Romans 11-13

Easy-to-Read Version

God Has Not Forgotten His People

11 So I ask, “Did God force his people to leave him?” Of course not. I myself am an Israelite. I am from the family of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. ² God chose the Israelites to be his people before they were born. And he did not force them to leave. Surely you know what the Scriptures say about Elijah. The Scriptures tell about Elijah praying to God against the people of Israel. He said, ³ “Lord, they have killed your prophets and destroyed your altars. I am the only prophet still living, and they are trying to kill me now.”^{[a] 4} But what answer did God give to Elijah? God said, “I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have never given worship to Baal.”^[b]

⁵ It is the same now. God has chosen a few people by his grace. ⁶ And if he chose them by grace, then it is not what they have done that made them his people. If they could be made his people by what they did, his gift of grace would not really be a gift.

⁷ So this is what has happened: The people of Israel wanted God’s blessing, but they did not all get it. The people he chose did get his blessing, but the others became hard and refused to listen to him. ⁸ As the Scriptures say,

⁹ And David says,

¹¹ So I ask: When the Jews fell, did that fall destroy them? No! But their mistake brought salvation to those who are not Jews. The purpose of this was to make the Jews jealous. ¹² Their mistake brought rich blessings to the world. And what they lost brought rich blessings to the non-Jewish people. So surely the world will get much richer blessings when enough Jews become the kind of people God wants.

¹³ Now I am speaking to you people who are not Jews. I am an apostle to the non-Jewish people. So while I have that work, I will do the best I can. ¹⁴ I hope I can make my own people jealous. That way, maybe I can help some of them to be saved. ¹⁵ God turned away from the Jews. When that happened, he became friends with the other people in the world. So when he accepts the Jews, it will be like bringing people to life after death. ¹⁶ If the first piece of bread is offered to God, then the whole loaf is made holy. If the roots of a tree are holy, the tree’s branches are holy too.

¹⁷ It is as if some of the branches from an olive tree have been broken off, and the branch of a wild olive tree has been joined to that first tree. If you are not a Jew, you are the same as that wild branch, and you now share the strength and life of the first tree. ¹⁸ But don’t act as if you are better than those branches that were broken off. You have no reason to be proud of yourself, because you don’t give life to the root. The root gives life to you. ¹⁹ You might say, “Branches were broken off so that I could be joined to their tree.” ²⁰ That is true. But those branches were broken off because they did not believe. And you continue to be part of the tree only because you believe. Don’t be proud, but be afraid. ²¹ If God did not let the natural branches of that tree stay, he will not let you stay if you stop believing.

²² So you see that God is kind, but he can also be very strict. He punishes those who stop following him. But he is kind to you, if you continue trusting in his kindness. If you don’t continue depending on him, you will be cut off from the tree. ²³ And if the Jews will believe in God again, he will accept them back. He is able to put them back where they were. ²⁴ It is not natural for a wild branch to become part of a good tree. But you non-Jewish people are like a branch cut from a wild olive tree. And you were joined to a good olive tree. But those Jews are like a branch that grew from the good tree. So surely they can be joined to their own tree again.

²⁵ I want you to understand this secret truth, brothers and sisters. This truth will help you understand that you don’t know everything. The truth is this: Part of Israel has been made stubborn, but that will change when enough non-Jewish people have come to God. ²⁶ And that is how all Israel will be saved. The Scriptures say,

²⁸ The Jews refuse to accept the Good News, so they are God’s enemies. This has happened to help you who are not Jews. But they are still God’s chosen people, and he loves them because of the promises he made to their ancestors. ²⁹ God never changes his mind about the people he calls. He never decides to take back the blessings he has given them. ³⁰ At one time you refused to obey God. But now you have received mercy, because the Jews refused to obey. ³¹ And now they are the ones who refuse to obey, because God showed mercy to you. But this happened so that they can also receive mercy from him. ³² All people have refused to obey God. And he has put them all together as people who don’t obey him so that he can show mercy to everyone.

Praise to God

³³ Yes, God’s riches are very great! His wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain what God decides. No one can understand his ways. ³⁴ As the Scriptures say,

³⁶ Yes, God made all things. And everything continues through him and for him. To God be the glory forever! Amen.

Give Your Lives to God

12 So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives^[c] as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way. ² Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.

³ God has given me a special gift, and that is why I have something to say to each one of you. Don’t think that you are better than you really are. You must see yourself just as you are. Decide what you are by the faith God has given each of us. ⁴ Each one of us has one body, and that body has many parts. These parts don’t all do the same thing. ⁵ In the same way, we are many people, but in Christ we are all one body. We are the parts of that body, and each part belongs to all the others.

⁶ We all have different gifts. Each gift came because of the grace God gave us. Whoever has the gift of prophecy should use that gift in a way that fits the kind of faith they have. ⁷ Whoever has the gift of serving should serve. Whoever has the gift of teaching should teach. ⁸ Whoever has the gift of comforting others should do that. Whoever has the gift of giving to help others should give generously. Whoever has the gift of leading should work hard at it. Whoever has the gift of showing kindness to others should do it gladly.

⁹ Your love must be real. Hate what is evil. Do only what is good. ¹⁰ Love each other in a way that makes you feel close like brothers and sisters. And give each other more honor than you give yourself. ¹¹ As you serve the Lord, work hard and don’t be lazy. Be excited about serving him! ¹² Be happy because of the hope you have. Be patient when you have troubles. Pray all the time. ¹³ Share with God’s people who need help. Look for people who need help and welcome them into your homes.

¹⁴ Wish only good for those who treat you badly. Ask God to bless them, not curse them. ¹⁵ When others are happy, you should be happy with them. And when others are sad, you should be sad too. ¹⁶ Live together in peace with each other. Don’t be proud, but be willing to be friends with people who are not important to others. Don’t think of yourself as smarter than everyone else.

¹⁷ If someone does you wrong, don’t try to pay them back by hurting them. Try to do what everyone thinks is right. ¹⁸ Do the best you can to live in peace with everyone. ¹⁹ My friends, don’t try to punish anyone who does wrong to you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. In the Scriptures the Lord says,

²⁰ But you should do this:

²¹ Don’t let evil defeat you, but defeat evil by doing good.

Obey Your Government Rulers

13 All of you must obey the government rulers. Everyone who rules was given the power to rule by God. And all those who rule now were given that power by God. ² So anyone who is against the government is really against something God has commanded. Those who are against the government bring punishment on themselves. ³ People who do right don’t have to fear the rulers. But those who do wrong must fear them. Do you want to be free from fearing them? Then do only what is right, and they will praise you.

⁴ Rulers are God’s servants to help you. But if you do wrong, you have reason to be afraid. They have the power to punish, and they will use it. They are God’s servants to punish those who do wrong. ⁵ So you must obey the government, not just because you might be punished, but because you know it is the right thing to do.

⁶ And this is why you pay taxes too. Those rulers are working for God, and they give all their time to the work of ruling. ⁷ Give everyone what you owe them. If you owe them any kind of tax, then pay it. Show respect to those you should respect. And show honor to those you should honor.

Loving Others Is the Only Law

⁸ You should owe nothing to anyone, except that you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has done all that the law commands. ⁹ The law says, “You must not commit adultery, you must not murder anyone, you must not steal, you must not want what belongs to someone else.”^[e] All these commands and all other commands are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor^[f] the same as you love yourself.”^{[g] 10} Love doesn’t hurt others. So loving is the same as obeying all the law.

¹¹ I say this because you know that we live in an important time. Yes, it is now time for you to wake up from your sleep. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. ¹² The night is almost finished. The day is almost here. So we should stop doing whatever belongs to darkness. We should prepare ourselves to fight evil with the weapons that belong to the light. ¹³ We should live in a right way, like people who belong to the day. We should not have wild parties or be drunk. We should not be involved in sexual sin or any kind of immoral behavior. We should not cause arguments and trouble or be jealous. ¹⁴ But be like the Lord Jesus Christ, so that when people see what you do, they will see Christ. Don’t think about how to satisfy the desires of your sinful self.