Genesis to Revelation Bible
Reading Plan
November 22
Romans 12-16
Chapter 12
Dedicated Service
1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your
bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual
service of worship.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing
of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is
good and acceptable and perfect.
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think
more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound
judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith.
4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have
the same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one
of another.
6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each
of us is to exercise them accordingly: if prophecy, according to the proportion
of his faith;
7 if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching;
8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality;
he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another
in honor;
11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;
12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer,
13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but
associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the
sight of all men.
18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.
19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of
God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says
the Lord.
20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give
him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Chapter 13
Be Subject to Government
1 Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities.
For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist
are established
by God.
2 Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and
they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do
you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise
from the same;
4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil,
be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister
of God,
an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil.
5 Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath,
but also for conscience’ sake.
6 For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting
themselves to this very thing.
7 Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom
custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor.
8 Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his
neighbor has fulfilled the law.
9 For this, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You
shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment,
it is summed up in this saying, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment
of the law.
11 Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken
from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.
12 The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay
aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness,
not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh
in regard to its lusts.
Chapter 14
Principles of Conscience
1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose
of passing judgment on his opinions.
2 One person has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats
vegetables only.
3 The one who eats is not to regard with contempt the one who does not eat,
and the one who does not eat is not to judge the one who eats, for God has
accepted him.
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands
or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike.
Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does
so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the
Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord;
therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both
of the dead and of the living.
10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard
your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat
of God.
11 For it is written,
“
As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall give praise to God.”
12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.
13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this—not
to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in
itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking
according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved
by men.
19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building
up of one another.
20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed
are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.
21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which
your brother stumbles.
22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy
is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from
faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
Chapter 15
Self-denial on Behalf of Others
1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without
strength and not just please ourselves.
2 Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.
3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The
reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction,
so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might
have hope.
5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to
be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
6 so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the
glory of God.
8 For I say that Christ has become a servant to the circumcision on behalf
of the truth of God to confirm the promises given to the fathers,
9 and for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written,
“
Therefore I will give praise to You among the Gentiles,
And I will sing to Your name.”
10 Again he says,
“
Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.”
11 And again,
“
Praise the Lord all you Gentiles,
And let all the peoples praise Him.”
12 Again Isaiah says,
“
There shall come the root of Jesse,
And He who arises to rule over the Gentiles,
In Him shall the Gentiles hope.”
13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
14 And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves
are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish
one another.
15 But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you
again, because of the grace that was given me from God,
16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest
the gospel of God, so that my offering of the Gentiles may become acceptable,
sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17 Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things
pertaining to God.
18 For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished
through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,
19 in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so
that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully
preached
the gospel of Christ.
20 And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already
named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation;
21 but as it is written,
“
They who had no news of Him shall see,
And they who have not heard shall understand.”
22 For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you;
23 but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have
had for many years a longing to come to you
24 whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in passing, and to be
helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for
a while—
25 but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints.
26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for
the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.
27 Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if
the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister
to them also in material things.
28 Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit
of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.
29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing
of Christ.
30 Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of
the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,
31 that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that
my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;
32 so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing
rest in your company.
33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Chapter 16
Greetings and Love Expressed
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church
which is at Cenchrea;
2 that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints,
and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she
herself
has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.
3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
4 who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks,
but also all the churches of the Gentiles;
5 also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved,
who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.
6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
7 Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who
are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.
10 Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household
of Aristobulus.
11 Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus,
who are in the Lord.
12 Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved,
who has worked hard in the Lord.
13 Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.
14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brethren with
them.
15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all
the saints who are with them.
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.
17 Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and
hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away
from them.
18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites;
and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the
unsuspecting.
19 For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing
over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what
is evil.
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and
Sosipater, my kinsmen.
22 I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the
city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother.
24 [The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which
has been kept secret for long ages past,
26 but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according
to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations,
leading to obedience of faith;
27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.
"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)