12
Living Sacrifices to God
1 I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, your reasonable religious service.
2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may determine what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.
3 For by the grace given to me I tell everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think sensibly, in accordance with the measure of faith that God has distributed to each one of you.
4 For just as in one body we have many members, and all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
6 We have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If someone's gift is prophecy, he should prophesy in proportion to his faith;
7 if it is service, he should serve; if it is teaching, he should teach;
8 if it is exhortation, he should exhort; if it is giving, he should do so generously; if it is leadership, he should do so diligently; if it is showing mercy, he should do so cheerfully.
9 Love must be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.
10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Take the lead in honoring one another.
11 Do not lack diligence in zeal, but be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.
12 Rejoice in hope, persevere in tribulation, and persist in prayer.
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, and pursue 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, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
17 Repay no one evil for evil, but have regard for what is right in the sight of all.
18 If possible, as far as it depends on you, be at peace with everyone.
19 Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord.”
20 Therefore, “if yoʋr enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by doing so, yoʋ will heap coals of fire on his head.”
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.