So then, ¹  it does not depend on human desire or exertion, ²  but on God who shows mercy.

on the day when God will judge ¹  the secrets of human hearts, ²  according to my gospel ³  through Christ Jesus.

To them belong the patriarchs, ¹  and from them, ²  by human descent, ³  came the Christ, ⁴  who is God over all, blessed forever! ⁵  Amen.

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates ¹  the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? ²  (I am speaking in human terms.) ³ 

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings ¹  or birds or four-footed animals ²  or reptiles.

But who indeed are you – a mere human being ¹  – to talk back to God? ²  Does what is molded say to the molder, “Why have you made me like this?” ³ 

Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being ¹  shown up as a liar, ²  just as it is written: “so that you will be justified ³  in your words and will prevail when you are judged.” ⁴ 

(I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.) ¹  For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

concerning his Son who was a descendant ¹  of David with reference to the flesh, ² 

There will be ¹  affliction and distress on everyone ²  who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek, ³ 

What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to the flesh, ¹  has discovered regarding this matter? ² 

For no one is declared righteous before him ¹  by the works of the law, ²  for through the law comes ³  the knowledge of sin.

For the one who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people. ¹ 

Against hope Abraham ¹  believed ²  in hope with the result that he became the father of many nations ³  according to the pronouncement, ⁴  “so will your descendants be.” ⁵ 

So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people ¹  because ²  all sinned –

For God achieved what the law could not do because ¹  it was weakened through the flesh. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and concerning sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,