Romans 12

A Living Sacrifice

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers,t by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.t2 Do not be conformed to this world,t but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.t

Gifts of Grace

3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.4 For as in one body we have many members,t and the members do not all have the same function,5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.6 Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;7 if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads,t with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

Marks of the True Christian

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit,t serve the Lord.12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.t Never be wise in your own sight.17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave itt to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."20 To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12

How to live the new life of love

Christ brings new life

1 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God.

2 Don't be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.
3 I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. 4 A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use.t

5 That's how it is with us. There are many of us, but we are each part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.
6 God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have.t 7 If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach.

8 If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully.

Rules for Christian living

13 Take care of God's needy people and welcome strangers into your home.
14 Ask God to bless everyone who ill-treats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them.t 15 When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. 16 Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you are cleverer than others. Make friends with ordinary people.tt 17 Don't ill-treat someone who has ill-treated you. But try to earn the respect of others,

18 and do your best to live at peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, don't try to get even. Let God take revenge. In the Scriptures the Lord says,t
“I am the one to take revenge
and pay them back.”

20 The Scriptures also say,t
“If your enemies are hungry,
give them something to eat.
And if they are thirsty,
give them something
to drink.
This will be the same
as piling burning coals
on their heads.”
21 Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.