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A person might say, “When I lie, it really gives God glory, because my lie shows God’s truth. So why am I judged a sinner?”


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It would be the same to say, “We should do evil so that good will come.” Some people find fault with us and say that we teach this. Those who say such things about us are wrong, and they should be punished.


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All People Are Guilty So are we Jews better than others? No! We have already said that Jews and non-Jews are the same. They are all guilty of sin.


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“Their throats are like open graves. They use their tongues for telling lies.” “Their words are like snake’s poison.”


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The law commands many things. We know that those commands are for those who are under the law. This stops all excuses and brings the whole world under God’s judgment,


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How God Makes People Right But God has a way to make people right with him without the law. And God has now shown us that way which the law and the prophets told us about.


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God makes people right with himself through their faith in Jesus Christ. This is true for all who believe in Christ, because all are the same.


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People are made right with God by his grace, which is a free gift. They are made right with God by being made free from sin through Jesus Christ.


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God sent him to die in our place to take away our sins. We receive forgiveness through faith. And all of this is because of the blood of Jesus’ death. This showed that God always does what is right and fair. God was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins.


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And God gave Jesus to show today that God does what is right. God did this so that he could judge rightly and also make right any person who has faith in Jesus.


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So do we have a reason to brag about ourselves? No! And why not? It is the way of faith that stops all bragging, not the way of following the law.


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Of course he is, for there is only one God. He will make Jews right with him by their faith. And he will also make non-Jews right with him through their faith.


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So do we destroy the law by following the way of faith? No! Faith causes us to be what the law truly wants.


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The Example of Abraham So what can we say about Abraham, the father of our people? What did he learn about faith?


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If Abraham was made right by the things he did, then he had a reason to brag. But he could not brag before God.


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But a person cannot do any work that will make him right with God. So he must trust in God. Then God accepts his faith, and that makes him right with God. God is the One who can make even those who are evil right in his sight.


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David said the same thing. He said that a person is truly blessed when God does not look at what he has done but accepts him as good:


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Is this blessing only for those who are circumcised? Or is it also for those who are not circumcised? We have already said that God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.


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So how did this happen? Did God accept Abraham before or after he was circumcised? God accepted him before his circumcision.


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Abraham was circumcised later to show that God accepted him. His circumcision was proof that he was right with God through faith before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the father of all those who believe but are not circumcised. He is the father of all believers who are accepted as being right with God.


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And Abraham is also the father of those who have been circumcised. But it is not their circumcision that makes him their father. He is their father only if they live following the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.


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God Keeps His Promise Abraham and his descendants received the promise that they would get the whole world. But Abraham did not receive that promise through the law. He received it because he was right with God through his faith.


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If people could receive what God promised by following the law, then faith is worthless. And God’s promise to Abraham is worthless,


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because the law can only bring God’s anger. But if there is no law, then there is nothing to disobey.


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So people receive God’s promise by having faith. This happens so that the promise can be a free gift. And if the promise is a free gift, then all of Abraham’s children can have that promise. The promise is not only for those people that live under the law of Moses. It is for anyone who lives with faith like Abraham. He is the father of us all.


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As it is written in the Scriptures: “I am making you a father of many nations.” This is true before God. Abraham believed in God—the God who gives life to the dead and decides that things will happen that have not yet happened.


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There was no hope that Abraham would have children. But Abraham believed God and continued hoping. And that is why he became the father of many nations. As God told him, “Your descendants will also be too many to count.”


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Abraham was almost 100 years old, much past the age for having children. Also, Sarah could not have children. Abraham thought about all this. But his faith in God did not become weak.


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He never doubted that God would keep his promise. Abraham never stopped believing. He grew stronger in his faith and gave praise to God.


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They were written also for us. God will accept us also because we believe. We believe in the One who raised Jesus our Lord from death.


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Right with God We have been made right with God because of our faith. So we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.


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Through our faith, Christ has brought us into that blessing of God’s grace that we now enjoy. And we are happy because of the hope we have of sharing God’s glory.


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And this hope will never disappoint us, because God has poured out his love to fill our hearts. God gave us his love through the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to us.


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Christ died for us while we were still weak. We were living against God, but at the right time, Christ died for us.


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Very few people will die to save the life of someone else. Although perhaps for a good man someone might possibly die.


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We have been made right with God by the blood of Christ’s death. So through Christ we will surely be saved from God’s anger.


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I mean that while we were God’s enemies, God made us his friends through the death of his Son. Surely, now that we are God’s friends, God will save us through his Son’s life.


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And not only that, but now we are also very happy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Jesus we are now God’s friends again.


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Adam and Christ Sin came into the world because of what one man did. And with sin came death. And this is why all men must die—because all men sinned.


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Sin was in the world before the law of Moses. But God does not judge people guilty of sin if there is no law.


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But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, everyone had to die. Adam died because he sinned by not obeying God’s command. But even those who did not sin in the same way had to die. Adam was like the One who was coming in the future.


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But God’s free gift is not like Adam’s sin. Many people died because of the sin of that one man. But the grace that they received from God was much greater. Many people received God’s gift of life by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.


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After Adam sinned once, he was judged guilty. But the gift of God is different. God’s free gift came after many sins. And the gift makes people right with God.


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One man sinned, and so death ruled all people because of that one man. But now some people accept God’s full grace and the great gift of being made right with him. They will surely have true life and rule through the one man, Jesus Christ.


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So one sin of Adam brought the punishment of death to all people. But in the same way, one good act that Christ did makes all people right with God. And that brings true life for all.


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One man disobeyed God, and many became sinners. But in the same way, one man obeyed God, and many will be made right.


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The law came to make people have more sin. But when people had more sin, God gave them more of his grace.


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Sin once used death to rule us. But God gave people more of his grace so that grace could rule by making people right with him. And this brings life forever through Jesus Christ our Lord.


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Dead to Sin but Alive in Christ So do you think that we should continue sinning so that God will give us more and more grace?


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Did you forget that all of us became part of Christ when we were baptized? We shared his death in our baptism.


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So when we were baptized, we were buried with Christ and shared his death. We were buried with him so that we could live a new life, just as Christ was raised from death by the wonderful power of the Father.


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Christ died, and we have been joined with Christ by dying too. So we will also be joined with him by rising from death as he did.


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We know that our old life died with Christ on the cross. This was so that our sinful selves would have no power over us, and we would not be slaves to sin.


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Christ was raised from death. And we know that he cannot die again. Death has no power over him now.


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Yes, when Christ died, he died to defeat the power of sin one time—enough for all time. He now has a new life, and his new life is with God.


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In the same way, you should see yourselves as being dead to the power of sin and alive with God through Christ Jesus.


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So, do not let sin control you in your life here on earth. You must not be ruled by the things your sinful self makes you want to do.


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Do not offer the parts of your body to serve sin. Do not use your bodies as things to do evil with, but offer yourselves to God. Be like people who have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used for doing good.


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Slaves of Righteousness So what should we do? Should we sin because we are under grace and not under law? No!


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Surely you know that when you give yourselves like slaves to obey someone, then you are really slaves of that person. The person you obey is your master. You can follow sin, or obey God. Sin brings spiritual death. But obeying God makes you right with him.


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In the past you were slaves to sin—sin controlled you. But thank God, you fully obeyed the things that were taught to you.


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I use this example because this is hard for you to understand. In the past you offered the parts of your body to be slaves to sin and evil. You lived only for evil. In the same way now you must give yourselves to be slaves of goodness. Then you will live only for God.


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But now you are free from sin and have become slaves of God. This brings you a life that is only for God. And this gives you life forever.


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The payment for sin is death. But God gives us the free gift of life forever in Christ Jesus our Lord.


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An Example from Marriage Brothers, all of you understand the law of Moses. So surely you know that the law rules over a person only while he is alive.


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For example, a woman must stay married to her husband as long as he is alive. But if her husband dies, then she is free from the law of marriage.


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But if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, the law says she is guilty of adultery. But if her husband dies, then the woman is free from the law of marriage. So if she marries another man after her husband dies, she is not guilty of adultery.


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In the same way, my brothers, your old selves died, and you became free from the law through the body of Christ. Now you belong to someone else. You belong to the One who was raised from death. We belong to Christ so that we can be used in service to God.


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In the past, we were ruled by our sinful selves. The law made us want to do sinful things. And those sinful things we wanted to do controlled our bodies, so that the things we did were only bringing us death.


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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 written rules. Now we serve God in the new way, with the Spirit.


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Our Fight Against Sin You might think that I am saying that sin and the law are the same thing. That is not true. But the law was the only way I could learn what sin meant. I would never have known what it means to want something wrong if the law had not said, “You must not want to take your neighbor’s things.”


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And sin found a way to use that command and cause me to want every kind of wrong thing. So sin came to me because of that command. But without the law, sin has no power.


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I was alive without the law before I knew the law. But when the law’s command came to me, then sin began to live.


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And I died because of sin. The command was meant to bring life, but for me that command brought death.


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Does this mean that something that is good brought death to me? No! Sin used something that is good to bring death to me. This happened so that I could see what sin is really like. The command was used to show that sin is something very evil.


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The War Within Man We know that the law is spiritual. But I am not spiritual. Sin rules me as if I were its slave.


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I do not understand the things I do. I do not do the good things I want to do. And I do the bad things I hate to do.


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But I am not really the one who is doing these bad things. It is sin living in me that does these things.


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Yes, I know that nothing good lives in me—I mean nothing good lives in the part of me that is earthly and sinful. I want to do the things that are good. But I do not do them.


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So if I do things I do not want to do, then I am not the one doing those things. It is sin living in me that does those bad things.


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But I see another law working in my body. That law makes war against the law that my mind accepts. That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and that law makes me its prisoner.


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God will. I thank him for saving me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So in my mind I am a slave to God’s law. But in my sinful self I am a slave to the law of sin.


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I am not judged guilty because in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit that brings life made me free. It made me free from the law that brings sin and death.


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The law was without power, because the law was made weak by our sinful selves. But God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son to earth with the same human life that others use for sin. He sent his Son to be an offering to pay for sin. So God used a human life to destroy sin.


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He did this so that we could be right as the law said we must be. Now we do not live following our sinful selves, but we live following the Spirit.


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Those who live following their sinful selves think only about things that their sinful selves want. But those who live following the Spirit are thinking about the things that the Spirit wants them to do.


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If a person’s thinking is controlled by his sinful self, then there is death. But if his thinking is controlled by the Spirit, then there is life and peace.


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This is true because if a person’s thinking is controlled by his sinful self, then he is against God. He refuses to obey God’s law. And really he is not able to obey God’s law.


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But you are not ruled by your sinful selves. You are ruled by the Spirit, if that Spirit of God really lives in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, then he does not belong to Christ.


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Your body will always be dead because of sin. But if Christ is in you, then the Spirit gives you life, because Christ made you right with God.


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God raised Jesus from death. And if God’s Spirit is living in you, then he will also give life to your bodies that die. God is the One who raised Christ from death. And he will give life through his Spirit that lives in you.


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So, my brothers, we must not be ruled by our sinful selves. We must not live the way our sinful selves want.


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If you use your lives to do the wrong things your sinful selves want, then you will die spiritually. But if you use the Spirit’s help to stop doing the wrong things you do with your body, then you will have true life.


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The Spirit that we received is not a spirit that makes us slaves again to fear. The Spirit that we have makes us children of God. And with that Spirit we say, “Father, dear Father.”


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If we are God’s children, then we will receive the blessings God has for us. We will receive these things from God together with Christ. But we must suffer as Christ suffered, and then we will have glory as Christ has glory.


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Our Future Glory We have sufferings now. But the sufferings we have now are nothing compared to the great glory that will be given to us.


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Everything that God made is waiting with excitement for the time when God will show the world who his children are. The whole world wants very much for that to happen.


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Everything that God made was changed to become useless. This was not by its own wish. It happened because God wanted it. But there was this hope:


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that everything God made would be set free from ruin. There was hope that everything God made would have the freedom and glory that belong to God’s children.


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We know that everything God made has been waiting until now in pain, like a woman ready to give birth.


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Not only the world, but we also have been waiting with pain inside us. We have the Spirit as the first part of God’s promise. So we are waiting for God to finish making us his own children. I mean we are waiting for our bodies to be made free.


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We were saved, and we have this hope. If we see what we are waiting for, then that is not really hope. People do not hope for something they already have.


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Also, the Spirit helps us. We are very weak, but the Spirit helps us with our weakness. We do not know how to pray as we should. But the Spirit himself speaks to God for us, even begs God for us. The Spirit speaks to God with deep feelings that words cannot explain.


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God can see what is in people’s hearts. And he knows what is in the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit speaks to God for his people in the way that God wants.


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We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. They are the people God called, because that was his plan.


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God knew them before he made the world. And God chose them to be like his Son. Then Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers.


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God planned for them to be like his Son. And those he planned to be like his Son, he also called. And those he called, he also made right with him. And those he made right, he also glorified.


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God’s Love in Christ Jesus So what should we say about this? If God is for us, then no one can defeat us.


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God let even his own Son suffer for us. God gave his Son for us all. So with Jesus, God will surely give us all things.


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Who can say that God’s people are guilty? No one! Christ Jesus died, but that is not all. He was also raised from death. And now he is on God’s right side and is begging God for us.


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Can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us? Can troubles or problems or sufferings? If we have no food or clothes, if we are in danger, or even if death comes—can any of these things separate us from Christ’s love?


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As it is written in the Scriptures: “For you we are in danger of death all the time. People think we are worth no more than sheep to be killed.”


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Yes, I am sure that nothing can separate us from the love God has for us. Not death, not life, not angels, not ruling spirits, nothing now, nothing in the future, no powers, nothing above us, nothing below us, or anything else in the whole world will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


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God and the Jewish People I am in Christ, and I am telling you the truth. I do not lie. My feelings are ruled by the Holy Spirit, and they tell me that I am not lying.


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I wish I could help my Jewish brothers, my people. I would even wish that I were cursed and cut off from Christ if that would help them.


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They are the people of Israel. They were God’s chosen children. They have the glory of God and the agreements that God made between himself and his people. God gave them the law of Moses and the right way of worship. And God gave his promises to them.


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They are the descendants of our great ancestors, and they are the earthly family of Christ. Christ is God over all. Praise him forever! Amen.


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I do not mean that God failed to keep his promise to them. But only some of the people of Israel are truly God’s people.


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And only some of Abraham’s descendants are true children of Abraham. But God said to Abraham: “The descendants I promised you will be from Isaac.”


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This means that not all of Abraham’s descendants are God’s true children. Abraham’s true children are those who become God’s children because of the promise God made to Abraham.


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But before the two boys were born, God told Rebekah, “The older will serve the younger.” This was before the boys had done anything good or bad. God said this before they were born so that the one chosen would be chosen because of God’s own plan. He was chosen because he was the one God wanted to call, not because of anything he did.


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God said to Moses, “I will show kindness to anyone I want to show kindness. I will show mercy to anyone I want to show mercy.”


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So God will choose the one he decides to show mercy to. And his choice does not depend on what people want or try to do.


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The Scripture says to the king of Egypt: “I made you king so I might show my power in you. In this way my name will be talked about in all the earth.”


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So God shows mercy where he wants to show mercy. And he makes stubborn the people he wants to make stubborn.


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So one of you will ask me: “If God controls the things we do, then why does he blame us for our sins? Who can fight his will?”


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Do not ask that. You are only human. And human beings have no right to question God. An object cannot tell the person who made it, “Why did you make me like this?”


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The man who makes a jar can make anything he wants to make. He can use the same clay to make different things. He can make one thing for special use and another thing for daily use.


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It is the same way with what God has done. God wanted to show his anger and to let people see his power. But God patiently stayed with those people he was angry with—people who were ready to be destroyed.


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God waited with patience so that he could make known his rich glory. He wanted to give that glory to the people who receive his mercy. He has prepared these people to have his glory, and


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As the Scripture says in Hosea: “I will say, ‘You are my people’ to those I had called ‘not my people.’ And I will show my love to those people I did not love.” ,


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“Now it is said to Israel, ‘You are not my people.’ But later they will be called ‘children of the living God.’”


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And Isaiah cries out about Israel: “There are so many people of Israel. They are like the grains of sand by the sea. But only a few of them will be saved.


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It is as Isaiah said: “The Lord of heaven’s armies allowed a few of our descendants to live. Otherwise we would have been completely destroyed like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.”


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So what does all this mean? It means this: the non-Jews were not trying to make themselves right with God. But they were made right with God because of their faith.


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And the people of Israel tried to follow a law to make themselves right with God. But they did not succeed,


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because they tried to make themselves right by the things they did. They did not trust in God to make them right. They fell over the stone that causes people to fall.


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As it is written in the Scripture: “I will put in Jerusalem a stone that causes people to stumble. It is a rock that makes them fall. Anyone who trusts in him will not be disappointed.” ;


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They did not know the way that God makes people right with him. And they tried to make themselves right in their own way. So they did not accept God’s way of making people right.


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Moses writes about being made right by following the law. He says, “A person who does these things will have life forever because of them.”


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But this is what the Scripture says about being made right through faith: “Don’t say to yourself, ‘Who will go up into heaven?’” (That means, “Who will go up to heaven to get Christ and bring him down to earth?”)


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“And do not say, ‘Who will go down into the world below?’” (That means, “Who will go down to get Christ and bring him up from death?”)


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This is what the Scripture says: “God’s teaching is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart.” That is the teaching of faith that we tell.


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If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and if you believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from death, then you will be saved.


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We believe with our hearts, and so we are made right with God. And we declare with our mouths to say that we believe, and so we are saved.


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That Scripture says “anyone” because there is no difference between Jew and non-Jew. The same Lord is the Lord of all and gives many blessings to all who trust in him.


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But before people can trust in the Lord for help, they must believe in him. And before they can believe in the Lord, they must hear about him. And for them to hear about the Lord, someone must tell them.


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And before someone can go and tell them, he must be sent. It is written, “How beautiful is the person who comes to bring good news.”


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So faith comes from hearing the Good News. And people hear the Good News when someone tells them about Christ.


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But I ask: Didn’t people hear the Good News? Yes, they heard—as the Scripture says: “Their message went out through all the world. It goes everywhere on earth.”


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Again I ask: Didn’t the people of Israel understand? Yes, they did understand. First, Moses says: “I will use those who are not a nation to make you jealous. I will use a nation that does not understand to make you angry.”


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Then Isaiah is bold enough to say: “I was found by those who were not asking me for help. I made myself known to people who were not looking for me.”


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But about Israel God says, “All day long I stood ready to accept people who disobey and are stubborn.”


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God Shows Mercy to All People So I ask: Did God throw out his people? No! I myself am an Israelite. I am from the family of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin.


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God chose the Israelites to be his people before they were born. And God did not leave his people. Surely you know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he prayed to God against the people of Israel. Elijah said,


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“They have killed your prophets, and they have destroyed your altars. I am the only prophet left. And now they are trying to kill me, too.”


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But what answer did God give Elijah? He said, “But I have left 7,000 people in Israel. Those 7,000 have never bowed down before Baal.”


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And if God chose them by grace, then it is not for the things they have done. If they could be made God’s people by what they did, then God’s gift of grace would not really be a gift.


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So this is what has happened: The people of Israel tried to be right with God. But they did not succeed. But the ones God chose did become right with him. The others became hard and refused to listen to God.


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As it is written in the Scriptures: “God gave the people a dull mind so they could not understand.” “God closed their eyes so they could not see, and God closed their ears so they could not hear. This continues until today.”


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And David says: “Let their own feasts trap them and cause their ruin. Let their feasts cause them to sin and be paid back.


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So I ask: When the Jews fell, did that fall destroy them? No! But their failure brought salvation to the non-Jews. This took place to cause the Jews to be jealous.


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The Jews’ failure brought rich blessings for the world. And what the Jews lost brought rich blessings for the non-Jewish people. So surely the world will get much richer blessings when enough Jews become the kind of people God wants.


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Now I am speaking to you who are not Jews. I am an apostle to the non-Jews. So while I have that work, I will do the best I can.


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God turned away from the Jews. When that happened, God became friends with the other people in the world. So when God accepts the Jews, then surely that will bring to them life after death.


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If the first piece of bread is offered to God, then the whole loaf is made holy. If the roots of a tree are holy, then the tree’s branches are holy too.


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Some of the branches from an olive tree have been broken off, and the branch of a wild olive tree has been joined to that first tree. You non-Jews are the same as that wild branch, and you now share the strength and life of the first tree, the Jews.


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So do not brag about those branches that were broken off. You have no reason to brag. Why? You do not give life to the root. The root gives life to you.


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That is true. But those branches were broken off because they did not believe. And you continue to be part of the tree only because you believe. Do not be proud, but be afraid.


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If God did not let the natural branches of that tree stay, then he will not let you stay if you don’t believe.


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So you see that God is kind, but he can also be very strict. God punishes those who stop following him. But God is kind to you, if you continue following in his kindness. If you do not continue following him, you will be cut off from the tree.


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And if the Jews will believe in God again, then God will accept the Jews back again. God is able to put them back where they were.


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It is not natural for a wild branch to be part of a good tree. But you non-Jews are like a branch cut from a wild olive tree. And you were joined to a good olive tree. But those Jews are like a branch that grew from the good tree. So surely they can be joined to their own tree again.


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I want you to understand this secret truth, brothers. This truth will help you understand that you do not know everything. The truth is this: Part of Israel has been made stubborn. But that will change when many non-Jews have come to God.


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And that is how all Israel will be saved. It is written in the Scriptures: “The Savior will come from Jerusalem; he will take away all evil from the family of Jacob.


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The Jews refuse to accept the Good News, so they are God’s enemies. This has happened to help you non-Jews. But the Jews are still God’s chosen people, and God loves them very much. He loves them because of the promises he made to their ancestors.


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At one time you refused to obey God. But now you have received mercy, because those people refused to obey.


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And now the Jews refuse to obey, because God showed mercy to you. But this happened so that they also can receive mercy from God.


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All people have refused to obey God. God has given them all over to their stubborn ways, so that God can show mercy to all.


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Praise to God Yes, God’s riches are very great! God’s wisdom and knowledge have no end! No one can explain the things God decides. No one can understand God’s ways.


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As the Scripture says, “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been able to give the Lord advice?”


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Yes, God made all things. And everything continues through God and for God. To God be the glory forever! Amen.


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Give Your Lives to God So brothers, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him. This is the spiritual way for you to worship.


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Do not be shaped by this world. Instead be changed within by a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to decide what God wants for you. And you will be able to know what is good and pleasing to God and what is perfect.


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God has given me a special gift. That is why I have something to say to everyone among you. Do not think that you are better than you are. You must see yourself as you really are. Decide what you are by the amount of faith God has given you.


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In the same way, we are many, but in Christ we are all one body. Each one is a part of that body. And each part belongs to all the other parts.


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We all have different gifts. Each gift came because of the grace that God gave us. If one has the gift of prophecy, he should use that gift with the faith he has.


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If one has the gift of encouraging others, he should encourage. If one has the gift of giving to others, he should give freely. If one has the gift of being a leader, he should try hard when he leads. If one has the gift of showing kindness to others, that person should do so with joy.


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Love each other like brothers and sisters. Give your brothers and sisters more honor than you want for yourselves.


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Live together in peace with each other. Do not be proud, but make friends with those who seem unimportant. Do not think how smart you are.


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If someone does wrong to you, do not pay him back by doing wrong to him. Try to do what everyone thinks is right.


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My friends, do not try to punish others when they wrong you. Wait for God to punish them with his anger. It is written: “I am the One who punishes; I will pay people back,” says the Lord.


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But you should do this: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if your enemy is thirsty, give him a drink. Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head.”


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Christians Should Obey the Law All of you must obey the government rulers. No one rules unless God has given him the power to rule. And no one rules now without that power from God.


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So if anyone is against the government, he is really against what God has commanded. And so he brings punishment on himself.


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Those who do right do not have to fear the rulers. But people who do wrong must fear them. Do you want to be unafraid of the rulers? Then do what is right, and the ruler will praise you.


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He is God’s servant to help you. But if you do wrong, then be afraid. The ruler has the power to punish; he is God’s servant to punish those who do wrong.


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So you must obey the government. You must obey not only because you might be punished, but because you know it is the right thing to do.


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Pay everyone, then, what you owe him. If you owe any kind of tax, pay it. Show respect and honor to them all.


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Loving Others Do not owe people anything. But you will always owe love to each other. The person who loves others has obeyed all the law.


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The law says, “You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not murder anyone. You must not steal. You must not want to take your neighbor’s things.” All these commands and all others are really only one rule: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”


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I say this because we live in an important time. Yes, it is now time for you to wake up from your sleep. Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.


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The “night” is almost finished. The “day” is almost here. So we should stop doing things that belong to darkness and take up the weapons used for fighting in the light.


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Let us live in a right way, as in the daytime. We should not have wild parties or get drunk. There should be no sexual immorality or evil conduct, no fighting or jealousy.


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Do Not Criticize Other People Do not refuse to accept into your group someone who is weak in faith. And do not argue with him about opinions.


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One person believes that he can eat all kinds of food. But if another man’s faith is weak, then he believes he can eat only vegetables.


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The one who knows that he can eat any kind of food must not feel that he is better than the one who eats only vegetables. And the person who eats only vegetables must not think that the one who eats all foods is wrong. God has accepted him.


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You cannot judge another man’s servant. His own master decides if he is doing well or not. And the Lord’s servant will do well because the Lord helps him do well.


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One person thinks that one day is more important than another. And someone else thinks that every day is the same. Each one should be sure in his own mind.


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The person who thinks one day is more important than other days is doing that for the Lord. And the one who eats all kinds of food is doing that for the Lord. Yes, he gives thanks to God for that food. And the man who refuses to eat some foods does that for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God.


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If we live, we are living for the Lord. And if we die, we are dying for the Lord. So living or dying, we belong to the Lord.


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That is why Christ died and rose from death to live again. He did this so that he would be Lord over both the dead and the living.


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So why do you judge your brother in Christ? And why do you think that you are better than he is? We will all stand before God, and he will judge us all.


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Yes, it is written in the Scriptures: “Everyone will bow before me; everyone will say that I am God. As surely as I live, these things will happen, says the Lord.”


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Do Not Cause Others to Sin So we should stop judging each other. We must make up our minds not to do anything that will make a Christian brother sin.


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I am in the Lord Jesus, and I know that there is no food that is wrong to eat. But if a person believes that something is wrong, then that thing is wrong for him.


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If you hurt your brother’s faith because of something you eat, then you are not really following the way of love. Do not destroy his faith by eating food that he thinks is wrong. Christ died for him.


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In the kingdom of God, eating and drinking are not important. The important things are living right with God, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.


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Do not let the eating of food destroy the work of God. All foods are all right to eat, but it is wrong to eat food that causes someone else to sin.


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Your beliefs about these things should be kept secret between you and God. A person is blessed if he can do what he thinks is right without feeling guilty.


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But if he eats something without being sure that it is right, then he is wrong because he did not believe that it was right. And if he does anything without believing that it is right, then it is a sin.


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We who are strong in faith should help those who are weak. We should help them with their weaknesses, and not please only ourselves.


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Even Christ did not live to please himself. It was as the Scriptures said: “When people insult you, it hurts me.”


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Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that we could have hope. That hope comes from the patience and encouragement that the Scriptures give us.


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Patience and encouragement come from God. And I pray that God will help you all agree with each other the way Christ Jesus wants.


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Then you will all be joined together, and you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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I tell you that Christ became a servant of the Jews. This was to show that God’s promises to the Jewish ancestors are true.


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And he also did this so that the non-Jews could give glory to God for the mercy he gives to them. It is written in the Scriptures: “So I will praise you among the non-Jewish people. I will sing praises to your name.”


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And Isaiah says, “A new king will come from Jesse’s family. He will come to rule over the non-Jews; and the non-Jews will have hope because of him.”


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I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace while you trust in him. Then your hope will overflow by the power of the Holy Spirit.


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Paul Talks About His Work My brothers, I am sure that you are full of goodness. I know that you have all the knowledge you need and that you are able to teach each other.


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But I have written to you very openly about some things that I wanted you to remember. I did this because God gave me this special gift:


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to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the non-Jewish people. I served God by teaching his Good News, so that the non-Jewish people could be an offering that God would accept—an offering made holy by the Holy Spirit.


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I will not talk about anything I did myself. I will talk only about what Christ has done through me in leading the non-Jewish people to obey God. They have obeyed God because of what I have said and done.


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And they have obeyed God because of the power of miracles and the great things they saw, and the power of the Holy Spirit. I preached the Good News from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum. And so I have finished that part of my work.


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I always want to preach the Good News in places where people have never heard of Christ. I do this because I do not want to build on the work that someone else has already started.


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But it is written in the Scriptures: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard about him will understand.”


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I hope to visit you on my way to Spain. I will enjoy being with you, and you can help me on my trip.


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The believers in Macedonia and Southern Greece were happy to give their money to help the poor among God’s people at Jerusalem.


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They were happy to do this, and really they owe it to them. These non-Jews have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings. So they should use their material possessions to help the Jews.


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I must be sure that the poor in Jerusalem get the money that has been given for them. After I do this, I will leave for Spain and stop and visit you.


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Brothers, I beg you to help me in my work by praying for me to God. Do this because of our Lord Jesus and the love that the Holy Spirit gives us.


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Pray that I will be saved from the non-believers in Judea. And pray that this help I bring to Jerusalem will please God’s people there.


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Then, if God wants me to, I will come to you. I will come with joy, and together you and I will have a time of rest.


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Greetings to the Christians I recommend to you our sister Phoebe. She is a helper in the church in Cenchrea.


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I ask you to accept her in the Lord in the way God’s people should. Help her with anything she needs because she has helped me and many other people too.


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They risked their own lives to save my life. I am thankful to them, and all the non-Jewish churches are thankful to them as well.


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Also, greet for me the church that meets at their house. Greetings to my dear friend Epenetus. He was the first person in Asia to follow Christ.


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Greetings to Andronicus and Junias, my relatives, who were in prison with me. The apostles feel they are very important. They were believers in Christ before I was.


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Greetings to Urbanus. He is a worker together with me for Christ. And greetings to my dear friend Stachys.


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Greetings to Apelles. He was tested and proved that he truly loves Christ. Greetings to all those who are in the family of Aristobulus.


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Greetings to Herodion, my relative. Greetings to all those in the family of Narcissus who belong to the Lord.


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Greetings to Tryphena and Tryphosa. Those women work very hard for the Lord. Greetings to my dear friend Persis. She also has worked very hard for the Lord.


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Greetings to Rufus who is a special person in the Lord. Greetings to his mother, who has been a mother to me also.


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Greetings to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas. And greetings to all God’s people with them.


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Brothers, I ask you to look out for those who cause people to be against each other and who upset other people’s faith. They are against the true teaching you learned. Stay away from them.


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For such people are not serving our Lord Christ. They are only doing what pleases themselves. They use fancy talk and fine words to fool the minds of those who do not know about evil.


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All the believers have heard that you obey. So I am very happy because of you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.


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The God who brings peace will soon defeat Satan and give you power over him. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.


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Timothy, a worker together with me, sends greetings, as well as Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my relatives.


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Gaius is letting me and the whole church here use his home. He also sends greetings to you, as do Erastus and our brother Quartus. Erastus is the city treasurer here.


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Glory to God! God is the One who can make you strong in faith by the Good News that I tell people and by the message about Jesus Christ. The message about Christ is the secret truth that was hidden for long ages past, but is now made known.


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It has been made clear through the writings of the prophets. And by the command of the eternal God it is made known to all nations, that they might believe and obey.


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Paul Gives Thanks to God From Paul. I was called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus because that is what God wanted. Also from Sosthenes, our brother in Christ.


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To the church of God in Corinth, to those people who have been made holy in Christ Jesus. You were called to be God’s holy people with all people everywhere who trust in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ—their Lord and ours:


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Jesus will keep you strong until the end. He will keep you strong, so that there will be no wrong in you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.


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God is faithful. He is the One who has called you to share life with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.


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Problems in the Church I beg you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I beg that all of you agree with each other, so that you will not be divided into groups. I beg that you be completely joined together by having the same kind of thinking and the same purpose.


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This is what I mean: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another says, “I follow Apollos”; another says, “I follow Peter”; and another says, “I follow Christ.”


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Christ cannot be divided into different groups! Did Paul die on the cross for you? No! Were you baptized in the name of Paul? No!


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Christ did not give me the work of baptizing people. He gave me the work of preaching the Good News, and he sent me to preach the Good News without using words of worldly wisdom. If I used worldly wisdom to tell the Good News, the cross of Christ would lose its power.


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Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom The teaching about the cross seems foolish to those who are lost. But to us who are being saved it is the power of God.


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It is written in the Scriptures: “I will cause the wise men to lose their wisdom. I will make the wise men unable to understand.”


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Where is the wise person? Where is the educated person? Where is the philosopher of our times? God has made the wisdom of the world foolish.


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The world did not know God through its own wisdom. So God chose to use the message that sounds foolish to save those who believe it.


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But we preach Christ on the cross. This is a big problem to the Jews. And it seems foolish to the non-Jews.


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But Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God to those people God has called—Jews and Greeks.


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Brothers, look at what you were when God called you. Not many of you were wise in the way the world judges wisdom. Not many of you had great influence. Not many of you came from important families.


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But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. He chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.


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And he chose what the world thinks is not important. He chose what the world hates and thinks is nothing. He chose these to destroy what the world thinks is important.


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It is God who has made you part of Christ Jesus. Christ has become wisdom for us from God. Christ is the reason we are right with God and have freedom from sin; Christ is the reason we are holy.


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The Message of Christ’s Death Dear brothers, when I came to you, I did not come as a proud man. I preached God’s truth, but not with fancy words or a show of great learning.


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I decided that while I was with you I would forget about everything except Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.


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My teaching and my speaking were not with wise words that persuade people. But the proof of my teaching was the power that the Spirit gives.


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God’s Wisdom Yet I speak wisdom to those who are mature. But this wisdom is not from this world or of the rulers of this world. (These rulers are losing their power.)


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But I speak God’s secret wisdom, which he has kept hidden. God planned this wisdom for our glory, before the world began.


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None of the rulers of this world understood it. If they had, they would not have killed the Lord of glory on a cross.


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But as it is written in the Scriptures: “No one has ever seen this. No one has ever heard about it. No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.”


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But God has shown us these things through the Spirit. The Spirit knows all things, even the deep secrets of God.


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It is like this: No one knows the thoughts that another person has. Only a person’s spirit that lives in him knows his thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows the thoughts of God. Only the Spirit of God knows God’s thoughts.


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We did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God. We received this Spirit so that we can know all that God has given us.


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When we speak, we do not use words taught to us by the wisdom that men have. We use words taught to us by the Spirit. We use spiritual words to explain spiritual things.


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A person who is not spiritual does not accept the gifts that come from the Spirit of God. That person thinks they are foolish. He cannot understand the Spirit’s gifts, because they can only be judged spiritually.


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“Who has known the mind of the Lord? Who has been able to teach him?” But we have the mind of Christ.


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Following Men Is Wrong Brothers, in the past I could not talk to you as I talk to spiritual people. I had to talk to you as I would to people of the world—babies in Christ.


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The teaching I gave you was like milk, not solid food. I did this because you were not ready for solid food. And even now you are not ready.


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You are still not spiritual. You have jealousy and arguing among you. This shows that you are not spiritual. You are acting like people of the world.


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One of you says, “I follow Paul,” and another says, “I follow Apollos.” When you say things like this, you are acting like worldly people.


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Is Apollos important? No! Is Paul important? No! We are only servants of God who helped you believe. Each one of us did the work God gave us to do.


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I planted the seed of the teaching in you, and Apollos watered it. But God is the One who made the seed grow.


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So the one who plants is not important, and the one who waters is not important. Only God is important, because he is the One who makes things grow.


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The one who plants and the one who waters have the same purpose. And each will be rewarded for his own work.


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We are workers together for God. And you are like a farm that belongs to God. And you are a house that belongs to God.


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Like an expert builder I built the foundation of that house. I used the gift that God gave me to do this. Others are building on that foundation. But everyone should be careful how he builds.


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The foundation has already been built. No one can build any other foundation. The foundation that has already been laid is Jesus Christ.


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But the work that each person does will be clearly seen, because the Day will make it plain. That Day will appear with fire, and the fire will test every man’s work.


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But if his building is burned up, he will suffer loss. The man will be saved, but it will be as if he escaped from a fire.


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If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him, because God’s temple is holy. You yourselves are God’s temple.


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Do not fool yourselves. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this world, he should become a fool. Then he can become truly wise,


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because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. It is written in the Scriptures, “He catches wise men in their own clever traps.”


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It is also written in the Scriptures, “The Lord knows what people think. He knows they are just a puff of wind.”


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Paul, Apollos and Peter; the world, life, death, the present, and the future—all these things are yours.


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Apostles of Christ This is what people should think about us: We are servants of Christ. We are the ones God has trusted with his secret truths.


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I do not care if I am judged by you or if I am judged by any human court. I do not even judge myself.


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I know of no wrong that I have done. But this does not make me innocent. The Lord is the One who judges me.


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So do not judge before the right time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light things that are now hidden in darkness. He will make known the secret purposes of people’s hearts. Then God will give everyone the praise he should get.


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Brothers, I have used Apollos and myself as examples. I did this so that you could learn from us the meaning of the words, “Follow only what is written in the Scriptures.” Then you will not be proud of one man and hate another.


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Who says that you are better than others? Everything you have was given to you. And if this is so, why do you brag as if you got these things by your own power?


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You think you have everything you need. You think you are rich. You think you have become kings without us. I wish you really were kings! Then we could be kings together with you.


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But it seems to me that God has given me and the other apostles the last place. We are like men sentenced to die. We are like a show for the whole world to see—angels and people.


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We are fools for Christ’s sake. But you think you are very wise in Christ. We are weak, but you think you are strong. You receive honor, but we are hated.


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Even now we still do not have enough to eat or drink or enough clothes. We are often beaten. We have no homes.


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We work hard with our own hands for our food. People curse us, but we bless them. They hurt us, and we accept it.


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They say evil things against us, but we say only kind things to them. Even today, we are treated as though we are the garbage of the world—the dirt of the earth.


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I am not trying to make you feel ashamed. I am writing this to give you a warning as if you were my own dear children.


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For though you may have 10,000 teachers in Christ, you do not have many fathers. Through the Good News I became your father in Christ Jesus.


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That is why I am sending Timothy to you. He is my son in the Lord. I love Timothy, and he is faithful. He will help you remember the way I live in Christ Jesus. This way of life is what I teach in all the churches everywhere.


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But I will come very soon if the Lord wants me to. Then I will see what those who are proud can do, not what they say.


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Wickedness in the Church Now, it is actually being said that there is sexual sin among you. And it is of such a bad kind that it does not happen even among those who do not know God. A man there is living sinfully with his stepmother.


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And still you are proud of yourselves! You should have been filled with sadness. And the man who did that sin should be put out of your group.


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My body is not there with you, but I am with you in spirit. And I have already judged the man who did that sin. I judged him just as I would if I were really there.


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Meet together as the people of our Lord Jesus. I will be with you in spirit, and you will have the power of our Lord Jesus with you.


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Then give this man to Satan, so that his sinful self will be destroyed. And then his spirit can be saved on the day of the Lord.


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Your bragging is not good. You know the saying, “Just a little yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise.”


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Take out all the old yeast so that you will be a new batch of dough. And you really are new dough without yeast. For Christ, our Passover lamb, was killed to cleanse us.


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So let us continue our feast, but not with the bread that has the old yeast. That old yeast is the yeast of sin and wickedness. But let us eat the bread that has no yeast. This is the bread of goodness and truth.


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But I did not mean that you should not associate with the sinful people of this world. People of the world do take part in sexual sin, or they are selfish and they cheat each other, or they worship idols. But to get away from them you would have to leave this world.


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I am writing to tell you that the person you must not associate with is this: anyone who calls himself a brother in Christ but who takes part in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or lies about others, or gets drunk, or cheats people. Do not even eat with someone like that.


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It is not my business to judge those who are not part of the church. God will judge them. But you must judge the people who are part of the church. The Scripture says, “You must get rid of the evil person among you.”


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Judging Problems Among Christians When one of you has something against a brother in Christ, why do you go to the judges in the law courts? Those people are not right with God. So why do you let them decide who is right? You should be ashamed! Why do you not let God’s people decide who is right?


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Surely you know that God’s people will judge the world. So if you are to judge the world, then surely you are able to judge small things as well.


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So if you have disagreements that must be judged, why do you take them to those who are not part of the church? They mean nothing to the church.


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I say this to shame you. Surely there is someone among you wise enough to judge a complaint between two brothers in Christ.


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But now one brother goes to court against another brother. And you let men who are not believers judge their case!


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The lawsuits that you have against each other show that you are already defeated. It would be better for you to let someone wrong you! It would be better for you to let someone cheat you!


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Surely you know that the people who do wrong will not receive God’s kingdom. Do not be fooled. These people will not receive God’s kingdom: those who are sexually immoral, or worship idols, or take part in adultery, or men who have physical relations with other men, or steal, or are selfish, or get drunk, or lie about others, or cheat.


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In the past, some of you were like that. But you were washed clean. You were made holy. And you were made right with God in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.


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Use Your Bodies for God’s Glory “I am allowed to do all things.” But not all things are good for me to do. “I am allowed to do all things.” But I must not do those things that will make me their slave.


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“Food is for the stomach, and the stomach for food.” Yes. But God will destroy them both. The body is not for sexual immorality. The body is for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.


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Surely you know that your bodies are parts of Christ himself. So I must never take parts of Christ and join them to a prostitute!


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It is written in the Scriptures, “The two people will become one body.” So you should know that a man who joins himself with a prostitute becomes one with her in body.


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So run away from sexual immorality. Every other sin that a person does is outside the body. But those who are sexually immoral sin against their own bodies.


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You should know that your body is a temple for the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is in you. You have received the Holy Spirit from God. You do not own yourselves.


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About Marriage Now I will discuss the things you wrote to me about. It is good for a man not to marry.


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But sexual immorality is a danger. So each man should have his own wife. And each woman should have her own husband.


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The husband should give his wife all that she should have as his wife. And the wife should give her husband all that he should have as her husband.


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The wife does not have power over her own body. Her husband has the power over her body. And the husband does not have power over his own body. His wife has the power over his body.


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Do not refuse to give your bodies to each other. But you might both agree to stay away from intimate relations for a time. You might do this so that you can give your time to prayer. Then come together again. This is so that Satan cannot tempt you in your weakness.


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I wish everyone were like me. But each person has his own gift from God. One has one gift, another has another gift.


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Now for those who are not married and for the widows I say this: It is good for them to stay single as I am.


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But if they cannot control their bodies, then they should marry. It is better to marry than to burn with lust.


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Now I give this command for the married people. (The command is not from me; it is from the Lord.) A wife should not leave her husband.


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But if she does leave, she must not marry again. Or she should go back to her husband. Also the husband should not divorce his wife.


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For all the others I say this (I am saying this, not the Lord): A brother in Christ might have a wife who is not a believer. If she will live with him, he must not divorce her.


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And a woman might have a husband who is not a believer. If he will live with her, she must not divorce him.


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The husband who is not a believer is made holy through his believing wife. And the wife who is not a believer is made holy through her believing husband. If this were not true, then your children would not be clean. But now your children are holy.


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But if the person who is not a believer decides to leave, let him leave. When this happens, the brother or sister in Christ is free. God called us to a life of peace.


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Wives, maybe you will save your husband; and husbands, maybe you will save your wife. You do not know now what will happen later.


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Live As God Called You But each one should continue to live the way God has given him to live—the way he was when God called him. This is a rule I make in all the churches.


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If a man was already circumcised when he was called, he should not change his circumcision. If a man was without circumcision when he was called, he should not be circumcised.


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It is not important if a man is circumcised or not circumcised. The important thing is obeying God’s commands.


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If you were a slave when God called you, do not let that bother you. But if you can be free, then become free.


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The person who was a slave when the Lord called him is free in the Lord. He belongs to the Lord. In the same way, the one who was free when he was called is now Christ’s slave.


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Brothers, in your new life with God each one of you should continue the way you were when you were called.


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Questions About Getting Married Now I write about people who are not married. I have no command from the Lord about this, but I give my opinion. And I can be trusted, because the Lord has given me mercy.


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If you have a wife, then do not try to become free from her. If you are not married, then do not try to find a wife.


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But if you decide to marry, this is not a sin. And it is not a sin for a girl who has never married to get married. But those who marry will have trouble in this life. And I want you to be free from this trouble.


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Brothers, this is what I mean: We do not have much time left. So starting now, those who have wives should use their time to serve the Lord as if they had no wives.


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Those who are sad should live as if they are not sad. Those who are happy should live as if they are not happy. Those who buy things should live as if they own nothing.


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Those who use the things of the world should live as if those things are not important to them. You should live like this, because this world, the way it is now, will soon be gone.


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I want you to be free from worry. A man who is not married is busy with the Lord’s work. He is trying to please the Lord.


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He must think about two things—pleasing his wife and pleasing the Lord. A woman who is not married or a girl who has never married is busy with the Lord’s work. She wants to give herself fully—body and soul—to the Lord. But a married woman is busy with things of the world. She is trying to please her husband.


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I am saying this to help you. I am not trying to limit you. But I want you to live in the right way. And I want you to give yourselves fully to the Lord without giving your time to other things.


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A man might think that he is not doing the right thing with the girl he is engaged to. The girl might be almost past the best age to marry. So he might feel that he should marry her. He should do what he wants. They should get married. It is no sin.


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But another man might be more sure in his mind. There may be no need for marriage, so he is free to do what he wants. If he has decided in his own heart not to marry, he is doing the right thing.


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A woman must stay with her husband as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to marry any man she wants. But she must marry another believer.


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The woman is happier if she does not marry again. This is my opinion, and I believe that I have God’s Spirit.


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About Food Offered to Idols Now I will write about meat that is sacrificed to idols. We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs you up with pride, but love builds up.


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So this is what I say about eating meat sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is really nothing in the world. And we know that there is only one God.


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It is really not important if there are things called gods, in heaven or on earth. (And there are many things that people call “gods” and “lords.”)


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But for us there is only one God. He is our Father. All things came from him, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord—Jesus Christ. All things were made through Jesus, and we also have life through him.


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But not all people know this. Until now, some people have had the habit of worshiping idols. So now when they eat meat, they still feel as if it belongs to an idol. They are not sure that it is right to eat this meat. When they eat it, they feel guilty.


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But food will not make us closer to God. Refusing to eat does not make us less pleasing to God. And eating does not make us better in God’s sight.


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But be careful with your freedom. Your freedom may cause those who are weak in faith to fall into sin.


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Suppose one of you who has knowledge eats in an idol’s temple. Someone who is weak in faith might see you eating there. This would encourage him to eat meat sacrificed to idols. But he really thinks it is wrong.


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When you sin against your brothers in Christ like this and cause them to do what they feel is wrong, you are also sinning against Christ.


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So if the food I eat makes my brother fall into sin, I will never eat meat again. I will stop eating meat, so that I will not cause my brother to sin.


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Paul Is Like the Other Apostles I am a free man. I am an apostle. I have seen Jesus our Lord. You people are all an example of my work in the Lord.


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Others may not accept me as an apostle, but surely you accept me. You are proof that I am an apostle in the Lord.


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Do we not have the right to bring a believing wife with us when we travel? The other apostles, the Lord’s brothers, and Peter all do this.


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No soldier ever serves in the army and pays his own salary. No one ever plants a vineyard without eating some of the grapes himself. No person takes care of a flock of sheep without drinking some of the milk himself.


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Yes, it is written in the law of Moses: “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth and keep it from eating.” When God said this, was he thinking only about oxen? No.


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He was really talking about us. Yes, that Scripture was written for us. The one who plows and the one who works in the grain should hope to get some of the grain for their work.


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We planted spiritual seed among you. So we should be able to harvest from you some things for this life. Surely this is not asking too much.


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Other men have the right to get something from you. So surely we have this right, too. But we do not use this right. No, we put up with everything ourselves so that we will not stop anyone from obeying the Good News of Christ.


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Surely you know that those who work at the Temple get their food from the Temple. And those who serve at the altar get part of what is offered at the altar.


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It is the same with those who tell the Good News. The Lord has commanded that those who tell the Good News should get their living from this work.


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But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this now to get anything from you. I would rather die than to have my reason for bragging taken away.


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Telling the Good News is not my reason for bragging. Telling the Good News is my duty—something I must do. And how bad it will be for me if I do not tell the Good News.


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If I preach because it is my own choice, I should get a reward. But I have no choice. I must tell the Good News. I am only doing the duty that was given to me.


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So what reward do I get? This is my reward: that when I tell the Good News I can offer it freely. In this way I do not use my right to be paid in my work for the Good News.


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I am free. I belong to no man. But I make myself a slave to all people. I do this to help save as many people as I can.


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To the Jews I became like a Jew. I did this to help save the Jews. I myself am not ruled by the law. But to those who are ruled by the law I became like a person who is ruled by the law. I did this to help save those who are ruled by the law.


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To those who are without the law I became like a person who is without the law. I did this to help save those people who are without the law. (But really, I am not without God’s law—I am ruled by Christ’s law.)


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To those who are weak, I became weak so that I could help save them. I have become all things to all people. I did this so that I could save some of them in any way possible.


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I do all this because of the Good News. I do it so that I can share in the blessings of the Good News.


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You know that in a race all the runners run. But only one gets the prize. So run like that. Run to win!


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All those who compete in the games use strict training. They do this so that they can win a crown. That crown is an earthly thing that lasts only a short time. But our crown will continue forever.


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It is my own body that I hit. I make it my slave. I do this so that I myself will not be rejected after I have preached to others.


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Don’t Be Like the Jews Brothers, I want you to know what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the cloud, and they all went through the sea.


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And they all drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from that spiritual rock that was with them. That rock was Christ.


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And these things that happened are examples for us. They should stop us from wanting evil things as those people did.


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Do not worship idols, as some of them did. It is written in the Scriptures: “The people sat down to eat and drink. Then they got up and had wild parties.”


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We should not take part in sexual sin, as some of them did. In one day 23,000 of them died because of their sins.


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The things that happened to those people are examples. And they were written down to be warnings for us. For we live in a time when all these things of the past have reached their goal.


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The only temptations that you have are the temptations that all people have. But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to stand it.


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We give thanks for the cup of blessing. It is a sharing in the blood of Christ’s death. And the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ.


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There is one loaf of bread. And we are many people. But we all share from that one loaf. So we are really one body.


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I do not mean that the food sacrificed to an idol is something important. And I do not mean that an idol is anything at all.


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But I say that what is sacrificed to idols is offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to share anything with demons.


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You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons, too. You cannot share in the Lord’s table and the table of demons, too.


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How to Use Christian Freedom “We are allowed to do all things.” Yes. But not all things are good for us to do. “We are allowed to do all things.” Yes. But not all things help others grow stronger.


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Eat any meat that is sold in the meat market. Do not ask questions about the meat to see if it is something you think is wrong to eat.


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Someone who is not a believer may invite you to eat with him. If you want to go, eat anything that is put before you. Do not ask questions about it.


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But if anyone says to you, “That food was offered to idols,” then do not eat it. Do not eat it because of that person who told you and because eating it would be something that might be thought wrong.


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I don’t mean that you think it is wrong. But the other person might think it is wrong. My own freedom should not be judged by what someone else thinks.


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I eat the meal with thankfulness. And I do not want to be criticized because of something I thank God for.


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I do the same thing. I try to please everybody in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me. I try to do what is good for the most people. I do this so that they can be saved.


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Being Under Authority I praise you because you remember me in everything. You follow closely the teachings that I gave you.


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But I want you to understand this: The head of every man is Christ. And the head of a woman is the man. And the head of Christ is God.


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But every woman who prays or prophesies should have her head covered. If her head is not covered, she brings shame to her head. She is the same as a woman who has her head shaved.


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If a woman does not cover her head, it is the same as cutting off all her hair. But it is shameful for a woman to cut off her hair or to shave her head. So she should cover her head.


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But a man should not cover his head, because he is made like God and is God’s glory. But woman is man’s glory.


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So that is why a woman should have her head covered with something to show that she is under authority. And also she should do this because of the angels.


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This is true because woman came from man, but also man is born from woman. Really, everything comes from God.


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Some people may still want to argue about this. But I would add that neither we nor the churches of God accept any other practice.


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The Lord’s Supper In the things I tell you now I do not praise you. Your meetings hurt you more than they help you.


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(It is necessary for there to be differences among you. That is the way to make it clear which of you are really doing right.)


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This is because when you eat, each person eats without waiting for the others. Some people do not get enough to eat, while others have too much to drink.


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You can eat and drink in your own homes! It seems that you think God’s church is not important. You embarrass those who are poor. What should I tell you? Should I praise you for doing this? I do not praise you.


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The teaching that I gave you is the same teaching that I received from the Lord: On the night when Jesus was handed over to be killed, he took bread


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and gave thanks for it. Then he broke the bread and said, “This is my body; it is for you. Do this to remember me.”


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In the same way, after they ate, Jesus took the cup. He said, “This cup shows the new agreement from God to his people. This new agreement begins with the blood of my death. When you drink this, do it to remember me.”


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Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you show others about the Lord’s death until he comes.


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So a person should not eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord in a way that is not worthy of it. If he does he is sinning against the body and the blood of the Lord.


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If someone eats the bread and drinks the cup without recognizing the body, then he is judged guilty by eating and drinking.


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But when the Lord judges us, he disciplines us to show us the right way. He does this so that we will not be destroyed along with the world.


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If anyone is too hungry, he should eat at home. Do this so that your meeting together will not bring God’s judgment on you. I will tell you what to do about the other things when I come.


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You remember the lives you lived before you were believers. You let yourselves be influenced and led away to worship idols—things that have no life.


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So I tell you that no one who is speaking with the help of God’s Spirit says, “Jesus be cursed.” And no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” without the help of the Holy Spirit.


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And there are different ways that God works in people; but all these ways are from the same God. God works in us all in everything we do.


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The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak with wisdom. And the same Spirit gives another the ability to speak with knowledge.


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The Spirit gives to another person the power to do miracles, to another the ability to prophesy. And he gives to another the ability to know the difference between good and evil spirits. The Spirit gives one person the ability to speak in different kinds of languages and to another the ability to interpret those languages.


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The Body of Christ A person’s body is one thing, but it has many parts. Yes, there are many parts to a body, but all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that too.


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Some of us are Jews, and some of us are Greeks. Some of us are slaves, and some of us are free. But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.


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The foot might say, “I am not a hand. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body.


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The ear might say, “I am not an eye. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not make the ear stop being a part of the body.


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If the whole body were an eye, the body would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, the body would not be able to smell anything.


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If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put the parts in the body as he wanted them. He made a place for each one of them.


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The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the foot, “I don’t need you!”


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And the parts of the body that we think are not worth much are the parts that we give the most care to. And we give special care to the parts of the body that we want to hide.


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The more beautiful parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it.


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God did this so that our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other.


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If one part of the body suffers, then all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, then all the other parts share its honor.


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And in the church God has given a place first to apostles, second to prophets, and third to teachers. Then God has given a place to those who do miracles, those who have gifts of healing, those who can help others, those who are able to lead, and those who can speak in different languages.


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Not all have gifts of healing. Not all speak in different languages. Not all interpret those languages.


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But you should truly want to have the greater gifts. Love And now I will show you the best way of all.


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I may speak in different languages of men or even angels. But if I do not have love, then I am only a noisy bell or a ringing cymbal.


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I may have the gift of prophecy; I may understand all the secret things of God and all knowledge; and I may have faith so great that I can move mountains. But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing.


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I may give everything I have to feed the poor. And I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing these things if I do not have love.


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Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not become angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it.


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Love never ends. There are gifts of prophecy, but they will be ended. There are gifts of speaking in different languages, but those gifts will end. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will be ended.


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When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child; I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways.


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It is the same with us. Now we see as if we are looking into a dark mirror. But at that time, in the future, we shall see clearly. Now I know only a part. But at that time I will know fully, as God has known me.


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Spiritual Gifts Love, then, is what you should try for. And you should truly want to have the spiritual gifts. And the gift you should want most is to be able to prophesy.


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I will explain why. One who has the gift of speaking in a different language is not speaking to people. He is speaking to God. No one understands him—he is speaking secret things through the Spirit.


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The one who speaks in a different language is helping only himself. But the one who prophesies is helping the whole church.


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I would like all of you to have the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages. But more, I want you to prophesy. The person who prophesies is greater than the one who can only speak in different languages—unless someone is there who can explain what he says. Then the whole church can be helped.


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Brothers, will it help you if I come to you speaking in different languages? No! It will help you only if I bring you a new truth or some knowledge, or some prophecy, or some teaching.


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It is the same as with non-living things that make sounds—like a flute or a harp. If different musical notes are not made clear, you will not know what song is being played. Each note must be played clearly for you to be able to understand the tune.


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And in a war, if the trumpet does not sound clearly, the soldiers will not know it is time to prepare for fighting.


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It is the same with you. The words you speak with your tongue must be clear. Unless you speak clearly, no one can understand what you are saying. You will be talking in the air!


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So unless I understand the meaning of what someone says to me, we will be like strangers to each other.


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It is the same with you. You want spiritual gifts very much. So try most to have the gifts that help the church grow stronger.


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The one who has the gift of speaking in a different language should pray that he can also interpret what he says.


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So what should I do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind.


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You might be praising God with your spirit. But a person there without understanding cannot say “Amen” to your prayer of thanks. He does not know what you are saying.


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But in the church meetings I would rather speak five words that I understand than thousands of words in a different language. I would rather speak with my understanding, so that I can teach others.


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Brothers, do not think like children. In evil things be like babies. But in your thinking you should be like full-grown men.


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It is written in the Scriptures: “I will use strange words and foreign languages to speak to these people. But even then they will not listen.” That is what the Lord says.


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So the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages is a sign for those who do not believe, not for those who believe. And prophecy is for people who believe, not for those who do not believe.


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Suppose the whole church meets together and everyone speaks in different languages. If some people come in who are without understanding or do not believe, they will say you are crazy.


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But suppose everyone is prophesying and someone comes in who does not believe or is without understanding. If everyone is prophesying, his sin will be shown to him, and he will be judged by all that he hears.


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The secret things in his heart will be made known. So he will bow down and worship God. He will say, “Truly, God is with you.”


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Meetings Should Help the Church So, brothers, what should you do? When you meet together, one person has a song. Another has a teaching. Another has a new truth from God. Another speaks in a different language, and another person interprets that language. The purpose of all these things should be to help the church grow strong.


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When you meet together, if anyone speaks in a different language, then it should be only two, or not more than three, who speak. They should speak one after the other. And someone should interpret what they say.


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But if there is no interpreter, then anyone who speaks in a different language should be quiet in the church meeting. He should speak only to himself and to God.


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And if a message from God comes to another person who is sitting, then the first speaker should stop.


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Women should keep quiet in the church meetings. They are not allowed to speak. They must be under control. This is also what the law of Moses says.


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If there is something the women want to know, they should ask their own husbands at home. It is shameful for a woman to speak in the church meeting.


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If anyone thinks that he is a prophet or that he has a spiritual gift, then he should understand that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command.


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So my brothers, you should truly want to prophesy. And do not stop people from using the gift of speaking in different kinds of languages.


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The Good News About Christ Now, brothers, I want you to remember the Good News I brought to you. You received this Good News, and you continue strong in it.


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And you are saved by this Good News. But you must continue believing what I told you. If you do not, then you believed for nothing.


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I passed on to you what I received. And this was the most important: that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures say;


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After that, Jesus showed himself to more than 500 of the believers at the same time. Most of them are still living today. But some have died.


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All the other apostles are greater than I am. This is because I persecuted the church of God. And this is why I am not even good enough to be called an apostle.


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But God’s grace has made me what I am. And his grace to me was not wasted. I worked harder than all the other apostles. (But I was not really the one working. It was God’s grace that was with me.)


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So then it is not important if I preached to you or if the other apostles preached to you. We all preach the same thing, and this is what you believed.


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We Will Be Raised from Death It is preached that Christ was raised from death. So why do some of you say that people will not be raised from death?


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And also, we will be guilty of lying about God. Because we have preached about him by saying that he raised Christ from death. And if people are not raised from death, then God never raised Christ from death.


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And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is for nothing; you are still guilty of your sins.


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If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone else in the world.


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But Christ has truly been raised from death—the first one and proof that those who are asleep in death will also be raised.


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Death comes to everyone because of what one man did. But the rising from death also happens because of one man.


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But everyone will be raised to life in the right order. Christ was first to be raised. When Christ comes again, those who belong to him will be raised to life.


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Then the end will come. Christ will destroy all rulers, authorities, and powers. And he will give the kingdom to God the Father.


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The Scripture says, “God put all things under his control.” When it says that “all things” are put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself. God is the one putting everything under Christ’s control.


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After everything has been put under Christ, then the Son himself will be put under God. God is the One who put all things under Christ. And Christ will be put under God, so that God will be the complete ruler over everything.


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If the dead are never raised, then what will people do who are baptized for those who have died? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized for them?


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I die every day. That is true, brothers, just as it is true that I brag about you in Christ Jesus our Lord.


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If I fought wild animals in Ephesus only for human reasons, I have gained nothing. If the dead are not raised, then, “Let us eat and drink, because tomorrow we will die.”


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Come back to your right way of thinking and stop sinning. I say this to shame you—some of you do not know God.


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What Kind of Body Will We Have? But someone may ask, “How are the dead raised? What kind of body will they have?”


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Those are stupid questions. When you plant something, it must die in the ground before it can live and grow.


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And when you plant it, what you plant does not have the same “body” that it will have later. What you plant is only a seed, maybe wheat or something else.


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All things made of flesh are not the same kinds of flesh: People have one kind of flesh, animals have another kind, birds have another, and fish have another.


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Also there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. But the beauty of the heavenly bodies is one kind. The beauty of the earthly bodies is another kind.


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The sun has one kind of beauty. The moon has another beauty, and the stars have another. And each star is different in its beauty.


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It is the same with the dead who are raised to life. The body that is “planted” will ruin and decay. But that body is raised to a life that cannot be destroyed.


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When the body is “planted,” it is without honor. But it is raised in glory. When the body is “planted,” it is weak. But when it is raised, it has power.


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The body that is “planted” is a physical body. When it is raised, it is a spiritual body. There is a physical body. And there is also a spiritual body.


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It is written in the Scriptures: “The first man became a living person.” But the last Adam became a spirit that gives life.


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The spiritual man did not come first. It was the physical man who came first; then came the spiritual.


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People belong to the earth. They are like the first man of earth. But those people who belong to heaven are like the man of heaven.


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I tell you this, brothers: Flesh and blood cannot have a part in the kingdom of God. A thing that will ruin cannot have a part in something that never ruins.


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It will only take a second. We will be changed as quickly as an eye blinks. This will happen when the last trumpet sounds. The trumpet will sound and those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we will all be changed.


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This body that will ruin must clothe itself with something that will never ruin. And this body that dies must clothe itself with something that will never die.


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So this body that ruins will clothe itself with that which never ruins. And this body that dies will clothe itself with that which never dies. When this happens, then this Scripture will be made true: “Death is destroyed forever in victory.”


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So my dear brothers, stand strong. Do not let anything move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord. You know that your work in the Lord is never wasted.


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The Gift for Other Believers Now I will write about the collection of money for God’s people. Do the same thing that I told the Galatian churches to do:


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On the first day of every week, each one of you should put aside as much money as you can from what you are blessed with. You should save it up, so that you will not have to collect money after I come.


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When I arrive, I will send some men to take your gift to Jerusalem. These will be men who you all agree should go. I will send them with letters of introduction.


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Maybe I will stay with you for a time. I might even stay all winter. Then you can help me on my trip, wherever I go.


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I do not want to come to see you now, because I would have to leave to go other places. I hope to stay a longer time with you if the Lord allows it.


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I will stay, because a good opportunity for a great and growing work has been given to me now. And there are many people working against me.


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Timothy might come to you. Try to make him feel comfortable with you. He is working for the Lord just as I am.


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So none of you should refuse to accept Timothy. Help him on his trip in peace, so that he can come back to me. I am expecting him to come back with the brothers.


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Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly encouraged him to visit you with the other brothers. But he was sure that he did not want to go now. But when he has the opportunity, he will go to you.


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You know that the family of Stephanas were the first believers in Southern Greece. They have given themselves to the service of God’s people. I ask you, brothers,


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I am happy that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come. You are not here, but they have filled your place.


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The churches in the country of Asia send greetings to you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you in the Lord. Also the church that meets in their house greets you.


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Paul Answers Those Who Accuse Him From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what God wanted. Also from Timothy our brother in Christ. To the church of God in Corinth, and to all of God’s people in the whole country of Southern Greece:


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Paul Gives Thanks to God Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the Father who is full of mercy. And he is the God of all comfort.


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He comforts us every time we have trouble, so that we can comfort others when they have trouble. We can comfort them with the same comfort that God gives us.


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We share in the many sufferings of Christ. In the same way, much comfort comes to us through Christ.


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If we have troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation. If we have comfort, then you also have comfort. This helps you to accept patiently the same sufferings that we have.


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Our hope for you is strong. We know that you share in our sufferings. So we know that you also share in the comfort we receive.


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Brothers, we want you to know about the trouble we suffered in the country of Asia. We had great burdens there that were greater than our own strength. We even gave up hope for life.


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Truly, in our own hearts we believed that we would die. But this happened so that we would not trust in ourselves. It happened so that we would trust in God, who raises people from death.


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God saved us from these great dangers of death. And he will continue to save us. We have put our hope in him, and he will save us again.


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And you can help us with your prayers. Then many people will give thanks for us—that God blessed us because of their many prayers.


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The Change in Paul’s Plans This is what we are proud of, and I can say with all my heart that it is true: In all the things we have done in the world, we have done everything with an honest and pure heart from God. And this is even more true in what we have done with you. We did this by God’s grace, not by the kind of wisdom the world has.


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as you have understood some things about us, you may come to know everything about us. Then you can be proud of us, as we will be proud of you on the day our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.


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I was very sure of all this. That is why I made plans to visit you first. Then you could be blessed twice.


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I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia. Then I planned to visit you again on my way back. I wanted to get help from you for my trip to Judea.


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Do you think that I made these plans without really thinking? Or maybe you think I make plans as the world does, so that I say “Yes, yes,” and at the same time “No, no.”


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But since you can believe God, then you can believe that what we tell you is never both “Yes” and “No.”


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The Son of God, Jesus Christ, that Silas and Timothy and I preached to you, was not “Yes” and “No.” In Christ it has always been “Yes.”


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The “Yes” to all of God’s promises is in Christ. And that is why we say “Amen” through Christ to the glory of God.


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He put his mark on us to show that we are his. And he put his Spirit in our hearts to be a guarantee for all he has promised.


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I tell you this, and I ask God to be my witness that this is true: The reason I did not come back to Corinth was that I did not want to punish or hurt you.


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I do not mean that we are trying to control your faith. You are strong in faith. But we are workers with you for your own happiness.


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I wrote you a letter for this reason: that when I came to you I would not be made sad by the people who should make me happy. I felt sure of all of you. I felt sure that you would share my joy.


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When I wrote to you before, I was very troubled and unhappy in my heart. I wrote with many tears. I did not write to make you sad, but to let you know how much I love you.


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Forgive the Sinner Someone there among you has caused sadness. He caused this not to me, but to all of you—I mean he caused sadness to all in some way. (I do not want to make it sound worse than it really is.)


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But now you should forgive him and comfort him. This will keep him from having too much sadness and giving up completely.


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If you forgive someone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if I had anything to forgive—I forgave it for you, and Christ was with me.


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Paul’s Concern in Troas I went to Troas to preach the Good News of Christ. The Lord gave me a good opportunity there.


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But I had no peace because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I said good-bye and went to Macedonia.


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Victory Through Christ But thanks be to God, who always leads us in victory through Christ. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume.


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Our offering to God is this: We are the sweet smell of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are being lost.


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To those who are lost, we are the smell of death that brings death. But to those who are being saved, we are the smell of life that brings life. So who is able to do this work?


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We do not sell the word of God for a profit as many other people do. But in Christ we speak the truth before God. We speak as men sent from God.


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Servants of the New Agreement Are we starting to brag about ourselves again? Do we need letters of introduction to you or from you, like some other people?


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You show that you are a letter from Christ that he sent through us. This letter is not written with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is not written on stone tablets. It is written on human hearts.


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I do not mean that we are able to say that we can do this work ourselves. It is God who makes us able to do all that we do.


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God made us able to be servants of a new agreement from himself to his people. This new agreement is not a written law. It is of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.


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The law that brought death was written in words on stone. It came with God’s glory. Moses’ face was so bright with glory that the people of Israel could not continue to look at his face. And that glory later disappeared.


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That law judged people guilty of sin, but it had glory. So surely the new way that makes people right with God has much greater glory.


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That old law had glory. But it really loses its glory when it is compared to the much greater glory of this new way.


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If that law which disappeared came with glory, then this new way which continues forever has much greater glory.


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We are not like Moses. He put a covering over his face so that the people of Israel would not see it. The glory was disappearing, and Moses did not want them to see it end.


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But their minds were closed. Even today that same covering hides the meaning when they read the old agreement. That covering is taken away only through Christ.


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Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings more and more glory. And it comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.


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But we have turned away from secret and shameful ways. We use no trickery, and we do not change the teaching of God. We teach the truth plainly. This is how we show everyone who we are. And this is how they can know in their hearts what kind of people we are before God.


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The devil who rules this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe. They cannot see the light of the Good News—the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is exactly like God.


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We do not preach about ourselves. But we preach that Jesus Christ is Lord; and we preach that we are your servants for Jesus.


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God once said, “Let the light shine out of the darkness!” And this is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts. He gave us light by letting us know the glory of God that is in the face of Christ.


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Spiritual Treasure in Clay Jars We have this treasure from God. But we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. This shows that this great power is from God, not from us.


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We have troubles all around us, but we are not defeated. We do not know what to do, but we do not give up.


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We carry the death of Jesus in our own bodies, so that the life of Jesus can also be seen in our bodies.


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We are alive, but for Jesus we are always in danger of death. This is so that the life of Jesus can be seen in our bodies that die.


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It is written in the Scriptures, “I believed, so I spoke.” Our faith is like this, too. We believe, and so we speak.


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God raised the Lord Jesus from death. And we know that God will also raise us with Jesus. God will bring us together with you, and we will stand before him.


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All these things are for you. And so the grace of God is being given to more and more people. This will bring more and more thanks to God for his glory.


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Living by Faith So we do not give up. Our physical body is becoming older and weaker, but our spirit inside us is made new every day.


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We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory. That glory is much greater than the troubles.


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So we set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time. But what we cannot see will last forever.


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We know that our body—the tent we live in here on earth—will be destroyed. But when that happens, God will have a house for us to live in. It will not be a house made by men. It will be a home in heaven that will last forever.


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While we live in this body, we have burdens, and we complain. We do not want to be naked. We want to be clothed with our heavenly home. Then this body that dies will be fully covered with life.


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So I say that we have courage. And we really want to be away from this body and be at home with the Lord.


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For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. Each one will receive what he should get—good or bad—for the things he did when he lived in the earthly body.


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Becoming Friends with God We know what it means to fear the Lord. So we try to help people accept the truth. God knows what we really are. And I hope that in your hearts you know, too.


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We are not trying to prove ourselves to you again. But we are telling you about ourselves, so you will be proud of us. Then you will have an answer for those who are proud about things that can be seen. They do not care about what is in the heart.


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Christ died for all so that those who live would not continue to live for themselves. He died for them and was raised from death so that they would live for him.


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From this time on we do not think of anyone as the world does. It is true that in the past we thought of Christ as the world thinks. But we no longer think of him in that way.


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All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between us and himself. And God gave us the work of bringing everyone into peace with him.


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I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself. In Christ, God did not hold the world guilty of its sins. And he gave us this message of peace.


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So we have been sent to speak for Christ. It is as if God is calling to you through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God.


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Christ had no sin. But God made him become sin. God did this for us so that in Christ we could become right with God.


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We are workers together with God. So we beg you: Do not let the grace that you received from God be for nothing.


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God says, “I heard your prayers at the right time, and I gave you help on the day of salvation.” I tell you that the “right time” is now. The “day of salvation” is now.


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We do not want anyone to find anything wrong with our work. So we do nothing that will be a problem for anyone.


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But in every way we show that we are servants of God: in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems.


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We are beaten and thrown into prison. Men become upset and fight us. We work hard, and sometimes we get no sleep or food.


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We show that we are servants of God by living a pure life, by our understanding, by our patience, and by our kindness. We show this by the Holy Spirit, by true love,


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by speaking the truth, and by God’s power. We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything.


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Some people honor us, but other people shame us. Some people say good things about us, but other people say bad things. Some people say we are liars, but we speak the truth.


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We are not known, but we are well-known. We seem to be dying, but look—we continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed.


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We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich in faith. We have nothing, but really we have everything.


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Our feelings of love for you have not stopped. It is you that have stopped your feelings of love for us.


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Warning About Non-Christians You are not the same as those who do not believe. So do not join yourselves to them. Good and bad do not belong together. Light and darkness cannot share together.


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How can Christ and Belial, the devil, have any agreement? What can a believer have together with a non-believer?


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The temple of God cannot have any agreement with idols. And we are the temple of the living God. As God said: “I will live with them and walk with them. And I will be their God. And they will be my people.”


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“Leave those people, and make yourselves pure, says the Lord. Touch nothing that is unclean, and I will accept you.” ; ,


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Dear friends, we have these promises from God. So we should make ourselves pure—free from anything that makes body or soul unclean. We should try to become perfect in the way we live, because we respect God.


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Paul’s Joy Open your hearts to us. We have not done wrong to anyone. We have not ruined the faith of any person, and we have cheated no one.


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I do not say this to blame you. I told you before that we love you so much that we would live or die with you.


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I feel very sure of you. I am very proud of you. You give me much comfort. And in all of our troubles I have great joy.


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When we came into Macedonia, we had no rest. We found trouble all around us. We had fighting on the outside and fear on the inside.


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We were comforted by his coming and also by the comfort that you gave him. Titus told us about your wish to see me. He told us that you are very sorry for what you did. And he told me about your great care for me. When I heard this, I was much happier.


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Even if the letter I wrote you made you sad, I am not sorry I wrote it. I know it made you sad, and I was sorry for that. But it made you sad only for a short time.


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Now I am happy, but not because you were made sad. I am happy because your sorrow made you change your hearts. You became sad in the way God wanted you to. So you were not hurt by us in any way.


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Being sorry in the way God wants makes a person change his heart and life. This leads to salvation, and we cannot be sorry for that. But the kind of sorrow the world has will bring death.


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You had the kind of sorrow God wanted you to have. Now see what this sorrow has brought you: It has made you very serious. It made you want to prove that you were not wrong. It made you angry and afraid. It made you want to see me. It made you care. It made you want the right thing to be done. You proved that you were not guilty in any part of the problem.


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I wrote that letter, but not because of the one who did the wrong. And it was not written because of the person who was hurt. But I wrote the letter so that you could see, before God, the great care that you have for us.


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That is why we were comforted. We were very comforted. And we were even happier to see that Titus was so happy. All of you made him feel much better.


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I bragged to Titus about you. And you showed that I was right. Everything that we said to you was true. And you have proved that what we bragged about to Titus is true.


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And his love for you is stronger when he remembers that you were all ready to obey. You welcomed him with respect and fear.


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Christian Giving And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God gave the churches in Macedonia.


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They have been tested by great troubles. And they are very poor. But they gave much because of their great joy.


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I can tell you that they gave as much as they were able. They gave even more than they could afford. No one told them to do it.


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But they asked us again and again—they begged us to let them share in this service for God’s people.


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And they gave in a way that we did not expect: They first gave themselves to the Lord and to us. This is what God wants.


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So we asked Titus to help you finish this special work of grace. He is the one who started this work.


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You are rich in everything—in faith, in speaking, in knowledge, in truly wanting to help, and in the love you learned from us. And so we want you to be rich also in this gift of giving.


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I am not commanding you to give. But I want to see if your love is true love. I do this by showing you that others really want to help.


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You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know that Christ was rich, but for you he became poor. Christ did this so that by his being poor you might become rich.


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This is what I think you should do: Last year you were the first to want to give. And you were the first who gave.


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So now finish the work that you started. Then your “doing” will be equal to your “wanting to do.” Give from what you have.


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If you want to give, your gift will be accepted. Your gift will be judged by what you have, not by what you do not have.


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At this time you have plenty. What you have can help others who are in need. Then later, when they have plenty, they can help you when you are in need. Then all will be equal.


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As it is written in the Scriptures, “The person who gathered more did not have too much. The person who gathered less did not have too little.”


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We are sending with him the brother who is praised by all the churches. This brother is praised because of his service in preaching the Good News.


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Also, this brother was chosen by the churches to go with us when we deliver this gift of money. We are doing this service to bring glory to the Lord and to show that we really want to help.


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We are being careful so that no one will criticize us about the way we are handling this large gift.


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We are trying to do what is right. We want to do what the Lord accepts as right and also what people think is right.


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Also, we are sending with them our brother who is always ready to help. He has proved this to us in many ways. And he wants to help even more now because he has much faith in you.


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Now about Titus—he is my partner who is working with me to help you. And about the other brothers—they are sent from the churches, and they bring glory to Christ.


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So show these men that you really have love. Show them why we are proud of you. Then all the churches can see it.


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I know that you want to help. I have been bragging about this to the people in Macedonia. I have told them that you in Southern Greece have been ready to give since last year. And your wanting to give has made most of them here ready to give also.


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But I am sending the brothers to you. I do not want our bragging about you in this to be for nothing. I want you to be ready, as I said you would be.


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If any of the people from Macedonia come with me and find that you are not ready, we will be ashamed. We will be ashamed that we were so sure of you. (And you will be ashamed, too!)


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So I thought that I should ask these brothers to go to you before we come. They will finish getting in order the gift you promised. Then the gift will be ready when we come, and it will be a gift you wanted to give—not a gift that you hated to give.


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Remember this: The person who plants a little will have a small harvest. But the person who plants a lot will have a big harvest.


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Each one should give, then, what he has decided in his heart to give. He should not give if it makes him sad. And he should not give if he thinks he is forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily.


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And God can give you more blessings than you need. Then you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work.


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It is written in the Scriptures: “He gives freely to the poor. The things he does are right and will continue forever.”


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God is the One who gives seed to the farmer. And he gives bread for food. And God will give you all the seed you need and make it grow. He will make a great harvest from your goodness.


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God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will cause many to give thanks to God.


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This service that you do helps the needs of God’s people. It is also bringing more and more thanks to God.


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This service you do is a proof of your faith. Many people will praise God because of it. They will praise God because you follow the Good News of Christ—the gospel you say you believe. They will praise God because you freely share with them and with all others.


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And when they pray, they will wish they could be with you. They will feel this because of the great grace that God has given you.


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Paul Defends His Ministry I, Paul, am begging you with the gentleness and the kindness of Christ. Some people say that I am easy on you when I am with you and strict when I am away.


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They think that we live in a worldly way. I plan to be very strict against them when I come. I beg you that when I come I will not need to use that same strictness with you.


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We fight with weapons that are different from those the world uses. Our weapons have power from God. These weapons can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy men’s arguments.


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And we destroy every proud thing that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.


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You must look at the facts before you. If anyone feels sure that he belongs to Christ, then he must remember that we belong to Christ just as he does.


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It is true that we brag freely about the authority the Lord gave us. But he gave us this authority to strengthen you, not to hurt you. So I will not be ashamed of the bragging we do.


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Some people say, “Paul’s letters are powerful and sound important. But when he is with us, he is weak. And his speaking is nothing.”


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They should know this: We are not there with you now, so we say these things in letters. But when we are there with you, we will show the same authority that we show in our letters.


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We do not dare to put ourselves in the same group with those who think that they are very important. We do not compare ourselves to them. They use themselves to measure themselves, and they judge themselves by what they themselves are. This shows that they know nothing.


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But we will not brag about things outside the work that was given us to do. We will limit our bragging to the work that God gave us. And this work includes our work with you.


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We are not bragging too much. We would be bragging too much if we had not already come to you. But we have come to you with the Good News of Christ.


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We limit our bragging to the work that is ours. We do not brag in the work other men have done. We hope that your faith will continue to grow. And we hope that you will help our work to grow much larger.


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We want to tell the Good News in the areas beyond your city. We do not want to brag about work that has already been done in another man’s area.


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Paul and the False Apostles I wish you would be patient with me even when I am a little foolish. But you are already doing that.


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I am jealous over you. And this jealousy comes from God. I promised to give you to Christ. He must be your only husband. I want to give you to Christ to be his pure bride.


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But I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ. This might happen just as Eve was tricked by the snake with his evil ways.


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You are very patient with anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus than the one we preached. You are very willing to accept a spirit or Good News that is different from the Spirit and Good News that you received from us.


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I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have shown this to you clearly in every way.


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I preached God’s Good News to you without pay. I made myself unimportant to make you important. Do you think that was wrong?


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If I needed something when I was with you, I did not trouble any of you. The brothers who came from Macedonia gave me all that I needed. I did not allow myself to depend on you in any way. And I will never depend on you.


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No one in Southern Greece will stop me from bragging about that. I say this with the truth of Christ in me.


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And why do I not depend on you? Do you think it is because I do not love you? No. God knows that I love you.


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And I will keep on doing what I am doing now. I will continue because I want to stop those people from having a reason to brag. They would like to say that the work they brag about is the same as ours.


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Such men are not true apostles. They are workers who lie. And they change themselves to look like apostles of Christ.


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So it does not surprise us if Satan’s servants also make themselves look like servants who work for what is right. But in the end they will be punished for the things they do.


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Paul Tells About His Sufferings I tell you again: No one should think that I am a fool. But if you think that I am a fool, then accept me as you would accept a fool. Then I can brag a little, too.


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I brag because I feel sure of myself. But I am not talking as the Lord would talk. I am bragging like a fool.


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You are even patient with someone who orders you around and uses you! You are patient with those who trick you, or think they are better than you, or hit you in the face!


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It is shameful to me to say this, but we were too “weak” to do those things to you! But if anyone else is brave enough to brag, then I also will be brave and brag. (I am talking like a fool.)


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Are they serving Christ? I am serving him more. (I am crazy to talk like this.) I have worked much harder than they. I have been in prison more often. I have been hurt more in beatings. I have been near death many times.


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Three different times I was beaten with rods. One time they tried to kill me with stones. Three times I was in ships that were wrecked, and one of those times I spent the night and the next day in the sea.


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I have gone on many travels. And I have been in danger from rivers, from thieves, from my own people, the Jews, and from those who are not Jews. I have been in danger in cities, in places where no one lives, and on the sea. And I have been in danger with false brothers.


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I have done hard and tiring work, and many times I did not sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty. Many times I have been without food. I have been cold and without clothes.


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God knows that I am not lying. He is the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is to be praised forever.


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When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas wanted to arrest me. So he put guards around the city.


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But my friends put me in a basket. Then they put the basket through a hole in the wall and lowered me down. So I escaped from the governor.


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A Special Blessing in Paul’s Life I must continue to brag. It will do no good, but I will talk now about visions and revelations from the Lord.


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I know a man in Christ who was taken up to the third heaven. This happened 14 years ago. I do not know whether the man was in his body or out of his body. But God knows.


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And I know that this man was taken up to paradise. I don’t know if he was in his body or away from his body. But he heard things he is not able to explain. He heard things that no man is allowed to tell.


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But if I wanted to brag about myself, I would not be a fool. I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will not brag about myself. I do not want people to think more of me than what they see me do or hear me say.


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But I must not become too proud of the wonderful things that were shown to me. So a painful problem was given to me. This problem is a messenger from Satan. It is sent to beat me and keep me from being too proud.


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But the Lord said to me, “My grace is enough for you. When you are weak, then my power is made perfect in you.” So I am very happy to brag about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can live in me.


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So I am happy when I have weaknesses, insults, hard times, sufferings, and all kinds of troubles. All these things are for Christ. And I am happy, because when I am weak, then I am truly strong.


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Paul’s Love for the Christians I have been talking like a fool. But you made me do it. You are the ones who should say good things about me. I am worth nothing, but those “great apostles” are not worth any more than I am!


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When I was with you, I did what proves that I am an apostle—signs, wonders, and miracles. And I did these things with much patience.


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So you received everything that the other churches have received. Only one thing was different: I was not a burden to you. Forgive me for this!


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I am now ready to visit you the third time. And I will not be a burden to you. I want nothing from you, I only want you. Children should not have to save up to give to their parents. Parents should save to give to their children.


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So I am happy to give everything I have for you. I will even give myself for you. If I love you more, will you love me less?


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It is clear that I was not a burden to you. But you think that I was tricky and used lies to catch you.


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I asked Titus to go to you. And I sent our brother with him. Titus did not cheat you, did he? No, you know that Titus and I did the same thing and with the same spirit.


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Do you think that we have been defending ourselves to you all this time? We have been speaking in Christ and before God. You are our dear friends. And everything that we do is to make you stronger.


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I do this because I am afraid that when I come, you will not be what I want you to be. And I am afraid that I will not be what you want me to be. I am afraid that among you there may be arguing, jealousy, anger, selfish fighting, evil talk, gossip, pride, and confusion.


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I am afraid that when I come to you again, my God will make me ashamed before you. I may be saddened by many of those who have sinned. I may be saddened because they have not changed their hearts and have not turned away from their impurity and their sexual immorality.


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Final Warnings and Greetings I will come to you for the third time. And remember, “Every case must be proved by two or three witnesses.”


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When I was with you the second time, I gave a warning to those who had sinned. Now I am away from you, and I give a warning to all the others. When I come to you again, I will not be easy with them.


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You want proof that Christ is speaking through me. My proof is that he is not weak among you, but he is powerful.


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It is true that he was weak when he was killed on the cross. But he lives now by God’s power. It is true that we are weak in Christ. But for you we will be alive in Christ by God’s power.


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Look closely at yourselves. Test yourselves to see if you are living in the faith. You know that Christ Jesus is in you—unless you fail the test.


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We pray to God that you will not do anything wrong. It is not important to see that we have passed the test. But it is important that you do what is right, even if it seems that we have failed.


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I am writing this while I am away from you. I am writing so that when I come I will not have to be harsh in my use of authority. The Lord gave me this authority to use to make you stronger, not to destroy you.


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Now, brothers, I say good-bye. Live in harmony. Do what I have asked you to do. Agree with each other, and live in peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.


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The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.


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The Only Good News From Paul, an apostle. I was not chosen to be an apostle by men. I was not sent from men. It was Jesus Christ and God the Father who made me an apostle. God is the One who raised Jesus from death.


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Jesus gave himself for our sins to free us from this evil world we live in. This is what God the Father wanted.


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A short time ago God called you to follow him. He called you by his grace that came through Christ. But now I am amazed at you! You are already turning away and believing something different than the Good News.


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Really, there is no other Good News. But some people are confusing you and want to change the Good News of Christ.


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We preached to you the Good News. So if we ourselves, or even an angel from heaven, preach to you something different than the Good News, he should be condemned!


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I said this before. Now I say it again: You have already accepted the Good News. If anyone tells you another way to be saved, he should be condemned!


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Do you think I am trying to make people accept me? No! God is the One I am trying to please. Am I trying to please men? If I wanted to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.


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Paul’s Authority Is from God Brothers, I want you to know that the Good News I preached to you was not made by men.


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You have heard about my past life. I belonged to the Jewish religion. I hurt the church of God very much and tried to destroy it.


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I was becoming a leader in the Jewish religion. I did better than most other Jews of my age. I tried harder than anyone else to follow the old rules. These rules were the customs handed down by our ancestors.


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But God had special plans for me even before I was born. So he called me through his grace that I might


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tell the Good News about his Son to the non-Jewish people. So God showed me about his Son. When God called me, I did not get advice or help from any man.


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I did not go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was. But, without waiting, I went away to Arabia and later went back to Damascus.


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They had only heard this about me: “This man was trying to hurt us. But now he is preaching the same faith that he once tried to destroy.”


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Other Apostles Accepted Paul After 14 years, I went to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas. I also took Titus with me.


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I went because God showed me that I should go. I met with those men who were the leaders of the believers. When we were alone, I told them the Good News that I preach to the non-Jewish people. I did not want my past work and the work I am now doing to be wasted.


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We talked about this problem because some false brothers had come into our group secretly. They came in like spies to find out about the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to make us slaves.


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But we did not agree with anything those false brothers wanted! We wanted the truth of the Good News to continue for you.


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Those men who seemed to be important did not change the Good News that I preach. (It doesn’t matter to me if they were “important” or not. To God all men are the same.)


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But these leaders saw that God had given me special work, just as he had to Peter. God gave Peter the work of telling the Good News to the Jews. But God gave me the work of telling the Good News to the non-Jewish people.


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God gave Peter the power to work as an apostle for the Jewish people. But he also gave me the power to work as an apostle for those who are not Jews.


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James, Peter, and John, who seemed to be the leaders, saw that God had given me this special grace. So they accepted Barnabas and me. They said, “Paul and Barnabas, we agree that you should go to the people who are not Jews. We will go to the Jews.”


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They asked us to do only one thing—to remember to help the poor. And this was something that I really wanted to do.


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This is what happened: When Peter first came to Antioch, he ate with the non-Jewish people. But then some Jewish men were sent from James. When they arrived, Peter stopped eating with the non-Jewish people and separated himself from them. He was afraid of the Jews who believe that all non-Jewish people must be circumcised.


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So Peter was a hypocrite. The other Jewish believers joined with him and were hypocrites, too. Even Barnabas was influenced by what these Jewish believers did.


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I saw what they did. They were not following the truth of the Good News. So I spoke to Peter in front of them all. I said: “Peter, you are a Jew, but you are not living like a Jew. You are living like the non-Jewish people. So why do you now try to force the non-Jewish people to live like Jews?”


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Yet we know that a person is not made right with God by following the law. No! It is trusting in Jesus Christ that makes a person right with God. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus, that we might be made right with God. And we are right with God because we trusted in Christ—not because we followed the law. For no one can be made right with God by following the law.


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We Jews came to Christ to be made right with God. So it is clear that we were sinners too. Does this mean that Christ makes us sinners? No!


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But I would really be wrong to begin teaching again those things of the Law of Moses that I gave up.


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I stopped living for the law. It was the law that put me to death. I died to the law so that I can now live for God. I was put to death on the cross with Christ.


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I do not live anymore—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in the Son of God. He loved me and gave himself to save me.


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This gift is from God, and it is very important to me. If the law could make us right with God, then Christ did not have to die.


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Blessing Comes Through Faith You people in Galatia were told very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But you were very foolish. You let someone trick you.


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Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Holy Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by following the law? No! You received the Spirit because you heard the Good News and believed it.


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You began your life in Christ by the Spirit. Now do you try to continue it by your own power? That is foolish.


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Does God give you the Spirit because you follow the law? No! Does God work miracles among you because you follow the law? No! God gives you his Spirit and works miracles among you because you heard the Good News and believed it.


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The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham: “Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.”


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The Scriptures told what would happen in the future. They said that God would make the non-Jewish people right through their faith. This Good News was told to Abraham beforehand, as the Scripture says: “All nations will be blessed through you.”


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Abraham believed this, and because he believed, he was blessed. It is the same today. All who believe today are blessed just as Abraham was blessed.


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But those who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse because the Scriptures say, “Anyone will be cursed who does not always obey what is written in the Book of the Law!”


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So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law. The Scriptures say, “He who is right with God by faith will live.”


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The law does not use faith. It says, “A person who does these things will live forever because of them.”


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So the law put a curse on us, but Christ took away that curse. He changed places with us and put himself under that curse. It is written in the Scriptures, “Everyone whose body is displayed on a tree is cursed.”


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Christ did this so that God’s blessing promised to Abraham might come to the non-Jews. This blessing comes through Jesus Christ. Jesus died so that we could have the Spirit that God promised and receive this promise by believing.


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The Law and the Promise Brothers, let me give you an example: Think about an agreement that a person makes with another person. After that agreement is accepted by both people, no one can stop that agreement or add anything to it.


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God made promises to Abraham and his descendant. God did not say, “and to your descendants.” That would mean many people. But God said, “and to your descendant.” That means only one person; that person is Christ.


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This is what I mean: God had an agreement with Abraham and promised to keep it. The law, which came 430 years later, cannot change God’s promise to Abraham.


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Can following the law give us what God promised? No! If this is so, it is not God’s promise that brings us the blessings. Instead God freely gave his blessings to Abraham through the promise he had made.


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So what was the law for? The law was given to show the wrong things people do. It continued until the special descendant of Abraham came. God’s promise was about this descendant. The law was given through angels who used Moses for a mediator to give the law to men.


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The Purpose of the Law of Moses Does this mean that the law is against God’s promises? Never! If there were a law that could give men life, then we could be made right by following that law.


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But this is not true, because the Scriptures showed that the whole world is bound by sin. This was so that the promise would be given through faith. And it is given to people who believe in Jesus Christ.


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Before this faith came, we were all held prisoners by the law. We had no freedom until God showed us the way of faith that was coming.


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So the law was our master until Christ came. After Christ came, we could be made right with God through faith.


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You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This shows that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus.


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Now, in Christ, there is no difference between Jew and Greek. There is no difference between slaves and free men. There is no difference between male and female. You are all the same in Christ Jesus.


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You belong to Christ. So you are Abraham’s descendants. You get all of God’s blessings because of the promise that God made to Abraham.


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I want to tell you this: While the one who will inherit his father’s property is still a child, he is no different from a slave. It does not matter that the child owns everything.


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While he is a child, he must obey those who are chosen to care for him. But when the child reaches the age set by his father, he is free.


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It is the same for us. We were once like children. We were slaves to the useless rules of this world.


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But when the right time came, God sent his Son. His Son was born of a woman and lived under the law.


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God did this so that he could buy freedom for those who were under the law. His purpose was to make us his children.


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And you are God’s children. That is why God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts. The Spirit cries out, “Father, dear Father.”


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So now you are not a slave; you are God’s child, and God will give you what he promised, because you are his child.


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Paul’s Love for the Christians In the past you did not know God. You were slaves to gods that were not real.


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But now you know the true God. Really, it is God who knows you. So why do you turn back to those weak and useless rules you followed before? Do you want to be slaves to those things again?


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You remember that I came to you the first time because I was sick. That was when I preached the Good News to you.


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Though my sickness was a trouble for you, you did not hate me or make me leave. But you welcomed me as an angel from God, as if I were Jesus Christ himself!


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You were very happy then. Where is that joy now? I remember that you would have taken out your eyes and given them to me if that were possible.


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Those people are working hard to persuade you. But this is not good for you. They want to persuade you to turn against us. They want you to follow only them.


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It is good for people to show interest in you, but only if their purpose is good. This is always true. It is true when I am with you and when I am away.


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My little children, again I feel pain for you as a mother feels when she gives birth. I will feel this until you truly become like Christ.


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I wish I could be with you now. Then maybe I could change the way I am talking to you. Now I do not know what to do about you.


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The Example of Hagar and Sarah Some of you people still want to be under the law of Moses. Tell me, do you know what the law says?


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The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one son was a slave woman. The mother of the other son was a free woman.


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Abraham’s son from the slave woman was born in the normal human way. But the son from the free woman was born because of the promise God made to Abraham.


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This makes a picture for us. The two women are like the two agreements between God and men. One agreement is the law that God made on Mount Sinai. The people who are under this agreement are like slaves. The mother named Hagar is like that agreement.


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She is like Mount Sinai in Arabia and is a picture of the earthly Jewish city of Jerusalem. This city is a slave, and all its people are slaves to the law.


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It is written in the Scriptures: “Be happy, Jerusalem. You are like a woman who never gave birth to children. Start singing and shout for joy. You never felt the pain of giving birth to children. But you will have more children than the woman who has a husband.”


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But what does the Scripture say? “Throw out the slave woman and her son! The son of the free woman will receive everything his father has. But the son of the slave woman will receive nothing.”


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Keep Your Freedom We have freedom now because Christ made us free. So stand strong. Do not change and go back into the slavery of the law.


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Listen! I am Paul. I tell you that if you go back to the law by being circumcised, then Christ is no good for you.


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Again, I warn every man: If you allow yourselves to be circumcised, then you must follow all the law.


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If you try to be made right with God through the law, then your life with Christ is over—you have left God’s grace.


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But we hope to be made right with God through faith, and we wait for this hope anxiously with the Spirit’s help.


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When we are in Christ Jesus, it is not important if we are circumcised or not. The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.


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You were running a good race. You were obeying the truth. Who stopped you from following the true way?


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But I trust in the Lord that you will not believe those different ideas. Someone is confusing you with such ideas. And he will be punished, whoever he is.


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My brothers, I do not teach that a man must be circumcised. If I teach circumcision, then why am I still being treated badly? If I still taught circumcision, my preaching about the cross would not be a problem.


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My brothers, God called you to be free. But do not use your freedom as an excuse to do the things that please your sinful self. Serve each other with love.


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If you go on hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful! You will completely destroy each other.


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The Spirit and Human Nature So I tell you: Live by following the Spirit. Then you will not do what your sinful selves want.


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Our sinful selves want what is against the Spirit. The Spirit wants what is against our sinful selves. The two are against each other. So you must not do just what you please.


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The result of sin’s control in our lives is clear. It includes sexual immorality, impurity and wild living,


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worshiping false gods, doing witchcraft, hating, making trouble, being jealous, being angry, being selfish, making people angry with each other, causing divisions among people,


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having envy, being drunk, having wild and wasteful parties, and doing other things like this. I warn you now as I warned you before: Those who do these things will not be in God’s kingdom.


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Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their own sinful selves. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do.


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We must not be proud. We must not make trouble with each other. And we must not be jealous of each other.


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Help Each Other Brothers, someone in your group might do something wrong. You who are spiritual should go to him and help make him right again. You should do this in a gentle way. But be careful! You might be tempted to sin, too.


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He should not compare himself with others. Each person should judge his own actions. Then he can be proud for what he himself has done.


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Anyone who is learning the teaching of God should share all the good things he has with his teacher.


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Life Is Like Planting a Field Do not be fooled: You cannot cheat God. A person harvests only what he plants.


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If he plants to satisfy his sinful self, his sinful self will bring him eternal death. But if he plants to please the Spirit, he will receive eternal life from the Spirit.


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We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up!


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When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.


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Some men are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do these things so that the Jews will accept them. They are afraid that they will be treated badly if they follow only the cross of Christ.


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Those who are circumcised do not obey the law themselves, but they want you to be circumcised. Then they can brag about what they forced you to do.


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I hope I will never brag about things like that. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging. Through the cross of Jesus my world was crucified and I died to the world.


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It is not important if a man is circumcised or not circumcised. The important thing is being the new people God has made.


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Spiritual Blessings in Christ From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what God wanted. To God’s holy people living in Ephesus, believers in Christ Jesus.


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Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven.


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In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. In his love he chose us to be his holy people—people without blame before him.


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And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. That was what he wanted and what pleased him.


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This brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely, in Christ, the One he loves.


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In Christ we are set free by the blood of his death. And so we have forgiveness of sins because of God’s rich grace.


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His goal was to carry out his plan when the right time came. He planned that all things in heaven and on earth would be joined together in Christ as the head.


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In Christ we were chosen to be God’s people. God had already chosen us to be his people, because that is what he wanted. And God is the One who makes everything agree with what he decides and wants.


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We are the first people who hoped in Christ. And we were chosen so that we would bring praise to God’s glory.


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So it is with you. You heard the true teaching—the Good News about your salvation. When you heard it, you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put his special mark on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he had promised.


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That Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will get what God promised for his people. This will bring full freedom to the people who belong to God, to bring praise to God’s glory.


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Paul’s Prayer That is why I always remember you in my prayers and always thank God for you. I have always done this since the time I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people.


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I always pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ—to the glorious Father. I pray that he will give you a spirit that will make you wise in the knowledge of God—the knowledge that he has shown you.


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I pray that you will have greater understanding in your heart. Then you will know the hope that God has chosen to give us. I pray that you will know that the blessings God has promised his holy people are rich and glorious.


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And you will know that God’s power is very great for us who believe. That power is the same as the great strength


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God made Christ more important than all rulers, authorities, powers, and kings. Christ is more important than anything in this world or in the next world.


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The church is Christ’s body. The church is filled with Christ, and Christ fills everything in every way.


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From Death to Life In the past your spiritual lives were dead because of your sins and the things you did wrong against God.


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Yes, in the past you lived the way the world lives. You followed the ruler of the evil powers that are above the earth. That same spirit is now working in those who refuse to obey God.


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In the past all of us lived like them. We lived trying to please our sinful selves. We did all the things our bodies and minds wanted. We should have suffered God’s anger because we were sinful by nature. We were the same as all other people.


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We were spiritually dead because of the things we did wrong against God. But God gave us new life with Christ. You have been saved by God’s grace.


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And he raised us up with Christ and gave us a seat with him in the heavens. He did this for those of us who are in Christ Jesus.


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He did this so that for all future time he could show the very great riches of his grace. He shows that grace by being kind to us in Christ Jesus.


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I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believe. You did not save yourselves. It was a gift from God.


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God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would do good works. God had planned in advance those good works for us. He had planned for us to live our lives doing them.


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One in Christ You were born non-Jews. You are the people the Jews call “uncircumcised.” Those who call you “uncircumcised” call themselves “circumcised.” (Their circumcision is only something they themselves do on their bodies.)


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Remember that in the past you were without Christ. You were not citizens of Israel. And you had no part in the agreements with the promise that God made to his people. You had no hope, and you did not know God.


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Yes, at one time you were far away from God. But now in Christ Jesus you are brought near to God through the blood of Christ’s death.


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Because of Christ we now have peace. Christ made both Jews and non-Jews one people. They were separated as if there were a wall between them. But Christ broke down that wall of hate by giving his own body.


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The Jewish law had many commands and rules. But Christ ended that law. Christ’s purpose was to make the two groups of people become one new people in him. By doing this Christ would make peace.


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Through the cross Christ ended the hatred between the two groups. And after Christ made the two groups to be one body, he wanted to bring them back to God. Christ did this with his death on the cross.


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Christ came and preached peace to you non-Jews who were far away from God. And he preached peace to those Jews who were near to God.


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So now you non-Jews are not visitors or strangers. Now you are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family.


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You believers are like a building that God owns. That building was built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in that building.


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That whole building is joined together in Christ. And Christ makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord.


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And in Christ you, too, are being built together with the Jews. You are being built into a place where God lives through the Spirit.


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Paul’s Work for the Non-Jews So I, Paul, am a prisoner of Christ Jesus. I am a prisoner for you who are not Jews.


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And if you read what I wrote, then you can see that I truly understand the secret truth about the Christ.


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People who lived in other times were not told that secret truth. But now, through the Spirit, God has shown that secret truth to his holy apostles and prophets.


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This is that secret truth: that the non-Jews will receive what God has for his people, just as the Jews will. The non-Jews are together with the Jews as part of the same body. And they share together in the promise that God made in Christ Jesus. The non-Jews have all of this because of the Good News.


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By God’s special gift of grace, I became a servant to tell that Good News. God gave me that grace through his power.


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I am the least important of all God’s people. But God gave me this gift—to tell the non-Jewish people the Good News about the riches of Christ. Those riches are too great to understand fully.


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And God gave me the work of telling all people about the plan for God’s secret truth. That secret truth has been hidden in God since the beginning of time. God is the One who created everything.


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His purpose was that through the church all the rulers and powers in the heavenly world will now know God’s wisdom, which has so many forms.


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This agrees with the purpose God had since the beginning of time. And God carried out his plan through Christ Jesus our Lord.


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In Christ we can come before God with freedom and without fear. We can do this through faith in Christ.


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So I ask you not to become discouraged because of the sufferings I am having for you. My sufferings bring honor to you.


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I ask the Father in his great glory to give you the power to be strong in spirit. He will give you that strength through his Spirit.


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I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love.


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And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love. I pray that you can understand how wide and how long and how high and how deep that love is.


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Christ’s love is greater than any person can ever know. But I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with the fullness of God.


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The Unity of the Body I am in prison because I belong to the Lord. God chose you to be his people. I tell you now to live the way God’s people should live.


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You are joined together with peace through the Spirit. Do all you can to continue together in this way. Let peace hold you together.


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That is why it says in the Scriptures, “When he went up to the heights, he led a parade of captives. And he gave gifts to people.”


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So Jesus came down, and he is the same One who went up. He went up above all the heavens. Christ did that to fill everything with himself.


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And Christ gave gifts to men—he made some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to go and tell the Good News, and some to have the work of caring for and teaching God’s people.


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Christ gave those gifts to prepare God’s holy people for the work of serving. He gave those gifts to make the body of Christ stronger.


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This work must continue until we are all joined together in the same faith and in the same knowledge about the Son of God. We must become like a mature person—we must grow until we become like Christ and have all his perfection.


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Then we will no longer be babies. We will not be tossed about like a ship that the waves carry one way and then another. We will not be influenced by every new teaching we hear from men who are trying to fool us. Those men make plans and try any kind of trick to fool people into following the wrong path.


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No! We will speak the truth with love. We will grow up in every way to be like Christ, who is the head.


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The whole body depends on Christ. And all the parts of the body are joined and held together. Each part of the body does its own work. And this makes the whole body grow and be strong with love.


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The Way You Should Live In the Lord’s name, I tell you this. I warn you: Do not continue living like those who do not believe. Their thoughts are worth nothing.


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They do not understand. They know nothing, because they refuse to listen. So they cannot have the life that God gives.


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They have lost their feeling of shame. And they use their lives for doing evil. More and more they want to do all kinds of evil things.


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I know that you heard about him, and you are in him; so you were taught the truth. Yes, the truth is in Jesus.


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You were taught to leave your old self—to stop living the evil way you lived before. That old self becomes worse and worse because people are fooled by the evil things they want to do.


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You were taught to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God—made to be truly good and holy.


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So you must stop telling lies. Tell each other the truth because we all belong to each other in the same body.


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If a person is stealing, he must stop stealing and start working. He must use his hands for doing something good. Then he will have something to share with those who are poor.


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When you talk, do not say harmful things. But say what people need—words that will help others become stronger. Then what you say will help those who listen to you.


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And do not make the Holy Spirit sad. The Spirit is God’s proof that you belong to him. God gave you the Spirit to show that God will make you free when the time comes.


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Do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil.


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Live a life of love. Love other people just as Christ loved us. Christ gave himself for us—he was a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice to God.


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But there must be no sexual immorality among you. There must not be any kind of evil or greed. Those things are not right for God’s holy people.


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Also, there must be no evil talk among you. You must not speak foolishly or tell evil jokes. These things are not right for you. But you should be giving thanks to God.


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You can be sure of this: No one will have a place in the kingdom of Christ and of God who engages in sexual sin, or does evil things, or is greedy. Anyone who is greedy is serving a false god.


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Do not let anyone fool you by telling you things that are not true. These things will bring God’s anger on those who do not obey him.


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In the past you were full of darkness, but now you are full of light in the Lord. So live like children who belong to the light.


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Do not do the things that people in darkness do. That brings nothing good. But do good things to show that the things done in darkness are wrong.


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And everything that is made easy to see can become light. This is why it is said: “Wake up, sleeper! Rise from death, and Christ will shine on you.”


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Speak to each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord.


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The husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. The church is Christ’s body—Christ is the Savior of the body.


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The church is under the authority of Christ. So it is the same with you wives. You should be under the authority of your husbands in everything.


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Christ died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty. He died so that the church could be pure and without fault, with no evil or sin or any other wrong thing in it.


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And husbands should love their wives in the same way. They should love their wives as they love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself.


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No person ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it. And that is what Christ does for the church,


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The Scripture says, “So a man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife. And the two people will become one body.”


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Children and Parents Children, obey your parents the way the Lord wants. This is the right thing to do.


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The command says, “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first command that has a promise with it.


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The promise is: “Then everything will be well with you, and you will have a long life on the earth.”


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Fathers, do not make your children angry, but raise them with the training and teaching of the Lord.


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Slaves and Masters Slaves, obey your masters here on earth with fear and respect. And do that with a heart that is true, just as you obey Christ.


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You must do more than obey your masters to please them only while they are watching you. You must obey them as you are obeying Christ. With all your heart you must do what God wants.


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Do your work, and be happy to do it. Work as if you were serving the Lord, not as if you were serving only men.


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Masters, in the same way, be good to your slaves. Do not say things to scare them. You know that the One who is your Master and their Master is in heaven. And that Master treats everyone alike.


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Our fight is not against people on earth. We are fighting against the rulers and authorities and the powers of this world’s darkness. We are fighting against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly world.


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That is why you need to get God’s full armor. Then on the day of evil you will be able to stand strong. And when you have finished the whole fight, you will still be standing.


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So stand strong, with the belt of truth tied around your waist. And on your chest wear the protection of right living.


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Accept God’s salvation to be your helmet. And take the sword of the Spirit—that sword is the teaching of God.


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Pray in the Spirit at all times. Pray with all kinds of prayers, and ask for everything you need. To do this you must always be ready. Never give up. Always pray for all God’s people.


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Also pray for me. Pray that when I speak, God will give me words so that I can tell the secret truth of the Good News without fear.


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I have the work of speaking that Good News. I am doing that now, here in prison. Pray that when I preach the Good News I will speak without fear, as I should.


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Final Greetings I am sending to you Tychicus, our brother whom we love. He is a faithful servant of the Lord’s work. He will tell you everything that is happening with me. Then you will know how I am and what I am doing.


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Serve Others with Joy From Paul and Timothy, servants of Jesus Christ. To all of God’s holy people in Christ Jesus who live in Philippi. And to your overseers and deacons.


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I thank God for the help you gave me while I preached the Good News. You helped from the first day you believed until now.


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God began doing a good work in you. And he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again. I am sure of that.


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And I know that I am right to think like this about all of you. I am sure because I have you in my heart. All of you share in God’s grace with me. You share in God’s grace with me while I am in prison, while I am defending the Good News, and while I am proving the truth of the Good News.


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This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love;


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that you will see the difference between good and bad and choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ;


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that you will be filled with the good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.


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Paul’s Troubles Help the Work Brothers, I want you to know that what has happened to me has helped to spread the Good News.


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I am in prison because I am a believer in Christ. All the palace guards and everyone else knows this.


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I am still in prison, but most of the believers feel better about it now. And so they are much braver about telling the Good News about Christ.


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It is true that some preach about Christ because they are jealous and bitter. But others preach about Christ because they want to help.


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They preach because they have love, and they know that God gave me the work of defending the Good News.


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But others preach about Christ because they are selfish. Their reason for preaching is wrong. They want to make trouble for me in prison.


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But I do not care if they make trouble for me. The important thing is that they are preaching about Christ. They should do it for the right reasons. But I am happy even if they do it for wrong reasons. And I will continue to be happy.


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You are praying for me, and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me. So I know that this trouble will bring my freedom.


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The thing I want and hope for is that I will not fail Christ in anything. I hope that I will have the courage now, as always, to show the greatness of Christ in my life here on earth. I want to do that if I die or if I live.


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If I continue living in the body, I will be able to work for the Lord. But what should I choose—living or dying? I do not know.


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It is hard to choose between the two. I want to leave this life and be with Christ. That is much better.


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I know that you need me, and so I know that I will stay with you. I will help you grow and have joy in your faith.


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Be sure that you live in a way that brings honor to the Good News of Christ. Then whether I come and visit you or am away from you, I will hear good things about you. I will hear that you continue strong with one purpose and that you work together as a team for the faith of the Good News.


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And you will not be afraid of those who are against you. All of these things are proof from God that you will be saved and that your enemies will be lost.


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God gave you the honor both of believing in Christ and suffering for Christ. Both these things bring glory to Christ.


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When I was with you, you saw the struggles I had. And you hear about the struggles I am having now. You yourselves are having the same kind of struggles.


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Does your life in Christ give you strength? Does his love comfort you? Do we share together in the Spirit? Do you have mercy and kindness?


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If so, make me very happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and having one mind and purpose.


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When you do things, do not let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble and give more honor to others than to yourselves.


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Christ himself was like God in everything. He was equal with God. But he did not think that being equal with God was something to be held on to.


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He gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born as a man and became like a servant.


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And when he was living as a man, he humbled himself and was fully obedient to God. He obeyed even when that caused his death—death on a cross.


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So God raised Christ to the highest place. God made the name of Christ greater than every other name.


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Be the People God Wants You to Be My dear friends, you have always obeyed. You obeyed God when I was with you. It is even more important that you obey now while I am not with you. Keep on working to complete your salvation, and do it with fear and trembling.


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Yes, God is working in you to help you want to do what pleases him. Then he gives you the power to do it.


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Then you will be innocent and without anything wrong in you. You will be God’s children without fault. But you are living with crooked and mean people all around you. Among them you shine like stars in the dark world.


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You offer to them the teaching that gives life. So when Christ comes again, I can be happy because my work was not wasted. I ran in the race and won.


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Your faith makes you offer your lives as a sacrifice in serving God. Perhaps I will have to offer my own blood with your sacrifice. But if that happens, I will be happy and full of joy with all of you.


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Timothy and Epaphroditus I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon. I will be happy to learn how you are.


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Other people are interested only in their own lives. They are not interested in the work of Christ Jesus.


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You know the kind of person Timothy is. You know that he has served with me in telling the Good News, as a son serves his father.


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Epaphroditus is my brother in Christ. He works and serves with me in the army of Christ. When I needed help, you sent him to me. I think now that I must send him back to you


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Yes, he was sick, and nearly died. But God helped him and me too, so that I would not have more sadness.


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So I want very much to send him to you. When you see him, you can be happy. And I can stop worrying about you.


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He should be honored because he almost died for the work of Christ. He put his life in danger so that he could help me. This was help that you could not give me.


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The Importance of Christ My brothers, be full of joy in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it will help you to be more ready.


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But we are the ones who are truly circumcised. We worship God through his Spirit. We are proud to be in Christ Jesus. And we do not trust in ourselves or anything we can do.


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Even if I am able to trust in myself, still I do not. If anyone thinks that he has a reason to trust in himself, he should know that I have greater reason for trusting in myself.


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I was circumcised eight days after my birth. I am from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin. I am a Hebrews, and my parents were Hebrews. The law of Moses was very important to me. That is why I became a Pharisee.


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I was so enthusiastic that I tried to hurt the church. No one could find fault with the way I obeyed the law of Moses.


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At one time all these things were important to me. But now I think those things are worth nothing because of Christ.


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Not only those things, but I think that all things are worth nothing compared with the greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Christ, I have lost all those things. And now I know that all those things are worthless trash. This allows me to have Christ


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and to belong to him. Now that I belong to Christ, I am right with God and this being right does not come from my following the law. It comes from God through faith. God uses my faith in Christ to make me right with him.


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All I want is to know Christ and the power of his rising from death. I want to share in Christ’s sufferings and become like him in his death.


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Continuing Toward Our Goal I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal. But I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that. That is the reason Christ made me his.


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Brothers, I know that I have not yet reached that goal. But there is one thing I always do: I forget the things that are past. I try as hard as I can to reach the goal that is before me.


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I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize. That prize is mine because God called me through Christ to the life above.


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All of us who have grown spiritually to be mature should think this way, too. And if there are things you do not agree with, God will make them clear to you.


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Brothers, all of you should try to follow my example and to copy those who live the way we showed you.


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Many people live like enemies of the cross of Christ. I have often told you about them, and it makes me cry to tell you about them now.


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The way they live is leading them to destruction. Instead of serving God, they do whatever their bodies want. They do shameful things, and they are proud of it. They think only about earthly things.


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But our homeland is in heaven, and we are waiting for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven.


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He will change our humble bodies and make them like his own glorious body. Christ can do this by his power. With that power he is able to rule all things.


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What the Christians Are to Do My dear brothers, I love you and want to see you. You bring me joy and make me proud of you. Continue following the Lord as I have told you.


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And because you serve faithfully with me, my friend, I ask you to help these women to do this. They served with me in telling people the Good News. They served together with Clement and others who worked with me. Their names are written in the book of life.


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Do not worry about anything. But pray and ask God for everything you need. And when you pray, always give thanks.


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And God’s peace will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The peace that God gives is so great that we cannot understand it.


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Brothers, continue to think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.


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And do what you learned and received from me. Do what I told you and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you.


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Paul Thanks the Christians I am very happy in the Lord that you have shown your care for me again. You continued to care about me, but there was no way for you to show it.


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I am telling you this, but it is not because I need anything. I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have and with everything that happens.


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I know how to live when I am poor. And I know how to live when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of being happy at any time in everything that happens. I have learned to be happy when I have enough to eat and when I do not have enough to eat. I have learned to be happy when I have all that I need and when I do not have the things I need.


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You people in Philippi remember when I first preached the Good News there. When I left Macedonia, you were the only church that gave me help.


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Really, it is not that I want to receive gifts from you. But I want you to have the good that comes from giving.


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And now I have everything, and more. I have all I need because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God. God accepts that sacrifice, and it pleases him.


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Only Christ Can Save People From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus. I am an apostle because that is what God wanted. Also from Timothy, our brother.


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To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ that live in Colosse. Grace and peace from God our Father.


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We thank God because we have heard about the faith you have in Christ Jesus and the love you have for all of God’s people.


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You have this faith and love because of your hope, and what you hope for is saved for you in heaven. You learned about this hope when you heard the true teaching, the Good News


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that was told to you. Everywhere in the world that Good News is bringing blessings and is growing. This has happened with you, too, since you heard the Good News and understood the truth about the grace of God.


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You learned about God’s grace from Epaphras, whom we love. Epaphras works together with us and is a faithful servant of Christ for us.


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Since the day we heard this about you, we have continued praying for you. We ask God that you will know fully what God wants. We pray that you will also have great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things.


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Then you will live the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord in every way. You will produce fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.


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Then God will strengthen you with his own great power. And you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient.


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Then you will joyfully give thanks to the Father. He has made you able to have all that he has prepared for his people who live in the light.


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The Importance of Christ No one has seen God, but Jesus is exactly like him. Christ ranks higher than all the things that have been made.


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Through his power all things were made—things in heaven and on earth, things seen and unseen, all powers, authorities, lords, and rulers. All things were made through Christ and for Christ.


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He is the head of the body. (The body is the church.) Everything comes from him. And he is the first one who was raised from death. So in all things Jesus is most important.


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And through Christ, God decided to bring all things back to himself again—things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace by using the blood of Christ’s death on the cross.


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At one time you were separated from God. You were God’s enemies in your minds because the evil deeds you did were against God.


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But now Christ has made you God’s friends again. He did this by his death while he was in the body, that he might bring you into God’s presence. He brings you before God as people who are holy, with no wrong in you, and with nothing that God can judge you guilty of.


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And Christ will do this if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must continue strong and sure in your faith. You must not be moved away from the hope that Good News gave you. That same Good News has been told to everyone in the world. I, Paul, help in preaching that Good News.


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Paul’s Work for the Church I am happy in my sufferings for you. There are many things that Christ must still suffer through his body, the church. I am accepting my part of these things that must be suffered. I accept these sufferings in my body. I suffer for his body, the church.


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I became a servant of the church because God gave me a special work to do that helps you. My work is to tell fully the teaching of God.


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This teaching is the secret truth that was hidden since the beginning of time. It was hidden from everyone, but now it is made known to God’s holy people.


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God decided to let his people know this rich and glorious truth which he has for all people. This truth is Christ himself, who is in you. He is our only hope for glory.


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So we continue to preach Christ to all men. We use all wisdom to warn and to teach everyone. We are trying to bring each one into God’s presence as a mature person in Christ.


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I want you to know that I am trying very hard to help you. And I am trying to help those in Laodicea and others who have never seen me.


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I want them to be strengthened and joined together with love. I want them to be rich in the strong belief that comes from understanding. I mean I want you to know fully God’s secret truth. That truth is Christ himself.


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I am not there with you, but my heart is with you. I am happy to see your good lives and your strong faith in Christ.


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Keep your roots deep in him and have your lives built on him. Be strong in the faith, just as you were taught. And always be thankful.


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Be sure that no one leads you away with false ideas and words that mean nothing. Those ideas come from men. They are the worthless ideas of this world. They are not from Christ.


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In Christ you had a different kind of circumcision. That circumcision was not done by hands. I mean, you were made free from the power of your sinful self. That is the kind of circumcision Christ does.


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When you were baptized, you were buried with Christ and you were raised up with Christ because of your faith in God’s power. That power was shown when he raised Christ from death.


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You were spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were not free from the power of your sinful self. But God made you alive with Christ. And God forgave all our sins.


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We owed a debt because we broke God’s laws. That debt listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us that debt. He took away that debt and nailed it to the cross.


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God defeated the spiritual rulers and powers. With the cross God won the victory and defeated them. He showed the world that they were powerless.


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Don’t Follow People’s Rules So do not let anyone make rules for you about eating and drinking or about a religious feast, a New Moon Festival, or a Sabbath day.


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In the past, these things were like a shadow of what was to come. But the new things that were coming are found in Christ.


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Some enjoy acting as if they were humble and love to worship angels. They are always talking about the visions they have seen. Do not let them tell you that you are wrong. They are full of foolish pride because of their human way of thinking.


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They do not keep themselves under the control of Christ, the head. The whole body depends on Christ. Because of him all the parts of the body care for each other and help each other. This strengthens the body and holds it together. And so the body grows in the way God wants.


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You died with Christ and were made free from the worthless rules of the world. So why do you act as if you still belong to this world? I mean, why do you follow rules like these:


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These rules are talking about earthly things that are gone as soon as they are used. They are only human commands and teachings.


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These rules seem to be wise. But they are only part of a human religion. They make people pretend not to be proud and make them punish their bodies. But they do not really control the evil desires of the sinful self.


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Your New Life in Christ You were raised from death with Christ. So aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God.


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So put all evil things out of your life. Get rid of sexual immorality and impure acts. Don’t let your feelings get out of control. Remove from your life all evil desires. Stop always wanting more and more. This really means living to serve a false god.


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But now put these things out of your life: anger, bad temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and using evil words when you talk.


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You have begun to live the new life. In your new life you are being made new. You are becoming like the One who made you. This new life brings you the true knowledge of God.


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In the new life there is no difference between Greeks and Jews. There is no difference between those who are circumcised and those who are not circumcised, or people that are foreigners, or Scythians. There is no difference between slaves and free people. But Christ is in all believers. And Christ is all that is important.


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God has chosen you and made you his holy people. He loves you. So always do these things: Show mercy to others; be kind, humble, gentle, and patient.


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Do not be angry with each other, but forgive each other. If someone does wrong to you, then forgive him. Forgive each other because the Lord forgave you.


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Do all these things; but most important, love each other. Love is what holds you all together in perfect unity.


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Let the peace that Christ gives control your thinking. You were all called together in one body to have peace. Always be thankful.


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Let the teaching of Christ live in you richly. Use all wisdom to teach and strengthen each other. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God.


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Everything you say and everything you do should all be done for Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.


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Your New Life with Other People Wives, be under the authority of your husbands. This is the right thing to do in the Lord.


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Slaves, obey your masters in all things. Do not obey just when they are watching you, to gain their favor. But serve them honestly, because you respect the Lord.


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In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were working for the Lord, not for men.


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Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, which he promised to his people. You are serving the Lord Christ.


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But remember that anyone who does wrong will be punished for that wrong. And the Lord treats everyone the same.


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Masters, give the things that are good and fair to your slaves. Remember that you have a Master in heaven.


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Also pray for us. Pray that God will give us an opportunity to tell people his message. Pray that we can preach the secret truth that God has made known about Christ. I am in prison because I preach this truth.


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Be wise in the way you act with people who are not believers. Use your time in the best way you can.


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When you talk, you should always be kind and wise. Then you will be able to answer everyone in the way you should.


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News About the People with Paul Tychicus is my dear brother in Christ. He is a faithful minister and servant with me in the Lord. He will tell you all the things that are happening to me.


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I send him with Onesimus. Onesimus is a faithful and dear brother in Christ. He is one of your group. They will tell you all that has happened here.


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Aristarchus greets you. He is a prisoner with me. And Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, also greets you. (I have already told you what to do about Mark. If he comes, welcome him.)


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Jesus, who is called Justus, also greets you. These are the only Jewish believers who work with me for the kingdom of God. They have been a comfort to me.


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Epaphras also greets you. He is a servant of Jesus Christ. And he is from your group. He always prays for you. He prays that you will grow to be spiritually mature and have everything that God wants for you.


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After this letter is read to you, be sure that it is also read to the church in Laodicea. And you read the letter that I wrote to Laodicea.


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The Faith of the Thessalonians From Paul, Silas, and Timothy. To the church in Thessalonica, the church in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God’s grace and peace be yours.


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When we pray to God our Father, we always thank him for the things you have done because of your faith. And we thank him for the work you have done because of your love. And we thank him that you continue to be strong because of your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.


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We brought the Good News to you. But we did not use only words. We brought the Good News with power, with the Holy Spirit, and with sure knowledge that it is true. Also you know how we lived when we were with you. We lived that way to help you.


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And you became like us and like the Lord. You suffered much, but still you accepted the teaching with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit.


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The Lord’s teaching spread from you in Macedonia and Southern Greece. And your faith in God has become known everywhere. So we do not need to say anything about your faith.


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People everywhere are telling about the good way you accepted us when we were there with you. They tell about how you stopped worshiping idols and changed to serving the living and true God.


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And you changed to wait for God’s Son to come from heaven. God raised that Son from death. He is Jesus, who saves us from God’s angry judgment that is sure to come.


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Before we came to you, we suffered in Philippi. People there insulted us. You know about that. And when we came to you, many people were against us. But our God helped us to be brave and to tell you his Good News.


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Our message was a message to encourage you. We were not trying to lie. We had no evil plan. We were not trying to trick you.


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But we speak the Good News because God tested us and trusted us to do it. When we speak, we are not trying to please men. But we are trying to please God, who tests our hearts.


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You know that we never tried to influence you by saying nice things about you. We were not trying to get your money. We had no selfishness to hide from you. God knows that this is true.


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We were not looking for praise from you or anyone else. We are apostles of Christ. When we were with you, we could have used our authority to make you do things.


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Because we loved you, we were happy to share God’s Good News with you. But not only that, we were also happy to share even our own lives with you.


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Brothers, I know that you remember how hard we worked. We worked night and day so that we would not burden any of you while we preached God’s Good News to you.


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When we were with you, we lived in a holy and right way, without fault. You know that this is true, and God knows that this is true.


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We strengthened you, we comforted you, and we told you to live good lives for God. It is God who calls you to his glorious kingdom.


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Also, we always thank God because of the way you accepted his message. You heard his message from us, and you accepted it as the word of God, not the words of men. And it really is God’s message. And that message works in you who believe.


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Brothers, you have been like God’s churches in Christ that are in Judea. God’s people suffered bad things from the other Jews there. And you suffered the same bad things from the people of your own country.


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Those Jews killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets. And they forced us to leave that country. They do not please God. They are against all people.


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They try to stop us from teaching the non-Jews so that they may be saved. But those Jews are adding more and more sins to the sins they already have. The anger of God has come to them at last.


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Paul Wants to Visit Them Again Brothers, we were separated from you for a short time, but our thoughts were still with you. We wanted very much to see you, and tried very hard to do so.


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We could not come to you, but it was very hard to wait any longer. So we decided to stay in Athens alone


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and send Timothy to you. Timothy is our brother, who works with us for God. He helps us tell people the Good News about Christ. We sent Timothy to strengthen and comfort you in your faith.


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We sent him so that none of you would be upset by these troubles we have now. You yourselves know that we must have these troubles.


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Even when we were with you, we told you that we all would have to suffer. And you know that it has happened the way we said.


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This is why I sent Timothy to you, so that I could know about your faith. I sent him when I could not wait any longer. I was afraid that the devil had tempted you, and perhaps our hard work would have been wasted.


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But Timothy now has come back to us from you and has brought us good news about your faith and love. He told us that you always remember us in a good way. He told us that you want to see us just as much as we want to see you.


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So, brothers, we are comforted about you, because of your faith. We have much trouble and suffering, but still we are comforted.


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We have so much joy before our God because of you, and we thank him for you. But we cannot thank him enough for all the joy we feel.


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And we continue praying with all our heart for you night and day. We pray that we can see you again and give you all the things you need to make your faith strong.


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We pray that the Lord will make your love grow more and more for each other and for all people. We pray that you will love others as we love you and


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that your hearts will be made strong. Then you will be holy and without fault before our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy people.


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A Life That Pleases God Brothers, now I have some other things to tell you. We taught you how to live in a way that will please God. And you are living that way. Now we ask you and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live that way more and more.


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So do not wrong your brother or cheat him in this way. The Lord will punish people who do those things. We have already told you and warned you about that.


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So the person who refuses to obey this teaching is refusing to obey God, not man. And God is the One who gives us his Holy Spirit.


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We do not need to write to you about having love for your brothers and sisters in Christ. God has already taught you to love each other.


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And truly you do love the brothers in all of Macedonia. Brothers, now we encourage you to love them more and more.


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Do all you can to live a peaceful life. Take care of your own business. Do your own work. We have already told you to do these things.


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If you do, then people who are not believers will respect you. And you will not have to depend on others for what you need.


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The Lord’s Coming Brothers, we want you to know about those who have died. We do not want you to be sad as others who have no hope.


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We believe that Jesus died and that he rose again. So, because of Jesus, God will bring together with Jesus those who have died.


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What we tell you now is the Lord’s own message. We who are living now may still be living when the Lord comes again. We who are living at that time will be with the Lord, but not before those who have already died.


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The Lord himself will come down from heaven. There will be a loud command with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died and were in Christ will rise first.


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After that, those who are still alive at that time will be gathered up with them. We will be taken up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever.


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You know very well that the day the Lord comes again will be a surprise like a thief that comes in the night.


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People will say, “We have peace and we are safe.” At that time they will be destroyed quickly, as pains come quickly to a woman having a baby. And those people will not escape.


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You are all people who belong to the light. You belong to the day. We do not belong to the night or to darkness.


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So we should not be like other people. We should not be sleeping, but we should be awake and have self-control.


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But we belong to the day; so we should control ourselves. We should wear faith and love to protect us. And the hope of salvation should be our helmet.


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Jesus died for us so that we can live together with him. It is not important if we are alive or dead when Jesus comes.


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Final Instructions and Greetings Now, brothers, we ask you to respect those people who work hard with you, who lead you in the Lord and teach you.


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Respect them with a very special love because of the work they do with you. Live in peace with each other.


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We ask you, brothers, to warn those who do not work. Encourage the people who are afraid. Help those who are weak. Be patient with every person.


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Be sure that no one pays back wrong for wrong. But always try to do what is good for each other and for all people.


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We pray that God himself, the God of peace, will make you pure, belonging only to him. We pray that your whole self—spirit, soul, and body—will be kept safe and be without wrong when our Lord Jesus Christ comes.


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The Problems of New Christians From Paul, Silas, and Timothy. To the church in Thessalonica in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.


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Paul Talks About God’s Judgment We must always thank God for you. And we should do this because it is right. It is right because your faith is growing more and more. And the love that every one of you has for each other is also growing.


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So we brag about you to the other churches of God. We tell them about the way you continue to be strong and have faith. You are being treated badly and are suffering many troubles, but you continue with strength and faith.


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This is proof that God is right in his judgment. God wants you to be worthy of his kingdom. Your suffering is for that kingdom.


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And he will give peace to you people who are troubled and to us also. God will give us this help when the Lord Jesus is shown to us from heaven with his powerful angels.


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He will come from heaven with burning fire to punish those who do not know God. He will punish those who do not obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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Those people will be punished with a destruction that continues forever. They will not be allowed to be with the Lord, and they will be kept away from his great power.


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This will happen on the day when the Lord Jesus comes to receive glory with his holy people. And all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus. You will be in that group of believers because you believed what we told you.


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That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to help you live the good way that he called you to live. The goodness you have makes you want to do good, and the faith you have makes you work. We pray that with his power God will help you do these things more and more.


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We pray all this so that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ can have glory in you. And you can have glory in him. That glory comes from the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.


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Evil Things Will Happen Brothers, we have something to say about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. We want to talk to you about that time when we will meet together with him.


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Do not become easily upset in your thinking or afraid if you hear that the day of the Lord has already come. Someone may have said this in a prophecy or in a message. Or you may read it in a letter that someone tells you came from us.


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Do not let any person fool you in any way. That day of the Lord will not come until the turning away from God happens. And that day will not come until the Man of Evil appears. He belongs to hell.


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He is against any so-called god or anything that people worship. And the Man of Evil puts himself above anything called God or anything that people worship. And that Man of Evil even goes into God’s Temple and sits there. Then he says that he is God.


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And you know what is stopping that Man of Evil now. He is being stopped now so that he will appear at the right time.


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The secret power of evil is already working in the world now. But there is one who is stopping that power. And he will continue to stop it until he is taken out of the way.


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Then that Man of Evil will appear. And the Lord Jesus will kill him with the breath that comes from his mouth and will destroy him with the glory of his coming.


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The Man of Evil will come by the power of Satan. He will have great power, and he will do many different false miracles, signs, and wonders.


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He will use every kind of evil to trick those who are lost. They are lost because they refused to love the truth. (If they loved the truth, they would be saved.)


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But they refused to love the truth; so God sends them something powerful that leads them away from the truth. He sends them that power so they will believe something that is not true.


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So all those who do not believe the truth will be judged guilty. They did not believe the truth, and they enjoyed doing evil.


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You Are Chosen for Salvation Brothers, the Lord loves you. God chose you from the beginning to be saved. So we must always thank God for you. You are saved by the Spirit that makes you holy and by your faith in the truth.


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God used the Good News that we preached to call you to be saved. He called you so that you can share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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So, brothers, stand strong and continue to believe the teachings we gave you. We taught you those things in our speaking and in our letter to you.


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We pray that the Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father will comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. God loved us. Through his grace he gave us a good hope and comfort that continues forever.


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Pray for Us And now, brothers, pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s teaching will continue to spread quickly. And pray that people will give honor to that teaching, just as happened with you.


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The Lord makes us feel sure that you are doing the things we told you. And we know that you will continue to do those things.


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The Duty to Work Brothers, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ we command you to stay away from any believer who refuses to work. People who refuse to work are not following the teaching that we gave them.


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And when we ate another person’s food, we always paid for it. We worked and worked so that we would not be a trouble to any of you. We worked night and day.


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We had the right to ask you to help us. But we worked to take care of ourselves so that we would be an example for you to follow.


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We hear that some people in your group refuse to work. They do nothing. And they busy themselves in other people’s lives.


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We command those people to work quietly and earn their own food. In the Lord Jesus Christ we beg them to do this.


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If anyone does not obey what we tell you in this letter, then remember who he is. Do not associate with him. Then maybe he will feel ashamed.


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Final Words We pray that the Lord of peace will give you peace at all times and in every way. May the Lord be with all of you.


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I am Paul, and I end this letter now in my own handwriting. All my letters have this to show they are from me. This is the way I write.


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Advice to a Young Preacher From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus our hope.


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To Timothy, a true son to me because you believe. Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.


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Warning Against False Teaching I want you to stay in Ephesus. I asked you to do that when I went into Macedonia. Some people there in Ephesus are teaching false things. Stay there so that you can command them to stop.


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Tell them not to spend their time on stories that are not true and on long lists of names in family histories. These things only bring arguments; they do not help God’s work. God’s work is done by faith.


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The purpose of this command is for people to have love. To have this love they must have a pure heart, they must do what they know is right, and they must have true faith.


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They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about. They do not even understand what they say they are sure about.


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We also know that the law is not made for good men. The law is made for people who are against the law and for those who refuse to follow the law. It is for people who are against God and are sinful, who are unholy and ungodly, who kill their fathers and mothers, who murder,


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who take part in sexual sins, men who have physical relations with other men, those who sell slaves, who tell lies, who speak falsely, and who do anything against the true teaching of God.


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That teaching is part of the Good News that God gave me to tell. That glorious Good News is from the blessed God.


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Thanks for God’s Mercy I thank Christ Jesus our Lord because he trusted me and gave me this work of serving him. And he gives me strength.


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In the past I spoke against Christ and persecuted him and did all kinds of things to hurt him. But God showed mercy to me because I did not know what I was doing. I did those things when I did not believe.


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But the grace of our Lord was fully given to me. And with that grace came the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.


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What I say is true, and you should fully accept it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the worst of those sinners.


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But I was given mercy. I was given mercy so that in me Christ Jesus could show that he has patience without limit. And he showed his patience with me, the worst of all sinners. Christ wanted me to be an example for those who would believe in him and have life forever.


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Honor and glory to the King that rules forever! He cannot be destroyed and cannot be seen. Honor and glory forever and ever to the only God. Amen.


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Timothy, you are like a son to me. I am giving you a command that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past. I tell you this so that you can follow those prophecies and fight the good fight of faith.


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Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have not done this. Their faith has been destroyed.


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Hymenaeus and Alexander are men who have done that. I have given them to Satan so that they will learn not to speak against God.


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Some Rules for Men and Women First, I tell you to pray for all people. Ask God for the things people need, and be thankful to him.


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You should pray for kings and for all who have authority. Pray for the leaders so that we can have quiet and peaceful lives—lives full of worship and respect for God.


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There is only one God. And there is only one way that people can reach God. That way is through Jesus Christ, who is also a man.


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Jesus gave himself to pay for the sins of all people. Jesus is proof that God wants all people to be saved. And that proof came at the right time.


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That is why I was chosen to tell the Good News and was chosen to be an apostle. (I am telling the truth. I am not lying.) I was chosen to teach the non-Jewish people to believe and to know the truth.


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I want men everywhere to pray. These men who lift up their hands in prayer must be holy. They must not be men who become angry and have arguments.


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I also want women to wear clothes that are right for them. They should dress with respect and right thinking. They should not use fancy braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes to make themselves beautiful.


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But they should make themselves beautiful by doing good deeds. Women who say they worship God should make themselves beautiful in that way.


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Also, Adam was not the one who was tricked by the devil. It was the woman who was tricked and became a sinner.


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But women will be saved through having children. They will be saved if they continue in faith, love, holiness, and self-control.


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Leaders in the Church What I say is true: If anyone wants to become an overseer, he is wanting a good work.


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An overseer must be so good that people cannot rightly criticize him. He must have only one wife. He must have self-control and be wise. He must be respected by other people and must be ready to help people by accepting them into his home. He must be a good teacher.


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He must not drink too much wine, and he must not be a man who likes to fight. He must be gentle and peaceful. He must not love money.


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(If a man does not know how to be a leader over his own family, he will not be able to take care of God’s church.)


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But an elder must not be a new believer. A new believer might be too proud of himself. Then he would be judged guilty for his pride just as the devil was.


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An elder must also have the respect of people who are not in the church. Then he will not be criticized by others and caught in the devil’s trap.


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Helpers in the Church In the same way, deacons must be men that people can respect. They must not say things they do not mean. They must not use their time drinking too much wine, and they must not be men who are always trying to get rich by cheating others.


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In the same way, the women must have the respect of other people. They must not be women who repeat evil gossip about other people. They must have self-control and be women who can be trusted in everything.


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Deacons must have only one wife. They must be good leaders of their children and their own families.


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Those who serve well as deacons are making an honorable place for themselves. And they will feel very sure of their faith in Christ Jesus.


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Then, even if I cannot come soon, you will know about the things that people must do in the family of God. That family is the church of the living God, the support and foundation of the truth.


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Without doubt, the secret of our life of worship is great: He was shown to us in a human body, proved right by the Spirit, and seen by angels. He was preached to the nations, believed in by the world, and taken to heaven in glory.


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A Warning About False Teachers The Holy Spirit clearly says that in the later times some people will stop believing the true faith. They will obey spirits that lie and will follow the teachings of demons.


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Such teachings come from hypocrites, men who cannot see what is right and what is wrong. It is as if their understanding were destroyed by a hot iron.


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They tell people that it is wrong to marry. And they tell people that there are some foods that must not be eaten. But God made those foods, and the people who believe and who know the truth can eat those foods with thanks.


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Everything that God made is good. Nothing that God made should be refused if it is accepted with thanks to God.


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Be a Good Servant of Christ Tell these things to the brothers. This will show that you are a good servant of Christ Jesus. You will show that you are made strong by the words of faith and good teaching that you have been following.


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People tell silly stories that do not agree with God’s truth. Do not follow what those stories teach. But teach yourself only to serve God.


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Training your body helps you in some ways, but serving God helps you in every way. Serving God brings you blessings in this life and in the future life, too.


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For this is why we work and struggle: We hope in the living God. He is the Savior of all people. And in a very special way, he is the Savior of all who believe in him.


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You are young, but do not let anyone treat you as if you were not important. Be an example to show the believers how they should live. Show them with your words, with the way you live, with your love, with your faith, and with your pure life.


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Continue to read the Scriptures to the people, strengthen them, and teach them. Do these things until I come.


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Remember to use the gift that you have. That gift was given to you through a prophecy when the group of elders laid their hands on you.


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Continue to do those things. Give your life to doing them. Then everyone can see that your work is progressing.


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Be careful in your life and in your teaching. Continue to live and teach rightly. Then you will save yourself and those people who listen to you.


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Rules for Living with Others Do not speak angrily to an older man, but talk to him as if he were your father. Treat younger men like brothers.


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But if a widow has children or grandchildren, the first thing they need to learn is to do their duty to their own family. When they do this, they will be repaying their parents or grandparents. That pleases God.


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If a widow is all alone and without help, then she puts her hope in God and prays night and day for God’s help.


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A believer should take care of his own relatives, especially his own family. If he does not do that, he has turned against the faith. He is worse than a person who does not believe in God.


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To be on your list of widows, a woman must be 60 years old or older. She must have been faithful to her husband.


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She must be known as a woman who has done good works. By this, I mean good works such as raising her children, accepting visitors in her home, washing the feet of God’s people, helping those in trouble, and using her life to do all kinds of good deeds.


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But do not put younger widows on that list. After they give themselves to Christ, they are often pulled away from him by their physical desires. And then they want to marry again.


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Also, those younger widows begin to waste their time going from house to house. They begin to gossip and busy themselves with other people’s lives. They say things that they should not say.


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So I want the younger widows to marry, have children, and take care of their homes. If they do this, then no enemy will have any reason to criticize them.


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If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, then she should care for them herself. The church should not have to care for them. Then the church will be able to care for the widows who have no living family.


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The elders who lead the church well should receive great honor. Those who work hard by speaking and teaching especially should receive great honor.


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For the Scripture says, “When an ox is working in the grain, do not cover its mouth to keep it from eating.” And the Scripture also says, “A worker should be given his pay.”


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Do not listen to someone who accuses an elder, unless there are two or three other persons who say he did wrong.


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Tell those who keep on sinning that they are wrong. Do this in front of the whole church so that the others will have a warning.


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Before God and Jesus Christ and the chosen angels, I command you to do these things. Be careful to do them without showing favor to anyone.


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Think carefully before you lay your hands on anyone for the Lord’s service. Do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.


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Timothy, you stop drinking only water and drink a little wine. This will help your stomach, and you will not be sick so often.


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The sins of some people are easy to see even before they are judged. But the sins of others are seen only later.


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So also good deeds are easy to see. But even when they are not easy to see, they cannot stay hidden.


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All who are slaves should show full respect to their masters. Then no one will speak against God’s name and our teaching.


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Some slaves have masters who are believers. This means they are all brothers. But the slaves should not show their masters any less respect. They should serve their masters even better, because they are helping believers they love. False Teaching and True Riches You must teach and preach these things.


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If anyone has a different teaching, he does not accept the true teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that teaching shows him the true way to serve God.


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The person who teaches falsely is full of pride and understands nothing. He is sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. And that brings jealousy, making trouble, insults, and evil mistrust.


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And that also brings arguments from men who have evil minds. They have lost the truth. They think that serving God is a way to get rich.


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Those who want to become rich bring temptation to themselves. They are caught in a trap. They begin to want many foolish things that will hurt them, things that ruin and destroy people.


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The love of money causes all kinds of evil. Some people have left the true faith because they want to get more and more money. But they have caused themselves much sorrow.


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Some Things to Remember But you are a man of God. So you should stay away from all those things. Try to live in the right way, serve God, have faith, love, patience, and gentleness.


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Keeping your faith is like running a race. Try as hard as you can to win. Be sure you receive the life that continues forever. You were called to have that life. And you confessed the great truth about Christ in a way that many people heard.


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Before God and Christ Jesus I give you a command. Christ Jesus confessed that same great truth when he stood before Pontius Pilate. And God gives life to everything. Now I tell you:


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Do the things you were commanded to do. Do them without wrong or blame until the time when our Lord Jesus Christ comes again.


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God will make that happen at the right time. He is the blessed and only Ruler. He is the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.


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God is the only One who never dies. He lives in light so bright that men cannot go near it. No one has ever seen God, or can see him. May honor and power belong to God forever. Amen.


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Give this command to those who are rich with things of this world. Tell them not to be proud. Tell them to hope in God, not their money. Money cannot be trusted, but God takes care of us richly. He gives us everything to enjoy.


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Tell the rich people to do good and to be rich in doing good deeds. Tell them to be happy to give and ready to share.


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By doing that, they will be saving a treasure for themselves in heaven. That treasure will be a strong foundation. Their future life can be built on that treasure. Then they will be able to have the life that is true life.


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Timothy, God has trusted you with many things. Keep those things safe. Stay away from people who say foolish things that are not from God. Stay away from those who argue against the truth. They use something they call “knowledge,” but it is really not knowledge.


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They say that they have that “knowledge,” but they have left the true faith. God’s grace be with you.


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Paul Encourages Timothy From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God. God sent me to tell about the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus.


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To Timothy, a dear son to me. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.


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I always remember you in my prayers, day and night. And I thank God for you in these prayers. He is the God my ancestors served. And I serve him, doing what I know is right.


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I remember your true faith. That kind of faith first belonged to your grandmother Lois and to your mother Eunice. And I know that you now have that same faith.


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That is why I remind you to use the gift God gave you. God gave you that gift when I laid my hands on you. Now let it grow, as a small flame grows into a fire.


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God did not give us a spirit that makes us afraid. He gave us a spirit of power and love and self-control.


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So do not be ashamed to tell people about our Lord Jesus. And do not be ashamed of me. I am in prison for the Lord. But suffer with me for the Good News. God gives us the strength to do that.


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God saved us and made us his holy people. That was not because of anything we did ourselves but because of what he wanted and because of his grace. That grace was given to us through Christ Jesus before time began.


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It was not shown to us until our Savior Christ Jesus came. Jesus destroyed death. And through the Good News, he showed us the way to have life that cannot be destroyed.


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And I suffer now because I tell the Good News. But I am not ashamed. I know Jesus, the One I have believed in. And I am sure that he is able to protect what he has trusted me with until that Day.


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Follow the true teachings you heard from me. Follow them as an example of the faith and love we have in Christ Jesus.


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I pray that the Lord will show mercy to the family of Onesiphorus. He has often helped me and was not ashamed that I was in prison.


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I pray that the Lord will allow Onesiphorus to have mercy from the Lord on that Day. You know how many ways Onesiphorus helped me in Ephesus.


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A Loyal Soldier of Christ Jesus Timothy, you are like a son to me. Be strong in the grace that we have in Christ Jesus.


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You and many others have heard what I have taught. You should teach the same thing to some people you can trust. Then they will be able to teach it to others.


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A soldier wants to please his commanding officer, so he does not waste his time doing the things that most people do.


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Think about these things that I am saying. The Lord will give you the ability to understand all these things.


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Remember Jesus Christ. He is from the family of David. After Jesus died, he was raised from death. This is the Good News that I preach,


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and I am suffering because of that Good News. I am even bound with chains like a criminal. But God’s teaching is not in chains.


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So I patiently accept all these troubles. I do this so that those whom God has chosen can have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. With that salvation comes glory that never ends.


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If we accept suffering, then we will also rule with him. If we say we don’t know him, then he will say he doesn’t know us.


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A Worker Pleasing to God Continue teaching these things. And warn people before God not to argue about words. Arguing about words does not help anyone, and it ruins those who listen.


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Do the best you can to be the kind of person that God will approve, and give yourself to him. Be a worker who is not ashamed of his work—a worker who uses the true teaching in the right way.


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Stay away from those who talk about useless worldly things. That kind of talk will lead a person more and more away from God.


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Their evil teaching will spread like a sickness inside the body. Hymenaeus and Philetus are men like that.


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They have left the true teaching. They say that the rising from death of all men has already taken place. And those two men are destroying the faith of some people.


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But God’s strong foundation continues to stand. These words are written on that foundation: “The Lord knows those who belong to him.” And also these words are written on that foundation, “Everyone who says that he believes in the Lord must stop doing wrong.”


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In a large house there are things made of gold and silver. But also there are things made of wood and clay. Some things are used for special purposes, and others are made for ordinary jobs.


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If anyone makes himself clean from evil things, he will be used for special purposes. He will be made holy, and the Master can use him. He will be ready to do any good work.


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Stay away from the evil desires of youth. Try hard to live right and to have faith, love, and peace. Work for these things together with those who have pure hearts and who trust in the Lord.


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Stay away from foolish and stupid arguments. You know that such arguments grow into bigger arguments.


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And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel! He must be kind to everyone. He must be a good teacher. He must be patient.


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The Lord’s servant must gently teach those who do not agree with him. Maybe God will let them change their hearts so that they can accept the truth.


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The devil has trapped them and causes them to do what he wants. But maybe they can wake up and free themselves from the devil’s trap.


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In those times people will love only themselves and money. They will brag and be proud. They will say evil things against others. They will not obey their parents. People will not be thankful or be the kind of people God wants.


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They will not have love for others. They will refuse to forgive others and will speak bad things. They will not control themselves. They will be cruel and will hate what is good.


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In the last days, people will turn against their friends. They will do foolish things without thinking. They will be conceited and proud. They will love pleasure. They will not love God.


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They will continue to act as if they serve God, but they will not really serve God. Stay away from those people.


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Some of them go into homes and get control of weak women who are full of sin. They are led to sin by the many evil desires they have.


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Those women always try to learn new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth fully.


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Just as Jannes and Jambres were against Moses, these people are against the truth. They are people whose thinking has been confused. They have failed in trying to follow the faith.


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But they will not be successful in what they do. Everyone will see that they are foolish. That is what happened to Jannes and Jambres.


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Obey the Teachings But you know all about me. You know what I teach and the way I live. You know my goal in life. You know my faith, my patience, and my love. You know that I never stop trying.


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You know how I have been hurt and have suffered. You know all that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know the hurts I suffered in those places. But the Lord saved me from all those troubles.


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People who are evil and cheat other people will go from bad to worse. They will fool others, but they will also be fooling themselves.


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But you should continue following the teachings that you learned. You know that these teachings are true. And you know you can trust those who taught you.


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You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child. The Scriptures are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.


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All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching how to live right.


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Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be ready and will have everything he needs to do every good work.


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Before God and Jesus Christ I give you a command. Christ Jesus is the One who will judge all who are living and all who have died. Jesus has a kingdom, and he is coming again. So I give you this command:


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Preach the Good News. Be ready at all times. Tell people what they need to do, tell them when they are wrong, and encourage them. Do these things with great patience and careful teaching.


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The time will come when people will not listen to the true teaching. They will find more and more teachers who are pleasing to them, teachers who say the things they want to hear.


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But you should control yourself at all times. When troubles come, accept them. Do the work of telling the Good News. Do all the duties of a servant of God.


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Now, a crown is waiting for me. I will get that crown for being right with God. The Lord is the judge who judges rightly, and he will give me the crown on that Day. He will give that crown not only to me but to all those who have waited with love for him to come again.


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Demas loved this world too much. He left me and went to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia. And Titus went to Dalmatia.


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Luke is the only one still with me. Get Mark and bring him with you when you come. He can help me in my work here.


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When I was in Troas, I left my coat there with Carpus. So when you come, bring it to me. Also, bring my books, particularly the ones written on parchment.


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Alexander the metalworker did many harmful things against me. The Lord will punish him for the things he did.


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The first time I defended myself, no one helped me. Everyone left me. I pray that God will forgive them.


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But the Lord stayed with me. He gave me strength so that I could fully tell the Good News to the non-Jews. The Lord wanted all the non-Jews to hear it. So I was saved from the lion’s mouth.


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The Lord will save me when anyone tries to hurt me. The Lord will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. Glory forever and ever be the Lord’s. Amen.


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Try as hard as you can to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you. Also Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers in Christ greet you.


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Paul Instructs Titus From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was sent to help the faith of God’s chosen people. I was sent to help them to know the truth. And that truth shows people how to serve God.


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That faith and that knowledge come from our hope for life forever. God promised that life to us before time began, and God does not lie.


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At the right time God let the world know about that life through preaching. He trusted me with that work, and I preached because God our Savior commanded me to.


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To Titus. You are like a true son to me in the faith we share. Grace and peace to you from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.


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Titus’ Work in Crete I left you in Crete so that you could finish doing the things that still needed to be done. I left you there also so that you could choose men to be elders in every town.


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To be an elder, a man must not be guilty of doing wrong. He must have only one wife. His children must be believers. They must not be known as children who are wild and who do not obey.


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An overseer has the job of taking care of God’s work. So he must not be guilty of doing wrong. He must not be a man who is proud and selfish or who becomes angry quickly. He must not drink too much wine. He must not be a person who likes to fight. And he must not be a person who always tries to get rich by cheating people.


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An overseer must be ready to help others by accepting them into his home. He must love what is good. He must be wise. He must live right. He must be holy. And he must be able to control himself.


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An overseer must faithfully follow the truth just as we teach it. He must be able to help people by using true and right teaching. And he must be able to show those who are against the true teaching that they are wrong.


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There are many people who refuse to obey—people who talk about worthless things and lead others into the wrong way. I am talking mostly about those who insist on circumcision to be saved.


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These people must be stopped from talking. They are destroying whole families by teaching things that they should not teach. They teach them only to cheat people and make money.


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Even one of their own prophets from Crete said, “Cretan people are always liars. They are evil animals and lazy people who do nothing but eat.”


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The words that prophet said are true. So tell those people that they are wrong. You must be strict with them. Then they will become strong in the faith


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and stop accepting Jewish stories. And they will stop following the commands of others who do not accept the truth.


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To those who are pure, all things are pure. But to those who are full of sin and do not believe, nothing is pure. The thinking of those people has become evil and their knowledge of what is right has been ruined.


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They say they know God, but the evil things they do show that they do not accept God. They are terrible people, they refuse to obey, and they are useless for doing anything good.


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Teach older men to have self-control, to be serious, and to be wise. They should be strong in faith, strong in love, and strong in patience.


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Also, teach older women to be holy in the way they live. Teach them not to speak against others or have the habit of drinking too much wine. They should teach what is good.


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They can teach younger women to be wise and pure, to take care of their homes, to be kind, and to obey their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us.


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You should do good deeds to be an example in every way for young men. When you teach, be honest and serious.


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And when you speak, speak the truth so that you cannot be criticized. Then anyone who is against you will be ashamed because there is nothing bad that he can say against us.


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And tell slaves to obey their masters at all times. They should try to please them and not argue with them.


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They should not steal from them. And they should show their masters that they can be trusted. Slaves should do these things so that in everything they do, they will show that the teaching of God our Savior is good.


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It teaches us not to live against God and not to do the evil things the world wants to do. That grace teaches us to live in the present age in a wise and right way—a way that shows that we serve God.


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We should live like that while we are waiting for the coming of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ. He is our great hope, and he will come with glory.


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He gave himself for us; he died to free us from all evil. He died to make us pure people who belong only to him—people who are always wanting to do good things.


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Tell everyone these things. You have full authority. So use that authority to strengthen the people and tell them what they should do. And do not let anyone treat you as if you were not important.


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The Right Way to Live Remind the believers to do these things: to be under the authority of rulers and government leaders, to obey them and be ready to do good,


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In the past we were foolish people, too. We did not obey, we were wrong, and we were slaves to many things our bodies wanted and enjoyed. We lived doing evil and being jealous. People hated us and we hated each other.


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He saved us because of his mercy, not because of good deeds we did to be right with God. He saved us through the washing that made us new people. He saved us by making us new through the Holy Spirit.


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We were made right with God by His grace. And God gave us the Spirit so that we could receive the life that never ends. That is what we hope for.


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This teaching is true. And I want you to be sure that the people understand these things. Then those who believe in God will be careful to use their lives for doing good. These things are good and will help all people.


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Stay away from those who have foolish arguments, who talk about useless family histories, who make trouble and fight about what the law of Moses teaches. Those things are worth nothing and will not help anyone.


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If someone causes arguments, then give him a warning. If he continues to cause arguments, warn him again. If he still continues causing arguments, then do not be around him.


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Some Things to Remember I will send Artemas and Tychicus to you. When I send them, try hard to come to me at Nicopolis. I have decided to stay there this winter.


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Zenas the lawyer and Apollos will be traveling from there. Do all that you can to help them on their way. Be sure that they have everything they need.


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Our people must learn to use their lives for doing good deeds. They should do good to those in need. Then our people will not have useless lives.


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A Slave Becomes a Christian From Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and from Timothy, our brother. To Philemon, our dear friend and worker with us;


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My brother, you have shown love to God’s people. You have made them feel happy. This has given me great joy and comfort.


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Accept Onesimus as a Brother There is something that you should do. And because of your love in Christ, I feel free to order you to do it.


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But because I love you, I am asking you instead. I, Paul, am an old man now, and a prisoner for Christ Jesus.


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I wanted to keep him with me to help me while I am in prison for the Good News. By helping me he would be serving you.


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But I did not want to do anything without asking you first. Then any favor you do for me will be because you want to do it, not because I forced you to do it.


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Onesimus was separated from you for a short time. Maybe that happened so that you could have him back forever—


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not to be a slave, but better than a slave, to be a loved brother. I love him very much. But you will love him even more. You will love him as a man and as a brother in the Lord.


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If Onesimus has done anything wrong to you, charge that to me. If he owes you anything, charge that to me.


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I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay back anything Onesimus owes. And I will say nothing about what you owe me for your own life.


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Also, please prepare a room for me to stay in. I hope that God will answer your prayers and I will be able to come to you.


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God Spoke Through His Son In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets. He spoke to them many times and in many different ways.


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And now in these last days God has spoken to us through his Son. God has chosen his Son to own all things. And he made the world through the Son.


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The Son reflects the glory of God. He is an exact copy of God’s nature. He holds everything together with his powerful word. The Son made people clean from their sins. Then he sat down at the right side of God, the Great One in heaven.


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The Son became much greater than the angels. And God gave him a name that is much greater than theirs.


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This is because God never said to any of the angels, “You are my Son. Today I have become your Father.” Nor did God say of any angel, “I will be his Father, and he will be my Son.”


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This is what God said about the angels: “God makes his angels become like winds. He makes his servants become like flames of fire.”


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But God said this about his Son: “God, your throne will last forever and ever. You will rule your kingdom with fairness.


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You love what is right and hate evil. So God has chosen you to rule those with you. Your God has given you much joy.”


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You will fold them like a coat. And, like clothes, you will change them. But you never change. And your life will never end.”


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And God never said this to an angel: “Sit by me at my right side until I put your enemies under your control.”


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Our Salvation Is Great So we must be more careful to follow what we were taught. Then we will not be pulled away from the truth.


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The teaching that God spoke through angels was shown to be true. And anyone who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment he earned.


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The salvation that was given to us is very great. So surely we also will be punished if we live as if this salvation were not important. It was the Lord himself who first told about this salvation. And those who heard him proved to us that this salvation is true.


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God also proved it by using wonders, great signs, and many kinds of miracles. And he proved it by giving people gifts through the Holy Spirit, just as he wanted.


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Christ Became Like Men God did not choose angels to be the rulers of the new world that was coming. It is that future world we have been talking about.


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It is written somewhere in the Scriptures, “Why is man important to you? Why do you take care of the son of man?


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You put all things under his control.” If God put everything under his control, there was nothing left that he did not rule. But we do not yet see him ruling over everything.


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But we see Jesus! For a short time he was made lower than the angels. But now we see him wearing a crown of glory and honor because he suffered and died. Because of God’s grace, he died for everyone.


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God is the One who made all things. And all things are for his glory. God wanted to have many sons share his glory. So God made perfect the One who leads people to salvation. He made Jesus a perfect Savior through Jesus’ suffering.


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Jesus, who makes people holy, and those who are made holy are from the same family. So he is not ashamed to call them his brothers.


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He says, “Then, I will tell my fellow Israelites about you. I will praise you when your people meet to worship you.”


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He also says, “I will trust in God.” And he also says, “I am here. And with me are the children that God has given me.”


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These children are people with physical bodies. So Jesus himself became like them and had the same experiences they have. He did this so that, by dying, he could destroy the one who has the power of death. That one is the devil.


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Jesus became like men and died so that he could free them. They were like slaves all their lives because of their fear of death.


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For this reason Jesus had to be made like his brothers in every way. He became like men so that he could be their merciful and faithful high priest in service to God. Then Jesus could bring forgiveness for their sins.


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And now he can help those who are tempted. He is able to help because he himself suffered and was tempted.


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Jesus Is Greater Than Moses So all of you, holy brothers, should think about Jesus. You were all called by God. God sent Jesus to us, and he is the high priest of our faith.


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And Jesus was faithful to God as Moses was. Moses did everything God wanted him to do in God’s family.


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A man who is the head of a family receives more honor than others in the family. It is the same with Jesus. Jesus should have more honor than Moses.


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But Christ is faithful as a Son who is the head of God’s family. And we are God’s family if we hold on to our faith and are proud of the great hope we have.


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So brothers, be careful that none of you has an evil, unbelieving heart. This will stop you from following the living God.


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But encourage each other every day. Do this while it is “today.” Help each other so that none of you will become hardened because of sin and its tricks.


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We all share in Christ. This is true if we keep till the end the sure faith we had in the beginning.


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This is what the Scripture says: “Today listen to what he says. Do not be stubborn as in the past when you turned against God.”


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And whom was God angry with for 40 years? He was angry with those who sinned, who died in the desert.


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And whom was God talking to when he promised that they would never enter and have his rest? He was talking to those who did not obey him.


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Now God has left us that promise that we may enter and have his rest. Let us be very careful, then, so that none of you will fail to get that rest.


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The Good News was preached to us just as it was to them. But the teaching they heard did not help them. They heard it but did not accept it with faith.


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We who have believed are able to enter and have God’s rest. As God has said, “So I was angry and made a promise. ‘They will never enter my land of rest.’” But God’s work was finished from the time he made the world.


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Somewhere in the Scriptures he talked about the seventh day of the week: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.”


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It is still true that some people will enter and have God’s rest. But those who first heard the way to be saved did not enter. They did not enter because they did not obey.


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So God planned another day, called “today.” He spoke about that day through David a long time later. It is the same Scripture used before: “Today listen to what he says. Do not be stubborn.”


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We know that Joshua did not lead the people into that rest. We know this because God spoke later about another day.


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So let us try as hard as we can to enter God’s rest. We must try hard so that no one will be lost by following the example of those who refused to obey.


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God’s word is alive and working. It is sharper than a sword sharpened on both sides. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined. It cuts to the center of our joints and our bones. And God’s word judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts.


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Nothing in all the world can be hidden from God. Everything is clear and lies open before him. And to him we must explain the way we have lived.


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Jesus Is Our High Priest We have a great high priest who has gone into heaven. He is Jesus the Son of God. So let us hold on to the faith we have.


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For our high priest is able to understand our weaknesses. He was tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin.


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Let us, then, feel free to come before God’s throne. Here there is grace. And we can receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.


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Every high priest is chosen from among men. He is given the work of going before God for them. He must offer gifts and sacrifices for sins.


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He himself is weak. So he is able to be gentle with those who do not understand and who are doing wrong things.


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Because he is weak the high priest must offer sacrifices for his own sins. And then he offers sacrifices for the sins of the people.


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To be a high priest is an honor. But no one chooses himself for this work. He must be called by God as Aaron was.


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So also Christ did not choose himself to have the honor of being a high priest. But God chose him. God said to him, “You are my Son; today I have become your Father.”


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While Jesus lived on earth, he prayed to God and asked God for help. He prayed with loud cries and tears to the One who could save him from death. And his prayer was heard because he left it all up to God.


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Warning Against Falling Away We have much to say about this. But it is hard to explain because you are so slow to understand.


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You have had enough time so that by now you should be teachers. But you need someone to teach you again the first lessons of God’s message. You still need the teaching that is like milk. You are not ready for solid food.


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But solid food is for those who are grown up. They are mature enough to know the difference between good and evil.


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So let us go on to grown-up teaching. Let us not go back over the beginning lessons we learned about Christ. We should not start over again with teaching about turning from acts that lead to death and about believing in God.


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We should not return to the teaching of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of the raising of the dead and eternal judgment.


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Some people cannot be brought back again to a changed life. They were once in God’s light. They enjoyed heaven’s gift, and they shared in the Holy Spirit.


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And then they fell away from Christ! It is not possible to keep on bringing them back to a changed life again. For they are nailing the Son of God to a cross again and are shaming him in front of others.


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Some people are like land that gets plenty of rain. The land produces a good crop for those who work it, and it receives God’s blessings.


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Other people are like land that grows thorns and weeds and is worthless. It is about to be cursed by God. It will be destroyed by fire.


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Dear friends, we are saying this to you. But we really expect better things from you that will lead to your salvation.


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God is fair. He will not forget the work you did and the love you showed for him by helping his people. And he will remember that you are still helping them.


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We want each of you to go on with the same hard work all your lives. Then you will surely get what you hope for.


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We do not want you to become lazy. Be like those who have faith and patience. They will receive what God has promised.


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God made a promise to Abraham. And as there is no one greater than God, he used himself when he swore to Abraham.


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People always use the name of someone greater than themselves when they swear. The oath proves that what they say is true. And this ends all arguing about what they say.


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God wanted to prove that his promise was true. He wanted to prove this to those who would get what he promised. He wanted them to understand clearly that his purposes never change. So God proved his promise by also making an oath.


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These two things cannot change. God cannot lie when he makes a promise, and he cannot lie when he makes an oath. These things encourage us who came to God for safety. They give us strength to hold on to the hope we have been given.


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We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, sure and strong. It enters behind the curtain in the Most Holy Place in heaven.


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Jesus has gone in there ahead of us and for us. He has become the high priest forever, a priest like Melchizedek.


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The Priest Melchizedek Melchizedek was the king of Salem and a priest for the Most High God. He met Abraham when Abraham was coming back after defeating the kings. When they met, Melchizedek blessed Abraham.


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And Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had brought back from the battle. First, Melchizedek’s name means “king of goodness.” Also, he is king of Salem, which means “king of peace.”


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No one knows who Melchizedek’s father or mother was. No one knows where he came from. And no one knows when he was born or when he died. Melchizedek is like the Son of God; he continues being a priest forever.


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You can see that Melchizedek was very great. Abraham, the great father, gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything that Abraham won in battle.


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Now the law says that those in the tribe of Levi who become priests must get a tenth from the people. The priests collect it from their own people, even though the priests and the people are both from the family of Abraham.


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Melchizedek was not from the tribe of Levi. But he got a tenth from Abraham. And he blessed Abraham, the man who had God’s promises.


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Those priests get a tenth, but they are only men who live and then die. But Melchizedek, who got a tenth from Abraham, continues living, as the Scripture says.


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It is Levi who gets a tenth from the people. But we might even say that when Abraham paid Melchizedek a tenth, then Levi also paid it.


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Levi was not yet born. But Levi was in the body of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met Abraham.


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The people were given the law concerning the system of priests from the tribe of Levi. But they could not be made spiritually perfect through that system of priests. So there was a need for another priest to come. I mean a priest like Melchizedek, not Aaron.


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We are saying these things about Christ. He belonged to a different tribe. No one from that tribe ever served as a priest at the altar.


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It is clear that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah. And Moses said nothing about priests belonging to that tribe.


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Jesus Is Like Melchizedek And this becomes even more clear. We see that another priest comes, who is like Melchizedek.


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He was not made a priest by human rules and laws. He became a priest through the power of his life, which continues forever.


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The law of Moses could not make anything perfect. But now a better hope has been given to us. And with this hope we can come near to God.


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Also, it is important that God made an oath when he made Jesus high priest. When the others became priests, there was no oath.


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But Christ became a priest with God’s oath. God said: “The Lord has made a promise and will not change his mind. ‘You are a priest forever.’”


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Also, when one of the other priests died, he could not continue being a priest. So there were many priests.


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So he is always able to save those who come to God through him. He can do this, because he always lives, ready to help those who come before God.


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So Jesus is the kind of high priest that we need. He is holy; he has no sin in him. He is pure and not influenced by sinners. And he is raised above the heavens.


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He is not like the other priests. They had to offer sacrifices every day, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people. But Christ does not need to do that. He offered his sacrifice only once and for all time. Christ offered himself!


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The law chooses high priests who are men with all their weaknesses. But the word of God’s oath came later than the law. It made God’s Son to be the high priest. And that Son has been made perfect forever.


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Jesus Is Our High Priest Here is the point of what we are saying: We do have a high priest who sits on the right side of God’s throne in heaven.


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Our high priest serves in the Most Holy Place. He serves in the true place of worship that was made by God, not by men.


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Every high priest has the work of offering gifts and sacrifices to God. So our high priest must also offer something to God.


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If our high priest were now living on earth, he would not be a priest. I say this because there are already priests here who follow the law by offering gifts to God.


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The work that they do as priests is only a dim copy of what is in heaven. For when Moses was ready to build the Holy Tent, God warned him: “Be very careful to make everything by the plan I showed you on the mountain.”


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But the priestly work that has been given to Jesus is much greater than the work that was given to the other priests. In the same way, the new agreement that Jesus brought from God to his people is much greater than the old one. And the new agreement is based on promises of better things.


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But God found something wrong with his people. He says: “The time is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new agreement. It will be with the people of Israel and the people of Judah.


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It will not be like the agreement I made with their ancestors. That was when I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt. But they broke that agreement, and I turned away from them, says the Lord.


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In the future I will make this agreement with the people of Israel, says the Lord. I will put my teachings in their minds. And I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.


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People will no longer have to teach their neighbors and relatives to know the Lord. This is because all will know me, from the least to the most important.


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God called this a new agreement, so he has made the first agreement old. And anything that is old and worn out is ready to disappear.


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Worship Under the Old Agreement The first agreement had rules for worship. And it had a place on earth for worship.


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The Holy Tent was set up for this. The first area in the Tent was called the Holy Place. In it were the lamp and the table with the bread that was made holy for God.


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In it was a golden altar for burning incense. Also there was the Ark of the Covenant that held the old agreement. The Ark of the Covenant was covered with gold. Inside this Ark of the Covenant was a golden jar of manna and Aaron’s rod—the rod that once grew leaves. Also in it were the stone tablets of the old agreement.


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Above the Ark of the Covenant were the creatures with wings that showed God’s glory. The wings of the creatures reached over the lid. But we cannot tell everything about these things now.


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Everything in the Tent was made ready in this way. Then the priests went into the first room every day to do their worship.


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But only the high priest could go into the second room, and he did that only once a year. He could never enter the inner room without taking blood with him. He offered that blood to God for himself and for the people’s sins. These were sins people did without knowing that they were sinning.


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The Holy Spirit uses this to show that the way into the Most Holy Place was not open. This was while the system of the old Holy Tent was still being used.


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This is an example for the present time. It shows that the gifts and sacrifices offered cannot make the worshiper perfect in his heart.


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These gifts and sacrifices were only about food and drink and special washings. They were rules for the body, to be followed until the time of God’s new way.


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Worship Under the New Agreement But Christ has come as the high priest of the good things we now have. The tent he entered is greater and more perfect. It is not made by men. It does not belong to this world.


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Christ entered the Most Holy Place only once—and for all time. He did not take with him the blood of goats and calves. His sacrifice was his own blood. He entered the Most Holy Place and set us free from sin forever.


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The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a cow are sprinkled on the people who are unclean and this makes their bodies clean again.


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How much more is done by the blood of Christ. He offered himself through the eternal Spirit as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will make our hearts clean from useless acts. We are made pure so that we may serve the living God.


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So Christ brings a new agreement from God to his people. Those who are called by God can now receive the blessings that God has promised. These blessings will last forever. They can have those things because Christ died so that the people who lived under the first agreement could be set free from sin.


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First, Moses told all the people every command in the law. Next he took the blood of calves and mixed it with water. Then he used red wool and a branch of the hyssop plant to sprinkle the blood and water on the book of the law and on all the people.


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In the same way, Moses sprinkled the blood on the Holy Tent and over all the things used in worship.


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The law says that almost everything must be made clean by blood. And sins cannot be forgiven without blood to show death.


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Christ’s Death Takes Away Sins So the copies of the real things in heaven had to be made clean by animal sacrifices. But the real things in heaven need much better sacrifices.


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For Christ did not go into the Most Holy Place made by men. It is only a copy of the real one. He went into heaven itself. He is there now before God to help us.


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The high priest enters the Most Holy Place once every year. He takes with him blood that is not his own blood. But Christ did not go into heaven to offer himself many times.


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Then he would have had to suffer many times since the world was made. But Christ came only once and for all time. He came at just the right time to take away all sin by sacrificing himself.


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So Christ was offered as a sacrifice one time to take away the sins of many people. And he will come a second time, but not to offer himself for sin. He will come again to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.


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The law is only an unclear picture of the good things coming in the future. It is not a perfect picture of the real things. The people under the law offered the same sacrifices every year. These sacrifices can never make perfect those who come near to worship God.


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If the law could make them perfect, the sacrifices would have already stopped. The worshipers would be made clean, and they would no longer feel guilty for their sins.


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So when Christ came into the world, he said: “You do not want sacrifices and offerings. But you have prepared a body for me.


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Then I said, ‘Look, I have come. It is written about me in the book. My God, I have come to do what you want.’”


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In this Scripture he first said, “You do not want sacrifices and offerings. You do not ask for burnt offerings and offerings to take away sins.” (These are all sacrifices that the law commands.)


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Then he said, “Here I am. I have come to do what you want.” So God ends the first system of sacrifices so that he can set up the new system.


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Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do. And because of this, we are made holy through the sacrifice of his body. Christ made this sacrifice only once, and for all time.


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Every day the priests stand and do their religious service. Again and again they offer the same sacrifices. But those sacrifices can never take away sins.


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But Christ offered one sacrifice for sins, and it is good forever. Then he sat down at the right side of God.


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“In the future I will make this agreement with the people of Israel, says the Lord. I will put my teachings in their hearts. And I will write them on their minds.”


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Continue to Trust God So, brothers, we are completely free to enter the Most Holy Place. We can do this without fear because of the blood of Jesus’ death.


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We can enter through a new way that Jesus opened for us. It is a living way. It leads through the curtain—Christ’s body.


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So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith. We have been cleansed and made free from feelings of guilt. And our bodies have been washed with pure water.


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You should not stay away from the church meetings, as some are doing. But you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the Day coming.


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If we decide to go on sinning after we have learned the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins.


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There is nothing but fear in waiting for the judgment and the angry fire that will destroy all those who live against God.


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Any person who refused to obey the law of Moses was found guilty from the proof given by two or three witnesses. He was put to death without mercy.


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So what do you think should be done to a person who does not respect the Son of God? He looks at the blood of the agreement, the blood that made him holy, as no different from other men’s blood. He insults the Spirit of God’s grace. Surely he should have a much worse punishment.


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We know that God said, “I will punish those who do wrong. I will repay them.” And he also said, “The Lord will judge his people.”


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Remember those days in the past when you first learned the truth. You had a hard struggle with many sufferings, but you continued strong.


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Sometimes you were hurt and persecuted before crowds of people. And sometimes you shared with those who were being treated that way.


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You helped the prisoners. And you even had joy when all that you owned was taken from you. You were joyful because you knew that you had something better and more lasting.


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The person who is right with me will have life because of his faith. But if he turns back with fear, I will not be pleased with him.”


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Faith Faith means being sure of the things we hope for. And faith means knowing that something is real even if we do not see it.


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It is by faith we understand that the whole world was made by God’s command. This means that what we see was made by something that cannot be seen.


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It was by faith that Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain did. God said he was pleased with the gifts Abel offered. So God called Abel a good man because of his faith. Abel died, but through his faith he is still speaking.


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It was by faith that Enoch was taken to heaven. He never died. He could not be found, because God had taken him away. Before he was taken, the Scripture says that he was a man who truly pleased God.


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Without faith no one can please God. Anyone who comes to God must believe that he is real and that he rewards those who truly want to find him.


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It was by faith Noah heard God’s warnings about things that he could not yet see. He obeyed God and built a large boat to save his family. By his faith, Noah showed that the world was wrong. And he became one of those who are made right with God through faith.


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It was by faith Abraham obeyed God’s call to go to another place that God promised to give him. He left his own country, not knowing where he was to go.


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It was by faith that he lived in the country God promised to give him. He lived there like a visitor who did not belong. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob, who had received that same promise from God.


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He was too old to have children, and Sarah was not able to have children. It was by faith that Abraham was made able to become a father. Abraham trusted God to do what he had promised.


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This man was so old that he was almost dead. But from him came as many descendants as there are stars in the sky. They are as many as the grains of sand on the seashore that cannot be counted.


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All these great men died in faith. They did not get the things that God promised his people. But they saw them coming far in the future and were glad. They said that they were like visitors and strangers on earth.


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When people say such things, then they show that they are looking for a country that will be their own country.


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But those men were waiting for a better country—a heavenly country. So God is not ashamed to be called their God. For he has prepared a city for them.


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It was by faith that Abraham offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice. God made the promises to Abraham. But God tested him. And Abraham was ready to offer his own son as a sacrifice.


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Abraham believed that God could raise the dead. And really, it was as if Abraham got Isaac back from death.


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It was by faith that Jacob blessed each one of Joseph’s sons. He did this while he was dying. Then he worshiped as he leaned on the top of his walking stick.


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It was by faith that Joseph spoke about the Israelites leaving Egypt while he was dying. He told them what to do with his body.


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It was by faith that Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born. They saw that Moses was a beautiful baby. And they were not afraid to disobey the king’s order.


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It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of the king of Egypt’s daughter.


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He thought that it was better to suffer for the Christ than to have all the treasures of Egypt. He was looking only for God’s reward.


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It was by faith that Moses left Egypt. He was not afraid of the king’s anger. Moses continued strong as if he could see the God that no one can see.


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It was by faith that Moses prepared the Passover and spread the blood on the doors. It was spread so that the one who brings death would not kill the firstborn sons of Israel.


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It was by faith that the people crossed the Red Sea as if it were dry land. The Egyptians also tried to do it, but they were drowned.


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It was by faith that the walls of Jericho fell. They fell after the people had marched around the walls of Jericho for seven days.


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It was by faith that Rahab, the prostitute, welcomed the spies and was not killed with those who refused to obey God.


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Do I need to give more examples? I do not have time to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.


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Through their faith they defeated kingdoms. They did what was right and received what God promised. They shut the mouths of lions,


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stopped great fires and were saved from being killed with swords. They were weak, and yet were made strong. They were powerful in battle and defeated other armies.


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Women received their dead relatives raised back to life. Others were tortured and refused to accept their freedom. They did this so that they could be raised from death to a better life.


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They were killed with stones and they were cut in half. They were killed with swords. Some wore the skins of sheep and goats. They were poor, abused, and treated badly.


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The world was not good enough for them! They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and holes in the earth.


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God planned to give us something better. Then they would be made perfect, but only together with us.


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Follow Jesus’ Example So we have many people of faith around us. Their lives tell us what faith means. So let us run the race that is before us and never give up. We should remove from our lives anything that would get in the way. And we should remove the sin that so easily catches us.


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Let us look only to Jesus. He is the one who began our faith, and he makes our faith perfect. Jesus suffered death on the cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing. He did this because of the joy that God put before him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne.


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Think about Jesus. He held on patiently while sinful men were doing evil things against him. Look at Jesus’ example so that you will not get tired and stop trying.


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God Is Like a Father You are struggling against sin, but your struggles have not yet caused you to be killed.


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You have forgotten his encouraging words for his sons: “My son, don’t think the Lord’s discipline of you is worth nothing. And don’t stop trying when the Lord corrects you.


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So accept your sufferings as if they were a father’s punishment. God does these things to you as a father punishing his sons. All sons are punished by their fathers.


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If you are never punished (and every son must be punished), you are not true children and not really sons.


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We have all had fathers here on earth who punished us. And we respected our fathers. So it is even more important that we accept punishment from the Father of our spirits. If we do this, we will have life.


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Our fathers on earth punished us for a short time. They punished us the way they thought was best. But God punishes us to help us, so that we can become holy as he is.


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We do not enjoy punishment. Being punished is painful at the time. But later, after we have learned from being punished, we have peace, because we start living in the right way.


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Try to live in peace with all people. And try to live lives free from sin. If anyone’s life is not holy, he will never see the Lord.


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Be careful that no one fails to get God’s grace. Be careful that no one becomes like a bitter weed growing among you. A person like that can ruin all of you.


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Be careful that no one takes part in sexual sin. And be careful that no person is unholy like Esau. He sold all his rights as the oldest son for a single meal.


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You remember that after Esau did this, he wanted to get his father’s blessing. He wanted this blessing so much that he cried. But his father refused to give him the blessing, because Esau could find no way to change what he had done.


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You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire. You have not come to darkness, sadness and storms.


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You have not come to the noise of a trumpet or to the sound of a voice. When the people of Israel heard the voice, they begged not to have to hear another word.


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They did not want to hear the command: “If anything, even an animal, touches the mountain, it must be put to death with stones.”


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But you have not come to that kind of place. The new place you have come to is Mount Zion. You have come to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands of angels gathered together with joy.


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You have come to the meeting of God’s firstborn children. Their names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all people. And you have come to the spirits of good people who have been made perfect.


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You have come to Jesus, the One who brought the new agreement from God to his people. You have come to the sprinkled blood that has a better message than the blood of Abel.


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So be careful and do not refuse to listen when God speaks. They refused to listen to him when he warned them on earth. And they did not escape. Now God is warning us from heaven. So it will be worse for us if we refuse to listen to him.


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When he spoke before, his voice shook the earth. But now he has promised, “Once again I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”


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The words “once again” clearly show us that everything that was made will be destroyed. These are the things that can be shaken. And only the things that cannot be shaken will remain.


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So let us be thankful because we have a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We should worship God in a way that pleases him. So let us worship him with respect and fear,


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Remember to welcome strangers into your homes. Some people have done this and have welcomed angels without knowing it.


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Do not forget those who are in prison. Remember them as if you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering as if you were suffering with them.


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Marriage should be honored by everyone. Husband and wife should keep their marriage pure. God will judge guilty those who are sexually immoral and commit adultery.


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Keep your lives free from the love of money. And be satisfied with what you have. God has said, “I will never leave you; I will never abandon you.”


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So we can feel sure and say, “I will not be afraid because the Lord is my helper. People can’t do anything to me.”


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Remember your leaders. They taught God’s message to you. Remember how they lived and died, and copy their faith.


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Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you into the wrong way. Your hearts should be strengthened by God’s grace, not by obeying rules about foods. Obeying such rules does not help anyone.


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The high priest carries the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place. There he offers this blood for sins. But the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp.


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Here on earth we do not have a city that lasts forever. But we are looking for the city that we will have in the future.


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So through Jesus let us always offer our sacrifice to God. This sacrifice is our praise, coming from lips that speak his name.


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Do not forget to do good to others. And share with them what you have. These are the sacrifices that please God.


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Obey your leaders and be under their authority. These men are watching you because they are responsible for your souls. Obey them so that they will do this work with joy, not sadness. It will not help you to make their work hard.


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Continue praying for us. We feel sure about what we are doing, because we always want to do the right thing.


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I pray that the God of peace will give you every good thing you need so that you can do what he wants. God is the One who raised from death our Lord Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep. God raised him because of the blood of his death. His blood began the agreement that God made with his people. And this agreement is eternal. I pray that God, through Christ, will do in us what pleases him. And to Jesus Christ be glory forever and ever. Amen.


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My brothers, I beg you to listen patiently to this message I have written to encourage you. This letter is not very long.


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I want you to know that our brother Timothy has been let out of prison. If he arrives soon, we will both come to see you.


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Faith and Wisdom From James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. To all of God’s people who are scattered everywhere in the world: Greetings.


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My brothers, you will have many kinds of troubles. But when these things happen, you should be very happy.


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Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete. You will have everything you need.


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But if any of you needs wisdom, you should ask God for it. God is generous. He enjoys giving to all people, so God will give you wisdom.


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But when you ask God, you must believe. Do not doubt God. Anyone who doubts is like a wave in the sea. The wind blows the wave up and down.


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He who doubts is thinking two different things at the same time. He cannot decide about anything he does. A person like that should not think that he will receive anything from the Lord.


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If he is rich, he should take pride that God has shown him that he is spiritually poor. The rich person will die like a wild flower in the grass.


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The sun rises and becomes hotter and hotter. The heat makes the plants very dry, and the flower falls off. The flower was beautiful, but now it is dead. It is the same with a rich person. While he is still taking care of his business, he will die.


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Temptation Is Not from God When a person is tempted and still continues strong, he should be happy. After he has proved his faith, God will reward him with life forever. God promised this to all people who love him.


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When someone is being tempted, he should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone.


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It is the evil that a person wants that tempts him. His own evil desire leads him away and holds him.


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Every good action and every perfect gift is from God. These good gifts come down from the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars. God does not change like their shifting shadows.


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God decided to give us life through the word of truth. He wanted us to be the most important of all the things he made.


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Listening and Obeying My dear brothers, always be willing to listen and slow to speak. Do not become angry easily.


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So put out of your life every evil thing and every kind of wrong you do. Don’t be proud but accept God’s teaching that is planted in your hearts. This teaching can save your souls.


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Do what God’s teaching says; do not just listen and do nothing. When you only sit and listen, you are fooling yourselves.


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But the truly happy person is the one who carefully studies God’s perfect law that makes people free. He continues to study it. He listens to God’s teaching and does not forget what he heard. Then he obeys what God’s teaching says. When he does this, it makes him happy.


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The True Way to Worship God A person might think he is religious. But if he says things he should not say, then he is just fooling himself. His “religion” is worth nothing.


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Religion that God the Father accepts is this: caring for orphans or widows who need help; and keeping yourself free from the world’s evil influence. This is the kind of religion that God accepts as pure and good.


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Love All People My dear brothers, you are believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. So never think that some people are more important than others.


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Suppose someone comes into your church meeting wearing very nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor man comes in wearing old, dirty clothes.


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You show special attention to the one wearing nice clothes. You say, “Please, sit here in this good seat.” But you say to the poor man, “Stand over there,” or “Sit on the floor by my feet!”


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What are you doing? You are making some people more important than others. With evil thoughts you are deciding which person is better.


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Listen, my dear brothers! God chose the poor in the world to be rich with faith. He chose them to receive the kingdom God promised to people who love him.


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But you show no respect to the poor man. And you know that it is the rich who are always trying to control your lives. And they are the ones who take you to court.


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One law rules over all other laws. This royal law is found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” If you obey this law, then you are doing right.


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But if you are treating one person as if he were more important than another, then you are sinning. That royal law proves that you are guilty of breaking God’s law.


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A person might follow all of God’s law. But if he fails to obey even one command, he is guilty of breaking all the commands in that law.


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God said, “You must not be guilty of adultery.” The same God also said, “You must not murder anyone.” So if you do not take part in adultery, but you murder someone, then you are guilty of breaking all of God’s law.


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You will be judged by the law that makes people free. You should remember this in everything you say and do.


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Yes, you must show mercy to others, or God will not show mercy to you when he judges you. But the person who shows mercy can stand without fear when he is judged.


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Faith and Good Works My brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does nothing, his faith is worth nothing. Can faith like that save him?


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And you say to him, “God be with you! I hope you stay warm and get plenty to eat.” You say this, but you do not give that person the things he needs. Unless you help him, your words are worth nothing.


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Someone might say, “You have faith, but I do things. Show me your faith! Your faith does nothing. I will show you my faith by the things I do.”


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Abraham is our father. He was made right with God by the things he did. He offered his son Isaac to God on the altar.


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So you see that Abraham’s faith and the things he did worked together. His faith was made perfect by what he did.


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This shows the full meaning of the Scripture that says: “Abraham believed God, and God accepted Abraham’s faith, and that faith made him right with God.” And Abraham was called “God’s friend.”


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So you see that a person is made right with God by the things he does. He cannot be made right by faith only.


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Another example is Rahab, who was a prostitute. But she was made right with God by something she did: She helped the spies for God’s people. She welcomed them into her home and helped them escape by a different road.


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A person’s body that does not have a spirit is dead. It is the same with faith. Faith that does nothing is dead!


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Controlling the Things We Say My brothers, not many of you should become teachers. You know that we who teach will be judged more strictly than others.


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We all make many mistakes. If there were a person who never said anything wrong, he would be perfect. He would be able to control his whole body, too.


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It is the same with ships. A ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship. The man who controls the rudder decides where the ship will go. The ship goes where the man wants.


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It is the same with the tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it brags about doing great things. A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame.


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And the tongue is like a fire. It is a whole world of evil among the parts of our bodies. The tongue spreads its evil through the whole body. It starts a fire that influences all of life. The tongue gets this fire from hell.


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We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people. And God made them like himself.


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My brothers, can a fig tree make olives? Can a grapevine make figs? No! And a well full of salty water cannot give good water.


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True Wisdom Is there anyone among you who is truly wise and understanding? Then he should show his wisdom by living right. He should do good things without being proud. A wise person does not brag.


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But if you are selfish and have bitter jealousy in your hearts, you have no reason to brag. Your bragging is a lie that hides the truth.


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That kind of “wisdom” does not come from God. That “wisdom” comes from the world. It is not spiritual. It is from the devil.


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But the wisdom that comes from God is like this: First, it is pure. Then it is also peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. This wisdom is always fair and honest.


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Give Yourselves to God Do you know where your fights and arguments come from? They come from the selfish desires that make war inside you.


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You want things, but you do not have them. So you are ready to kill and are jealous of other people. But you still cannot get what you want. So you argue and fight. You do not get what you want because you do not ask God.


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Or when you ask, you do not receive because the reason you ask is wrong. You want things only so that you can use them for your own pleasures.


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So, you people are not loyal to God! You should know that loving the world is the same as hating God. So if a person wants to be a friend of the world, he makes himself God’s enemy.


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Do you think the Scripture means nothing? It says, “The Spirit that God made to live in us wants us for himself alone.”


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But God gives us even more grace, as the Scripture says, “God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”


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Come near to God, and God will come near to you. You are sinners. So clean sin out of your lives. You are trying to follow God and the world at the same time. Make your thinking pure.


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You Are Not the Judge Brothers, do not say bad things about each other. If you say bad things about your brother in Christ or judge him, then you are saying bad things about the law he follows. You are also judging the law he follows. And when you are judging the law, you are not a follower of the law. You have become a judge!


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God is the only One who makes laws, and he is the only Judge. He is the only One who can save and destroy. So it is not right for you to judge your neighbor.


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Let God Plan Your Life Some of you say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to some city. We will stay there a year, do business, and make money.”


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But you do not know what will happen tomorrow! Your life is like a mist. You can see it for a short time, but then it goes away.


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A Warning to the Rich You rich people, listen! Cry and be very sad because of the trouble that will come to you.


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Your gold and silver will rust, and rust will be a proof that you were wrong. It will eat your bodies like fire. You saved your treasure for the last days.


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Men worked in your fields, but you did not pay them. They harvested your crops and are crying out against you. Now the Lord of heaven’s armies has heard their cries.


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Your life on earth was full of rich living. You pleased yourselves with everything you wanted. You made yourselves fat, like an animal ready to be killed.


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Be Patient Brothers, be patient until the Lord comes again. A farmer is patient. He waits for his valuable crop to grow from the earth. He waits patiently for it to receive the first rain and the last rain.


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Brothers, do not complain against each other. If you do not stop complaining, you will be judged guilty. And the Judge is ready to come!


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Brothers, follow the example of the prophets who spoke for the Lord. They suffered many hard things, but they were patient.


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We say they are happy because they were able to do this. You have heard about Job’s patience. You know that after all his trouble, the Lord helped him. This shows that the Lord is full of mercy and is kind.


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Be Careful What You Say My brothers, it is very important that you not use an oath when you make a promise. Don’t use the name of heaven, earth, or anything else to prove what you say. When you mean yes, say only “yes.” When you mean no, say only “no.” Do this so that you will not be judged guilty.


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The Power of Prayer If one of you is having troubles, he should pray. If one of you is happy, he should sing praises.


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If one of you is sick, he should call the church’s elders. The elders should pour oil on him in the name of the Lord and pray for him.


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And the prayer that is said with faith will make the sick person well. The Lord will heal him. And if he has sinned, God will forgive him.


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Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other. Do this so that God can heal you. When a good man prays, great things happen.


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Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed that it would not rain. And it did not rain on the land for three and a half years!


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Saving a Soul My brothers, one of you may wander away from the truth. And someone may help him come back.


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Remember this: Anyone who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner’s soul from death. By doing this, that person will cause many sins to be forgiven.


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Encouragement for Suffering Christians From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. To God’s chosen people who are away from their homes. You are scattered all around Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.


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God the Father planned long ago to choose you by making you his holy people. Making you holy is the Spirit’s work. God wanted you to obey him and to be made clean by the blood of the death of Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be yours more and more.


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A Living Hope Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God has great mercy, and because of his mercy he gave us a new life. He gave us a living hope because Jesus Christ rose from death.


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Now we hope for the blessings God has for his children. These blessings are kept for you in heaven. They cannot be destroyed or be spoiled or lose their beauty.


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God’s power protects you through your faith, and it keeps you safe until your salvation comes. That salvation is ready to be given to you at the end of time.


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These troubles come to prove that your faith is pure. This purity of faith is worth more than gold. Gold can be proved to be pure by fire, but gold can be destroyed. But the purity of your faith will bring you praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ comes again.


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You have not seen Christ, but still you love him. You cannot see him now, but you believe in him. You are filled with a joy that cannot be explained. And that joy is full of glory.


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The prophets searched carefully and tried to learn about this salvation. They spoke about the grace that was coming to you.


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The Spirit of Christ was in the prophets. And the Spirit was telling about the sufferings that would happen to Christ and about the glory that would come after those sufferings. The prophets tried to learn about what the Spirit was showing them. They tried to learn when those things would happen and what the world would be like at that time.


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It was shown to them that their service was not for themselves. It was for you. They were serving you when they told about the truths you have now heard. The men who preached the Good News to you told you those things. They did it with the help of the Holy Spirit that was sent from heaven. These are truths that even the angels want very much to know about.


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A Call to Holy Living So prepare your minds for service and have self-control. All your hope should be for the gift of grace that will be yours when Jesus Christ comes again.


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In the past you did not understand, so you did the evil things you wanted. But now you are children of God who obey. So do not live as you lived in the past.


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You pray to God and call him Father. And this Father judges each man’s work equally. So while you are here on earth, you should live with respect for God.


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You know that in the past you were living in a worthless way. You got that way of living from the people who lived before you. But you were saved from that useless life. You were bought, but not with something that ruins like gold or silver.


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You were bought with the precious blood of the death of Christ, who was like a pure and perfect lamb.


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Christ was chosen before the world was made. But he was shown to the world in these last times for you.


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You believe in God through Christ. God raised Christ from death and gave him glory. So your faith and your hope are in God.


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Now you have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers. So love each other deeply with all your heart.


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You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies, but from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s living message that continues forever.


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The Scripture says, “All people are like the grass. And all their strength is like the flowers of the field. The grass dies and the flowers fall.


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Jesus Is the Living Stone So then, get rid of all evil and all lying. Do not be a hypocrite. Do not be jealous or speak evil of others. Put all these things out of your life.


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As newborn babies want milk, you should want the pure and simple teaching. By it you can mature in your salvation.


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The Lord Jesus is the “stone” that lives. The people of the world did not want this stone. But he was the stone God chose. To God he was worth much. So come to him.


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You also are like living stones. Let yourselves be used to build a spiritual temple—to be holy priests who offer spiritual sacrifices to God. He will accept those sacrifices through Jesus Christ.


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The Scripture says: “I will put a stone in the ground in Jerusalem. Everything will be built on this important and precious rock. Anyone who trusts in him will never be disappointed.”


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This stone is worth much to you who believe. But to the people who do not believe, he is “the stone that the builders did not want. It has become the cornerstone.”


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To people who do not believe, he is “a stone that causes people to stumble. It is a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey what God says. This is what God planned to happen to them.


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But you are chosen people. You are the King’s priests. You are a holy nation. You are a nation that belongs to God alone. God chose you to tell about the wonderful things he has done. He called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.


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At one time you were not God’s people. But now you are his people. In the past you had never received mercy. But now you have received God’s mercy.


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Live for God Dear friends, you are like visitors and strangers in this world. So I beg you to stay away from the evil things your bodies want to do. These things fight against your soul.


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People who do not believe are living all around you. They might say that you are doing wrong. So live good lives. Then they will see the good things you do, and they will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.


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Obey Every Human Authority Obey the people who have authority in this world. Do this for the Lord. Obey the king, who is the highest authority.


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And obey the leaders who are sent by the king. They are sent to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.


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So when you do good, you stop foolish people from saying stupid things about you. This is what God wants.


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Show respect for all people. Love the brothers and sisters of God’s family. Respect God. Honor the king.


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Follow Christ’s Example Slaves, accept the authority of your masters. Do this with all respect. You should obey masters who are good and kind, and you should obey masters who are bad.


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A person might have to suffer even when he has done nothing wrong. But if he thinks of God and bears the pain, this pleases God.


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If you are punished for doing wrong, there is no reason to praise you for bearing punishment. But if you suffer for doing good, and you are patient, then that pleases God.


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That is what you were called to do. Christ suffered for you. He gave you an example to follow. So you should do as he did.


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People insulted Christ, but he did not insult them in return. Christ suffered, but he did not threaten. He let God take care of him. God is the One who judges rightly.


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Christ carried our sins in his body on the cross. He did this so that we would stop living for sin and start living for what is right. And we are healed because of his wounds.


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You were like sheep that went the wrong way. But now you have come back to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.


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Wives and Husbands In the same way, you wives should accept the authority of your husbands. Then, if some husbands have not obeyed God’s teaching, they will be persuaded to believe. You will not need to say a word to them. They will be persuaded by the way their wives live.


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No, your beauty should come from within you—the beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit. This beauty will never disappear, and it is worth very much to God.


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It was the same with the holy women who lived long ago and followed God. They made themselves beautiful in this way. They accepted the authority of their husbands.


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Sarah obeyed Abraham, her husband, and called him her master. And you women are true children of Sarah if you always do what is right and are not afraid.


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In the same way, you husbands should live with your wives in an understanding way. You should show respect to them. They are weaker than you. But God gives them the same blessing that he gives you—the grace that gives true life. Do this so that nothing will stop your prayers.


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Suffering for Doing Right Finally, all of you should live together in peace. Try to understand each other. Love each other as brothers. Be kind and humble.


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Do not do wrong to a person to pay him back for doing wrong to you. Or do not insult someone to pay him back for insulting you. But ask God to bless that person. Do this, because you yourselves were called to receive a blessing.


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The Scripture says, “A person must do these things to enjoy life and have many, happy days. He must not say evil things. He must not tell lies.


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The Lord sees the good people. He listens to their prayers. But the Lord is against those who do evil.”


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But you may suffer for doing right. Even if that happens, you are blessed. “Don’t be afraid of the things they fear. Do not dread those things.


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But respect Christ as the holy Lord in your hearts.” Always be ready to answer everyone who asks you to explain about the hope you have.


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But answer in a gentle way and with respect. Always feel that you are doing right. Then, those who speak evil of your good life in Christ will be made ashamed.


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It is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong. Yes, it is better, if that is what God wants.


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Christ himself died for you. And that one death paid for your sins. He was not guilty, but he died for those who are guilty. He did this to bring you all to God. His body was killed, but he was made alive in the spirit.


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These were the spirits who refused to obey God long ago in the time of Noah. God was waiting patiently for them while Noah was building the boat. Only a few people—eight in all—were saved by water.


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That water is like baptism that now saves you—not the washing of dirt from the body, but the promise made to God from a good heart. And this is because Jesus Christ was raised from death.


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Now Jesus has gone into heaven and is at God’s right side. He rules over angels, authorities, and powers.


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Changed Lives Christ suffered while he was in his body. So you should strengthen yourselves with the same way of thinking Christ had. The person who has suffered in his body is finished with sin.


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Strengthen yourselves so that you will live your lives here on earth doing what God wants, not doing the evil things that people want.


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In the past you wasted too much time doing what the non-believers like to do. You lived for the body and evil desires. You were getting drunk, you had wild and drunken parties, and you did wrong by worshiping idols.


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Non-believers think it is strange that you do not do the many wild and wasteful things that they do. And so they insult you.


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But they will have to explain about what they have done. They must explain to God who is ready to judge the living and the dead.


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The Good News was preached to those who are now dead. By their dying, they were judged like all men. But the Good News was preached to them so that they could live in the spirit as God lives.


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Use God’s Gifts Wisely The time is near when all things will end. So keep your minds clear, and control yourselves. Then you will be able to pray.


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Each of you received a spiritual gift. God has shown you his grace in giving you different gifts. And you are like servants who are responsible for using God’s gifts. So be good servants and use your gifts to serve each other.


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Anyone 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.


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Suffering As a Christian My friends, do not be surprised at the painful things you are now suffering. These things are testing your faith. So do not think that something strange is happening to you.


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But you should be happy that you are sharing in Christ’s sufferings. You will be happy and full of joy when Christ comes again in glory.


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When people insult you because you follow Christ, then you are blessed. You are blessed because the glorious Spirit, the Spirit of God, is with you.


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But if you suffer because you are a Christian, then do not be ashamed. You should praise God because you wear that name.


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It is time for judgment to begin, and it will begin with God’s family. If that judging begins with us, what will happen to those people who do not obey the Good News of God?


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“It is very hard for a good person to be saved. Then the wicked person and the sinner will surely be lost!”


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So then those who suffer as God wants them to should trust their souls to him. God is the One who made them, and they can trust him. So they should continue to do what is right.


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The Flock of God Now I have something to say to the elders in your group. I am also an elder. I myself have seen Christ’s sufferings. And I will share in the glory that will be shown to us. I beg you to


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take care of God’s flock, his people, that you are responsible for. Watch over it because you want to, not because you are forced to do it. That is how God wants it. Do it because you are happy to serve, not because you want money.


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Then when Christ, the Head Shepherd, comes, you will get a crown. This crown will be glorious, and it will never lose its beauty.


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In the same way, younger men should be willing to be under older men. And all of you should be very humble with each other. “God is against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.”


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Control yourselves and be careful! The devil is your enemy. And he goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat.


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Refuse to give in to the devil. Stand strong in your faith. You know that your Christian brothers and sisters all over the world are having the same sufferings you have.


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Yes, you will suffer for a short time. But after that, God will make everything right. He will make you strong. He will support you and keep you from falling. He is the God who gives all grace. He called you to share in his glory in Christ. That glory will continue forever.


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Final Greetings I wrote this short letter with the help of Silas. I know that he is a faithful brother in Christ. I wrote to comfort and encourage you. I wanted to tell you that this is the true grace of God. Stand strong in that grace.


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The church in Babylon sends you greetings. They were chosen the same as you. Mark, my son in Christ, also greets you.


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Correcting False Teachings From Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ. To you who have received a faith as valuable as ours. You received that faith because our God and Savior Jesus Christ is fair and does what is right.


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Grace and peace be given to you more and more. You will have grace and peace because you truly know God and Jesus our Lord.


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God Has Given Us Blessings Jesus has the power of God. His power has given us everything we need to live and to serve God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus called us by his glory and goodness.


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Through his glory and goodness, he gave us the very great and rich gifts he promised us. With those gifts you can share in God’s nature. And so the world will not ruin you with its evil desires.


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Because you have these blessings, you should try as much as you can to add these things to your lives: to your faith, add goodness; and to your goodness, add knowledge;


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and to your knowledge, add self-control; and to your self-control, add the ability to hold on; and to your ability to hold on, add service for God;


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and to your service for God, add kindness for your brothers and sisters in Christ; and to this kindness, add love.


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If all these things are in you and are growing, they will help you never to be useless. They will help your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ make your lives better.


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But if anyone does not have these things, he cannot see clearly. He is blind. He has forgotten that he was made clean from his past sins.


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My brothers, God called you and chose you to be his. Try hard to show that you really are God’s chosen people. If you do all these things, you will never fall.


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And you will be given a very great welcome into the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That kingdom continues forever.


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You know these things, and you are very strong in the truth. But I will always help you to remember these things.


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I will try the best I can to help you remember these things always. I want you to be able to remember them even after I am gone.


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We Saw Christ’s Glory We have told you about the powerful coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. What we told you were not just smart stories that someone invented. But we saw the greatness of Jesus with our own eyes.


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Jesus heard the voice of God, the Greatest Glory. That was when Jesus received honor and glory from God the Father. The voice said, “This is my Son, and I love him. I am very pleased with him.”


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This makes us more sure about the message the prophets gave. And it is good for you to follow closely what they said. Their message is like a light shining in a dark place. That light shines until the day begins and the morning star rises in your hearts.


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Most of all, you must understand this: No prophecy in the Scriptures ever comes from the prophet’s own interpretation.


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No prophecy ever came from what a man wanted to say. But men led by the Holy Spirit spoke words from God.


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False Teachers There used to be false prophets among God’s people, just as there are now. And you will have some false teachers in your group. They will secretly teach things that are wrong—teachings that will cause people to be lost. They will even refuse to accept the Master, Jesus, who bought their freedom. And so they will quickly destroy themselves.


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Those false teachers only want your money. So they will use you by telling you what is not true. But God has already judged them guilty. And they will not escape the One who will destroy them.


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When angels sinned, God did not let them go free without punishment. God sent them to hell and put them in caves of darkness. They are being held there to be judged.


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And God punished the evil people who lived long ago. He brought a flood to the world that was full of people who were against him. But God saved Noah and seven other people with him. Noah was a man who preached about being right with God.


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And God also punished the evil cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. He burned those cities until there was nothing left but ashes. He made those cities an example to show what will happen to those who are against God.


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But God saved Lot from those cities. Lot, a good man, was troubled because of the sinful behavior of evil people.


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(Lot was a good man, but he lived with evil people every day. His good heart was hurt by the evil things that he saw and heard.)


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And so the Lord knows how to save those who serve him. He will save them when troubles come. And the Lord will hold evil people and punish them, while waiting for the Judgment Day.


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That punishment is especially for those who live by doing the evil things their sinful selves want, and for those who hate the Lord’s authority. These false teachers do anything they want and brag about it. They are not afraid to say bad things about the glorious angels.


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The angels are much stronger and more powerful than false teachers. But even the angels do not accuse them with insults before the Lord.


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But these men say bad things about what they do not understand. They are like animals that act without thinking. These animals are born to be caught and killed. And, like wild animals, these false teachers will be destroyed.


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They have caused many people to suffer; so they themselves will suffer. That is their pay for what they have done. They take pleasure in doing evil things openly. So they are like dirty spots and stains among you. They bring shame to you in the meals that you eat together.


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Every time they look at a woman they want her. Their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lead weak people into the trap of sin. They have taught their hearts to be selfish. God will punish them.


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These false teachers left the right road and lost their way. They followed the way that Balaam went. Balaam was the son of Beor, who loved being paid for doing wrong.


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But a donkey told Balaam that he was sinning. And the donkey is an animal that cannot talk. But the donkey spoke with a man’s voice and stopped the prophet’s crazy thinking.


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Those false teachers are like rivers that have no water. They are like clouds blown by a storm. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them.


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They brag with words that mean nothing. By their evil desires they lead people into the trap of sin. They lead away people who are just beginning to escape from other people who live in error.


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They promise them freedom, but they themselves are not free. They are slaves of things that will be destroyed. For a person is a slave of anything that controls him.


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They were made free from the evil in the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But if they return to evil things and those things control them, then it is worse for them than it was before.


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Yes, it would be better for them to have never known the right way. That would be better than to know the right way and then to turn away from the holy teaching that was given to them.


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What they did is like this true saying: “A dog eats what it throws up.” And, “After a pig is washed, it goes back and rolls in the mud.”


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Jesus Will Come Again My friends, this is the second letter I have written to you. I wrote both letters to you to help your honest minds remember something.


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I want you to remember the words that the holy prophets spoke in the past. And remember the command that our Lord and Savior gave us through your apostles.


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It is important for you to understand what will happen in the last days. People will laugh at you. They will live doing the evil things they want to do.


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They will say, “Jesus promised to come again. Where is he? Our fathers have died. But the world continues the way it has been since it was made.”


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But they do not want to remember what happened long ago. God spoke and made heaven and earth. He made the earth from water and with water.


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And that same word of God is keeping heaven and earth that we have now. They are being kept to be destroyed by fire. They are being kept for the Judgment Day and the destruction of all who are against God.


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But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: To the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day.


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The Lord is not slow in doing what he promised—the way some people understand slowness. But God is being patient with you. He does not want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to change his heart and life.


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But the day the Lord comes again will be a surprise, like a thief. The skies will disappear with a loud noise. Everything in the skies will be destroyed by fire. And the earth and everything in it will be exposed.


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In that way everything will be destroyed. So what kind of people should you be? You should live holy lives and serve God.


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You should wait for the day of God and look forward to its coming. When that day comes, the skies will be destroyed with fire, and everything in the skies will melt with heat.


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But God made a promise to us. And we are waiting for what he promised—a new heaven and a new earth where goodness lives.


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Dear friends, we are waiting for this to happen. So try as hard as you can to be without sin and without fault. Try to be at peace with God.


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Remember that we are saved because our Lord is patient. Our dear brother Paul told you the same thing when he wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him.


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Paul writes about this in all his letters. Sometimes there are things in Paul’s letters that are hard to understand. And some people explain these things falsely. They are ignorant and weak in faith. They also falsely explain the other Scriptures. But they are destroying themselves by doing that.


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Dear friends, you already know about this. So be careful. Do not let those evil people lead you away by the wrong they do. Be careful so that you will not fall from your own strong faith.


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But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Glory be to him now and forever! Amen.


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God Forgives Our Sins We write you now about something that has always existed. We have heard. We have seen with our own eyes. We have watched, and we have touched with our hands. We write to you about the Word that gives life.


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He who gives life was shown to us. We saw him, and we can give proof about it. And now we tell you that he has life that continues forever. The one who gives this life was with God the Father. God showed him to us.


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Now we tell you what we have seen and heard because we want you to have fellowship with us. The fellowship we share together is with God the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ.


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Here is the message we have heard from God and now tell to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all.


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So if we say that we have fellowship with God, but we continue living in darkness, then we are liars. We do not follow the truth.


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God is in the light. We should live in the light, too. If we live in the light, we share fellowship with each other. And when we live in the light, the blood of the death of Jesus, God’s Son, is making us clean from every sin.


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But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins. We can trust God. He does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrongs we have done.


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Jesus Is Our Helper My dear children, I write this letter to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have Jesus Christ to help us. He is the Righteous One. He defends us before God the Father.


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Jesus died in our place to take away our sins. And Jesus is the way that all people can have their sins taken away, too.


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If someone says, “I know God!” but does not obey God’s commands, then he is a liar. The truth is not in him.


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But if someone obeys God’s teaching, then God’s love has truly arrived at its goal in him. This is how we know that we are following God:


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The Command to Love Others My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. It is the teaching you have already heard.


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But I am writing a new command to you. This command is true; you can see its truth in Jesus and in yourselves. The darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.


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Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him that will cause him to do wrong.


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But whoever hates his brother is in darkness. He lives in darkness and does not know where he is going. The darkness has made him blind.


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I write to you, fathers, because you know the One who existed from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have defeated the Evil One.


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I write to you, children, because you know the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you know the One who existed from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong; the word of God lives in you, and you have defeated the Evil One.


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Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.


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These are the evil things in the world: wanting things to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, being too proud of the things we have. But none of those things comes from the Father. All of them come from the world.


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The world is passing away. And everything that people want in the world is passing away. But the person who does what God wants lives forever.


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Reject the Enemies of Christ My dear children, the end is near! You have heard that the Enemy of Christ is coming. And now many enemies of Christ are already here. So we know that the end is near.


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Those enemies of Christ were in our group. But they left us. They did not really belong with us. If they were really part of our group, then they would have stayed with us. But they left. This shows that none of them really belonged with us.


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Why do I write to you? Do I write because you do not know the truth? No, I write this letter because you do know the truth. And you know that no lie comes from the truth.


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So who is the liar? It is the person who says Jesus is not the Christ. A person who says Jesus is not the Christ is the enemy of Christ. He does not believe in the Father or in his Son.


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If anyone does not believe in the Son, he does not have the Father. But whoever accepts the Son has the Father, too.


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Be sure that you continue to follow the teaching that you heard from the beginning. If you continue in that teaching, you will stay in the Son and in the Father.


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Christ gave you a special gift. You still have this gift in you. So you do not need any other teacher. The gift he gave you teaches you about everything. This gift is true, not false. So continue to live in Christ, as his gift taught you.


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Yes, my dear children, live in him. If we do this, we can be without fear on the day when Christ comes back. We will not need to hide and be ashamed when he comes.


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We Are God’s Children The Father has loved us so much! He loved us so much that we are called children of God. And we really are his children. But the people in the world do not understand that we are God’s children, because they have not known him.


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Dear friends, now we are children of God. We have not yet been shown what we will be in the future. But we know that when Christ comes again, we will be like him. We will see him as he really is.


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So the person who lives in Christ does not go on sinning. If he goes on sinning, he has never really understood Christ and has never known him.


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Dear children, do not let any person lead you the wrong way. Christ is righteous. To be like Christ, a person must do what is right.


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The devil has been sinning since the beginning. Anyone who continues to sin belongs to the devil. The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s work.


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When God makes someone his child, that person does not go on sinning. The new life God gave that person stays in him. So he is not able to go on sinning, because he has become a child of God.


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So we can see who God’s children are and who the devil’s children are. Those who do not do what is right are not children of God. And anyone who does not love his brother is not a child of God.


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We Must Love Each Other This is the teaching you have heard from the beginning: We must love each other.


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Do not be like Cain who belonged to the Evil One. Cain killed his brother. He killed his brother because the things Cain did were evil, and the things his brother did were good.


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We know that we have left death and have come into life. We know this because we love our brothers in Christ. Whoever does not love is still in death.


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Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.


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This is how we know what real love is: Jesus gave his life for us. So we should give our lives for our brothers.


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Suppose a believer is rich enough to have all that he needs. He sees his brother in Christ who is poor and does not have what he needs. What if the believer does not help the poor brother? Then the believer does not have God’s love in his heart.


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My children, our love should not be only words and talk. Our love must be true love. And we should show that love by what we do.


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This is the way we know that we belong to the way of truth. When our hearts make us feel guilty, we can still have peace before God. God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.


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My dear friends, if we do not feel that we are doing wrong, we can be without fear when we come to God.


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And God gives us the things we ask for. We receive these things because we obey God’s commands, and we do what pleases him.


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This is what God commands: that we believe in his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we love each other, just as he commanded.


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The person who obeys God’s commands lives in God. And God lives in him. How do we know that God lives in us? We know because of the Spirit whom God gave us.


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Warning Against False Teachers My dear friends, many false prophets are in the world now. So do not believe every spirit. But test the spirits to see if they are from God.


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This is how you can know God’s Spirit: One spirit says, “I believe that Jesus is the Christ who came to earth and became a man.” That Spirit is from God.


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Another spirit refuses to say this about Jesus. That spirit is not from God but is the spirit of the Enemy of Christ. You have heard that the Enemy of Christ is coming. And now he is already in the world.


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My dear children, you belong to God. So you have defeated them because God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world.


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But we are from God, and those who know God listen to us. But those who are not from God do not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit that is true and the spirit that is false.


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Love Comes from God Dear friends, we should love each other, because love comes from God. The person who loves has become God’s child and knows God.


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This is how God showed his love to us: He sent his only Son into the world to give us life through him.


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True love is God’s love for us, not our love for God. God sent his Son to die in our place to take away our sins.


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No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us. If we love each other, God’s love has reached its goal. It is made perfect in us.


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If someone says, “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God,” then God lives in him. And he lives in God.


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And so we know the love that God has for us, and we trust that love. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him.


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If God’s love is made perfect in us, then we can be without fear on the day God judges us. We will be without fear, because in this world we are like him.


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Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love takes away fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear. So love is not made perfect in the person who has fear.


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If someone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. He can see his brother, but he hates him. So he cannot love God, whom he has never seen.


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Faith in the Son of God Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is God’s child. The person who loves the Father also loves the Father’s children.


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Everyone who is a child of God has the power to win against the world. It is our faith that wins the victory against the world.


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Jesus Christ is the One who came with water and with blood. He did not come by water only. He came by both water and blood. And the Spirit says that this is true. The Spirit is the truth.


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We believe people when they say something is true. But what God says is more important. And he has told us the truth about his own Son.


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Anyone who believes in the Son of God has the truth that God told us. Anyone who does not believe makes God a liar. He does not believe what God told us about his Son.


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We Have Eternal Life Now I write this letter to you who believe in the Son of God. I write so that you will know that you have eternal life now.


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We can come to God with no doubts. This means that when we ask God for things (and those things agree with what God wants for us), then God cares about what we say.


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God listens to us every time we ask him. So we know that he gives us the things that we ask from him.


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Suppose someone sees his brother in Christ sinning (sin that does not lead to eternal death). That person should pray for his brother who is sinning. Then God will give the brother life. I am talking about people whose sin does not lead to eternal death. There is sin that leads to death. I do not mean that a person should pray about that sin.


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We know that anyone who is God’s child does not continue to sin. The Son of God keeps him safe, and the Evil One cannot hurt him.


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And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding. Now we can know God, the One who is true. And our lives are in that true God and in his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God, and he is eternal life.


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Do Not Help False Teachers From the Elder. To the chosen lady and to her children: I love all of you in the truth. Also, all those who know the truth love you.


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Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from his Son, Jesus Christ. And may we have these blessings in truth and love.


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I was very happy to learn about some of your children. I am happy that they are following the way of truth, as the Father commanded us.


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And now, dear lady, I tell you: We should all love each other. This is not a new command. It is the same command we have had from the beginning.


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And loving means living the way he commanded us to live. And God’s command is this: that you live a life of love. You have heard this command from the beginning.


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Many false teachers are in the world now. They refuse to say that Jesus Christ came to earth and became a man. Anyone who refuses to say this is a false teacher and an enemy of Christ.


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Be careful! Do not lose the reward that you have worked for. Be careful, so that you will receive your full reward.


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A person must continue to follow only the teaching of Christ. If he goes beyond Christ’s teaching, then he does not have God. But if he continues following the teaching of Christ, then he has both the Father and the Son.


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If someone comes to you, but does not bring this teaching, then do not accept him into your house. Do not welcome him.


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I have much to say to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come visit you. Then we can be together and talk. That will make us very happy.


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My dear friend, I know your soul is doing well. I pray that you are doing fine in every way and that your health is good.


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Some brothers in Christ came and told me about the truth in your life. They said that you are following the way of truth. This made me very happy.


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My dear friend, it is good that you continue to help the brothers. You are helping those that you do not even know!


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These brothers told the church about the love you have. Please help them to continue their trip. Help them in a way that will please God.


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They started out on their trip to serve Christ. They did not accept any help from those who are not believers.


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I wrote a letter to the church. But Diotrephes will not listen to what we say. He always wants to be their leader.


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When I come, I will talk about what Diotrephes is doing. He lies and says evil things about us. But that is not all he does. He refuses to help those who are working to serve Christ. He also stops those who want to help the brothers and puts them out of the church.


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My dear friend, do not follow what is bad; follow what is good. He who does what is good is from God. But he who does evil has never known God.


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Everyone says good things about Demetrius. And the truth agrees with what they say. Also, we say good about him. And you know that what we say is true.


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Peace to you. The friends here with me send their love. Please give our love to each one of the friends there.


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Warnings About False Teachers From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James. To all who have been called by God. God the Father loves you, and you have been kept safe in Jesus Christ.


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God Will Punish Sinners Dear friends, I wanted very much to write to you about the salvation we all share together. But I felt the need to write to you about something else: I want to encourage you to fight hard for the faith that God gave his holy people. God gave this faith once, and it is good for all time.


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Some people have secretly entered your group. They have already been judged guilty for the things they are doing. Long ago the prophets wrote about these people. They are against God. They have used the grace of our God in the wrong way—to do sinful things. They refuse to accept Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord.


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I want to remind you of some things that you already know: Remember that the Lord saved his people by bringing them out of the land of Egypt. But later the Lord destroyed all those who did not believe.


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And remember the angels who had power but did not keep it. They left their own home. So the Lord has kept these angels in darkness. They are bound with everlasting chains, to be judged on the great day.


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Also remember the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and the other towns around them. They acted as the angels who did not obey God. Their towns were full of sexual sin and men having physical relations with men. They suffer the punishment of eternal fire, as an example for all to see.


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It is the same with these people who have entered your group. They are guided by dreams. They make themselves dirty with sin. They reject God’s authority and say bad things against the glorious angels.


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Not even the archangel Michael did this. He argued with the devil about who would have the body of Moses. Michael did not dare to accuse the devil with insults. He said, “The Lord punish you.”


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But these people say bad things about what they do not understand. They do understand some things. But they understand them not by thinking, but by feeling, the way dumb animals understand things. And these are the very things that destroy them.


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It will be bad for them. They have followed the way that Cain went. To make money, they have given themselves to doing the wrong that Balaam did. They have fought against God as Korah did. And like Korah, they will be destroyed.


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They are like dirty spots in the special meals you share together. They eat with you and have no fear. They take care of only themselves. They are clouds without rain. The wind blows them around. They are trees that have no fruit when it is time and are pulled out of the ground. So they are dead two times.


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They are like wild waves in the sea. These people do shameful things in the same way waves make foam. They are like stars that wander in the sky. A place in the blackest darkness has been kept for them forever.


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Enoch, the seventh descendant from Adam, said this about these people: “Look, the Lord is coming with thousands and thousands of his holy angels.


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The Lord will judge every person. He is coming to judge everyone and to punish all who are against God. He will punish them for all the evil they have done against him. And he will punish the sinners who are against God. He will punish them for all the evil things they have said against him.”


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These people always complain and blame others. They always do the evil things they want to do. They brag about themselves. The only reason they say good things about other people is to get what they want.


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A Warning and Things to Do Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ said before.


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They said to you, “In the last times there will be people who laugh about God. They will do only what they want to do—things that are against God.”


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These are the people who divide you. They do only what their sinful selves want. They do not have the Spirit.


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But dear friends, use your most holy faith to build yourselves up strong. Pray with the Holy Spirit.


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Keep yourselves in God’s love. Wait for the Lord Jesus Christ with his mercy to give you life forever.


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Save them. Take them out of the fire. Show mercy mixed with fear to others. Hate even their clothes which are dirty from sin.


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Praise God God is strong and can help you not to fall. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and give you great joy.


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He is the only God. He is the One who saves us. To him be glory, greatness, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord for all time past, now, and forever. Amen.


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John Tells About This Book This is the revelation of Jesus Christ. God gave this revelation to Jesus, to show his servants what must soon happen. And Jesus sent his angel to show it to his servant John.


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John has told everything that he has seen. It is the truth that Jesus Christ told him; it is the message from God.


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The one who reads the words of God’s message is happy. And the people who hear this message and do what is written in it are happy. The time is near when all of this will happen.


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Jesus’ Message to the Churches From John, To the seven churches in Asia: Grace and peace to you from the One who is and was and is coming, and from the seven spirits before his throne,


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and from Jesus Christ. Jesus is the faithful witness. He is first among those raised from death. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He is the One who loves us. And he is the One who made us free from our sins with the blood of his death.


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He made us to be a kingdom of priests who serve God his Father. To Jesus Christ be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.


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Look, Jesus is coming with the clouds! Everyone will see him, even those who stabbed him. And all peoples of the earth will cry loudly because of him. Yes, this will happen! Amen.


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The Lord God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the One who is and was and is coming. I am the All-Powerful.”


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I am John, and I am your brother in Christ. We are together in Jesus, and we share in these things: in suffering, in the kingdom, and in patience. I was on the island of Patmos because I had preached God’s message and the truth about Jesus.


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On the Lord’s day the Spirit took control of me. I heard a loud voice behind me that sounded like a trumpet.


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The voice said, “Write what you see and send that book to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”


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I saw someone among the lampstands who was “like a Son of Man.” He was dressed in a long robe. He had a gold band around his chest.


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His feet were like bronze that glows hot in a furnace. His voice was like the noise of flooding water.


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He held seven stars in his right hand. A sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth. He looked like the sun shining at its brightest time.


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When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He put his right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid! I am the First and the Last.


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I am the One who lives. I was dead, but look: I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and where the dead are.


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Here is the hidden meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands that you saw: The seven lampstands are the seven churches. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.


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To the Church in Ephesus “Write this to the angel of the church in Ephesus: “The One who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands says this to you.


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I know what you do. You work hard, and you never give up. I know that you do not accept evil people. You have tested those who say that they are apostles but really are not. You found that they are liars.


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So remember where you were before you fell. Change your hearts and do what you did at first. If you do not change, I will come to you. I will take away your lampstand from its place.


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“Every person who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who wins the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life. This tree is in the garden of God.


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To the Church in Smyrna “Write this to the angel of the church in Smyrna: “The One who is the First and the Last says this to you. He is the One who died and came to life again.


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I know your troubles. I know that you are poor, but really you are rich! I know the bad things that some people say about you. They say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews. They are a synagogue that belongs to Satan.


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Do not be afraid of what will happen to you. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But be faithful, even if you have to die. If you are faithful, I will give you the crown of life.


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“Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. He who wins the victory will not be hurt by the second death.


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To the Church in Pergamum “Write this to the angel of the church in Pergamum: “The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this to you.


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I know where you live. You live where Satan has his throne. But you are true to me. You did not refuse to tell about your faith in me even during the time of Antipas. Antipas was my faithful witness who was killed in your city. Your city is where Satan lives.


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“But I have a few things against you: You have some there who follow the teaching of Balaam. Balaam taught Balak how to cause the people of Israel to sin. They sinned by eating food offered to idols and by taking part in sexual sins.


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So change your hearts and lives! If you do not, I will come to you quickly and fight against them with the sword that comes out of my mouth.


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“Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! “I will give the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it. No one knows this new name except the one who receives it.


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To the Church in Thyatira “Write this to the angel of the church in Thyatira: “The Son of God is saying these things. He is the One who has eyes that blaze like fire and feet like shining bronze. He says this to you:


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I know what you do. I know about your love, your faith, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first.


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But I have this against you: You let that woman Jezebel do what she wants. She says that she is a prophetess. But she is leading my servants away with her teaching. Jezebel leads them to take part in sexual sins and to eat food that is offered to idols.


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I have given her time to change her heart and turn away from her sin. But she does not want to change.


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And so I will throw her on a bed of suffering. And all those who take part in adultery with her will suffer greatly. I will do this now if they do not turn away from the wrongs she does.


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I will also kill her followers. Then all the churches will know that I am the One who knows what people feel and think. And I will repay each of you for what you have done.


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“But others of you in Thyatira have not followed her teaching. You have not learned what some call Satan’s deep secrets. This is what I say to you: I will not put any other load on you.


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“I will give power to everyone who wins the victory and continues to the end to do what I want. I will give him power over the nations:


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‘You will make them obey you by punishing them with an iron rod. You will break them into pieces like pottery.’


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To the Church in Sardis “Write this to the angel of the church in Sardis: “The One who has the seven spirits and the seven stars says this to you. I know what you do. People say that you are alive, but really you are dead.


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Wake up! Make yourselves stronger while you still have something left and before it dies completely. I have found that what you are doing is not good enough for my God.


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So do not forget what you have received and heard. Obey it. Change your hearts and lives! You must wake up, or I will come to you and surprise you like a thief. And you will not know when I will come.


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But you have a few there in Sardis who have kept themselves clean. They will walk with me. They will wear white clothes, because they are worthy.


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He who wins the victory will be dressed in white clothes like them. I will not take away his name from the book of life. I will say that he belongs to me before my Father and before his angels.


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To the Church in Philadelphia “Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia: “The One who is holy and true says this to you. He holds the key of David. When he opens something, it cannot be closed. And when he closes something, it cannot be opened.


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I know what you do. I have put an open door before you, and no one can close it. I know that you have a little strength. But you have followed my teaching. And you were not afraid to speak my name.


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Listen! There is a synagogue that belongs to Satan. Those in this synagogue say they are Jews, but they are liars. They are not true Jews. I will make them come before you and bow at your feet. They will know that I have loved you.


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You have followed my teaching about not giving up. So I will keep you from the time of trouble that will come to the whole world. This trouble will test those who live on earth.


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I will make the one who wins the victory a pillar in the temple of my God. He will never have to leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God. This city is the new Jerusalem. It comes down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on him my new name.


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To the Church in Laodicea “Write this to the angel of the church in Laodicea: “The Amen is the One who is the faithful and true witness. He is the ruler of all that God has made. He says this to you:


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You say you are rich. You think you have become wealthy and do not need anything. But you do not know that you are really miserable, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.


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I advise you to buy gold from me—gold made pure in fire. Then you can be truly rich. Buy from me clothes that are white. Then you can cover your shameful nakedness. Buy from me medicine to put on your eyes. Then you can truly see.


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Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him. And he will eat with me.


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“He who wins the victory will sit with me on my throne. It was the same with me. I won the victory and sat down with my Father on his throne.


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John Sees Heaven After this I looked, and there before me was an open door in heaven. And I heard the same voice that spoke to me before. It was the voice that sounded like a trumpet. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”


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Then the Spirit took control of me. There before me was a throne in heaven. Someone was sitting on the throne.


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The One who sat on the throne looked like precious stones, like jasper and carnelian. All around the throne was a rainbow the color of an emerald.


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Around the throne there were 24 other thrones. There were 24 elders sitting on the 24 thrones. The elders were dressed in white, and they had golden crowns on their heads.


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Lightning flashes and noises of thunder came from the throne. Before the throne there were seven lamps burning. These lamps are the seven spirits of God.


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Also before the throne there was something that looked like a sea of glass. It was clear like crystal. Around the throne, on each side, there were four living things. These living things had eyes all over them, in front and in back.


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The first living thing was like a lion. The second was like a calf. The third had a face like a man. The fourth was like a flying eagle.


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Each of these four living things had six wings. The living things were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God All-Powerful. He was, he is, and he is coming.”


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These living things give glory and honor and thanks to the One who sits on the throne. He is the One who lives forever and ever. And every time the living things do this,


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the 24 elders bow down before the One who sits on the throne. The elders worship him who lives forever and ever. They put their crowns down before the throne and say:


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“Our Lord and God! You are worthy to receive glory and honor and power. You made all things. Everything existed and was made because you wanted it.”


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Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides. It was kept closed with seven seals.


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And I saw a powerful angel. He called in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?”


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But there was no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth who could open the scroll or look inside it.


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But one of the elders said to me, “Do not cry! The Lion from the tribe of Judah has won the victory. He is David’s descendant. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.”


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Then I saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne with the four living things around it. The elders were also around the Lamb. The Lamb looked as if he had been killed. He had seven horns and seven eyes. These are the seven spirits of God that were sent into all the world.


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After he took the scroll, the four living things and the 24 elders bowed down before the Lamb. Each one of them had a harp. Also, they were holding golden bowls full of incense. These bowls of incense are the prayers of God’s holy people.


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And they all sang a new song to the Lamb: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were killed; and with the blood of your death you bought men for God from every tribe, language, people, and nation.


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Then I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels. The angels were around the throne, the four living things, and the elders. There were thousands and thousands of angels—there were 10,000 times 10,000.


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The angels said in a loud voice: “The Lamb who was killed is worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom and strength, honor, glory, and praise!”


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Then I heard every living thing in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. I heard every thing in all these places, saying: “All praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever to the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb!”


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Then I watched while the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living things speak with a voice like thunder. It said, “Come!”


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I looked and there before me was a white horse. The rider on the horse held a bow, and he was given a crown. And he rode out, defeating the enemy. He rode out to win the victory.


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Then another horse came out. This was a red horse. Its rider was given power to take away peace from the earth. He was given power to make people kill each other. And he was given a big sword.


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The Lamb opened the third seal. Then I heard the third living thing say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse. Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand.


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Then I heard something that sounded like a voice. It came from where the four living things were. The voice said, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay. And three quarts of barley for a day’s pay. And do not damage the olive oil and wine!”


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I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named death. Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth. They were given power to kill people by war, by starving them, by disease, and by the wild animals of the earth.


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The Lamb opened the fifth seal. Then I saw some souls under the altar. They were the souls of those who had been killed because they were faithful to God’s message and to the truth they had received.


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These souls shouted in a loud voice, “Holy and true Lord, how long until you judge the people of the earth and punish them for killing us?”


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Then each one of these souls was given a white robe. They were told to wait a short time longer. There were still some of their brothers in the service of Christ who must be killed as they were. They were told to wait until all of this killing was finished.


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Then I watched while the Lamb opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun became black like rough black cloth. The full moon became red like blood.


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The sky disappeared. It was rolled up like a scroll. And every mountain and island was moved from its place.


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Then all people hid in caves and behind the rocks on the mountains. There were the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the rich people and the powerful people. Everyone, slave and free, hid himself.


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They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us. Hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne. Hide us from the anger of the Lamb!


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The 144,000 People of Israel After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. The angels were holding the four winds of the earth. They were stopping the wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.


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Then I saw another angel coming from the east. This angel had the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels. These were the four angels that God had given power to harm the earth and the sea. He said to the four angels,


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“Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees before we put the sign on the people who serve our God. We must put the sign on their foreheads.”


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Then I heard how many people were marked with the sign. There were 144,000. They were from every tribe of the people of Israel.


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From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were marked with the sign, from the tribe of Reuben 12,000, from the tribe of Gad 12,000,


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from the tribe of Asher 12,000, from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000, from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,


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from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000, from the tribe of Joseph 12,000, from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.


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The Great Crowd Then I looked, and there was a great number of people. There were so many people that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They wore white robes and had palm branches in their hands.


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They were shouting in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”


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The elders and the four living things were there. All the angels were standing around them and the throne. The angels bowed down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God.


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They were saying, “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength belong to our God forever and ever. Amen!”


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I answered, “You know who they are, sir.” And the elder said, “These are the people who have come out of the great suffering. They have washed their robes with the blood of the Lamb. Now they are clean and white.


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And they are before the throne of God. They worship God day and night in his temple. And the One who sits on the throne will protect them.


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Those people will never be hungry again. They will never be thirsty again. The sun will not hurt them. No heat will burn them.


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For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of water that give life. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”


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The Seventh Seal The Lamb opened the seventh seal. Then there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.


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Another angel came and stood at the altar. This angel had a golden pan for incense. The angel was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all God’s holy people. The angel put this offering on the golden altar before the throne.


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The smoke from the incense went up from the angel’s hand to God. It went up with the prayers of God’s people.


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Then the angel filled the incense pan with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth. There were flashes of lightning, thunder and loud noises, and an earthquake.


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The Seven Angels and Trumpets Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to blow them.


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The first angel blew his trumpet. Then hail and fire mixed with blood was poured down on the earth. And a third of the earth and all the green grass and a third of the trees were burned up.


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The second angel blew his trumpet. Then something that looked like a big mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. And a third of the sea became blood.


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The third angel blew his trumpet. Then a large star, burning like a torch, fell from the sky. It fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.


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The name of the star is Wormwood. And a third of all the water became bitter. Many people died from drinking the water that was bitter.


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The fourth angel blew his trumpet. Then a third of the sun and a third of the moon and a third of the stars were hit. So a third of them became dark. A third of the day was without light.


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While I watched, I heard an eagle that was flying high in the air. The eagle said with a loud voice, “Trouble! Trouble! Trouble for those who live on the earth! The trouble will begin with the sounds of the trumpets that the other three angels are about to blow.”


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Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet. And I saw a star fall from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the deep hole that leads down to the bottomless pit.


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Then it opened the bottomless pit. Smoke came up from the hole like smoke from a big furnace. The sun and sky became dark because of the smoke from the hole.


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Then locusts came down to the earth out of the smoke. They were given the power to sting like scorpions.


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They were told not to harm the grass on the earth or any plant or tree. They could harm only the people who did not have the sign of God on their foreheads.


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These locusts were given the power to cause pain to the people for five months. But they were not given the power to kill anyone. And the pain they felt was like the pain that a scorpion gives when it stings a person.


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During those days people will look for a way to die, but they will not find it. They will want to die, but death will run away from them.


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The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads they wore things that looked like crowns of gold. Their faces looked like human faces.


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Their chests looked like iron breastplates. The sound their wings made was like the noise of many horses and chariots hurrying into battle.


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The locusts had tails with stingers like scorpions. The power they had to hurt people for five months was in their tails.


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The locusts had a king who was the angel of the bottomless pit. His name in the Hebrew language is Abaddon. In the Greek language his name is Apollyon.


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The sixth angel blew his trumpet. Then I heard a voice coming from the horns on the golden altar that is before God.


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The voice said to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, “Free the four angels who are tied at the great river Euphrates.”


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These four angels had been kept ready for this hour and day and month and year. They were freed to kill a third of all people on the earth.


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In my vision I saw the horses and their riders. They looked like this: They had breastplates that were fiery red, dark blue, and yellow like sulfur. The heads of the horses looked like heads of lions. The horses had fire, smoke, and sulfur coming out of their mouths.


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A third of all the people on earth were killed by these three terrible things coming out of the horses’ mouths: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur.


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The horses’ power was in their mouths and also in their tails. Their tails were like snakes that have heads to bite and hurt people.


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The other people on the earth were not killed by these terrible things. But they still did not change their hearts and turn away from what they had made with their own hands. They did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—things that cannot see or hear or walk.


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These people did not change their hearts and turn away from murder or evil magic, from their sexual immorality or stealing.


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The Angel and the Little Scroll Then I saw another powerful angel coming down from heaven. He was dressed in a cloud and had a rainbow around his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like poles of fire.


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The angel was holding a small scroll open in his hand. He put his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.


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The seven thunders spoke, and I started to write. But then I heard a voice from heaven. The voice said, “Do not write what the seven thunders said. Keep these things secret.”


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He made a promise by the power of the One who lives forever and ever. He is the One who made the skies and all that is in them. He made the earth and all that is in it, and he made the sea and all that is in it. The angel said, “There will be no more waiting!


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In the days when the seventh angel is ready to blow his trumpet, God’s secret plan will be finished. This plan is the Good News God told to his servants, the prophets.”


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Then I heard the same voice from heaven again. The voice said to me, “Go and take the open scroll that is in the angel’s hand. This is the angel that is standing on the sea and on the land.”


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So I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, “Take the scroll and eat it. It will be sour in your stomach. But in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.”


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So I took the little scroll from the angel’s hand and I ate it. In my mouth it tasted sweet as honey. But after I ate it, it was sour in my stomach.


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The Two Witnesses Then I was given a measuring stick like a rod. I was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the number of people worshiping there.


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But do not measure the yard outside the temple. Leave it alone. It has been given to the people who are not Jews. They will walk on the holy city for 42 months.


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And I will give power to my two witnesses to prophesy for 1,260 days. They will be dressed in rough cloth to show how sad they are.”


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These two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth.


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If anyone tries to hurt the witnesses, fire comes from their mouths and kills their enemies. Anyone who tries to hurt them will die like this.


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These witnesses have the power to stop the sky from raining during the time they are prophesying. They have power to make the waters become blood. They have power to send every kind of trouble to the earth. They can do this as many times as they want.


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When the two witnesses have finished telling their message, the beast will fight against them. This is the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit. He will defeat them and kill them.


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The bodies of the two witnesses will lie in the street of the great city. This city is named Sodom and Egypt. These names for the city have a special meaning. It is the city where the Lord was killed.


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Men from every race of people, tribe, language, and nation will look at the bodies of the two witnesses for three and a half days. They will refuse to bury them.


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People who live on the earth will be happy because these two are dead. They will have parties and send each other gifts. They will do these things because these two prophets brought much suffering to those who live on the earth.


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But after three and a half days, God put the breath of life into the two prophets again. They stood on their feet. Everyone who saw them was filled with fear.


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Then the two prophets heard a loud voice from heaven say, “Come up here!” And they went up into heaven in a cloud. Their enemies watched them go.


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At that same time there was a great earthquake. A tenth of the city was destroyed. And 7,000 people were killed in the earthquake. Those who did not die were very afraid. They gave glory to the God of heaven.


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The Seventh Trumpet Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet. And there were loud voices in heaven. The voices said: “The power to rule the world now belongs to our Lord and his Christ. And he will rule forever and ever.”


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Then the 24 elders bowed down on their faces and worshiped God. These are the elders who sit on their thrones before God.


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They said: “We give thanks to you, Lord God All-Powerful. You are the One who is and who was. We thank you because you have used your great power and have begun to rule!


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The people of the world were angry; but now is the time for your anger. Now is the time for the dead to be judged. It is time to reward your servants the prophets and to reward your holy people, all who respect you, great and small. It is time to destroy those who destroy the earth!”


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Then God’s temple in heaven was opened. The Ark of the Covenant that holds the agreement that God gave to his people could be seen in his temple. Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.


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The Woman and the Dragon And then a great wonder appeared in heaven: There was a woman who was clothed with the sun. The moon was under her feet. She had a crown of 12 stars on her head.


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Then another wonder appeared in heaven: There was a giant red dragon. He had seven heads with seven crowns on each head. He also had ten horns.


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The dragon’s tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was ready to give birth to a baby. He wanted to eat the woman’s baby as soon as it was born.


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The woman gave birth to a son. He will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. But her child was taken up to God and to his throne.


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The woman ran away into the desert to a place God prepared for her. There she would be taken care of for 1,260 days.


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Then there was a war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back.


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He was thrown down out of heaven. (The giant dragon is that old snake called the devil or Satan. He leads the whole world the wrong way.) The dragon with his angels was thrown down to the earth.


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Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have now come. They have come because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out. He accused our brothers day and night before our God.


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And our brothers defeated him by the blood of the Lamb’s death and by the truth they preached. They did not love their lives so much that they were afraid of death.


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So be happy, you heavens and all who live there! But it will be terrible for the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you! He is filled with anger. He knows that he does not have much time.”


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The dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth. So he hunted down the woman who had given birth to the son.


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But the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle. Then she could fly to the place that was prepared for her in the desert. There she would be taken care of for three and a half years. There she would be away from the snake.


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Then the snake poured water out of its mouth like a river. He poured the water toward the woman, so that the flood would carry her away.


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But the earth helped her. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that came from the mouth of the dragon.


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Then the dragon was very angry at the woman. He went off to make war against all her other children. Her children are those who obey God’s commands and have the truth that Jesus taught.


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The Two Beasts Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads. There was a crown on each horn. A name against God was written on each head.


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This beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear’s feet. He had a mouth like a lion’s mouth. The dragon gave the beast all of his power and his throne and great authority.


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One of the heads of the beast looked as if it had been wounded and killed. But this death wound was healed. The whole world was amazed and followed the beast.


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People worshiped the dragon because he had given his power to the beast. And they also worshiped the beast. They asked, “Who is as powerful as the beast? Who can make war against him?”


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The beast was allowed to say proud words and words against God. He was allowed to use his power for 42 months.


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He used his mouth to speak against God. He spoke against God’s name, against the place where God lives, and against all those who live in heaven.


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He was given power to make war against God’s holy people and to defeat them. He was given power over every tribe, people, language, and nation.


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All who live on earth will worship the beast. These are all the people since the beginning of the world whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life. The Lamb is the One who was killed.


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If anyone is to be a prisoner, then he will be a prisoner. If anyone is to be killed with the sword, then he will be killed with the sword. This means that God’s holy people must have patience and faith.


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Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth. He had two horns like a lamb, but he talked like a dragon.


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This beast stands before the first beast and uses the same power that the first beast has. He uses this power to make everyone living on earth worship the first beast. The first beast was the one that had the death wound that was healed.


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The second one does great miracles. He even makes fire come down from heaven to earth while people are watching.


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This second beast fools those who live on earth. He fools them by the miracles he has been given the power to do. He does these miracles to serve the first beast. The second beast ordered people to make an idol to honor the first beast. This was the one that was wounded by the sword but did not die.


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The second beast was given power to give life to the idol of the first one. Then the idol could speak and order all who did not worship it to be killed.


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The second animal also forced all people, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to have a mark on their right hand or on their forehead.


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No one could buy or sell without this mark. This mark is the name of the beast or the number of his name.


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Whoever has understanding can find the meaning of the number. This requires wisdom. This number is the number of a man. His number is 666.


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The Song of the Saved Then I looked, and there before me was the Lamb. He was standing on Mount Zion. There were 144,000 people with him. They all had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads.


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And I heard a sound from heaven like the noise of flooding water and like the sound of loud thunder. The sound I heard was like people playing harps.


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And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living things and the elders. The only ones who could learn the new song were the 144,000 who had been saved from the earth. No one else could learn the song.


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These 144,000 are the ones who did not do sinful things with women. They kept themselves pure. They follow the Lamb every place he goes. These 144,000 were saved from among the people of the earth. They are the first people to be offered to God and the Lamb.


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The Three Angels Then I saw another angel flying high in the air. The angel had the eternal Good News to preach to those who live on earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.


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The angel said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him praise. The time has come for God to judge all people. Worship God. He made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and the springs of water.”


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Then the second angel followed the first angel and said, “She is destroyed! The great city of Babylon is destroyed! She made all the nations drink the wine of her adultery and of God’s anger.”


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A third angel followed the first two angels. This third angel said in a loud voice: “It will be bad for the person who worships the beast and his idol and gets the beast’s mark on the forehead or on the hand.


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He will drink the wine of God’s anger. This wine is prepared with all its strength in the cup of God’s anger. He will be put in pain with burning sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb.


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And the smoke from their burning pain will rise forever and ever. There will be no rest, day or night, for those who worship the beast and his idol or who get the mark of his name.”


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This means that God’s holy people must be patient. They must obey God’s commands and keep their faith in Jesus.


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Then I heard a voice from heaven. It said, “Write this: From now on, the dead who were in the Lord when they died are happy.” The Spirit says, “Yes, that is true. They will rest from their hard work. The reward of all they have done stays with them.”


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The Earth Is Harvested I looked and there before me was a white cloud. Sitting on the white cloud was One who looked like a Son of Man. He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.


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Then another angel came out of the temple. This angel called to the One who was sitting on the cloud, “Take your sickle and gather from the earth. The time to harvest has come. The fruit of the earth is ripe.”


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So the One that was sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth. And the earth was harvested.


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And then another angel came from the altar. This angel has power over the fire. This angel called to the angel with the sharp sickle. He said, “Take your sharp sickle and gather the bunches of grapes from the earth’s vine. The earth’s grapes are ripe.”


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The angel swung his sickle over the earth. He gathered the earth’s grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God’s anger.


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The grapes were crushed in the winepress outside the city. And blood flowed out of the winepress. It rose as high as the heads of the horses for a distance of 200 miles.


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The Last Troubles Then I saw another wonder in heaven. It was great and amazing. There were seven angels bringing seven troubles. These are the last troubles, because after these troubles God’s anger is finished.


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I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. All of those who had won the victory over the beast and his idol and over the number of his name were standing by the sea. They had harps that God had given them.


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They sang the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: “You do great and wonderful things, Lord God, the God of heaven’s armies. Everything the Lord does is right and true, King of the nations.


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Everyone will respect you, Lord. They will honor you. Only you are holy. All people will come and worship you. This is because he is a faithful God who does no wrong. He is right and fair.”


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And the seven angels bringing the seven troubles came out of the temple. They were dressed in clean, shining linen. They wore golden bands tied around their chests.


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Then one of the four living things gave seven golden bowls to the seven angels. The bowls were filled with the anger of God, who lives forever and ever.


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The temple was filled with smoke from the glory and the power of God. No one could enter the temple until the seven troubles of the seven angels were finished.


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The Bowls of God’s Anger Then I heard a loud voice from the temple. The voice said to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s anger on the earth.”


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The first angel left. He poured out his bowl on the land. Then ugly and painful sores came upon all those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his idol.


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The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. Then the sea became blood like that of a dead man. Every living thing in the sea died.


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Then I heard the angel of the waters say to God: “Holy One, you are the One who is and who was. You are right to decide to punish these evil people.


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They have spilled the blood of your holy people and your prophets. Now you have given them blood to drink as they deserve.”


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And I heard the altar say: “Yes, Lord God All-Powerful, the way you punish evil people is right and fair.”


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The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun. The sun was given power to burn the people with fire.


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They were burned by the great heat, and they cursed the name of God. God is the One who had control over these troubles. But the people refused to change their hearts and lives and give glory to God.


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The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. And darkness covered the beast’s kingdom. People bit their tongues because of the pain.


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They cursed the God of heaven because of their pain and the sores they had. But they refused to change their hearts and turn away from the evil things they did.


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The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates. The water in the river was dried up. This prepared the way for the kings from the east to come.


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Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs. They came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.


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These evil spirits are the spirits of demons. They have power to do miracles. They go out to the kings of the whole world. They go out to gather the kings for battle on the great day of God All-Powerful.


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“Listen! I will come as a thief comes! Happy is the person who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him. Then he will not have to go without clothes and be ashamed because he is naked.”


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Then the evil spirits gathered the kings together to the place that is called Armageddon in the Hebrew language.


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The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air. Then a loud voice came out of the temple from the throne. The voice said, “It is finished!”


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Then there were flashes of lightning, noises, thunder, and a big earthquake. This was the worst earthquake that has ever happened since people have been on earth.


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The great city split into three parts. The cities of the nations were destroyed. And God did not forget to punish Babylon the Great. He gave that city the cup filled with the wine of his terrible anger.


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Giant hailstones fell on people from the sky. The hailstones weighed about 100 pounds each. People cursed God because of the hail. This trouble was a terrible thing.


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The Woman on the Animal One of the seven angels came and spoke to me. This was one of the angels that had the seven bowls. He said, “Come, and I will show you the punishment that will be given to the famous prostitute. She is the one sitting over many waters.


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The kings of the earth sinned sexually with her. And the people of the earth became drunk from the wine of her sexual immorality.”


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Then the angel carried me away by the Spirit to the desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast. He was covered with names against God written on him. He had seven heads and ten horns.


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The woman was dressed in purple and red. She was shining with the gold, jewels, and pearls she was wearing. She had a golden cup in her hand. This cup was filled with evil things and the uncleanness of her sexual immorality.


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She had a title written on her forehead. This title has a hidden meaning. This is what was written: THE GREAT BABYLON MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND THE EVIL THINGS OF THE EARTH.


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I saw that the woman was drunk. She was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people. She was drunk with the blood of those who were killed because of their faith in Jesus. When I saw the woman, I was fully amazed.


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Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the hidden meaning of this woman and the beast she rides—the one with seven heads and ten horns.


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The beast that you saw was once alive. He is not alive now. But he will be alive and come up out of the bottomless pit and go away to be destroyed. The people who live on earth will be amazed when they see the beast. They will be amazed because he was once alive, is not alive now, but will come again. These are the people whose names have never been written in the book of life since the beginning of the world.


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“You need a wise mind to understand this. The seven heads on the beast are the seven hills where the woman sits. They are also seven kings.


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Five of the kings have already died. One of the kings lives now. And the last king is coming. When he comes, he will stay only a short time.


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The beast that was once alive but is not alive now is an eighth king. This eighth king also belongs to the first seven kings. And he will go away to be destroyed.


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“The ten horns you saw are ten kings. These ten kings have not yet begun to rule. But they will receive power to rule with the beast for one hour.


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All ten of these kings have the same purpose. And they will give their power and authority to the beast.


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They will make war against the Lamb. But the Lamb will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings. He will defeat them with his chosen and faithful followers—the people that he has called.”


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Then the angel said to me, “You saw the water where the prostitute sits. These waters are the many peoples, the different races, nations, and languages.


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The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will take everything she has and leave her naked. They will eat her body and burn her with fire.


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God made the ten horns want to carry out his purpose: They agreed to give the beast their power to rule. They will rule until what God has said is completed.


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Babylon Is Destroyed Then I saw another angel coming down from heaven. This angel had great power. The angel’s glory made the earth bright.


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The angel shouted in a powerful voice: “The great city of Babylon is destroyed! She has become a home for demons. She has become a city for every evil spirit, a city for every unclean and hated bird.


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All the peoples of the earth have drunk the strong wine of her sexual immorality. The kings of the earth have sinned sexually with her, and the businessmen of the world have grown rich from the great wealth of her luxury.”


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Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of that city, my people, so that you will not share in her sins. Then you will not receive the terrible things that will happen to her.


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Give that city the same as she gave to others. Pay her back twice as much as she did. Prepare wine for her that is twice as strong as the wine she prepared for others.


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She gave herself much glory and rich living. Give her that much suffering and sadness. She says to herself, ‘I am a queen sitting on my throne. I am not a widow; I will never be sad.’


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So these terrible things will come to her in one day: death, crying, and great hunger. She will be destroyed by fire, because the Lord God who judges her is powerful.”


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The kings of the earth who sinned sexually with her and shared her wealth will see the smoke from her burning. Then they will cry and weep because of her death.


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They will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away. They will say: “Terrible! How terrible, great city, powerful city of Babylon! Your punishment has come in one hour!”


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And the businessmen of the earth will cry and weep for her. They will be sad because now there is no one to buy the things they sell.


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They sell gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen cloth, purple cloth, silk, and red cloth. They sell all kinds of citron wood and all kinds of things made from ivory, expensive wood, bronze, iron, and marble.


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They also sell cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, and olive oil; fine flour, wheat, cattle, sheep, horses, and carriages. They sell the bodies and souls of men.


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They will say, “Babylon, the good things you wanted are gone from you. All your rich and fancy things have disappeared. You will never have them again.”


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The businessmen will be afraid of her suffering and stand far away from her. These are the men who became rich from selling those things to her. The men will cry and be sad.


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They will say: “Terrible! How terrible for the great city! She was dressed in fine linen, purple and red cloth. She was shining with gold, jewels, and pearls!


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All these riches have been destroyed in one hour!” Every sea captain, all those who travel on ships, the sailors, and all the people who earn money from the sea stood far away from Babylon.


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They saw the smoke from her burning. They said loudly, “There was never a city like this great city!”


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They threw dust on their heads and cried to show how sad they were. They said: “Terrible! How terrible for the great city! All the people who had ships on the sea became rich because of her wealth! But she has been destroyed in one hour!


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Be happy because of this, heaven! Be happy, God’s holy people and apostles and prophets! God has punished her because of what she did to you.”


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Then a powerful angel picked up a stone like a large stone for grinding grain. The angel threw the stone into the sea and said: “That is how the great city of Babylon will be thrown down. The city will never be found again.


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The music of people playing harps and other instruments, flutes and trumpets, will never be heard in you again. No workman doing any job will ever be found in you again. The sound of grinding grain will never be heard in you again.


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The light of a lamp will never shine in you again. The voices of a bridegroom and bride will never be heard in you again. Your businessmen were the world’s great men. All the nations were tricked by your magic.


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She is guilty of the death of the prophets and God’s holy people and of all who have been killed on earth.”


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People in Heaven Praise God After this I heard what sounded like a great many people in heaven. They were saying: “Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God.


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His judgments are true and right. Our God has punished the prostitute. She is the one who made the earth evil with her sexual immorality. God has punished the prostitute to pay her back for the death of his servants.”


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Then the 24 elders and the four living things bowed down. They worshiped God, who sits on the throne. They said: “Amen, Hallelujah!”


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Then a voice came from the throne: “Praise our God, all you who serve him! Praise our God, all you who honor him, both small and great!”


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Then I heard what sounded like a great many people. It sounded like the noise of flooding water and like loud thunder. The people were saying: “Hallelujah! Our Lord God rules. He is the All-Powerful.


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Let us rejoice and be happy and give God glory! Give God glory, because the wedding of the Lamb has come. And the Lamb’s bride has made herself ready.


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Fine linen was given to the bride for her to wear. The linen was bright and clean.” (The fine linen means the good things done by God’s holy people.)


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Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Those who are invited to the wedding meal of the Lamb are happy!” Then the angel said, “These are the true words of God.”


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Then I bowed down at the angel’s feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers who have the truth of Jesus. Worship God! Because the truth about Jesus is the spirit that gives all prophecy.”


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The Rider on the White Horse Then I saw heaven open. There before me was a white horse. The rider on the horse is called Faithful and True. He is right when he judges and makes war.


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His eyes are like burning fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on him, but he is the only one who knows the name. No other person knows the name.


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The armies of heaven were following him on white horses. They were dressed in fine linen, white and clean.


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A sharp sword comes out of the rider’s mouth. He will use this sword to defeat the nations. He will rule them with a scepter of iron. He will crush out the wine in the winepress of the terrible anger of God All-Powerful.


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Then I saw an angel standing in the sun. The angel called with a loud voice to all the birds flying in the sky, “Come together for the great feast of God.


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Come together so that you can eat the bodies of kings and generals and famous men. Come to eat the bodies of the horses and their riders and the bodies of all people—free, slave, small, and great.”


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Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth. Their armies were gathered together to make war against the rider on the horse and his army.


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But the beast was captured and with him the false prophet. This false prophet was the one who did the miracles for the beast. The false prophet had used these miracles to trick those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped his idol. The false prophet and the beast were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.


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Their armies were killed with the sword that came out of the mouth of the rider on the horse. All the birds ate the bodies until they were full.


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The 1,000 Years I saw an angel coming down from heaven. He had the key to the bottomless pit. He also held a large chain in his hand.


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The angel grabbed the dragon, that old snake who is the devil. The angel tied him up for 1,000 years.


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Then he threw him into the bottomless pit and closed it and locked it over him. The angel did this so that he could not trick the people of the earth anymore until the 1,000 years were ended. After 1,000 years he must be set free for a short time.


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Then I saw some thrones and people sitting on them. They had been given the power to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been killed because they were faithful to the truth of Jesus and the message from God. They had not worshiped the beast or his idol. They had not received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or on their hands. They came back to life and ruled with Christ for 1,000 years.


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(The others that were dead did not live again until the 1,000 years were ended.) This is the first raising of the dead.


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Blessed and holy are those who share in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them. They will be priests for God and for Christ. They will rule with him for 1,000 years.


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He will go out to trick the nations in all the earth—Gog and Magog. Satan will gather them for battle. There will be so many people that they will be like sand on the seashore.


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And Satan’s army marched across the earth and gathered around the camp of God’s people and the city that God loves. But fire came down from heaven and burned them up.


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And Satan, who tricked them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur with the beast and the false prophet. There they will be punished day and night forever and ever.


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People of the World Are Judged Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. Earth and sky ran away from him and disappeared.


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And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And the book of life was opened. There were also other books opened. The dead were judged by what they had done, which was written in the books.


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The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. Each person was judged by what he had done.


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And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.


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The New Jerusalem Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared. Now there was no sea.


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And I saw the holy city coming down out of heaven from God. This holy city is the new Jerusalem. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband.


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I heard a loud voice from the throne. The voice said, “Now God’s home is with men. He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God.


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He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death, sadness, crying, or pain. All the old ways are gone.”


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The One who was sitting on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted.”


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The One on the throne said to me: “It is finished! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give free water from the spring of the water of life to anyone who is thirsty.


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But those who are cowards, who refuse to believe, who do evil things, who kill, who are sexually immoral, who do evil magic, who worship idols, and who tell lies—all these will have a place in the lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”


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One of the seven angels came to me. This was one of the angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last troubles. He said, “Come with me. I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”


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The angel carried me away by the Spirit to a very large and high mountain. He showed me the holy city, Jerusalem. It was coming down out of heaven from God.


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It was shining with the glory of God. It was shining bright like a very expensive jewel, like a jasper. It was clear as crystal.


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The city had a great high wall with 12 gates. There were 12 angels at the gates. On each gate was written the name of 1 of the 12 tribes of Israel.


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The walls of the city were built on 12 foundation stones. On the stones were written the names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb.


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The angel who talked with me had a measuring rod made of gold. He had this rod to measure the city, its gates, and its wall.


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The city was built in a square. Its length was equal to its width. The angel measured the city with the rod. The city was 1,500 miles long, 1,500 miles wide, and 1,500 miles high.


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The angel also measured the wall. It was 216 feet high, by man’s measurement. That was the measurement the angel was using.


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The foundation stones of the city walls had every kind of jewel in them. The first cornerstone was jasper, the second was sapphire, the third was chalcedony, the fourth was emerald,


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the fifth was onyx, the sixth was carnelian, the seventh was chrysolite, the eighth was beryl, the ninth was topaz, the tenth was chrysoprase, the eleventh was jacinth, and the twelfth was amethyst.


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The 12 gates were 12 pearls. Each gate was made from a single pearl. The street of the city was made of pure gold. The gold was clear as glass.


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The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it. The glory of God is its light, and the Lamb is the city’s lamp.


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By its light the people of the world will walk. The kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.


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Nothing unclean will ever enter the city. No one who does shameful things or tells lies will ever go into it. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter the city.


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Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life. The river was shining like crystal. It flows from the throne of God and of the Lamb


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down the middle of the street of the city. The tree of life was on each side of the river. It produces fruit 12 times a year, once each month. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of all people.


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Nothing that God judges guilty will be in that city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be there. And God’s servants will worship him.


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There will never be night again. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun. The Lord God will give them light. And they will rule like kings forever and ever.


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The angel said to me, “These words are true and can be trusted. The Lord is the God of the spirits of the prophets. He sent his angel to show his servants the things that must happen soon.”


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I am John. I am the one who heard and saw these things. When I heard and saw them, I bowed down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed these things to me.


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But the angel said to me, “Do not worship me! I am a servant like you and your brothers the prophets. I am a servant like all those who obey the words in this book. Worship God!”


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Then the angel told me, “Do not keep secret the words of prophecy in this book. The time is near for all this to happen.


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Whoever is doing evil, let him continue to do evil. Whoever is unclean, let him continue to be unclean. Whoever is doing right, let him continue to do right. Whoever is holy, let him continue to be holy.”


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“Listen! I am coming soon! I will bring rewards with me. I will repay each one for what he has done.


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“Those who wash their robes will be blessed. They will have the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life. They may go through the gates into the city.


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Outside the city are the evil people, those who do evil magic, who are sexually immoral, who murder, who worship idols, and who love lies and tell lies.


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“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to tell you these things for the churches. I am the descendant from the family of David. I am the bright morning star.”


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The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Everyone who hears this should also say, “Come!” If anyone is thirsty, let him come; whoever wishes it may have the water of life as a free gift.


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I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds anything to these words, God will give him the troubles written about in this book.


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And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and of the holy city, which are written about in this book.


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Jesus is the One who says that these things are true. Now he says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!


