Romans 7:1 Now, dear brothers and sisters-you who are familiar with the law-don't you know that the law applies only while a person is living?
2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her.
3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries.
4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.
5 When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.
6 But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.
7 Well then, am I suggesting that the law of God is sinful? Of course not! In fact, it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known that coveting is wrong if the law had not said, "You must not covet."
8 But sin used this command to arouse all kinds of covetous desires within me! If there were no law, sin would not have that power.
9 At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life,
10 and I died. So I discovered that the law's commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.
11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.
12 But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good.
13 But how can that be? Did the law, which is good, cause my death? Of course not! Sin used what was good to bring about my condemnation to death. So we can see how terrible sin really is. It uses God's good commands for its own evil purposes.
14 So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.
15 I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
16 But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good.
17 So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
18 And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't.
19 I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.
20 But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
21 I have discovered this principle of life-that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong.
22 I love God's law with all my heart.
23 But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me.
24 Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?
25 Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
Rom. 8:1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
2 And because you belong to Him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.
3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent His own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin's control over us by giving His Son as a sacrifice for our sins.
4 He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.
6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.
7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God's laws, and it never will.
8 That's why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
9 But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to Him at all.)
10 And Christ lives within you, so even though your body will die because of sin, the Spirit gives you life because you have been made right with God.
11 The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.
12 Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.
13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
15 So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him, "Abba, Father."
16 For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children.
17 And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.
18 Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will reveal to us later.
19 For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who His children really are.
20 Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse. But with eager hope,
21 the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
22 For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
23 And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as His adopted children, including the new bodies He has promised us.
24 We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it.
25 But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.
27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will.
28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.
29 For God knew His people in advance, and He chose them to become like His Son, so that His Son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
30 And having chosen them, He called them to come to Him. And having called them, He gave them right standing with Himself. And having given them right standing, He gave them His glory.
31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?
32 Since He did not spare even His own Son but gave Him up for us all, won't He also give us everything else?
33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for His own? No one-for God Himself has given us right standing with Himself.
34 Who then will condemn us? No one-for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and He is sitting in the place of honor at God's right hand, pleading for us.
35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ's love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
36 (As the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.")
37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow-not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.
39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below-indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Psalms 114:1 When the Israelites escaped from Egypt-when the family of Jacob left that foreign land-
2 the land of Judah became God's sanctuary, and Israel became His kingdom.
3 The Red Sea saw them coming and hurried out of their way! The water of the Jordan River turned away.
4 The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs!
5 What's wrong, Red Sea, that made you hurry out of their way? What happened, Jordan River, that you turned away?
6 Why, mountains, did you skip like rams? Why, hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.
8 He turned the rock into a pool of water; yes, a spring of water flowed from solid rock.
Ps. 115:1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name goes all the glory for Your unfailing love and faithfulness.
2 Why let the nations say, "Where is their God?"
3 Our God is in the heavens, and He does as He wishes.
4 Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
5 They have mouths but cannot speak, and eyes but cannot see.
6 They have ears but cannot hear, and noses but cannot smell.
7 They have hands but cannot feel, and feet but cannot walk, and throats but cannot make a sound.
8 And those who make idols are just like them, as are all who trust in them.
9 O Israel, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield.
10 O priests, descendants of Aaron, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield.
11 All you who fear the LORD, trust the LORD! He is your helper and your shield.
12 The LORD remembers us and will bless us. He will bless the people of Israel and bless the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
13 He will bless those who fear the LORD, both great and lowly.
14 May the LORD richly bless both you and your children.
15 May you be blessed by the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the LORD, but He has given the earth to all humanity.
17 The dead cannot sing praises to the LORD, for they have gone into the silence of the grave.
18 But we can praise the LORD both now and forever! Praise the LORD!
Ps. 116:1 I love the LORD because He hears my voice and my prayer for mercy.
2 Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath!
3 Death wrapped its ropes around me; the terrors of the grave overtook me. I saw only trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD: "Please, LORD, save me!"
5 How kind the LORD is! How good He is! So merciful, this God of ours!
6 The LORD protects those of childlike faith; I was facing death, and He saved me.
7 Let my soul be at rest again, for the LORD has been good to me.
8 He has saved me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
9 And so I walk in the LORD's presence as I live here on earth!
10 I believed in You, so I said, "I am deeply troubled, LORD."
11 In my anxiety I cried out to You, "These people are all liars!"
12 What can I offer the LORD for all He has done for me?
13 I will lift up the cup of salvation and praise the LORD's name for saving me.
14 I will keep my promises to the LORD in the presence of all His people.
15 The LORD cares deeply when His loved ones die.
16 O LORD, I am Your servant; yes, I am Your servant, born into Your household; You have freed me from my chains.
17 I will offer You a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all His people-
19 in the house of the LORD in the heart of Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!
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