Right with God

5 We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have^[a] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. ² Through our faith,^[b] Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory. ³ And we also have joy with our troubles because we know that these troubles produce patience. ⁴ And patience produces character, and character produces hope. ⁵ And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. God gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.

⁶ Christ died for us while we were still weak. We were living against God, but at the right time, Christ died for us. ⁷ Very few people will die to save the life of someone else. Although perhaps for a good man someone might possibly die. ⁸ But Christ died for us while we were still sinners. In this way God shows his great love for us.

⁹ We have been made right with God by the blood of Christ’s death. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God’s anger. ¹⁰ I mean that while we were God’s enemies, God made us his friends through the death of his Son. Surely, now that we are God’s friends, God will save us through his Son’s life. ¹¹ And not only that, but now we are also very happy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Jesus we are now God’s friends again.

Adam and Christ

¹² Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin came death. And this is why all men must die—because all men sinned. ¹³ Sin was in the world before the law of Moses. But God does not judge people guilty of sin if there is no law. ¹⁴ But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, everyone had to die. Adam died because he sinned by not obeying God’s command. But even those who did not sin in the same way had to die.

Adam was like the One who was coming in the future. ¹⁵ But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace that they received from God was much greater. Many people received God’s gift of life by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ. ¹⁶ After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. God’s free gift came after many sins. And the gift makes people right with God. ¹⁷ One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now some people accept God’s full grace and the great gift of being made right with him. They will surely have true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ So one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, one good act that Christ did makes all people right with God. And that brings true life for all. ¹⁹ One man disobeyed God, and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God, and many will be made right. ²⁰ The law came to make people have more sin. But when people had more sin, God gave them more of his grace. ²¹ Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave people more of his grace so that grace could rule by making people right with him. And this brings life forever through Jesus Christ our Lord.