But these things are written so that you can believe that Jesus is the Christ, {\cf2\super [268]} the Son of God. Then, by believing, you can have life through his name.
Don’t offer the parts of your body to serve sin. Don’t use your bodies as things to do evil with. But you should offer yourselves to God. Be like people that have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used for doing good.
In the same way, my brothers and sisters, your old selves died and you became free from the law {\cf2\super [52]} through the body of Christ. Now you belong to someone else. You belong to the One (Christ) that was raised from death. We belong to Christ so that we can be used in service to God.
In the past, the law held us like prisoners. But our old selves died and we were made free from the law. So now we serve God in a new way, not in the old way with the written rules. Now we serve God in the new way with the Spirit. {\cf2\super [53]}
You died with Christ and were made free from the worthless rules of the world. So why do you act like you still belong to this world? I mean, why do you follow rules like these:
Everything you say and everything you do should all be done for Jesus your Lord (Master). And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin and live for what is right. By his (Christ’s) wounds you were healed.
You also are like living stones. God is using you to build a spiritual temple. {\cf2\super [14]} You are to serve God in that temple as holy {\cf2\super [15]} priests. You are to give spiritual sacrifices {\cf2\super [16]} to God that he will accept because of Jesus Christ.
The person who speaks should speak words from God. The person who serves should serve with the strength that God gives. You should do these things so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.