Romans 1:8-9

Paul’s Desire to Visit Rome

1:8 First of all, ¹  I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the whole world. 1:9 For God, whom I serve in my spirit by preaching the gospel ²  of his Son, is my witness that ³  I continually remember you

Romans 6:17

6:17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed ⁴  from the heart that pattern ⁵  of teaching you were entrusted to,

Romans 6:1

The Believer’s Freedom from Sin’s Domination

6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase?

Colossians 1:4

1:4 since ⁶  we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints.

¹ tn Grk “First.” Paul never mentions a second point, so J. B. Phillips translated “I must begin by telling you….”

² tn Grk “whom I serve in my spirit in the gospel.”

³ tn Grk “as.”

⁴ tn Grk “you were slaves of sin but you obeyed.”

⁵ tn Or “type, form.”

⁶ tn The adverbial participle ἀκούσαντες (akousante") is understood to be temporal and translated with “since.” A causal idea may also be in the apostle’s mind, but the context emphasizes temporal ideas, e.g., “from the day” (v. 6).