Romans 1:1-32, NLT
Romans 1
Greetings from Paul
1This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News.
6And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ.
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
God’s Good News
8Let me say first that I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world.
10One of the things I always pray for is the opportunity, God willing, to come at last to see you.
13I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters,*1:13 Greek brothers. that I planned many times to visit you, but I was prevented until now. I want to work among you and see spiritual fruit, just as I have seen among other Gentiles.
16For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.*1:16 Greek also the Greek.
God’s Anger at Sin
18But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.*1:18 Or who, by their wickedness, prevent the truth from being known.
21Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
24So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies.
28Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.