Epistle of Romans bible study chapters 9 through 16

            Here are the last 8 chapters in the Pauline epistle of the Romans with all of its messages, including the wonderful message of salvation and how to obtain it by faith. There are many other encouragements and lessons in these 8 chapters here is a link to the note with the first 8 chapters of the epistle to the Romans:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/jay-dougherty/epistle-to-the-romans-bible-study-chapters-1-through-8/10200621686958189

Chapter 9 speaks of the patriarchs and the fact that God has mercy on whom He will, and also can harden who He will and that we are to believe in Him by faith

(Romans 9:1)  I am speaking the truth in Christ--I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit--

(Romans 9:2)  that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.

(Romans 9:3)  For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

(Romans 9:4)  They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises.

(Romans 9:5)  To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen.

(Romans 9:6)  But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel,

(Romans 9:7)  and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named."

(Romans 9:8)  This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.

(Romans 9:9)  For this is what the promise said: "About this time next year I will return, and Sarah shall have a son."

(Romans 9:10)  And not only so, but also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac,

(Romans 9:11)  though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls--

(Romans 9:12)  she was told, "The older will serve the younger."

(Romans 9:13)  As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

(Romans 9:14)  What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God's part? By no means!

(Romans 9:15)  For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."

(Romans 9:16)  So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.

(Romans 9:17)  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

(Romans 9:18)  So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

(Romans 9:19)  You will say to me then, "Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?"

(Romans 9:20)  But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?"

(Romans 9:21)  Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use?

(Romans 9:22)  What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

(Romans 9:23)  in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory--

(Romans 9:24)  even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?

(Romans 9:25)  As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'"

(Romans 9:26)  "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'"

(Romans 9:27)  And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,

(Romans 9:28)  for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay."

(Romans 9:29)  And as Isaiah predicted, "If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah."

(Romans 9:30)  What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith;

(Romans 9:31)  but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.

(Romans 9:32)  Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone,

(Romans 9:33)  as it is written, "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame."

Paul’s wish to see people be saved then expresses the idea that salvation is by faith, and also by confessing Jesus as their personal Lord and believing God raised Him from the dead then said that this faith comes from hearing and hearing the word of God which is often preached by other people.

(Romans 10:1)  Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.

(Romans 10:2)  For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.

(Romans 10:3)  For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.

(Romans 10:4)  For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

(Romans 10:5)  For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them.

(Romans 10:6)  But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down)

(Romans 10:7)  or "'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).

(Romans 10:8)  But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim);

(Romans 10:9)  because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

(Romans 10:10)  For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

(Romans 10:11)  For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."

(Romans 10:12)  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.

(Romans 10:13)  For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

(Romans 10:14)  How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

(Romans 10:15)  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

(Romans 10:16)  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?"

(Romans 10:17)  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

(Romans 10:18)  But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for "Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world."

(Romans 10:19)  But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, "I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry."

(Romans 10:20)  Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, "I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me."

(Romans 10:21)  But of Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people."

Romans 11 talks about the Jews being hardened and made jealous with the purpose so the gentiles can be grafted into the tree as wild branches in their place, but warns the gentiles(us)  to fear for God can cut us off too if we also drift away into unbelief. He also can graft back into His tree those Jews who DO believe, as well.

(Romans 11:1)  I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.

(Romans 11:2)  God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?

(Romans 11:3)  "Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life."

(Romans 11:4)  But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal."

(Romans 11:5)  So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace.

(Romans 11:6)  But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

(Romans 11:7)  What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,

(Romans 11:8)  as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day."

(Romans 11:9)  And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them;

(Romans 11:10)  let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever."

(Romans 11:11)  So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous.

(Romans 11:12)  Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean!

(Romans 11:13)  Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry

(Romans 11:14)  in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them.

(Romans 11:15)  For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?

(Romans 11:16)  If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

(Romans 11:17)  But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,

(Romans 11:18)  do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.

(Romans 11:19)  Then you will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in."

(Romans 11:20)  That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.

(Romans 11:21)  For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.

(Romans 11:22)  Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.

(Romans 11:23)  And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.

(Romans 11:24)  For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

(Romans 11:25)  Lest you be wise in your own sight, I want you to understand this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

(Romans 11:26)  And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob";

(Romans 11:27)  "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins."

(Romans 11:28)  As regards the gospel, they are enemies of God for your sake. But as regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers.

(Romans 11:29)  For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

(Romans 11:30)  For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience,

(Romans 11:31)  so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy.

(Romans 11:32)  For God has consigned all to disobedience, that he may have mercy on all.

(Romans 11:33)  Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!

(Romans 11:34)  "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"

(Romans 11:35)  "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?"

(Romans 11:36)  For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.

Chapter 12 then talks about having us all presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice, Holy and acceptable to God and doing His service, also that we are having various gifts that God gave us for His use , and other exhortations including being diligent, serving others and never repaying evil with evil but blessing others and overcoming evil with good and even to look after and care for our enemies

(Romans 12:1)  I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

(Romans 12:2)  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

(Romans 12:3)  For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

(Romans 12:4)  For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function,

(Romans 12:5)  so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

(Romans 12:6)  Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith;

(Romans 12:7)  if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching;

(Romans 12:8)  the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

(Romans 12:9)  Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

(Romans 12:10)  Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

(Romans 12:11)  Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

(Romans 12:12)  Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

(Romans 12:13)  Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

(Romans 12:14)  Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

(Romans 12:15)  Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.

(Romans 12:16)  Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

(Romans 12:17)  Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

(Romans 12:18)  If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

(Romans 12:19)  Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

(Romans 12:20)  To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

(Romans 12:21)  Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Chapter 13 encourages people to be submissive to the governments over them because God put it there, and resisting them is resting God, the commandments given us are merely loving God and loving our neighbor as ourselves all the laws go to that, and especially putting on Jesus

(Romans 13:1)  Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.

(Romans 13:2)  Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

(Romans 13:3)  For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval,

(Romans 13:4)  for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer.

(Romans 13:5)  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience.

(Romans 13:6)  For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.

(Romans 13:7)  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.

(Romans 13:8)  Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

(Romans 13:9)  For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet," and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

(Romans 13:10)  Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

(Romans 13:11)  Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

(Romans 13:12)  The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

(Romans 13:13)  Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

(Romans 13:14)  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Chapter 14 reminds us whatever we do to be mindful of our brethren especially to not make him stumble, for we live and die to the Lord and it is not loving to cause our brother to stumble by doing things that offend him

(Romans 14:1)  As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.

(Romans 14:2)  One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables.

(Romans 14:3)  Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.

(Romans 14:4)  Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

(Romans 14:5)  One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

(Romans 14:6)  The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

(Romans 14:7)  For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself.

(Romans 14:8)  For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.

(Romans 14:9)  For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

(Romans 14:10)  Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

(Romans 14:11)  for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

(Romans 14:12)  So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

(Romans 14:13)  Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.

(Romans 14:14)  I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.

(Romans 14:15)  For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

(Romans 14:16)  So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil.

(Romans 14:17)  For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

(Romans 14:18)  Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.

(Romans 14:19)  So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

(Romans 14:20)  Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.

(Romans 14:21)  It is good not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that causes your brother to stumble.

(Romans 14:22)  The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves.

(Romans 14:23)  But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Chapter 15 then says we are to live in harmony with each other to build us up around Jesus. He then encourages the Jews to be a minister to the gentiles and all to be built up in peace then at the end Paul asks for prayers for him from the Roman believers to whom this epistle is written:

(Romans 15:1)  We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

(Romans 15:2)  Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

(Romans 15:3)  For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."

(Romans 15:4)  For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

(Romans 15:5)  May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

(Romans 15:6)  that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Romans 15:7)  Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

(Romans 15:8)  For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs,

(Romans 15:9)  and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name."

(Romans 15:10)  And again it is said, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people."

(Romans 15:11)  And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him."

(Romans 15:12)  And again Isaiah says, "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope."

(Romans 15:13)  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

(Romans 15:14)  I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.

(Romans 15:15)  But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God

(Romans 15:16)  to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

(Romans 15:17)  In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.

(Romans 15:18)  For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience--by word and deed,

(Romans 15:19)  by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God--so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ;

(Romans 15:20)  and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation,

(Romans 15:21)  but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."

(Romans 15:22)  This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.

(Romans 15:23)  But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you,

(Romans 15:24)  I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while.

(Romans 15:25)  At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints.

(Romans 15:26)  For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.

(Romans 15:27)  For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.

(Romans 15:28)  When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you.

(Rom 15:29)  I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

(Romans 15:30)  I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,

(Romans 15:31)  that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

(Romans 15:32)  so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.

(Romans15:33)  May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Chapter 16, which is the closing chapter of the epistle Paul encourages greetings to be given various other brothers and sisters in Christ and then wishes grace as the epistle is finished

(Romans 16:1)  I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae,

(Romans 16:2)  that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

(Romans 16:3)  Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

(Romans 16:4)  who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.

(Romans 16:5)  Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia.

(Romans 16:6)  Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.

(Romans 16:7)  Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.

(Romans 16:8)  Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.

(Romans 16:9)  Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.

(Romans 16:10)  Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.

(Romans 16:11)  Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus.

(Romans 16:12)  Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.

(Romans 16:13)  Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.

(Romans 16:14)  Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them.

(Romans 16:15)  Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.

(Romans 16:16)  Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

(Romans 16:17)  I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.

(Romans 16:18)  For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

(Romans 16:19)  For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil.

(Romans 16:20)  The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

(Romans 16:21)  Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

(Romans 16:22)  I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

(Romans 16:23)  Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

(Romans 16:24)  [The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.]

(Romans 16:25)  Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages

(Romans 16:26)  but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith--

(Romans 16:27)  to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

In these chapters we have encouragements to be living sacrifices to Christ and to be living in love and consideration to our brethren, for in so doing we do indeed fulfill the law. It does say being saved comes from hearing the word of God, then confessing the Lord Jesus and believing God raised Him from the dead which He indeed did. I am concluding this with a prayer which you can invite Jesus in your heart and be saved Paul says in the epistle. You can also use this prayer to repent and return to Jesus. Please pray this with me

Dear God in heaven, I come to you in the name of Jesus. I acknowledge to You that I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sins and the life that I have lived; I need your forgiveness. I believe that your only begotten Son Jesus Christ shed His precious blood on the cross at Calvary and died for my sins, and I am now willing to turn from my sin. You said in Your Holy Word, Romans 10:9 that if we confess Jesus as our Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead, we will be saved. Right now I confess Jesus as the Lord of my soul. With my heart, I believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. This very moment I accept Jesus Christ as my own personal Savior and according to His Word, right now I am saved. Thank you Jesus for your unlimited grace which has saved me from my sins. I thank you Jesus that your grace never leads to license, but rather it always leads to repentance. Therefore Lord Jesus transform my life so that I may bring glory and honor to you alone and not to myself. Thank you Jesus for dying for me and giving me eternal life.

Amen.

God bless you and yours