss. Greetings to you from all the churches of Christ. I pray you, brethren, beware of those who cause strife and strife contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them. Such people serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and with flattery and eloquence they seduce the hearts of the simple-minded. Your obedience is known to everyone, and I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise in everything for good, and simple (pure) for all evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you! Amen. Greetings to you from Timothy, my colleague, and Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives. Greetings to you in the Lord and from me to Tertius, who wrote this message. Greetings to you from Gaius, my host and for the whole church. Greetings to you from Erast, the city treasurer, and brother Quart. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Reproof for all teachers, not just Jews. Wed. Ev. Matthew 23:13. You might be interested in: