Now we know that everything in the Law applies to those who live under the Law, in order to stop all human excuses and bring the whole world under God's judgment.

For no one is put right in God's sight by doing what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make us know that we have sinned.

The Law brings down God's anger; but where there is no law, there is no disobeying of the law.

Sin must not be your master; for you do not live under law but under God's grace.

For when we lived according to our human nature, the sinful desires stirred up by the Law were at work in our bodies, and all we did ended in death.

Shall we say, then, that the Law itself is sinful? Of course not! But it was the Law that made me know what sin is. If the Law had not said, "Do not desire what belongs to someone else," I would not have known such a desire.

I myself was once alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life,

Sin found its chance, and by means of the commandment it deceived me and killed me.

But does this mean that what is good caused my death? By no means! It was sin that did it; by using what is good, sin brought death to me, in order that its true nature as sin might be revealed. And so, by means of the commandment sin is shown to be even more terribly sinful.

They would not have been guilty of sin if I had not come and spoken to them; as it is, they no longer have any excuse for their sin.

The Law was carved in letters on stone tablets, and God's glory appeared when it was given. Even though the brightness on Moses' face was fading, it was so strong that the people of Israel could not keep their eyes fixed on him. If the Law, which brings death when it is in force, came with such glory,

The system which brings condemnation was glorious; how much more glorious is the activity which brings salvation!

What, then, was the purpose of the Law? It was added in order to show what wrongdoing is, and it was meant to last until the coming of Abraham's descendant, to whom the promise was made. The Law was handed down by angels, with a man acting as a go-between.

Does this mean that the Law is against God's promises? No, not at all! For if human beings had received a law that could bring life, then everyone could be put right with God by obeying it.

But before the time for faith came, the Law kept us all locked up as prisoners until this coming faith should be revealed.

Now that the time for faith is here, the Law is no longer in charge of us.

What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God's grace will increase?

Manasseh led the people of Judah to commit even greater sins than those committed by the nations whom the LORD had driven out of the land as his people advanced.

So the LORD let the commanders of the Assyrian army invade Judah. They captured Manasseh, stuck hooks in him, put him in chains, and took him to Babylon.

God accepted Manasseh's prayer and answered it by letting him go back to Jerusalem and rule again. This convinced Manasseh that the LORD was God.

Keep your promise, LORD, and forgive my sins, for they are many.

The LORD says, "Now, let's settle the matter. You are stained red with sin, but I will wash you as clean as snow. Although your stains are deep red, you will be as white as wool.

You didn't buy incense for me or satisfy me with the fat of your animals. Instead you burdened me with your sins; you wore me out with the wrongs you have committed.

And yet, I am the God who forgives your sins, and I do this because of who I am. I will not hold your sins against you.

Judah also saw that I divorced Israel and sent her away because she had turned from me and had become a prostitute. But Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, was not afraid. She too became a prostitute

And after all this, Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, only pretended to return to me; she was not sincere. I, the LORD, have spoken."

He told me to go and say to Israel, "Unfaithful Israel, come back to me. I am merciful and will not be angry; I will not be angry with you forever.

"Unfaithful people, come back; you belong to me. I will take one of you from each town and two from each clan, and I will bring you back to Mount Zion.

And now you will have to endure your disgrace. Your sins are so much worse than those of your sisters that they look innocent beside you. Now blush and bear your shame, because you make your sisters look pure."

But I will honor the covenant I made with you when you were young, and I will make a covenant with you that will last forever.

I will renew my covenant with you, and you will know that I am the LORD.

I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you.

I will put my spirit in you and will see to it that you follow my laws and keep all the commands I have given you.

I will save you from everything that defiles you. I will command the grain to be plentiful, so that you will not have any more famines.

You will remember your evil conduct and the wrongs that you committed, and you will be disgusted with yourselves because of your sins and your iniquities.

There is no other god like you, O LORD; you forgive the sins of your people who have survived. You do not stay angry forever, but you take pleasure in showing us your constant love.

You will be merciful to us once again. You will trample our sins underfoot and send them to the bottom of the sea!

Go and find out what is meant by the scripture that says: 'It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.' I have not come to call respectable people, but outcasts."

I tell you, then, the great love she has shown proves that her many sins have been forgiven. But whoever has been forgiven little shows only a little love."

One of the criminals hanging there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!"

Ours, however, is only right, because we are getting what we deserve for what we did; but he has done no wrong."

Jesus said to him, "I promise you that today you will be in Paradise with me."

The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life---life in all its fullness.

Surely you know that the wicked will not possess God's Kingdom. Do not fool yourselves; people who are immoral or who worship idols or are adulterers or homosexual perverts

Some of you were like that. But you have been purified from sin; you have been dedicated to God; you have been put right with God by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Let us praise God for his glorious grace, for the free gift he gave us in his dear Son!

which he gave to us in such large measure! In all his wisdom and insight

In the past you were spiritually dead because of your disobedience and sins.

Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger.

that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God's grace that you have been saved.

even though in the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet have faith and so did not know what I was doing.

This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them,

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them.

he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us.

so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for.