Romans 12

Consecration of the Believer’s Life

1 Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters,t by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to Godts – which is your reasonable service.

2 Do not be conformedt to this present world,t but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approves what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

Conduct in Humility

3 For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of yout a measure of faith.t4 For just as in one body we have many members, and not all the members serve the same function,5 so we who are many are one body in Christ, and individually we are members who belong to one another.6 And we have different giftst according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith.7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach;

8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.

Conduct in Love

9 Love must bet without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good.10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another.11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord.12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality.14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse.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 Do not be conceited.t17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.t18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.t19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath,t for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”s says the Lord.20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.s

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

ROMANS 12

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 God has treated me with undeserved grace, 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 t A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use.

5 That's how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.
6  t 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. 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  t Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless them and not to curse them. 15 t When others are happy, be happy with them, and when they are sad, be sad. 16 t Be friendly with everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you know more than others. Make friends with ordinary people.t 17 Don't mistreat someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of others,

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

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

20  t The Scriptures also say,
“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.