There is no condemnation now for those who live in union with Christ Jesus.

But God has brought you into union with Christ Jesus, and God has made Christ to be our wisdom. By him we are put right with God; we become God's holy people and are set free.

Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the old is gone, the new has come.

So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.

At that time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God's chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God's promises to his people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God.

So Christ came and preached the Good News of peace to all---to you Gentiles, who were far away from God, and to the Jews, who were near to him.

So then, you Gentiles are not foreigners or strangers any longer; you are now citizens together with God's people and members of the family of God.

He is the one who holds the whole building together and makes it grow into a sacred temple dedicated to the Lord.

In past times human beings were not told this secret, but God has revealed it now by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets.

I was made a servant of the gospel by God's special gift, which he gave me through the working of his power.

All who see me make fun of me; they stick out their tongues and shake their heads.

Those who abandon you will certainly perish; you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.

A day is coming when the new king from the royal line of David will be a symbol to the nations. They will gather in his royal city and give him honor.

and those in the East will praise him. The people who live along the sea will praise the LORD, the God of Israel.

From the most distant parts of the world we will hear songs in praise of Israel, the righteous nation. But there is no hope for me! I am wasting away! Traitors continue to betray, and their treachery grows worse and worse.

I will tell the north to let them go and the south not to hold them back. Let my people return from distant lands, from every part of the world.

My people will come from far away, from the north and the west, and from Aswan in the south."

I offer peace to all, both near and far! I will heal my people.

Look around you and see what is happening: Your people are gathering to come home! Your sons will come from far away; Your daughters will be carried like children.

They are ships coming from distant lands, Bringing God's people home. They bring with them silver and gold To honor the name of the LORD, The holy God of Israel, Who has made all nations honor his people.

and will know that I am the one who punishes them. "But I will spare some of them and send them to the nations and the distant lands that have not heard of my fame or seen my greatness and power: to Spain, Libya, and Lydia, with its skilled archers, and to Tubal and Greece. Among these nations they will proclaim my greatness.

LORD, you are the one who protects me and gives me strength; you help me in times of trouble. Nations will come to you from the ends of the earth and say, "Our ancestors had nothing but false gods, nothing but useless idols.

For God's promise was made to you and your children, and to all who are far away---all whom the Lord our God calls to himself."

Simon has just explained how God first showed his care for the Gentiles by taking from among them a people to belong to him.

'Go,' the Lord said to me, 'for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' "

You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people.'

For I tell you that Christ's life of service was on behalf of the Jews, to show that God is faithful, to make his promises to their ancestors come true,

Again it says, "Rejoice, Gentiles, with God's people!"

And again, Isaiah says, "A descendant of Jesse will appear; he will come to rule the Gentiles, and they will put their hope in him."

By his death on the cross Christ destroyed their enmity; by means of the cross he united both races into one body and brought them back to God.

For by the blood of Christ we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. How great is the grace of God,

everyone has sinned and is far away from God's saving presence.

God offered him, so that by his blood he should become the means by which people's sins are forgiven through their faith in him. God did this in order to demonstrate that he is righteous. In the past he was patient and overlooked people's sins; but in the present time he deals with their sins, in order to demonstrate his righteousness. In this way God shows that he himself is righteous and that he puts right everyone who believes in Jesus.

What, then, can we boast about? Nothing! And what is the reason for this? Is it that we obey the Law? No, but that we believe.

Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles also? Of course he is.

By his blood we are now put right with God; how much more, then, will we be saved by him from God's anger!

We were God's enemies, but he made us his friends through the death of his Son. Now that we are God's friends, how much more will we be saved by Christ's life!

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.

Here we are, then, speaking for Christ, as though God himself were making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ's behalf: let God change you from enemies into his friends!

Christ was without sin, but for our sake God made him share our sin in order that in union with him we might share the righteousness of God.

He rescued us from the power of darkness and brought us safe into the kingdom of his dear Son,

by whom we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven.

At one time you were far away from God and were his enemies because of the evil things you did and thought.

But now, by means of the physical death of his Son, God has made you his friends, in order to bring you, holy, pure, and faultless, into his presence.

That is why even the first covenant went into effect only with the use of blood.

For you know what was paid to set you free from the worthless manner of life handed down by your ancestors. It was not something that can be destroyed, such as silver or gold;

it was the costly sacrifice of Christ, who was like a lamb without defect or flaw.

For Christ died for sins once and for all, a good man on behalf of sinners, in order to lead you to God. He was put to death physically, but made alive spiritually,

They sang a new song: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to break open its seals. For you were killed, and by your sacrificial death you bought for God people from every tribe, language, nation, and race.