# verses

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 They know God, but they do not give him the honor that belongs to him, nor do they thank him. Instead, their thoughts have become complete nonsense, and their empty minds are filled with darkness.


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 instead of worshiping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortals or birds or animals or reptiles.


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 And so God has given those people over to do the filthy things their hearts desire, and they do shameful things with each other.


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 They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever! Amen.


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 Because they do this, God has given them over to shameful passions. Even the women pervert the natural use of their sex by unnatural acts.


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 In the same way the men give up natural sexual relations with women and burn with passion for each other. Men do shameful things with each other, and as a result they bring upon themselves the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing.


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 Because those people refuse to keep in mind the true knowledge about God, he has given them over to corrupted minds, so that they do the things that they should not do.


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 They are filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and vice; they are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, deceit, and malice. They gossip


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 and speak evil of one another; they are hateful to God, insolent, proud, and boastful; they think of more ways to do evil; they disobey their parents;


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 they have no conscience; they do not keep their promises, and they show no kindness or pity for others.


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 They know that God's law says that people who live in this way deserve death. Yet, not only do they continue to do these very things, but they even approve of others who do them.


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 Do you, my friend, pass judgment on others? You have no excuse at all, whoever you are. For when you judge others and then do the same things which they do, you condemn yourself.


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 But you, my friend, do those very things for which you pass judgment on others! Do you think you will escape God's judgment?


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 Or perhaps you despise his great kindness, tolerance, and patience. Surely you know that God is kind, because he is trying to lead you to repent.


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 But you have a hard and stubborn heart, and so you are making your own punishment even greater on the Day when God's anger and righteous judgments will be revealed.


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 Some people keep on doing good, and seek glory, honor, and immortal life; to them God will give eternal life.


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 Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out his anger and fury.


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 There will be suffering and pain for all those who do what is evil, for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles.


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 But God will give glory, honor, and peace to all who do what is good, to the Jews first and also to the Gentiles.


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 The Gentiles do not have the Law of Moses; they sin and are lost apart from the Law. The Jews have the Law; they sin and are judged by the Law.


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 For it is not by hearing the Law that people are put right with God, but by doing what the Law commands.


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 The Gentiles do not have the Law; but whenever they do by instinct what the Law commands, they are their own law, even though they do not have the Law.


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 Their conduct shows that what the Law commands is written in their hearts. Their consciences also show that this is true, since their thoughts sometimes accuse them and sometimes defend them.


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 And so, according to the Good News I preach, this is how it will be on that Day when God through Jesus Christ will judge the secret thoughts of all.


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 an instructor for the foolish, and a teacher for the ignorant. You are certain that in the Law you have the full content of knowledge and of truth.


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 You teach others---why don't you teach yourself ? You preach, "Do not steal"---but do you yourself steal?


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 You say, "Do not commit adultery"---but do you commit adultery? You detest idols---but do you rob temples?


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 If you obey the Law, your circumcision is of value; but if you disobey the Law, you might as well never have been circumcised.


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 If the Gentile, who is not circumcised, obeys the commands of the Law, will not God regard him as though he were circumcised?


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 And so you Jews will be condemned by the Gentiles because you break the Law, even though you have it written down and are circumcised; but they obey the Law, even though they are not physically circumcised.


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 After all, who is a real Jew, truly circumcised? It is not the man who is a Jew on the outside, whose circumcision is a physical thing.


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 Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that is, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God's Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives praise from God, not from human beings.


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 Certainly not! God must be true, even though all human beings are liars. As the scripture says, "You must be shown to be right when you speak; you must win your case when you are being tried."


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 But what if our doing wrong serves to show up more clearly God's doing right? Can we say that God does wrong when he punishes us? (This would be the natural question to ask.)


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 But what if my untruth serves God's glory by making his truth stand out more clearly? Why should I still be condemned as a sinner?


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 Why not say, then, "Let us do evil so that good may come"? Some people, indeed, have insulted me by accusing me of saying this very thing! They will be condemned, as they should be.


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 Well then, are we Jews in any better condition than the Gentiles? Not at all! I have already shown that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin.


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 Their words are full of deadly deceit; wicked lies roll off their tongues, and dangerous threats, like snake's poison, from their lips;


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 Now we know that everything in the Law applies to those who live under the Law, in order to stop all human excuses and bring the whole world under God's judgment.


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 For no one is put right in God's sight by doing what the Law requires; what the Law does is to make us know that we have sinned.


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 But now God's way of putting people right with himself has been revealed. It has nothing to do with law, even though the Law of Moses and the prophets gave their witness to it.


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 God puts people right through their faith in Jesus Christ. God does this to all who believe in Christ, because there is no difference at all:


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 But by the free gift of God's grace all are put right with him through Christ Jesus, who sets them free.


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


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


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 For we conclude that a person is put right with God only through faith, and not by doing what the Law commands.


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 God is one, and he will put the Jews right with himself on the basis of their faith, and will put the Gentiles right through their faith.


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 Does this mean that by this faith we do away with the Law? No, not at all; instead, we uphold the Law.


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 If he was put right with God by the things he did, he would have something to boast about---but not in God's sight.


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 The scripture says, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous."


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 A person who works is paid wages, but they are not regarded as a gift; they are something that has been earned.


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 But those who depend on faith, not on deeds, and who believe in the God who declares the guilty to be innocent, it is this faith that God takes into account in order to put them right with himself.


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 This is what David meant when he spoke of the happiness of the person whom God accepts as righteous, apart from anything that person does:


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 Does this happiness that David spoke of belong only to those who are circumcised? No indeed! It belongs also to those who are not circumcised. For we have quoted the scripture, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous."


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 When did this take place? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? It was before, not after.


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 He was circumcised later, and his circumcision was a sign to show that because of his faith God had accepted him as righteous before he had been circumcised. And so Abraham is the spiritual father of all who believe in God and are accepted as righteous by him, even though they are not circumcised.


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 He is also the father of those who are circumcised, that is, of those who, in addition to being circumcised, also live the same life of faith that our father Abraham lived before he was circumcised.


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 When God promised Abraham and his descendants that the world would belong to him, he did so, not because Abraham obeyed the Law, but because he believed and was accepted as righteous by God.


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 For if what God promises is to be given to those who obey the Law, then faith means nothing and God's promise is worthless.


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 And so the promise was based on faith, in order that the promise should be guaranteed as God's free gift to all of Abraham's descendants---not just to those who obey the Law, but also to those who believe as Abraham did. For Abraham is the spiritual father of us all;


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 as the scripture says, "I have made you father of many nations." So the promise is good in the sight of God, in whom Abraham believed---the God who brings the dead to life and whose command brings into being what did not exist.


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 Abraham believed and hoped, even when there was no reason for hoping, and so became "the father of many nations." Just as the scripture says, "Your descendants will be as many as the stars."


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 He was then almost one hundred years old; but his faith did not weaken when he thought of his body, which was already practically dead, or of the fact that Sarah could not have children.


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 His faith did not leave him, and he did not doubt God's promise; his faith filled him with power, and he gave praise to God.


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 They were written also for us who are to be accepted as righteous, who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from death.


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 Because of our sins he was given over to die, and he was raised to life in order to put us right with God.


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 Now that we have been put right with God through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.


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 He has brought us by faith into this experience of God's grace, in which we now live. And so we boast of the hope we have of sharing God's glory!


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 This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us.


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 It is a difficult thing for someone to die for a righteous person. It may even be that someone might dare to die for a good person.


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 But God has shown us how much he loves us---it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us!


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


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


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 But that is not all; we rejoice because of what God has done through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has now made us God's friends.


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 Sin came into the world through one man, and his sin brought death with it. As a result, death has spread to the whole human race because everyone has sinned.


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 There was sin in the world before the Law was given; but where there is no law, no account is kept of sins.


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 But from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, death ruled over all human beings, even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam did when he disobeyed God's command. Adam was a figure of the one who was to come.


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 But the two are not the same, because God's free gift is not like Adam's sin. It is true that many people died because of the sin of that one man. But God's grace is much greater, and so is his free gift to so many people through the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.


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 And there is a difference between God's gift and the sin of one man. After the one sin, came the judgment of "Guilty"; but after so many sins, comes the undeserved gift of "Not guilty!"


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 It is true that through the sin of one man death began to rule because of that one man. But how much greater is the result of what was done by the one man, Jesus Christ! All who receive God's abundant grace and are freely put right with him will rule in life through Christ.


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 So then, as the one sin condemned all people, in the same way the one righteous act sets all people free and gives them life.


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 And just as all people were made sinners as the result of the disobedience of one man, in the same way they will all be put right with God as the result of the obedience of the one man.


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 Law was introduced in order to increase wrongdoing; but where sin increased, God's grace increased much more.


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 So then, just as sin ruled by means of death, so also God's grace rules by means of righteousness, leading us to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.


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 For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death.


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 By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.


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 For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was.


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 And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin.


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 For we know that Christ has been raised from death and will never die again---death will no longer rule over him.


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 And so, because he died, sin has no power over him; and now he lives his life in fellowship with God.


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 In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.


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 Nor must you surrender any part of yourselves to sin to be used for wicked purposes. Instead, give yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and surrender your whole being to him to be used for righteous purposes.


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 Surely you know that when you surrender yourselves as slaves to obey someone, you are in fact the slaves of the master you obey---either of sin, which results in death, or of obedience, which results in being put right with God.


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 But thanks be to God! For though at one time you were slaves to sin, you have obeyed with all your heart the truths found in the teaching you received.


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 (I use everyday language because of the weakness of your natural selves.) At one time you surrendered yourselves entirely as slaves to impurity and wickedness for wicked purposes. In the same way you must now surrender yourselves entirely as slaves of righteousness for holy purposes.


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 What did you gain from doing the things that you are now ashamed of ? The result of those things is death!


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 But now you have been set free from sin and are the slaves of God. Your gain is a life fully dedicated to him, and the result is eternal life.


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 For sin pays its wage---death; but God's free gift is eternal life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord.


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 Certainly you will understand what I am about to say, my friends, because all of you know about law. The law rules over people only as long as they live.


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 A married woman, for example, is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if he dies, then she is free from the law that bound her to him.


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 So then, if she lives with another man while her husband is alive, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is legally a free woman and does not commit adultery if she marries another man.


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 That is how it is with you, my friends. As far as the Law is concerned, you also have died because you are part of the body of Christ; and now you belong to him who was raised from death in order that we might be useful in the service of God.


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 For when we lived according to our human nature, the sinful desires stirred up by the Law were at work in our bodies, and all we did ended in death.


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 Now, however, we are free from the Law, because we died to that which once held us prisoners. No longer do we serve in the old way of a written law, but in the new way of the Spirit.


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 Shall we say, then, that the Law itself is sinful? Of course not! But it was the Law that made me know what sin is. If the Law had not said, "Do not desire what belongs to someone else," I would not have known such a desire.


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 But by means of that commandment sin found its chance to stir up all kinds of selfish desires in me. Apart from law, sin is a dead thing.


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 But does this mean that what is good caused my death? By no means! It was sin that did it; by using what is good, sin brought death to me, in order that its true nature as sin might be revealed. And so, by means of the commandment sin is shown to be even more terribly sinful.


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 I do not understand what I do; for I don't do what I would like to do, but instead I do what I hate.


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 I know that good does not live in me---that is, in my human nature. For even though the desire to do good is in me, I am not able to do it.


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 If I do what I don't want to do, this means that I am no longer the one who does it; instead, it is the sin that lives in me.


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 So I find that this law is at work: when I want to do what is good, what is evil is the only choice I have.


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 But I see a different law at work in my body---a law that fights against the law which my mind approves of. It makes me a prisoner to the law of sin which is at work in my body.


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 Thanks be to God, who does this through our Lord Jesus Christ! This, then, is my condition: on my own I can serve God's law only with my mind, while my human nature serves the law of sin.


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 For the law of the Spirit, which brings us life in union with Christ Jesus, has set me free from the law of sin and death.


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 What the Law could not do, because human nature was weak, God did. He condemned sin in human nature by sending his own Son, who came with a nature like our sinful nature, to do away with sin.


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 God did this so that the righteous demands of the Law might be fully satisfied in us who live according to the Spirit, and not according to human nature.


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 Those who live as their human nature tells them to, have their minds controlled by what human nature wants. Those who live as the Spirit tells them to, have their minds controlled by what the Spirit wants.


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 To be controlled by human nature results in death; to be controlled by the Spirit results in life and peace.


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 And so people become enemies of God when they are controlled by their human nature; for they do not obey God's law, and in fact they cannot obey it.


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 But you do not live as your human nature tells you to; instead, you live as the Spirit tells you to---if, in fact, God's Spirit lives in you. Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.


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 But if Christ lives in you, the Spirit is life for you because you have been put right with God, even though your bodies are going to die because of sin.


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 If the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from death, lives in you, then he who raised Christ from death will also give life to your mortal bodies by the presence of his Spirit in you.


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 For if you live according to your human nature, you are going to die; but if by the Spirit you put to death your sinful actions, you will live.


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 For the Spirit that God has given you does not make you slaves and cause you to be afraid; instead, the Spirit makes you God's children, and by the Spirit's power we cry out to God, "Father! my Father!"


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 Since we are his children, we will possess the blessings he keeps for his people, and we will also possess with Christ what God has kept for him; for if we share Christ's suffering, we will also share his glory.


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 I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.


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 For creation was condemned to lose its purpose, not of its own will, but because God willed it to be so. Yet there was the hope


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 that creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to decay and would share the glorious freedom of the children of God.


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 For we know that up to the present time all of creation groans with pain, like the pain of childbirth.


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 But it is not just creation alone which groans; we who have the Spirit as the first of God's gifts also groan within ourselves as we wait for God to make us his children and set our whole being free.


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 For it was by hope that we were saved; but if we see what we hope for, then it is not really hope. For who of us hopes for something we see?


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 In the same way the Spirit also comes to help us, weak as we are. For we do not know how we ought to pray; the Spirit himself pleads with God for us in groans that words cannot express.


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 And God, who sees into our hearts, knows what the thought of the Spirit is; because the Spirit pleads with God on behalf of his people and in accordance with his will.


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 We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.


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 Those whom God had already chosen he also set apart to become like his Son, so that the Son would be the first among many believers.


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 And so those whom God set apart, he called; and those he called, he put right with himself, and he shared his glory with them.


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 Certainly not God, who did not even keep back his own Son, but offered him for us all! He gave us his Son---will he not also freely give us all things?


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 Who, then, will condemn them? Not Christ Jesus, who died, or rather, who was raised to life and is at the right side of God, pleading with him for us!


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 Who, then, can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship or persecution or hunger or poverty or danger or death?


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 As the scripture says, "For your sake we are in danger of death at all times; we are treated like sheep that are going to be slaughtered."


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 For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love: neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future,


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 neither the world above nor the world below---there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.


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 I am speaking the truth; I belong to Christ and I do not lie. My conscience, ruled by the Holy Spirit, also assures me that I am not lying


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 for my people, my own flesh and blood! For their sake I could wish that I myself were under God's curse and separated from Christ.


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 They are God's people; he made them his children and revealed his glory to them; he made his covenants with them and gave them the Law; they have the true worship; they have received God's promises;


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 they are descended from the famous Hebrew ancestors; and Christ, as a human being, belongs to their race. May God, who rules over all, be praised forever! Amen.


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 I am not saying that the promise of God has failed; for not all the people of Israel are the people of God.


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 Nor are all of Abraham's descendants the children of God. God said to Abraham, "It is through Isaac that you will have the descendants I promised you."


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 This means that the children born in the usual way are not the children of God; instead, the children born as a result of God's promise are regarded as the true descendants.


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 For God's promise was made in these words: "At the right time I will come back, and Sarah will have a son."


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 But in order that the choice of one son might be completely the result of God's own purpose, God said to her, "The older will serve the younger." He said this before they were born, before they had done anything either good or bad; so God's choice was based on his call, and not on anything they had done.


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 For the scripture says to the king of Egypt, "I made you king in order to use you to show my power and to spread my fame over the whole world."


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 But one of you will say to me, "If this is so, how can God find fault with anyone? Who can resist God's will?"


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 But who are you, my friend, to talk back to God? A clay pot does not ask the man who made it, "Why did you make me like this?"


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 After all, the man who makes the pots has the right to use the clay as he wishes, and to make two pots from the same lump of clay, one for special occasions and the other for ordinary use.


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 And the same is true of what God has done. He wanted to show his anger and to make his power known. But he was very patient in enduring those who were the objects of his anger, who were doomed to destruction.


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 And he also wanted to reveal his abundant glory, which was poured out on us who are the objects of his mercy, those of us whom he has prepared to receive his glory.


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 This is what he says in the book of Hosea: "The people who were not mine I will call 'My People.' The nation that I did not love I will call 'My Beloved.'


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 And in the very place where they were told, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called the children of the living God."


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 And Isaiah exclaims about Israel: "Even if the people of Israel are as many as the grains of sand by the sea, yet only a few of them will be saved;


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 It is as Isaiah had said before, "If the Lord Almighty had not left us some descendants, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been like Gomorrah."


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 So we say that the Gentiles, who were not trying to put themselves right with God, were put right with him through faith;


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 And why not? Because they did not depend on faith but on what they did. And so they stumbled over the "stumbling stone"


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 that the scripture speaks of: "Look, I place in Zion a stone that will make people stumble, a rock that will make them fall. But whoever believes in him will not be disappointed."


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 My friends, how I wish with all my heart that my own people might be saved! How I pray to God for them!


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 I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to God; but their devotion is not based on true knowledge.


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 They have not known the way in which God puts people right with himself, and instead, they have tried to set up their own way; and so they did not submit themselves to God's way of putting people right.


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 Moses wrote this about being put right with God by obeying the Law: "Whoever obeys the commands of the Law will live."


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 But what the scripture says about being put right with God through faith is this: "You are not to ask yourself, Who will go up into heaven?" (that is, to bring Christ down).


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 "Nor are you to ask, Who will go down into the world below?" (that is, to bring Christ up from death).


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 What it says is this: "God's message is near you, on your lips and in your heart"---that is, the message of faith that we preach.


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 This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him.


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 But how can they call to him for help if they have not believed? And how can they believe if they have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed?


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 And how can the message be proclaimed if the messengers are not sent out? As the scripture says, "How wonderful is the coming of messengers who bring good news!"


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 But I ask: Is it true that they did not hear the message? Of course they did---for as the scripture says: "The sound of their voice went out to all the world; their words reached the ends of the earth."


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 Again I ask: Did the people of Israel not understand? Moses himself is the first one to answer: "I will use a so-called nation to make my people jealous; and by means of a nation of fools I will make my people angry."


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 And Isaiah is even bolder when he says, "I was found by those who were not looking for me; I appeared to those who were not asking for me."


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 But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I held out my hands to welcome a disobedient and rebellious people."


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 I ask, then: Did God reject his own people? Certainly not! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.


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 God has not rejected his people, whom he chose from the beginning. You know what the scripture says in the passage where Elijah pleads with God against Israel:


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 "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me."


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 What answer did God give him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not worshiped the false god Baal."


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 It is the same way now: there is a small number left of those whom God has chosen because of his grace.


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 His choice is based on his grace, not on what they have done. For if God's choice were based on what people do, then his grace would not be real grace.


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 What then? The people of Israel did not find what they were looking for. It was only the small group that God chose who found it; the rest grew deaf to God's call.


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 As the scripture says, "God made their minds and hearts dull; to this very day they cannot see or hear."


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 And David says, "May they be caught and trapped at their feasts; may they fall, may they be punished!


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 May their eyes be blinded so that they cannot see; and make them bend under their troubles at all times."


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 I ask, then: When the Jews stumbled, did they fall to their ruin? By no means! Because they sinned, salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make the Jews jealous of them.


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 The sin of the Jews brought rich blessings to the world, and their spiritual poverty brought rich blessings to the Gentiles. Then, how much greater the blessings will be when the complete number of Jews is included!


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 I am speaking now to you Gentiles: As long as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I will take pride in my work.


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 For when they were rejected, all other people were changed from God's enemies into his friends. What will it be, then, when they are accepted? It will be life for the dead!


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 If the first piece of bread is given to God, then the whole loaf is his also; and if the roots of a tree are offered to God, the branches are his also.


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 Some of the branches of the cultivated olive tree have been broken off, and a branch of a wild olive tree has been joined to it. You Gentiles are like that wild olive tree, and now you share the strong spiritual life of the Jews.


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 So then, you must not despise those who were broken off like branches. How can you be proud? You are just a branch; you don't support the roots---the roots support you.


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 That is true. They were broken off because they did not believe, while you remain in place because you do believe. But do not be proud of it; instead, be afraid.


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 Here we see how kind and how severe God is. He is severe toward those who have fallen, but kind to you---if you continue in his kindness. But if you do not, you too will be broken off.


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 And if the Jews abandon their unbelief, they will be put back in the place where they were; for God is able to do that.


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 You Gentiles are like the branch of a wild olive tree that is broken off and then, contrary to nature, is joined to a cultivated olive tree. The Jews are like this cultivated tree; and it will be much easier for God to join these broken-off branches to their own tree again.


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 There is a secret truth, my friends, which I want you to know, for it will keep you from thinking how wise you are. It is that the stubbornness of the people of Israel is not permanent, but will last only until the complete number of Gentiles comes to God.


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 And this is how all Israel will be saved. As the scripture says, "The Savior will come from Zion and remove all wickedness from the descendants of Jacob.


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 Because they reject the Good News, the Jews are God's enemies for the sake of you Gentiles. But because of God's choice, they are his friends because of their ancestors.


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 As for you Gentiles, you disobeyed God in the past; but now you have received God's mercy because the Jews were disobedient.


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 In the same way, because of the mercy that you have received, the Jews now disobey God, in order that they also may now receive God's mercy.


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 How great are God's riches! How deep are his wisdom and knowledge! Who can explain his decisions? Who can understand his ways?


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 For all things were created by him, and all things exist through him and for him. To God be the glory forever! Amen.


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 So then, my friends, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. This is the true worship that you should offer.


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 Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God---what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.


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 And because of God's gracious gift to me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you should. Instead, be modest in your thinking, and judge yourself according to the amount of faith that God has given you.


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 In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.


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 So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God's message, we should do it according to the faith that we have;


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 if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.


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 Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties. Do not think of yourselves as wise.


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 If someone has done you wrong, do not repay him with a wrong. Try to do what everyone considers to be good.


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 Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it. For the scripture says, "I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord."


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 Instead, as the scripture says: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink; for by doing this you will make them burn with shame."


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 Everyone must obey state authorities, because no authority exists without God's permission, and the existing authorities have been put there by God.


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 Whoever opposes the existing authority opposes what God has ordered; and anyone who does so will bring judgment on himself.


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 For rulers are not to be feared by those who do good, but by those who do evil. Would you like to be unafraid of those in authority? Then do what is good, and they will praise you,


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 because they are God's servants working for your own good. But if you do evil, then be afraid of them, because their power to punish is real. They are God's servants and carry out God's punishment on those who do evil.


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 For this reason you must obey the authorities---not just because of God's punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.


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 That is also why you pay taxes, because the authorities are working for God when they fulfill their duties.


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 Pay, then, what you owe them; pay them your personal and property taxes, and show respect and honor for them all.


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 Be under obligation to no one---the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law.


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 The commandments, "Do not commit adultery; do not commit murder; do not steal; do not desire what belongs to someone else"---all these, and any others besides, are summed up in the one command, "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."


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 You must do this, because you know that the time has come for you to wake up from your sleep. For the moment when we will be saved is closer now than it was when we first believed.


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 The night is nearly over, day is almost here. Let us stop doing the things that belong to the dark, and let us take up weapons for fighting in the light.


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 Let us conduct ourselves properly, as people who live in the light of day---no orgies or drunkenness, no immorality or indecency, no fighting or jealousy.


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 But take up the weapons of the Lord Jesus Christ, and stop paying attention to your sinful nature and satisfying its desires.


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 Some people's faith allows them to eat anything, but the person who is weak in the faith eats only vegetables.


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 The person who will eat anything is not to despise the one who doesn't; while the one who eats only vegetables is not to pass judgment on the one who will eat anything; for God has accepted that person.


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 Who are you to judge the servants of someone else? It is their own Master who will decide whether they succeed or fail. And they will succeed, because the Lord is able to make them succeed.


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 Some people think that a certain day is more important than other days, while others think that all days are the same. We each should firmly make up our own minds.


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 Those who think highly of a certain day do so in honor of the Lord; those who will eat anything do so in honor of the Lord, because they give thanks to God for the food. Those who refuse to eat certain things do so in honor of the Lord, and they give thanks to God.


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 If we live, it is for the Lord that we live, and if we die, it is for the Lord that we die. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.


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 You then, who eat only vegetables---why do you pass judgment on others? And you who eat anything---why do you despise other believers? All of us will stand before God to be judged by him.


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 For the scripture says, "As surely as I am the living God, says the Lord, everyone will kneel before me, and everyone will confess that I am God."


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 So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make others stumble or fall into sin.


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 My union with the Lord Jesus makes me certain that no food is of itself ritually unclean; but if you believe that some food is unclean, then it becomes unclean for you.


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 If you hurt others because of something you eat, then you are no longer acting from love. Do not let the food that you eat ruin the person for whom Christ died!


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 For God's Kingdom is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of the righteousness, peace, and joy which the Holy Spirit gives.


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 Do not, because of food, destroy what God has done. All foods may be eaten, but it is wrong to eat anything that will cause someone else to fall into sin.


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 The right thing to do is to keep from eating meat, drinking wine, or doing anything else that will make other believers fall.


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 Keep what you believe about this matter, then, between yourself and God. Happy are those who do not feel guilty when they do something they judge is right!


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 But if they have doubts about what they eat, God condemns them when they eat it, because their action is not based on faith. And anything that is not based on faith is sin.


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 We who are strong in the faith ought to help the weak to carry their burdens. We should not please ourselves.


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 Instead, we should all please other believers for their own good, in order to build them up in the faith.


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 For Christ did not please himself. Instead, as the scripture says, "The insults which are hurled at you have fallen on me."


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 Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us.


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 And may God, the source of patience and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves by following the example of Christ Jesus,


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


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 and to enable even the Gentiles to praise God for his mercy. As the scripture says, "And so I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing praises to you."


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


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 May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.


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 My friends: I myself feel sure that you are full of goodness, that you have all knowledge, and that you are able to teach one another.


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 But in this letter I have been quite bold about certain subjects of which I have reminded you. I have been bold because of the privilege God has given me


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 of being a servant of Christ Jesus to work for the Gentiles. I serve like a priest in preaching the Good News from God, in order that the Gentiles may be an offering acceptable to God, dedicated to him by the Holy Spirit.


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 I will be bold and speak only about what Christ has done through me to lead the Gentiles to obey God. He has done this by means of words and deeds,


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 by the power of miracles and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. And so, in traveling all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have proclaimed fully the Good News about Christ.


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 My ambition has always been to proclaim the Good News in places where Christ has not been heard of, so as not to build on a foundation laid by someone else.


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 As the scripture says, "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand."


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 But now that I have finished my work in these regions and since I have been wanting for so many years to come to see you,


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 I hope to do so now. I would like to see you on my way to Spain, and be helped by you to go there, after I have enjoyed visiting you for a while.


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 For the churches in Macedonia and Achaia have freely decided to give an offering to help the poor among God's people in Jerusalem.


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 That decision was their own; but, as a matter of fact, they have an obligation to help them. Since the Jews shared their spiritual blessings with the Gentiles, the Gentiles ought to use their material blessings to help the Jews.


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 When I have finished this task and have turned over to them all the money that has been raised for them, I shall leave for Spain and visit you on my way there.


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 I urge you, friends, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love that the Spirit gives: join me in praying fervently to God for me.


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 Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to God's people there.


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 Receive her in the Lord's name, as God's people should, and give her any help she may need from you; for she herself has been a good friend to many people and also to me.


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 they risked their lives for me. I am grateful to them---not only I, but all the Gentile churches as well.


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 Greetings also to the church that meets in their house. Greetings to my dear friend Epaenetus, who was the first in the province of Asia to believe in Christ.


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 Greetings also to Andronicus and Junia, fellow Jews who were in prison with me; they are well known among the apostles, and they became Christians before I did.


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 Greetings to Apelles, whose loyalty to Christ has been proved. Greetings to those who belong to the family of Aristobulus.


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 My greetings to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who work in the Lord's service, and to my dear friend Persis, who has done so much work for the Lord.


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 I send greetings to Rufus, that outstanding worker in the Lord's service, and to his mother, who has always treated me like a son.


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 My greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and all the other Christians with them.


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 Greetings to Philologus and Julia, to Nereus and his sister, to Olympas and to all of God's people who are with them.


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 I urge you, my friends: watch out for those who cause divisions and upset people's faith and go against the teaching which you have received. Keep away from them!


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 For those who do such things are not serving Christ our Lord, but their own appetites. By their fine words and flattering speech they deceive innocent people.


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 Everyone has heard of your loyalty to the gospel, and for this reason I am happy about you. I want you to be wise about what is good, but innocent in what is evil.


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 And God, our source of peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.


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 Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you his greetings; and so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, fellow Jews.


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 My host Gaius, in whose house the church meets, sends you his greetings; Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.


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 Let us give glory to God! He is able to make you stand firm in your faith, according to the Good News I preach about Jesus Christ and according to the revelation of the secret truth which was hidden for long ages in the past.


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 Now, however, that truth has been brought out into the open through the writings of the prophets; and by the command of the eternal God it is made known to all nations, so that all may believe and obey.


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 From Paul, who was called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Sosthenes---


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 To the church of God which is in Corinth, to all who are called to be God's holy people, who belong to him in union with Christ Jesus, together with all people everywhere who worship our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:


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 For in union with Christ you have become rich in all things, including all speech and all knowledge.


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 that you have not failed to receive a single blessing, as you wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.


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 He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be faultless on the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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 God is to be trusted, the God who called you to have fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.


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 By the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ I appeal to all of you, my friends, to agree in what you say, so that there will be no divisions among you. Be completely united, with only one thought and one purpose.


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 For some people from Chloe's family have told me quite plainly, my friends, that there are quarrels among you.


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 Let me put it this way: each one of you says something different. One says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Peter"; and another, "I follow Christ."


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 Christ has been divided into groups! Was it Paul who died on the cross for you? Were you baptized as Paul's disciples?


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 (Oh yes, I also baptized Stephanas and his family; but I can't remember whether I baptized anyone else.)


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 Christ did not send me to baptize. He sent me to tell the Good News, and to tell it without using the language of human wisdom, in order to make sure that Christ's death on the cross is not robbed of its power.


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 For the message about Christ's death on the cross is nonsense to those who are being lost; but for us who are being saved it is God's power.


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 The scripture says, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and set aside the understanding of the scholars."


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 So then, where does that leave the wise? or the scholars? or the skillful debaters of this world? God has shown that this world's wisdom is foolishness!


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 For God in his wisdom made it impossible for people to know him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called "foolish" message we preach, God decided to save those who believe.


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 As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles;


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 but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God.


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 For what seems to be God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and what seems to be God's weakness is stronger than human strength.


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 Now remember what you were, my friends, when God called you. From the human point of view few of you were wise or powerful or of high social standing.


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 God purposely chose what the world considers nonsense in order to shame the wise, and he chose what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful.


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 He chose what the world looks down on and despises and thinks is nothing, in order to destroy what the world thinks is important.


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


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 When I came to you, my friends, to preach God's secret truth, I did not use big words and great learning.


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 For while I was with you, I made up my mind to forget everything except Jesus Christ and especially his death on the cross.


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 and my teaching and message were not delivered with skillful words of human wisdom, but with convincing proof of the power of God's Spirit.


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 Yet I do proclaim a message of wisdom to those who are spiritually mature. But it is not the wisdom that belongs to this world or to the powers that rule this world---powers that are losing their power.


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 The wisdom I proclaim is God's secret wisdom, which is hidden from human beings, but which he had already chosen for our glory even before the world was made.


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 None of the rulers of this world knew this wisdom. If they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.


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 However, as the scripture says, "What no one ever saw or heard, what no one ever thought could happen, is the very thing God prepared for those who love him."


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 But it was to us that God made known his secret by means of his Spirit. The Spirit searches everything, even the hidden depths of God's purposes.


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 It is only our own spirit within us that knows all about us; in the same way, only God's Spirit knows all about God.


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 We have not received this world's spirit; instead, we have received the Spirit sent by God, so that we may know all that God has given us.


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 So then, we do not speak in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, as we explain spiritual truths to those who have the Spirit.


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 Whoever does not have the Spirit cannot receive the gifts that come from God's Spirit. Such a person really does not understand them, and they seem to be nonsense, because their value can be judged only on a spiritual basis.


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 Whoever has the Spirit, however, is able to judge the value of everything, but no one is able to judge him.


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 As the scripture says, "Who knows the mind of the Lord? Who is able to give him advice?" We, however, have the mind of Christ.


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 As a matter of fact, my friends, I could not talk to you as I talk to people who have the Spirit; I had to talk to you as though you belonged to this world, as children in the Christian faith.


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 I had to feed you milk, not solid food, because you were not ready for it. And even now you are not ready for it,


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 because you still live as the people of this world live. When there is jealousy among you and you quarrel with one another, doesn't this prove that you belong to this world, living by its standards?


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 When one of you says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos"---aren't you acting like worldly people?


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 After all, who is Apollos? And who is Paul? We are simply God's servants, by whom you were led to believe. Each one of us does the work which the Lord gave him to do:


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 The one who plants and the one who waters really do not matter. It is God who matters, because he makes the plant grow.


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 There is no difference between the one who plants and the one who waters; God will reward each one according to the work each has done.


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 For we are partners working together for God, and you are God's field. You are also God's building.


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 Using the gift that God gave me, I did the work of an expert builder and laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each of you must be careful how you build.


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 For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid.


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 Some will use gold or silver or precious stones in building on the foundation; others will use wood or grass or straw.


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 And the quality of each person's work will be seen when the Day of Christ exposes it. For on that Day fire will reveal everyone's work; the fire will test it and show its real quality.


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 But if your work is burnt up, then you will lose it; but you yourself will be saved, as if you had escaped through the fire.


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 God will destroy anyone who destroys God's temple. For God's temple is holy, and you yourselves are his temple.


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 You should not fool yourself. If any of you think that you are wise by this world's standards, you should become a fool, in order to be really wise.


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 For what this world considers to be wisdom is nonsense in God's sight. As the scripture says, "God traps the wise in their cleverness";


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 Paul, Apollos, and Peter; this world, life and death, the present and the future---all these are yours,


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 Now, I am not at all concerned about being judged by you or by any human standard; I don't even pass judgment on myself.


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 My conscience is clear, but that does not prove that I am really innocent. The Lord is the one who passes judgment on me.


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 So you should not pass judgment on anyone before the right time comes. Final judgment must wait until the Lord comes; he will bring to light the dark secrets and expose the hidden purposes of people's minds. And then all will receive from God the praise they deserve.


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 For your sake, my friends, I have applied all this to Apollos and me, using the two of us as an example, so that you may learn what the saying means, "Observe the proper rules." None of you should be proud of one person and despise another.


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 Who made you superior to others? Didn't God give you everything you have? Well, then, how can you boast, as if what you have were not a gift?


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 Do you already have everything you need? Are you already rich? Have you become kings, even though we are not? Well, I wish you really were kings, so that we could be kings together with you.


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 For it seems to me that God has given the very last place to us apostles, like people condemned to die in public as a spectacle for the whole world of angels and of human beings.


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 For Christ's sake we are fools; but you are wise in union with Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! We are despised, but you are honored!


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 To this very moment we go hungry and thirsty; we are clothed in rags; we are beaten; we wander from place to place;


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 we wear ourselves out with hard work. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure;


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 when we are insulted, we answer back with kind words. We are no more than this world's garbage; we are the scum of the earth to this very moment!


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 I write this to you, not because I want to make you feel ashamed, but to instruct you as my own dear children.


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 For even if you have ten thousand guardians in your Christian life, you have only one father. For in your life in union with Christ Jesus I have become your father by bringing the Good News to you.


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 For this purpose I am sending to you Timothy, who is my own dear and faithful son in the Christian life. He will remind you of the principles which I follow in the new life in union with Christ Jesus and which I teach in all the churches everywhere.


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 If the Lord is willing, however, I will come to you soon, and then I will find out for myself the power which these proud people have, and not just what they say.


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 Now, it is actually being said that there is sexual immorality among you so terrible that not even the heathen would be guilty of it. I am told that a man is sleeping with his stepmother!


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 How, then, can you be proud? On the contrary, you should be filled with sadness, and the man who has done such a thing should be expelled from your fellowship.


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 And even though I am far away from you in body, still I am there with you in spirit; and as though I were there with you, I have in the name of our Lord Jesus already passed judgment on the man who has done this terrible thing. As you meet together, and I meet with you in my spirit, by the power of our Lord Jesus present with us,


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 you are to hand this man over to Satan for his body to be destroyed, so that his spirit may be saved in the Day of the Lord.


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 It is not right for you to be proud! You know the saying, "A little bit of yeast makes the whole batch of dough rise."


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 You must remove the old yeast of sin so that you will be entirely pure. Then you will be like a new batch of dough without any yeast, as indeed I know you actually are. For our Passover Festival is ready, now that Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.


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 Let us celebrate our Passover, then, not with bread having the old yeast of sin and wickedness, but with the bread that has no yeast, the bread of purity and truth.


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 Now I did not mean pagans who are immoral or greedy or are thieves, or who worship idols. To avoid them you would have to get out of the world completely.


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 What I meant was that you should not associate with a person who calls himself a believer but is immoral or greedy or worships idols or is a slanderer or a drunkard or a thief. Don't even sit down to eat with such a person.


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 After all, it is none of my business to judge outsiders. God will judge them. But should you not judge the members of your own fellowship? As the scripture says, "Remove the evil person from your group."


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 If any of you have a dispute with another Christian, how dare you go before heathen judges instead of letting God's people settle the matter?


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 Don't you know that God's people will judge the world? Well, then, if you are to judge the world, aren't you capable of judging small matters?


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 If such matters come up, are you going to take them to be settled by people who have no standing in the church?


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 Shame on you! Surely there is at least one wise person in your fellowship who can settle a dispute between fellow Christians.


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 The very fact that you have legal disputes among yourselves shows that you have failed completely. Would it not be better for you to be wronged? Would it not be better for you to be robbed?


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 Surely you know that the wicked will not possess God's Kingdom. Do not fool yourselves; people who are immoral or who worship idols or are adulterers or homosexual perverts


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 or who steal or are greedy or are drunkards or who slander others or are thieves---none of these will possess God's Kingdom.


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 Some of you were like that. But you have been purified from sin; you have been dedicated to God; you have been put right with God by the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.


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 Someone will say, "I am allowed to do anything." Yes; but not everything is good for you. I could say that I am allowed to do anything, but I am not going to let anything make me its slave.


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 Someone else will say, "Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food." Yes; but God will put an end to both. The body is not to be used for sexual immorality, but to serve the Lord; and the Lord provides for the body.


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 You know that your bodies are parts of the body of Christ. Shall I take a part of Christ's body and make it part of the body of a prostitute? Impossible!


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 Or perhaps you don't know that the man who joins his body to a prostitute becomes physically one with her? The scripture says quite plainly, "The two will become one body."


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 Avoid immorality. Any other sin a man commits does not affect his body; but the man who is guilty of sexual immorality sins against his own body.


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 Don't you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and who was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourselves but to God;


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 But because there is so much immorality, every man should have his own wife, and every woman should have her own husband.


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 A man should fulfill his duty as a husband, and a woman should fulfill her duty as a wife, and each should satisfy the other's needs.


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 A wife is not the master of her own body, but her husband is; in the same way a husband is not the master of his own body, but his wife is.


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 Do not deny yourselves to each other, unless you first agree to do so for a while in order to spend your time in prayer; but then resume normal marital relations. In this way you will be kept from giving in to Satan's temptation because of your lack of self-control.


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 Actually I would prefer that all of you were as I am; but each one has a special gift from God, one person this gift, another one that gift.


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 Now, to the unmarried and to the widows I say that it would be better for you to continue to live alone as I do.


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 But if you cannot restrain your desires, go ahead and marry---it is better to marry than to burn with passion.


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 For married people I have a command which is not my own but the Lord's: a wife must not leave her husband;


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 but if she does, she must remain single or else be reconciled to her husband; and a husband must not divorce his wife.


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 To the others I say (I, myself, not the Lord): if a Christian man has a wife who is an unbeliever and she agrees to go on living with him, he must not divorce her.


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 And if a Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever and he agrees to go on living with her, she must not divorce him.


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 For the unbelieving husband is made acceptable to God by being united to his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made acceptable to God by being united to her Christian husband. If this were not so, their children would be like pagan children; but as it is, they are acceptable to God.


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 However, if the one who is not a believer wishes to leave the Christian partner, let it be so. In such cases the Christian partner, whether husband or wife, is free to act. God has called you to live in peace.


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 How can you be sure, Christian wife, that you will not save your husband? Or how can you be sure, Christian husband, that you will not save your wife?


text:
 Each of you should go on living according to the Lord's gift to you, and as you were when God called you. This is the rule I teach in all the churches.


text:
 If a circumcised man has accepted God's call, he should not try to remove the marks of circumcision; if an uncircumcised man has accepted God's call, he should not get circumcised.


text:
 Were you a slave when God called you? Well, never mind; but if you have a chance to become free, use it.


text:
 For a slave who has been called by the Lord is the Lord's free person; in the same way a free person who has been called by Christ is his slave.


text:
 My friends, each of you should remain in fellowship with God in the same condition that you were when you were called.


text:
 Now, concerning what you wrote about unmarried people: I do not have a command from the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is worthy of trust.


text:
 Do you have a wife? Then don't try to get rid of her. Are you unmarried? Then don't look for a wife.


text:
 But if you do marry, you haven't committed a sin; and if an unmarried woman marries, she hasn't committed a sin. But I would rather spare you the everyday troubles that married people will have.


text:
 What I mean, my friends, is this: there is not much time left, and from now on married people should live as though they were not married;


text:
 those who weep, as though they were not sad; those who laugh, as though they were not happy; those who buy, as though they did not own what they bought;


text:
 those who deal in material goods, as though they were not fully occupied with them. For this world, as it is now, will not last much longer.


text:
 I would like you to be free from worry. An unmarried man concerns himself with the Lord's work, because he is trying to please the Lord.


text:
 and so he is pulled in two directions. An unmarried woman or a virgin concerns herself with the Lord's work, because she wants to be dedicated both in body and spirit; but a married woman concerns herself with worldly matters, because she wants to please her husband.


text:
 I am saying this because I want to help you. I am not trying to put restrictions on you. Instead, I want you to do what is right and proper, and to give yourselves completely to the Lord's service without any reservation.


text:
 In the case of an engaged couple who have decided not to marry: if the man feels that he is not acting properly toward the young woman and if his passions are too strong and he feels that they ought to marry, then they should get married, as he wants to. There is no sin in this.


text:
 But if a man, without being forced to do so, has firmly made up his mind not to marry, and if he has his will under complete control and has already decided in his own mind what to do---then he does well not to marry the young woman.


text:
 A married woman is not free as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, then she is free to be married to any man she wishes, but only if he is a Christian.


text:
 She will be happier, however, if she stays as she is. That is my opinion, and I think that I too have God's Spirit.


text:
 Now, concerning what you wrote about food offered to idols. It is true, of course, that "all of us have knowledge," as they say. Such knowledge, however, puffs a person up with pride; but love builds up.


text:
 So then, about eating the food offered to idols: we know that an idol stands for something that does not really exist; we know that there is only the one God.


text:
 Even if there are so-called "gods," whether in heaven or on earth, and even though there are many of these "gods" and "lords,"


text:
 yet there is for us only one God, the Father, who is the Creator of all things and for whom we live; and there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things were created and through whom we live.


text:
 But not everyone knows this truth. Some people have been so used to idols that to this day when they eat such food they still think of it as food that belongs to an idol; their conscience is weak, and they feel they are defiled by the food.


text:
 Food, however, will not improve our relation with God; we shall not lose anything if we do not eat, nor shall we gain anything if we do eat.


text:
 Be careful, however, not to let your freedom of action make those who are weak in the faith fall into sin.


text:
 Suppose a person whose conscience is weak in this matter sees you, who have so-called "knowledge," eating in the temple of an idol; will not this encourage him to eat food offered to idols?


text:
 And so this weak person, your brother for whom Christ died, will perish because of your "knowledge"!


text:
 And in this way you will be sinning against Christ by sinning against other Christians and wounding their weak conscience.


text:
 So then, if food makes a believer sin, I will never eat meat again, so as not to make a believer fall into sin.


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 Am I not a free man? Am I not an apostle? Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord? And aren't you the result of my work for the Lord?


text:
 Even if others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do! Because of your life in union with the Lord you yourselves are proof of the fact that I am an apostle.


text:
 Don't I have the right to follow the example of the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Peter, by taking a Christian wife with me on my trips?


text:
 What soldiers ever have to pay their own expenses in the army? What farmers do not eat the grapes from their own vineyard? What shepherds do not use the milk from their own sheep?


text:
 We read in the Law of Moses, "Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain." Now, is God concerned about oxen?


text:
 Didn't he really mean us when he said that? Of course that was written for us. Anyone who plows and anyone who reaps should do their work in the hope of getting a share of the crop.


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 If others have the right to expect this from you, don't we have an even greater right? But we haven't made use of this right. Instead, we have endured everything in order not to put any obstacle in the way of the Good News about Christ.


text:
 Surely you know that the men who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple and that those who offer the sacrifices on the altar get a share of the sacrifices.


text:
 In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who preach the gospel should get their living from it.


text:
 But I haven't made use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this now in order to claim such rights for myself. I would rather die first! Nobody is going to turn my rightful boast into empty words!


text:
 I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel. After all, I am under orders to do so. And how terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel!


text:
 If I did my work as a matter of free choice, then I could expect to be paid; but I do it as a matter of duty, because God has entrusted me with this task.


text:
 What pay do I get, then? It is the privilege of preaching the Good News without charging for it, without claiming my rights in my work for the gospel.


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 I am a free man, nobody's slave; but I make myself everybody's slave in order to win as many people as possible.


text:
 While working with the Jews, I live like a Jew in order to win them; and even though I myself am not subject to the Law of Moses, I live as though I were when working with those who are, in order to win them.


text:
 In the same way, when working with Gentiles, I live like a Gentile, outside the Jewish Law, in order to win Gentiles. This does not mean that I don't obey God's law; I am really under Christ's law.


text:
 Among the weak in faith I become weak like one of them, in order to win them. So I become all things to all people, that I may save some of them by whatever means are possible.


text:
 Surely you know that many runners take part in a race, but only one of them wins the prize. Run, then, in such a way as to win the prize.


text:
 Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline, in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last forever.


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 That is why I run straight for the finish line; that is why I am like a boxer who does not waste his punches.


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 I harden my body with blows and bring it under complete control, to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest.


text:
 I want you to remember, my friends, what happened to our ancestors who followed Moses. They were all under the protection of the cloud, and all passed safely through the Red Sea.


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 and drank the same spiritual drink. They drank from the spiritual rock that went with them; and that rock was Christ himself.


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 But even then God was not pleased with most of them, and so their dead bodies were scattered over the desert.


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 nor to worship idols, as some of them did. As the scripture says, "The people sat down to a feast which turned into an orgy of drinking and sex."


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 We must not be guilty of sexual immorality, as some of them were---and in one day twenty-three thousand of them fell dead.


text:
 All these things happened to them as examples for others, and they were written down as a warning for us. For we live at a time when the end is about to come.


text:
 Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people. But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to the test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out.


text:
 The cup we use in the Lord's Supper and for which we give thanks to God: when we drink from it, we are sharing in the blood of Christ. And the bread we break: when we eat it, we are sharing in the body of Christ.


text:
 Because there is the one loaf of bread, all of us, though many, are one body, for we all share the same loaf.


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 Consider the people of Israel; those who eat what is offered in sacrifice share in the altar's service to God.


text:
 No! What I am saying is that what is sacrificed on pagan altars is offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be partners with demons.


text:
 You cannot drink from the Lord's cup and also from the cup of demons; you cannot eat at the Lord's table and also at the table of demons.


text:
 "We are allowed to do anything," so they say. That is true, but not everything is good. "We are allowed to do anything"---but not everything is helpful.


text:
 You are free to eat anything sold in the meat market, without asking any questions because of your conscience.


text:
 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you decide to go, eat what is set before you, without asking any questions because of your conscience.


text:
 But if someone tells you, "This food was offered to idols," then do not eat that food, for the sake of the one who told you and for conscience' sake---


text:
 that is, not your own conscience, but the other person's conscience. "Well, then," someone asks, "why should my freedom to act be limited by another person's conscience?


text:
 Just do as I do; I try to please everyone in all that I do, not thinking of my own good, but of the good of all, so that they might be saved.


text:
 But I want you to understand that Christ is supreme over every man, the husband is supreme over his wife, and God is supreme over Christ.


text:
 So a man who prays or proclaims God's message in public worship with his head covered disgraces Christ.


text:
 And any woman who prays or proclaims God's message in public worship with nothing on her head disgraces her husband; there is no difference between her and a woman whose head has been shaved.


text:
 If the woman does not cover her head, she might as well cut her hair. And since it is a shameful thing for a woman to shave her head or cut her hair, she should cover her head.


text:
 A man has no need to cover his head, because he reflects the image and glory of God. But woman reflects the glory of man;


text:
 On account of the angels, then, a woman should have a covering over her head to show that she is under her husband's authority.


text:
 In our life in the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.


text:
 For as woman was made from man, in the same way man is born of woman; and it is God who brings everything into existence.


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 Judge for yourselves whether it is proper for a woman to pray to God in public worship with nothing on her head.


text:
 But if anyone wants to argue about it, all I have to say is that neither we nor the churches of God have any other custom in worship.


text:
 In the following instructions, however, I do not praise you, because your meetings for worship actually do more harm than good.


text:
 In the first place, I have been told that there are opposing groups in your meetings; and this I believe is partly true.


text:
 (No doubt there must be divisions among you so that the ones who are in the right may be clearly seen.)


text:
 For as you eat, you each go ahead with your own meal, so that some are hungry while others get drunk.


text:
 Don't you have your own homes in which to eat and drink? Or would you rather despise the church of God and put to shame the people who are in need? What do you expect me to say to you about this? Shall I praise you? Of course I don't!


text:
 For I received from the Lord the teaching that I passed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took a piece of bread,


text:
 gave thanks to God, broke it, and said, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in memory of me."


text:
 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup and said, "This cup is God's new covenant, sealed with my blood. Whenever you drink it, do so in memory of me."


text:
 This means that every time you eat this bread and drink from this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.


text:
 It follows that if one of you eats the Lord's bread or drinks from his cup in a way that dishonors him, you are guilty of sin against the Lord's body and blood.


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 For if you do not recognize the meaning of the Lord's body when you eat the bread and drink from the cup, you bring judgment on yourself as you eat and drink.


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 But we are judged and punished by the Lord, so that we shall not be condemned together with the world.


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 And if any of you are hungry, you should eat at home, so that you will not come under God's judgment as you meet together. As for the other matters, I will settle them when I come.


text:
 Now, concerning what you wrote about the gifts from the Holy Spirit. I want you to know the truth about them, my friends.


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 You know that while you were still heathen, you were led astray in many ways to the worship of lifeless idols.


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 I want you to know that no one who is led by God's Spirit can say "A curse on Jesus!" and no one can confess "Jesus is Lord," without being guided by the Holy Spirit.


text:
 There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service.


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 The Spirit gives one person a message full of wisdom, while to another person the same Spirit gives a message full of knowledge.


text:
 One and the same Spirit gives faith to one person, while to another person he gives the power to heal.


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 The Spirit gives one person the power to work miracles; to another, the gift of speaking God's message; and to yet another, the ability to tell the difference between gifts that come from the Spirit and those that do not. To one person he gives the ability to speak in strange tongues, and to another he gives the ability to explain what is said.


text:
 But it is one and the same Spirit who does all this; as he wishes, he gives a different gift to each person.


text:
 Christ is like a single body, which has many parts; it is still one body, even though it is made up of different parts.


text:
 In the same way, all of us, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether slaves or free, have been baptized into the one body by the same Spirit, and we have all been given the one Spirit to drink.


text:
 If the foot were to say, "Because I am not a hand, I don't belong to the body," that would not keep it from being a part of the body.


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 And if the ear were to say, "Because I am not an eye, I don't belong to the body," that would not keep it from being a part of the body.


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 If the whole body were just an eye, how could it hear? And if it were only an ear, how could it smell?


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 So then, the eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" Nor can the head say to the feet, "Well, I don't need you!"


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 and those parts that we think aren't worth very much are the ones which we treat with greater care; while the parts of the body which don't look very nice are treated with special modesty,


text:
 which the more beautiful parts do not need. God himself has put the body together in such a way as to give greater honor to those parts that need it.


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 And so there is no division in the body, but all its different parts have the same concern for one another.


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 If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts suffer with it; if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness.


text:
 In the church God has put all in place: in the first place apostles, in the second place prophets, and in the third place teachers; then those who perform miracles, followed by those who are given the power to heal or to help others or to direct them or to speak in strange tongues.


text:
 I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell.


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 I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains---but if I have no love, I am nothing.


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 I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned ---but if I have no love, this does me no good.


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 Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass.


text:
 When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am an adult, I have no more use for childish ways.


text:
 What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete---as complete as God's knowledge of me.


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 It is love, then, that you should strive for. Set your hearts on spiritual gifts, especially the gift of proclaiming God's message.


text:
 Those who speak in strange tongues do not speak to others but to God, because no one understands them. They are speaking secret truths by the power of the Spirit.


text:
 But those who proclaim God's message speak to people and give them help, encouragement, and comfort.


text:
 Those who speak in strange tongues help only themselves, but those who proclaim God's message help the whole church.


text:
 I would like for all of you to speak in strange tongues; but I would rather that you had the gift of proclaiming God's message. For the person who proclaims God's message is of greater value than the one who speaks in strange tongues---unless there is someone present who can explain what is said, so that the whole church may be helped.


text:
 So when I come to you, my friends, what use will I be to you if I speak in strange tongues? Not a bit, unless I bring you some revelation from God or some knowledge or some inspired message or some teaching.


text:
 Take such lifeless musical instruments as the flute or the harp---how will anyone know the tune that is being played unless the notes are sounded distinctly?


text:
 In the same way, how will anyone understand what you are talking about if your message given in strange tongues is not clear? Your words will vanish in the air!


text:
 But if I do not know the language being spoken, those who use it will be foreigners to me and I will be a foreigner to them.


text:
 Since you are eager to have the gifts of the Spirit, you must try above everything else to make greater use of those which help to build up the church.


text:
 What should I do, then? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray also with my mind; I will sing with my spirit, but I will sing also with my mind.


text:
 When you give thanks to God in spirit only, how can ordinary people taking part in the meeting say "Amen" to your prayer of thanksgiving? They have no way of knowing what you are saying.


text:
 But in church worship I would rather speak five words that can be understood, in order to teach others, than speak thousands of words in strange tongues.


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 Do not be like children in your thinking, my friends; be children so far as evil is concerned, but be grown up in your thinking.


text:
 In the Scriptures it is written, "By means of people speaking strange languages I will speak to my people, says the Lord. I will speak through lips of foreigners, but even then my people will not listen to me."


text:
 So then, the gift of speaking in strange tongues is proof for unbelievers, not for believers, while the gift of proclaiming God's message is proof for believers, not for unbelievers.


text:
 If, then, the whole church meets together and everyone starts speaking in strange tongues---and if some ordinary people or unbelievers come in, won't they say that you are all crazy?


text:
 But if everyone is proclaiming God's message when some unbelievers or ordinary people come in, they will be convinced of their sin by what they hear. They will be judged by all they hear,


text:
 their secret thoughts will be brought into the open, and they will bow down and worship God, confessing, "Truly God is here among you!"


text:
 This is what I mean, my friends. When you meet for worship, one person has a hymn, another a teaching, another a revelation from God, another a message in strange tongues, and still another the explanation of what is said. Everything must be of help to the church.


text:
 If someone is going to speak in strange tongues, two or three at the most should speak, one after the other, and someone else must explain what is being said.


text:
 But if no one is there who can explain, then the one who speaks in strange tongues must be quiet and speak only to himself and to God.


text:
 Two or three who are given God's message should speak, while the others are to judge what they say.


text:
 But if someone sitting in the meeting receives a message from God, the one who is speaking should stop.


text:
 because God does not want us to be in disorder but in harmony and peace. As in all the churches of God's people,


text:
 the women should keep quiet in the meetings. They are not allowed to speak; as the Jewish Law says, they must not be in charge.


text:
 If they want to find out about something, they should ask their husbands at home. It is a disgraceful thing for a woman to speak in a church meeting.


text:
 If anyone supposes he is God's messenger or has a spiritual gift, he must realize that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command.


text:
 So then, my friends, set your heart on proclaiming God's message, but do not forbid the speaking in strange tongues.


text:
 And now I want to remind you, my friends, of the Good News which I preached to you, which you received, and on which your faith stands firm.


text:
 That is the gospel, the message that I preached to you. You are saved by the gospel if you hold firmly to it---unless it was for nothing that you believed.


text:
 I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures;


text:
 Then he appeared to more than five hundred of his followers at once, most of whom are still alive, although some have died.


text:
 For I am the least of all the apostles---I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God's church.


text:
 But by God's grace I am what I am, and the grace that he gave me was not without effect. On the contrary, I have worked harder than any of the other apostles, although it was not really my own doing, but God's grace working with me.


text:
 So then, whether it came from me or from them, this is what we all preach, and this is what you believe.


text:
 Now, since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life?


text:
 and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe.


text:
 More than that, we are shown to be lying about God, because we said that he raised Christ from death---but if it is true that the dead are not raised to life, then he did not raise Christ.


text:
 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins.


text:
 If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world.


text:
 But the truth is that Christ has been raised from death, as the guarantee that those who sleep in death will also be raised.


text:
 For just as death came by means of a man, in the same way the rising from death comes by means of a man.


text:
 For just as all people die because of their union with Adam, in the same way all will be raised to life because of their union with Christ.


text:
 But each one will be raised in proper order: Christ, first of all; then, at the time of his coming, those who belong to him.


text:
 Then the end will come; Christ will overcome all spiritual rulers, authorities, and powers, and will hand over the Kingdom to God the Father.


text:
 For the scripture says, "God put <i>all</i> things under his feet." It is clear, of course, that the words "all things" do not include God himself, who puts all things under Christ.


text:
 But when all things have been placed under Christ's rule, then he himself, the Son, will place himself under God, who placed all things under him; and God will rule completely over all.


text:
 Now, what about those people who are baptized for the dead? What do they hope to accomplish? If it is true, as some claim, that the dead are not raised to life, why are those people being baptized for the dead?


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 My friends, I face death every day! The pride I have in you, in our life in union with Christ Jesus our Lord, makes me declare this.


text:
 If I have, as it were, fought "wild beasts" here in Ephesus simply from human motives, what have I gained? But if the dead are not raised to life, then, as the saying goes, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we will die."


text:
 Come back to your right senses and stop your sinful ways. I declare to your shame that some of you do not know God.


text:
 And what you plant is a bare seed, perhaps a grain of wheat or some other grain, not the full-bodied plant that will later grow up.


text:
 And the flesh of living beings is not all the same kind of flesh; human beings have one kind of flesh, animals another, birds another, and fish another.


text:
 And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies; the beauty that belongs to heavenly bodies is different from the beauty that belongs to earthly bodies.


text:
 The sun has its own beauty, the moon another beauty, and the stars a different beauty; and even among stars there are different kinds of beauty.


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 This is how it will be when the dead are raised to life. When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised, it will be immortal.


text:
 When buried, it is a physical body; when raised, it will be a spiritual body. There is, of course, a physical body, so there has to be a spiritual body.


text:
 For the scripture says, "The first man, Adam, was created a living being"; but the last Adam is the life-giving Spirit.


text:
 Those who belong to the earth are like the one who was made of earth; those who are of heaven are like the one who came from heaven.


text:
 Just as we wear the likeness of the man made of earth, so we will wear the likeness of the Man from heaven.


text:
 What I mean, friends, is that what is made of flesh and blood cannot share in God's Kingdom, and what is mortal cannot possess immortality.


text:
 Listen to this secret truth: we shall not all die, but when the last trumpet sounds, we shall all be changed in an instant, as quickly as the blinking of an eye. For when the trumpet sounds, the dead will be raised, never to die again, and we shall all be changed.


text:
 For what is mortal must be changed into what is immortal; what will die must be changed into what cannot die.


text:
 So when this takes place, and the mortal has been changed into the immortal, then the scripture will come true: "Death is destroyed; victory is complete!"


text:
 So then, my dear friends, stand firm and steady. Keep busy always in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord's service is ever useless.


text:
 Now, concerning what you wrote about the money to be raised to help God's people in Judea. You must do what I told the churches in Galatia to do.


text:
 Every Sunday each of you must put aside some money, in proportion to what you have earned, and save it up, so that there will be no need to collect money when I come.


text:
 After I come, I shall give letters of introduction to those you have approved, and send them to take your gift to Jerusalem.


text:
 I shall probably spend some time with you, perhaps the whole winter, and then you can help me to continue my trip, wherever it is I shall go next.


text:
 I want to see you more than just briefly in passing; I hope to spend quite a long time with you, if the Lord allows.


text:
 There is a real opportunity here for great and worthwhile work, even though there are many opponents.


text:
 If Timothy comes your way, be sure to make him feel welcome among you, because he is working for the Lord, just as I am.


text:
 No one should look down on him, but you must help him continue his trip in peace, so that he will come back to me; for I am expecting him back with the believers.


text:
 Now, about brother Apollos. I have often encouraged him to visit you with the other believers, but he is not completely convinced that he should go at this time. When he gets the chance, however, he will go.


text:
 You know about Stephanas and his family; they are the first Christian converts in Achaia and have given themselves to the service of God's people. I beg you, my friends,


text:
 to follow the leadership of such people as these, and of anyone else who works and serves with them.


text:
 I am happy about the coming of Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus; they have made up for your absence


text:
 The churches in the province of Asia send you their greetings; Aquila and Priscilla and the church that meets in their house send warm Christian greetings.


text:
 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, and from our brother Timothy--- To the church of God in Corinth, and to all God's people throughout Achaia:


text:
 Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merciful Father, the God from whom all help comes!


text:
 He helps us in all our troubles, so that we are able to help others who have all kinds of troubles, using the same help that we ourselves have received from God.


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 Just as we have a share in Christ's many sufferings, so also through Christ we share in God's great help.


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 If we suffer, it is for your help and salvation; if we are helped, then you too are helped and given the strength to endure with patience the same sufferings that we also endure.


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 So our hope in you is never shaken; we know that just as you share in our sufferings, you also share in the help we receive.


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 We want to remind you, friends, of the trouble we had in the province of Asia. The burdens laid upon us were so great and so heavy that we gave up all hope of staying alive.


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 We felt that the death sentence had been passed on us. But this happened so that we should rely, not on ourselves, but only on God, who raises the dead.


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 From such terrible dangers of death he saved us, and will save us; and we have placed our hope in him that he will save us again,


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 as you help us by means of your prayers for us. So it will be that the many prayers for us will be answered, and God will bless us; and many will raise their voices to him in thanksgiving for us.


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 We are proud that our conscience assures us that our lives in this world, and especially our relations with you, have been ruled by God-given frankness and sincerity, by the power of God's grace and not by human wisdom.


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 We write to you only what you can read and understand. But even though you now understand us only in part, I hope that you will come to understand us completely, so that in the Day of our Lord Jesus you can be as proud of us as we shall be of you.


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 I was so sure of all this that I made plans at first to visit you, in order that you might be blessed twice.


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 For I planned to visit you on my way to Macedonia and again on my way back, in order to get help from you for my trip to Judea.


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 In planning this, did I appear fickle? When I make my plans, do I make them from selfish motives, ready to say "Yes, yes" and "No, no" at the same time?


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 For Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who was preached among you by Silas, Timothy, and myself, is not one who is "Yes" and "No." On the contrary, he is God's "Yes";


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 for it is he who is the "Yes" to all of God's promises. This is why through Jesus Christ our "Amen" is said to the glory of God.


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 It is God himself who makes us, together with you, sure of our life in union with Christ; it is God himself who has set us apart,


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 who has placed his mark of ownership upon us, and who has given us the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.


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 I call God as my witness---he knows my heart! It was in order to spare you that I decided not to go to Corinth.


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 We are not trying to dictate to you what you must believe; we know that you stand firm in the faith. Instead, we are working with you for your own happiness.


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 For if I were to make you sad, who would be left to cheer me up? Only the very persons I had made sad.


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 That is why I wrote that letter to you---I did not want to come to you and be made sad by the very people who should make me glad. For I am convinced that when I am happy, then all of you are happy too.


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 I wrote you with a greatly troubled and distressed heart and with many tears; my purpose was not to make you sad, but to make you realize how much I love you all.


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 Now, if anyone has made somebody sad, he has not done it to me but to all of you---in part, at least. (I say this because I do not want to be too hard on him.)


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 Now, however, you should forgive him and encourage him, in order to keep him from becoming so sad as to give up completely.


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 I wrote you that letter because I wanted to find out how well you had stood the test and whether you are always ready to obey my instructions.


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 When you forgive people for what they have done, I forgive them too. For when I forgive---if, indeed, I need to forgive anything---I do it in Christ's presence because of you,


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 When I arrived in Troas to preach the Good News about Christ, I found that the Lord had opened the way for the work there.


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 But I was deeply worried, because I could not find our brother Titus. So I said good-bye to the people there and went on to Macedonia.


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 But thanks be to God! For in union with Christ we are always led by God as prisoners in Christ's victory procession. God uses us to make the knowledge about Christ spread everywhere like a sweet fragrance.


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 For we are like a sweet-smelling incense offered by Christ to God, which spreads among those who are being saved and those who are being lost.


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 For those who are being lost, it is a deadly stench that kills; but for those who are being saved, it is a fragrance that brings life. Who, then, is capable for such a task?


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 We are not like so many others, who handle God's message as if it were cheap merchandise; but because God has sent us, we speak with sincerity in his presence, as servants of Christ.


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 Does this sound as if we were again boasting about ourselves? Could it be that, like some other people, we need letters of recommendation to you or from you?


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 It is clear that Christ himself wrote this letter and sent it by us. It is written, not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, and not on stone tablets but on human hearts.


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 There is nothing in us that allows us to claim that we are capable of doing this work. The capacity we have comes from God;


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 it is he who made us capable of serving the new covenant, which consists not of a written law but of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.


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 The Law was carved in letters on stone tablets, and God's glory appeared when it was given. Even though the brightness on Moses' face was fading, it was so strong that the people of Israel could not keep their eyes fixed on him. If the Law, which brings death when it is in force, came with such glory,


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 The system which brings condemnation was glorious; how much more glorious is the activity which brings salvation!


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 We may say that because of the far brighter glory now the glory that was so bright in the past is gone.


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 For if there was glory in that which lasted for a while, how much more glory is there in that which lasts forever!


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 We are not like Moses, who had to put a veil over his face so that the people of Israel would not see the brightness fade and disappear.


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 Their minds, indeed, were closed; and to this very day their minds are covered with the same veil as they read the books of the old covenant. The veil is removed only when a person is joined to Christ.


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 But it can be removed, as the scripture says about Moses: "His veil was removed when he turned to the Lord."


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 Now, "the Lord" in this passage is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom.


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 All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.


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 We put aside all secret and shameful deeds; we do not act with deceit, nor do we falsify the word of God. In the full light of truth we live in God's sight and try to commend ourselves to everyone's good conscience.


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 They do not believe, because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.


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 For it is not ourselves that we preach; we preach Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.


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 The God who said, "Out of darkness the light shall shine!" is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ.


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 Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, in order to show that the supreme power belongs to God, not to us.


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 there are many enemies, but we are never without a friend; and though badly hurt at times, we are not destroyed.


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 At all times we carry in our mortal bodies the death of Jesus, so that his life also may be seen in our bodies.


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 Throughout our lives we are always in danger of death for Jesus' sake, in order that his life may be seen in this mortal body of ours.


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 The scripture says, "I spoke because I believed." In the same spirit of faith we also speak because we believe.


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 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus to life, will also raise us up with Jesus and take us, together with you, into his presence.


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 All this is for your sake; and as God's grace reaches more and more people, they will offer to the glory of God more prayers of thanksgiving.


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 For this reason we never become discouraged. Even though our physical being is gradually decaying, yet our spiritual being is renewed day after day.


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 And this small and temporary trouble we suffer will bring us a tremendous and eternal glory, much greater than the trouble.


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 For we fix our attention, not on things that are seen, but on things that are unseen. What can be seen lasts only for a time, but what cannot be seen lasts forever.


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 For we know that when this tent we live in---our body here on earth---is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever.


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 And now we sigh, so great is our desire that our home which comes from heaven should be put on over us;


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 While we live in this earthly tent, we groan with a feeling of oppression; it is not that we want to get rid of our earthly body, but that we want to have the heavenly one put on over us, so that what is mortal will be transformed by life.


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 God is the one who has prepared us for this change, and he gave us his Spirit as the guarantee of all that he has in store for us.


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 So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord's home.


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 We are full of courage and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and be at home with the Lord.


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 For all of us must appear before Christ, to be judged by him. We will each receive what we deserve, according to everything we have done, good or bad, in our bodily life.


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 We know what it means to fear the Lord, and so we try to persuade others. God knows us completely, and I hope that in your hearts you know me as well.


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 We are not trying again to recommend ourselves to you; rather, we are trying to give you a good reason to be proud of us, so that you will be able to answer those who boast about people's appearance and not about their character.


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 We are ruled by the love of Christ, now that we recognize that one man died for everyone, which means that they all share in his death.


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 He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake.


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 No longer, then, do we judge anyone by human standards. Even if at one time we judged Christ according to human standards, we no longer do so.


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 All this is done by God, who through Christ changed us from enemies into his friends and gave us the task of making others his friends also.


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 Our message is that God was making all human beings his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and he has given us the message which tells how he makes them his friends.


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


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


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 In our work together with God, then, we beg you who have received God's grace not to let it be wasted.


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 Hear what God says: "When the time came for me to show you favor, I heard you; when the day arrived for me to save you, I helped you." Listen! This is the hour to receive God's favor; today is the day to be saved!


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 Instead, in everything we do we show that we are God's servants by patiently enduring troubles, hardships, and difficulties.


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 We have been beaten, jailed, and mobbed; we have been overworked and have gone without sleep or food.


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 By our purity, knowledge, patience, and kindness we have shown ourselves to be God's servants---by the Holy Spirit, by our true love,


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 by our message of truth, and by the power of God. We have righteousness as our weapon, both to attack and to defend ourselves.


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 We are honored and disgraced; we are insulted and praised. We are treated as liars, yet we speak the truth;


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 as unknown, yet we are known by all; as though we were dead, but, as you see, we live on. Although punished, we are not killed;


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 although saddened, we are always glad; we seem poor, but we make many people rich; we seem to have nothing, yet we really possess everything.


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 I speak now as though you were my children: show us the same feelings that we have for you. Open your hearts wide!


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 Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together?


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 How can God's temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living God! As God himself has said, "I will make my home with my people and live among them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people."


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 And so the Lord says, "You must leave them and separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with what is unclean, and I will accept you.


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 All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in awe of God.


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 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one; we have ruined no one, nor tried to take advantage of anyone.


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 I do not say this to condemn you; for, as I have said before, you are so dear to us that we are always together, whether we live or die.


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 I am so sure of you; I take such pride in you! In all our troubles I am still full of courage; I am running over with joy.


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 Even after we arrived in Macedonia, we did not have any rest. There were troubles everywhere, quarrels with others, fears in our hearts.


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 It was not only his coming that cheered us, but also his report of how you encouraged him. He told us how much you want to see me, how sorry you are, how ready you are to defend me; and so I am even happier now.


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 For even if that letter of mine made you sad, I am not sorry I wrote it. I could have been sorry when I saw that it made you sad for a while.


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 But now I am happy---not because I made you sad, but because your sadness made you change your ways. That sadness was used by God, and so we caused you no harm.


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 For the sadness that is used by God brings a change of heart that leads to salvation---and there is no regret in that! But sadness that is merely human causes death.


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 See what God did with this sadness of yours: how earnest it has made you, how eager to prove your innocence! Such indignation, such alarm, such feelings, such devotion, such readiness to punish wrongdoing! You have shown yourselves to be without fault in the whole matter.


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 So, even though I wrote that letter, it was not because of the one who did wrong or the one who was wronged. Instead, I wrote it to make plain to you, in God's sight, how deep your devotion to us really is.


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 That is why we were encouraged. Not only were we encouraged; how happy Titus made us with his happiness over the way in which all of you helped to cheer him up!


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 I did boast of you to him, and you have not disappointed me. We have always spoken the truth to you, and in the same way the boast we made to Titus has proved true.


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 And so his love for you grows stronger, as he remembers how all of you were ready to obey his instructions, how you welcomed him with fear and trembling.


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 They have been severely tested by the troubles they went through; but their joy was so great that they were extremely generous in their giving, even though they are very poor.


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 I can assure you that they gave as much as they could, and even more than they could. Of their own free will


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 It was more than we could have hoped for! First they gave themselves to the Lord; and then, by God's will they gave themselves to us as well.


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 So we urged Titus, who began this work, to continue it and help you complete this special service of love.


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 You are so rich in all you have: in faith, speech, and knowledge, in your eagerness to help and in your love for us. And so we want you to be generous also in this service of love.


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 I am not laying down any rules. But by showing how eager others are to help, I am trying to find out how real your own love is.


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 You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ; rich as he was, he made himself poor for your sake, in order to make you rich by means of his poverty.


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 My opinion is that it is better for you to finish now what you began last year. You were the first, not only to act, but also to be willing to act.


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 On with it, then, and finish the job! Be as eager to finish it as you were to plan it, and do it with what you now have.


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 If you are eager to give, God will accept your gift on the basis of what you have to give, not on what you don't have.


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 I am not trying to relieve others by putting a burden on you; but since you have plenty at this time, it is only fair that you should help those who are in need. Then, when you are in need and they have plenty, they will help you. In this way both are treated equally.


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 As the scripture says, "The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little."


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 Not only did he welcome our request; he was so eager to help that of his own free will he decided to go to you.


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 With him we are sending the brother who is highly respected in all the churches for his work in preaching the gospel.


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 And besides that, he has been chosen and appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this service of love for the sake of the Lord's glory and in order to show that we want to help.


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 Our purpose is to do what is right, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of others.


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 So we are sending our brother with them; we have tested him many times and found him always very eager to help. And now that he has so much confidence in you, he is all the more eager to help.


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 As for Titus, he is my partner and works with me to help you; as for the other brothers who are going with him, they represent the churches and bring glory to Christ.


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 Show your love to them, so that all the churches will be sure of it and know that we are right in boasting about you.


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 I know that you are willing to help, and I have boasted of you to the people in Macedonia. "The believers in Achaia," I said, "have been ready to help since last year." Your eagerness has stirred up most of them.


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 Now I am sending these believers, so that our boasting about you in this matter may not turn out to be empty words. But, just as I said, you will be ready with your help.


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 However, if the people from Macedonia should come with me and find out that you are not ready, how ashamed we would be---not to speak of your shame---for feeling so sure of you!


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 So I thought it was necessary to urge these believers to go to you ahead of me and get ready in advance the gift you promised to make. Then it will be ready when I arrive, and it will show that you give because you want to, not because you have to.


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 Remember that the person who plants few seeds will have a small crop; the one who plants many seeds will have a large crop.


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 You should each give, then, as you have decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly.


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 And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause.


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 And God, who supplies seed for the sower and bread to eat, will also supply you with all the seed you need and will make it grow and produce a rich harvest from your generosity.


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 He will always make you rich enough to be generous at all times, so that many will thank God for your gifts which they receive from us.


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 For this service you perform not only meets the needs of God's people, but also produces an outpouring of gratitude to God.


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 And because of the proof which this service of yours brings, many will give glory to God for your loyalty to the gospel of Christ, which you profess, and for your generosity in sharing with them and everyone else.


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 And so with deep affection they will pray for you because of the extraordinary grace God has shown you.


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 I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you---I who am said to be meek and mild when I am with you, but harsh with you when I am away. By the gentleness and kindness of Christ


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 I beg you not to force me to be harsh when I come; for I am sure I can deal harshly with those who say that we act from worldly motives.


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 The weapons we use in our fight are not the world's weapons but God's powerful weapons, which we use to destroy strongholds. We destroy false arguments;


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 we pull down every proud obstacle that is raised against the knowledge of God; we take every thought captive and make it obey Christ.


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 You are looking at the outward appearance of things. Are there some there who reckon themselves to belong to Christ? Well, let them think again about themselves, because we belong to Christ just as much as they do.


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 For I am not ashamed, even if I have boasted somewhat too much about the authority that the Lord has given us---authority to build you up, not to tear you down.


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 Someone will say, "Paul's letters are severe and strong, but when he is with us in person, he is weak, and his words are nothing!"


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 Such a person must understand that there is no difference between what we write in our letters when we are away and what we will do when we are there with you.


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 Of course we would not dare classify ourselves or compare ourselves with those who rate themselves so highly. How stupid they are! They make up their own standards to measure themselves by, and they judge themselves by their own standards!


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 As for us, however, our boasting will not go beyond certain limits; it will stay within the limits of the work which God has set for us, and this includes our work among you.


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 And since you are within those limits, we were not going beyond them when we came to you, bringing the Good News about Christ.


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 So we do not boast about the work that others have done beyond the limits God set for us. Instead, we hope that your faith may grow and that we may be able to do a much greater work among you, always within the limits that God has set.


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 Then we can preach the Good News in other countries beyond you and shall not have to boast about work already done in someone else's field.


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 For it is when the Lord thinks well of us that we are really approved, and not when we think well of ourselves.


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 I am jealous for you, just as God is; you are like a pure virgin whom I have promised in marriage to one man only, Christ himself.


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 I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ---in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake's clever lies.


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 For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; and you accept a spirit and a gospel completely different from the Spirit and the gospel you received from us!


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 I do not think that I am the least bit inferior to those very special so-called "apostles" of yours!


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 Perhaps I am an amateur in speaking, but certainly not in knowledge; we have made this clear to you at all times and in all conditions.


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 I did not charge you a thing when I preached the Good News of God to you; I humbled myself in order to make you important. Was that wrong of me?


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 While I was working among you, I was paid by other churches. I was robbing them, so to speak, in order to help you.


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 And during the time I was with you I did not bother you for help when I needed money; the believers who came from Macedonia brought me everything I needed. As in the past, so in the future: I will never be a burden to you!


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 By Christ's truth in me, I promise that this boast of mine will not be silenced anywhere in all of Achaia.


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 I will go on doing what I am doing now, in order to keep those other "apostles" from having any reason for boasting and saying that they work in the same way that we do.


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 Those men are not true apostles---they are false apostles, who lie about their work and disguise themselves to look like real apostles of Christ.


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 So it is no great thing if his servants disguise themselves to look like servants of righteousness. In the end they will get exactly what their actions deserve.


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 I repeat: no one should think that I am a fool. But if you do, at least accept me as a fool, just so I will have a little to boast of.


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 Of course what I am saying now is not what the Lord would have me say; in this matter of boasting I am really talking like a fool.


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 You tolerate anyone who orders you around or takes advantage of you or traps you or looks down on you or slaps you in the face.


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 I am ashamed to admit that we were too timid to do those things! But if anyone dares to boast about something---I am talking like a fool---I will be just as daring.


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 Are they Christ's servants? I sound like a madman---but I am a better servant than they are! I have worked much harder, I have been in prison more times, I have been whipped much more, and I have been near death more often.


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 three times I was whipped by the Romans; and once I was stoned. I have been in three shipwrecks, and once I spent twenty-four hours in the water.


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 In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from my own people and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends.


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 There has been work and toil; often I have gone without sleep; I have been hungry and thirsty; I have often been without enough food, shelter, or clothing.


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 And not to mention other things, every day I am under the pressure of my concern for all the churches.


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 When someone is weak, then I feel weak too; when someone is led into sin, I am filled with distress.


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 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas placed guards at the city gates to arrest me.


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 I have to boast, even though it doesn't do any good. But I will now talk about visions and revelations given me by the Lord.


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 I know a certain Christian man who fourteen years ago was snatched up to the highest heaven (I do not know whether this actually happened or whether he had a vision---only God knows).


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 I repeat, I know that this man was snatched to Paradise (again, I do not know whether this actually happened or whether it was a vision---only God knows), and there he heard things which cannot be put into words, things that human lips may not speak.


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 So I will boast about this man---but I will not boast about myself, except the things that show how weak I am.


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 If I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will not boast, because I do not want any of you to have a higher opinion of me than you have as a result of what you have seen me do and heard me say.


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 But to keep me from being puffed up with pride because of the many wonderful things I saw, I was given a painful physical ailment, which acts as Satan's messenger to beat me and keep me from being proud.


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 But his answer was: "My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak." I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me.


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 I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and difficulties for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.


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 I am acting like a fool---but you have made me do it. You are the ones who ought to show your approval of me. For even if I am nothing, I am in no way inferior to those very special "apostles" of yours.


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 The many miracles and wonders that prove that I am an apostle were performed among you with much patience.


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 How were you treated any worse than the other churches, except that I did not bother you for financial help? Please forgive me for being so unfair!


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 This is now the third time that I am ready to come to visit you---and I will not make any demands on you. It is you I want, not your money. After all, children should not have to provide for their parents, but parents should provide for their children.


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 I will be glad to spend all I have, and myself as well, in order to help you. Will you love me less because I love you so much?


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 You will agree, then, that I was not a burden to you. But someone will say that I was tricky, and trapped you with lies.


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 I begged Titus to go, and I sent the other believer with him. Would you say that Titus took advantage of you? Do not he and I act from the very same motives and behave in the same way?


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 Perhaps you think that all along we have been trying to defend ourselves before you. No! We speak as Christ would have us speak in the presence of God, and everything we do, dear friends, is done to help you.


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 I am afraid that when I get there I will find you different from what I would like you to be and you will find me different from what you would like me to be. I am afraid that I will find quarreling and jealousy, hot tempers and selfishness, insults and gossip, pride and disorder.


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 I am afraid that the next time I come my God will humiliate me in your presence, and I shall weep over many who sinned in the past and have not repented of the immoral things they have done---their lust and their sexual sins.


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 This is now the third time that I am coming to visit you. "Any accusation must be upheld by the evidence of two or more witnesses"---as the scripture says.


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 I want to tell those of you who have sinned in the past, and all the others; I said it before during my second visit to you, but I will say it again now that I am away: the next time I come nobody will escape punishment.


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 You will have all the proof you want that Christ speaks through me. When he deals with you, he is not weak; instead, he shows his power among you.


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 For even though it was in weakness that he was put to death on the cross, it is by God's power that he lives. In union with him we also are weak; but in our relations with you we shall share God's power in his life.


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 Put yourselves to the test and judge yourselves, to find out whether you are living in faith. Surely you know that Christ Jesus is in you?---unless you have completely failed.


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 We pray to God that you will do no wrong---not in order to show that we are a success, but so that you may do what is right, even though we may seem to be failures.


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 That is why I write this while I am away from you; it is so that when I arrive I will not have to deal harshly with you in using the authority that the Lord has given me---authority to build you up, not to tear you down.


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 And now, my friends, good-bye! Strive for perfection; listen to my appeals; agree with one another; live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.


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 (13:13) 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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 From Paul, whose call to be an apostle did not come from human beings or by human means, but from Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from death.


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 In order to set us free from this present evil age, Christ gave himself for our sins, in obedience to the will of our God and Father.


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 I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ, and are accepting another gospel.


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 Actually, there is no "other gospel," but I say this because there are some people who are upsetting you and trying to change the gospel of Christ.


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 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell!


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 We have said it before, and now I say it again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel that is different from the one you accepted, may he be condemned to hell!


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 Does this sound as if I am trying to win human approval? No indeed! What I want is God's approval! Am I trying to be popular with people? If I were still trying to do so, I would not be a servant of Christ.


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 I did not receive it from any human being, nor did anyone teach it to me. It was Jesus Christ himself who revealed it to me.


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 You have been told how I used to live when I was devoted to the Jewish religion, how I persecuted without mercy the church of God and did my best to destroy it.


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 I was ahead of most other Jews of my age in my practice of the Jewish religion, and was much more devoted to the traditions of our ancestors.


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 But God in his grace chose me even before I was born, and called me to serve him. And when he decided


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 to reveal his Son to me, so that I might preach the Good News about him to the Gentiles, I did not go to anyone for advice,


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 nor did I go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me. Instead, I went at once to Arabia, and then I returned to Damascus.


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 It was three years later that I went to Jerusalem to obtain information from Peter, and I stayed with him for two weeks.


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 They knew only what others were saying: "The man who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith that he once tried to destroy!"


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 I went because God revealed to me that I should go. In a private meeting with the leaders I explained the gospel message that I preach to the Gentiles. I did not want my work in the past or in the present to be a failure.


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 although some wanted it done. Pretending to be believers, these men slipped into our group as spies, in order to find out about the freedom we have through our union with Christ Jesus. They wanted to make slaves of us,


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 but in order to keep the truth of the gospel safe for you, we did not give in to them for a minute.


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 But those who seemed to be the leaders---I say this because it makes no difference to me what they were; God does not judge by outward appearances---those leaders, I say, made no new suggestions to me.


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 On the contrary, they saw that God had given me the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the task of preaching the gospel to the Jews.


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 For by God's power I was made an apostle to the Gentiles, just as Peter was made an apostle to the Jews.


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 James, Peter, and John, who seemed to be the leaders, recognized that God had given me this special task; so they shook hands with Barnabas and me, as a sign that we were all partners. We agreed that Barnabas and I would work among the Gentiles and they among the Jews.


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 All they asked was that we should remember the needy in their group, which is the very thing I have been eager to do.


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 Before some men who had been sent by James arrived there, Peter had been eating with the Gentile believers. But after these men arrived, he drew back and would not eat with the Gentiles, because he was afraid of those who were in favor of circumcising them.


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 The other Jewish believers also started acting like cowards along with Peter; and even Barnabas was swept along by their cowardly action.


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 When I saw that they were not walking a straight path in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you have been living like a Gentile, not like a Jew. How, then, can you try to force Gentiles to live like Jews?"


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 Yet we know that a person is put right with God only through faith in Jesus Christ, never by doing what the Law requires. We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus in order to be put right with God through our faith in Christ, and not by doing what the Law requires. For no one is put right with God by doing what the Law requires.


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 If, then, as we try to be put right with God by our union with Christ, we are found to be sinners, as much as the Gentiles are---does this mean that Christ is serving the cause of sin? By no means!


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 If I start to rebuild the system of Law that I tore down, then I show myself to be someone who breaks the Law.


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 So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead---killed by the Law itself---in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on his cross,


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 so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.


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 I refuse to reject the grace of God. But if a person is put right with God through the Law, it means that Christ died for nothing!


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 You foolish Galatians! Who put a spell on you? Before your very eyes you had a clear description of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross!


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 Tell me this one thing: did you receive God's Spirit by doing what the Law requires or by hearing the gospel and believing it?


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 Does God give you the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do what the Law requires or because you hear the gospel and believe it?


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 Consider the experience of Abraham; as the scripture says, "He believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous."


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 The scripture predicted that God would put the Gentiles right with himself through faith. And so the scripture announced the Good News to Abraham: "Through you God will bless all people."


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 Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the scripture says, "Whoever does not always obey everything that is written in the book of the Law is under God's curse!"


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 Now, it is clear that no one is put right with God by means of the Law, because the scripture says, "Only the person who is put right with God through faith shall live."


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 But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, as the scripture says, "Whoever <i>does</i> everything the Law requires will live."


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 But by becoming a curse for us Christ has redeemed us from the curse that the Law brings; for the scripture says, "Anyone who is hanged on a tree is under God's curse."


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 Christ did this in order that the blessing which God promised to Abraham might be given to the Gentiles by means of Christ Jesus, so that through faith we might receive the Spirit promised by God.


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 My friends, I am going to use an everyday example: when two people agree on a matter and sign an agreement, no one can break it or add anything to it.


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 Now, God made his promises to Abraham and to his descendant. The scripture does not use the plural "descendants," meaning many people, but the singular "descendant," meaning one person only, namely, Christ.


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 What I mean is that God made a covenant with Abraham and promised to keep it. The Law, which was given four hundred and thirty years later, cannot break that covenant and cancel God's promise.


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 For if God's gift depends on the Law, then it no longer depends on his promise. However, it was because of his promise that God gave that gift to Abraham.


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 What, then, was the purpose of the Law? It was added in order to show what wrongdoing is, and it was meant to last until the coming of Abraham's descendant, to whom the promise was made. The Law was handed down by angels, with a man acting as a go-between.


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 Does this mean that the Law is against God's promises? No, not at all! For if human beings had received a law that could bring life, then everyone could be put right with God by obeying it.


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 But the scripture says that the whole world is under the power of sin; and so the gift which is promised on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ is given to those who believe.


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 But before the time for faith came, the Law kept us all locked up as prisoners until this coming faith should be revealed.


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 And so the Law was in charge of us until Christ came, in order that we might then be put right with God through faith.


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 You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself.


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


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 If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.


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 But now to continue---the son who will receive his father's property is treated just like a slave while he is young, even though he really owns everything.


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 While he is young, there are men who take care of him and manage his affairs until the time set by his father.


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 In the same way, we too were slaves of the ruling spirits of the universe before we reached spiritual maturity.


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 But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son. He came as the son of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law,


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 To show that you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, "Father, my Father."


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 So then, you are no longer a slave but a child. And since you are his child, God will give you all that he has for his children.


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 But now that you know God---or, I should say, now that God knows you---how is it that you want to turn back to those weak and pitiful ruling spirits? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?


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 But even though my physical condition was a great trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you received me as you would an angel from heaven; you received me as you would Christ Jesus.


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 You were so happy! What has happened? I myself can say that you would have taken out your own eyes, if you could, and given them to me.


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 Those other people show a deep interest in you, but their intentions are not good. All they want is to separate you from me, so that you will have the same interest in them as they have in you.


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 Now, it is good to have such a deep interest if the purpose is good---this is true always, and not merely when I am with you.


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 My dear children! Once again, just like a mother in childbirth, I feel the same kind of pain for you until Christ's nature is formed in you.


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 How I wish I were with you now, so that I could take a different attitude toward you. I am so worried about you!


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 His son by the slave woman was born in the usual way, but his son by the free woman was born as a result of God's promise.


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 These things can be understood as a figure: the two women represent two covenants. The one whose children are born in slavery is Hagar, and she represents the covenant made at Mount Sinai.


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 Hagar, who stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia, is a figure of the present city of Jerusalem, in slavery with all its people.


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 For the scripture says, "Be happy, you childless woman! Shout and cry with joy, you who never felt the pains of childbirth! For the woman who was deserted will have more children than the woman whose husband never left her."


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 At that time the son who was born in the usual way persecuted the one who was born because of God's Spirit; and it is the same now.


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 But what does the scripture say? It says, "Send the slave woman and her son away; for the son of the slave woman will not have a part of the father's property along with the son of the free woman."


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 Freedom is what we have---Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.


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 Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all.


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 Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law.


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 Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace.


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 As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith.


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 For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.


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 But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that whoever is upsetting you will be punished by God.


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 But as for me, my friends, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble.


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 I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves!


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 As for you, my friends, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another.


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 But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.


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 What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature.


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 For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do.


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 in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups;


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 they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God.


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 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires.


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 My friends, if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should set him right; but you must do it in a gentle way. And keep an eye on yourselves, so that you will not be tempted, too.


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 You should each judge your own conduct. If it is good, then you can be proud of what you yourself have done, without having to compare it with what someone else has done.


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 If you are being taught the Christian message, you should share all the good things you have with your teacher.


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 If you plant in the field of your natural desires, from it you will gather the harvest of death; if you plant in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit you will gather the harvest of eternal life.


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 So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest.


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 So then, as often as we have the chance, we should do good to everyone, and especially to those who belong to our family in the faith.


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 The people who are trying to force you to be circumcised are the ones who want to show off and boast about external matters. They do it, however, only so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.


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 Even those who practice circumcision do not obey the Law; they want you to be circumcised so that they can boast that you submitted to this physical ceremony.


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 As for me, however, I will boast only about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; for by means of his cross the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world.


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 It does not matter at all whether or not one is circumcised; what does matter is being a new creature.


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 As for those who follow this rule in their lives, may peace and mercy be with them---with them and with all of God's people!


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 To conclude: let no one give me any more trouble, because the scars I have on my body show that I am the slave of Jesus.


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 From Paul, who by God's will is an apostle of Christ Jesus--- To God's people in Ephesus, who are faithful in their life in union with Christ Jesus:


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 Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! For in our union with Christ he has blessed us by giving us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly world.


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 Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be his through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before him. Because of his love


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 God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children---this was his pleasure and purpose.


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


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 God did what he had purposed, and made known to us the secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ.


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 This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head.


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 All things are done according to God's plan and decision; and God chose us to be his own people in union with Christ because of his own purpose, based on what he had decided from the very beginning.


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 And you also became God's people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised.


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 The Spirit is the guarantee that we shall receive what God has promised his people, and this assures us that God will give complete freedom to those who are his. Let us praise his glory!


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 For this reason, ever since I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God's people,


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 and ask the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, to give you the Spirit, who will make you wise and reveal God to you, so that you will know him.


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 I ask that your minds may be opened to see his light, so that you will know what is the hope to which he has called you, how rich are the wonderful blessings he promises his people,


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 and how very great is his power at work in us who believe. This power working in us is the same as the mighty strength


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 which he used when he raised Christ from death and seated him at his right side in the heavenly world.


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 Christ rules there above all heavenly rulers, authorities, powers, and lords; he has a title superior to all titles of authority in this world and in the next.


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 At that time you followed the world's evil way; you obeyed the ruler of the spiritual powers in space, the spirit who now controls the people who disobey God.


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 Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger.


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 that while we were spiritually dead in our disobedience he brought us to life with Christ. It is by God's grace that you have been saved.


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 He did this to demonstrate for all time to come the extraordinary greatness of his grace in the love he showed us in Christ Jesus.


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 For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.


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 God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do.


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 You Gentiles by birth---called "the uncircumcised" by the Jews, who call themselves the circumcised (which refers to what men do to their bodies)---remember what you were in the past.


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


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 But now, in union with Christ Jesus you, who used to be far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ.


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 For Christ himself has brought us peace by making Jews and Gentiles one people. With his own body he broke down the wall that separated them and kept them enemies.


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 He abolished the Jewish Law with its commandments and rules, in order to create out of the two races one new people in union with himself, in this way making peace.


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


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


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 It is through Christ that all of us, Jews and Gentiles, are able to come in the one Spirit into the presence of the Father.


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


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 You, too, are built upon the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets, the cornerstone being Christ Jesus himself.


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


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 In union with him you too are being built together with all the others into a place where God lives through his Spirit.


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 and if you will read what I have written, you can learn about my understanding of the secret of Christ.)


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


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 The secret is that by means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God's blessings; they are members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Christ Jesus.


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


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 I am less than the least of all God's people; yet God gave me this privilege of taking to the Gentiles the Good News about the infinite riches of Christ,


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 and of making all people see how God's secret plan is to be put into effect. God, who is the Creator of all things, kept his secret hidden through all the past ages,


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 in order that at the present time, by means of the church, the angelic rulers and powers in the heavenly world might learn of his wisdom in all its different forms.


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 In union with Christ and through our faith in him we have the boldness to go into God's presence with all confidence.


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 I ask God from the wealth of his glory to give you power through his Spirit to be strong in your inner selves,


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 and I pray that Christ will make his home in your hearts through faith. I pray that you may have your roots and foundation in love,


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 so that you, together with all God's people, may have the power to understand how broad and long, how high and deep, is Christ's love.


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 Yes, may you come to know his love---although it can never be fully known---and so be completely filled with the very nature of God.


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 To him who by means of his power working in us is able to do so much more than we can ever ask for, or even think of:


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 I urge you, then---I who am a prisoner because I serve the Lord: live a life that measures up to the standard God set when he called you.


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 Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together.


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 As the scripture says, "When he went up to the very heights, he took many captives with him; he gave gifts to people."


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 Now, what does "he went up" mean? It means that first he came down to the lowest depths of the earth.


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 So the one who came down is the same one who went up, above and beyond the heavens, to fill the whole universe with his presence.


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 It was he who "gave gifts to people"; he appointed some to be apostles, others to be prophets, others to be evangelists, others to be pastors and teachers.


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 He did this to prepare all God's people for the work of Christian service, in order to build up the body of Christ.


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 And so we shall all come together to that oneness in our faith and in our knowledge of the Son of God; we shall become mature people, reaching to the very height of Christ's full stature.


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 Then we shall no longer be children, carried by the waves and blown about by every shifting wind of the teaching of deceitful people, who lead others into error by the tricks they invent.


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 Instead, by speaking the truth in a spirit of love, we must grow up in every way to Christ, who is the head.


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 Under his control all the different parts of the body fit together, and the whole body is held together by every joint with which it is provided. So when each separate part works as it should, the whole body grows and builds itself up through love.


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 In the Lord's name, then, I warn you: do not continue to live like the heathen, whose thoughts are worthless


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 and whose minds are in the dark. They have no part in the life that God gives, for they are completely ignorant and stubborn.


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 They have lost all feeling of shame; they give themselves over to vice and do all sorts of indecent things without restraint.


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 So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to---the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires.


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 and you must put on the new self, which is created in God's likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.


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 No more lying, then! Each of you must tell the truth to the other believer, because we are all members together in the body of Christ.


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 If you used to rob, you must stop robbing and start working, in order to earn an honest living for yourself and to be able to help the poor.


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 Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.


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 And do not make God's Holy Spirit sad; for the Spirit is God's mark of ownership on you, a guarantee that the Day will come when God will set you free.


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 Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort.


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 Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.


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 Your life must be controlled by love, just as Christ loved us and gave his life for us as a sweet-smelling offering and sacrifice that pleases God.


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 Since you are God's people, it is not right that any matters of sexual immorality or indecency or greed should even be mentioned among you.


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 Nor is it fitting for you to use language which is obscene, profane, or vulgar. Rather you should give thanks to God.


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 You may be sure that no one who is immoral, indecent, or greedy (for greed is a form of idolatry) will ever receive a share in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.


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 Do not let anyone deceive you with foolish words; it is because of these very things that God's anger will come upon those who do not obey him.


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 You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord's people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light,


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 for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth.


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 Have nothing to do with the worthless things that people do, things that belong to the darkness. Instead, bring them out to the light.


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 for anything that is clearly revealed becomes light. That is why it is said, "Wake up, sleeper, and rise from death, and Christ will shine on you."


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 Speak to one another with the words of psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing hymns and psalms to the Lord with praise in your hearts.


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 For a husband has authority over his wife just as Christ has authority over the church; and Christ is himself the Savior of the church, his body.


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 And so wives must submit themselves completely to their husbands just as the church submits itself to Christ.


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 He did this to dedicate the church to God by his word, after making it clean by washing it in water,


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 in order to present the church to himself in all its beauty---pure and faultless, without spot or wrinkle or any other imperfection.


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 Men ought to love their wives just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife loves himself.


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 (None of us ever hate our own bodies. Instead, we feed them, and take care of them, just as Christ does the church;


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 As the scripture says, "For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and unite with his wife, and the two will become one."


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 There is a deep secret truth revealed in this scripture, which I understand as applying to Christ and the church.


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 But it also applies to you: every husband must love his wife as himself, and every wife must respect her husband.


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 Parents, do not treat your children in such a way as to make them angry. Instead, raise them with Christian discipline and instruction.


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 Slaves, obey your human masters with fear and trembling; and do it with a sincere heart, as though you were serving Christ.


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 Do this not only when they are watching you, because you want to gain their approval; but with all your heart do what God wants, as slaves of Christ.


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 Masters, behave in the same way toward your slaves and stop using threats. Remember that you and your slaves belong to the same Master in heaven, who judges everyone by the same standard.


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 Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks.


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 For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age.


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 So put on God's armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy's attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.


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 So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate,


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 At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One.


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 Do all this in prayer, asking for God's help. Pray on every occasion, as the Spirit leads. For this reason keep alert and never give up; pray always for all God's people.


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 And pray also for me, that God will give me a message when I am ready to speak, so that I may speak boldly and make known the gospel's secret.


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 For the sake of this gospel I am an ambassador, though now I am in prison. Pray that I may be bold in speaking about the gospel as I should.


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 Tychicus, our dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord's work, will give you all the news about me, so that you may know how I am getting along.


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 That is why I am sending him to you---to tell you how all of us are getting along and to encourage you.


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 From Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus--- To all God's people in Philippi who are in union with Christ Jesus, including the church leaders and helpers:


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 because of the way in which you have helped me in the work of the gospel from the very first day until now.


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 And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.


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 You are always in my heart! And so it is only right for me to feel as I do about you. For you have all shared with me in this privilege that God has given me, both now that I am in prison and also while I was free to defend the gospel and establish it firmly.


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 God is my witness that I tell the truth when I say that my deep feeling for you all comes from the heart of Christ Jesus himself.


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 I pray that your love will keep on growing more and more, together with true knowledge and perfect judgment,


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 so that you will be able to choose what is best. Then you will be free from all impurity and blame on the Day of Christ.


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 Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.


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 I want you to know, my friends, that the things that have happened to me have really helped the progress of the gospel.


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 As a result, the whole palace guard and all the others here know that I am in prison because I am a servant of Christ.


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 And my being in prison has given most of the believers more confidence in the Lord, so that they grow bolder all the time to preach the message fearlessly.


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 Of course some of them preach Christ because they are jealous and quarrelsome, but others from genuine good will.


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 The others do not proclaim Christ sincerely, but from a spirit of selfish ambition; they think that they will make more trouble for me while I am in prison.


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 It does not matter! I am happy about it---just so Christ is preached in every way possible, whether from wrong or right motives. And I will continue to be happy,


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 because I know that by means of your prayers and the help which comes from the Spirit of Jesus Christ I shall be set free.


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 My deep desire and hope is that I shall never fail in my duty, but that at all times, and especially right now, I shall be full of courage, so that with my whole being I shall bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.


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 But if by continuing to live I can do more worthwhile work, then I am not sure which I should choose.


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 I am pulled in two directions. I want very much to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing;


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 I am sure of this, and so I know that I will stay. I will stay on with you all, to add to your progress and joy in the faith,


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 so that when I am with you again, you will have even more reason to be proud of me in your life in union with Christ Jesus.


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 Now, the important thing is that your way of life should be as the gospel of Christ requires, so that, whether or not I am able to go and see you, I will hear that you are standing firm with one common purpose and that with only one desire you are fighting together for the faith of the gospel.


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 Don't be afraid of your enemies; always be courageous, and this will prove to them that they will lose and that you will win, because it is God who gives you the victory.


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 For you have been given the privilege of serving Christ, not only by believing in him, but also by suffering for him.


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 Now you can take part with me in the battle. It is the same battle you saw me fighting in the past, and as you hear, the one I am fighting still.


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 Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another.


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 I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind.


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 Don't do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves.


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 He always had the nature of God, but he did not think that by force he should try to remain equal with God.


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 Instead of this, of his own free will he gave up all he had, and took the nature of a servant. He became like a human being and appeared in human likeness.


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 For this reason God raised him to the highest place above and gave him the name that is greater than any other name.


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 And so, in honor of the name of Jesus all beings in heaven, on earth, and in the world below will fall on their knees,


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 So then, dear friends, as you always obeyed me when I was with you, it is even more important that you obey me now while I am away from you. Keep on working with fear and trembling to complete your salvation,


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 so that you may be innocent and pure as God's perfect children, who live in a world of corrupt and sinful people. You must shine among them like stars lighting up the sky,


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 as you offer them the message of life. If you do so, I shall have reason to be proud of you on the Day of Christ, because it will show that all my effort and work have not been wasted.


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 Perhaps my life's blood is to be poured out like an offering on the sacrifice that your faith offers to God. If that is so, I am glad and share my joy with you all.


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 If it is the Lord's will, I hope that I will be able to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be encouraged by news about you.


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 And you yourselves know how he has proved his worth, how he and I, like a son and his father, have worked together for the sake of the gospel.


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 I have thought it necessary to send to you our brother Epaphroditus, who has worked and fought by my side and who has served as your messenger in helping me.


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 Indeed he was sick and almost died. But God had pity on him, and not only on him but on me, too, and spared me an even greater sorrow.


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 I am all the more eager, then, to send him to you, so that you will be glad again when you see him, and my own sorrow will disappear.


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 because he risked his life and nearly died for the sake of the work of Christ, in order to give me the help that you yourselves could not give.


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 In conclusion, my friends, be joyful in your union with the Lord. I don't mind repeating what I have written before, and you will be safer if I do so.


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 It is we, not they, who have received the true circumcision, for we worship God by means of his Spirit and rejoice in our life in union with Christ Jesus. We do not put any trust in external ceremonies.


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 I could, of course, put my trust in such things. If any of you think you can trust in external ceremonies, I have even more reason to feel that way.


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 I was circumcised when I was a week old. I am an Israelite by birth, of the tribe of Benjamin, a pure-blooded Hebrew. As far as keeping the Jewish Law is concerned, I was a Pharisee,


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 and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church. As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault.


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 Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ


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 and be completely united with him. I no longer have a righteousness of my own, the kind that is gained by obeying the Law. I now have the righteousness that is given through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God and is based on faith.


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 All I want is to know Christ and to experience the power of his resurrection, to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death,


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 I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself.


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 Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead.


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 So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God's call through Christ Jesus to the life above.


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 All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you.


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 Keep on imitating me, my friends. Pay attention to those who follow the right example that we have set for you.


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 I have told you this many times before, and now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives make them enemies of Christ's death on the cross.


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 They are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires. They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of things that belong to this world.


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 We, however, are citizens of heaven, and we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, to come from heaven.


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 He will change our weak mortal bodies and make them like his own glorious body, using that power by which he is able to bring all things under his rule.


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 So then, my friends, how dear you are to me and how I miss you! How happy you make me, and how proud I am of you!---this, dear friends, is how you should stand firm in your life in the Lord.


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 And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow workers, whose names are in God's book of the living.


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 Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart.


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 And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.


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 In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.


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 Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.


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 In my life in union with the Lord it is a great joy to me that after so long a time you once more had the chance of showing that you care for me. I don't mean that you had stopped caring for me---you just had no chance to show it.


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 And I am not saying this because I feel neglected, for I have learned to be satisfied with what I have.


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 I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little.


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 You Philippians know very well that when I left Macedonia in the early days of preaching the Good News, you were the only church to help me; you were the only ones who shared my profits and losses.


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 Here, then, is my receipt for everything you have given me---and it has been more than enough! I have all I need now that Epaphroditus has brought me all your gifts. They are like a sweet-smelling offering to God, a sacrifice which is acceptable and pleasing to him.


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 Greetings to each one of God's people who belong to Christ Jesus. The believers here with me send you their greetings.


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 To God's people in Colossae, who are our faithful friends in union with Christ: May God our Father give you grace and peace.


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 When the true message, the Good News, first came to you, you heard about the hope it offers. So your faith and love are based on what you hope for, which is kept safe for you in heaven.


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 The gospel keeps bringing blessings and is spreading throughout the world, just as it has among you ever since the day you first heard about the grace of God and came to know it as it really is.


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 You learned of God's grace from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is Christ's faithful worker on our behalf.


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 For this reason we have always prayed for you, ever since we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, with all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives.


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 Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God.


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 May you be made strong with all the strength which comes from his glorious power, so that you may be able to endure everything with patience. And with joy give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light.


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 Christ is the visible likeness of the invisible God. He is the first-born Son, superior to all created things.


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 For through him God created everything in heaven and on earth, the seen and the unseen things, including spiritual powers, lords, rulers, and authorities. God created the whole universe through him and for him.


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 He is the head of his body, the church; he is the source of the body's life. He is the first-born Son, who was raised from death, in order that he alone might have the first place in all things.


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 Through the Son, then, God decided to bring the whole universe back to himself. God made peace through his Son's blood on the cross and so brought back to himself all things, both on earth and in heaven.


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


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


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 You must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you gained when you heard the gospel. It is of this gospel that I, Paul, became a servant---this gospel which has been preached to everybody in the world.


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 And now I am happy about my sufferings for you, for by means of my physical sufferings I am helping to complete what still remains of Christ's sufferings on behalf of his body, the church.


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 And I have been made a servant of the church by God, who gave me this task to perform for your good. It is the task of fully proclaiming his message,


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 which is the secret he hid through all past ages from all human beings but has now revealed to his people.


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 God's plan is to make known his secret to his people, this rich and glorious secret which he has for all peoples. And the secret is that Christ is in you, which means that you will share in the glory of God.


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 So we preach Christ to everyone. With all possible wisdom we warn and teach them in order to bring each one into God's presence as a mature individual in union with Christ.


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 To get this done I toil and struggle, using the mighty strength which Christ supplies and which is at work in me.


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 Let me tell you how hard I have worked for you and for the people in Laodicea and for all others who do not know me personally.


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 I do this in order that they may be filled with courage and may be drawn together in love, and so have the full wealth of assurance which true understanding brings. In this way they will know God's secret, which is Christ himself.


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 I tell you, then, do not let anyone deceive you with false arguments, no matter how good they seem to be.


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 For even though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, and I am glad as I see the resolute firmness with which you stand together in your faith in Christ.


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 Keep your roots deep in him, build your lives on him, and become stronger in your faith, as you were taught. And be filled with thanksgiving.


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 See to it, then, that no one enslaves you by means of the worthless deceit of human wisdom, which comes from the teachings handed down by human beings and from the ruling spirits of the universe, and not from Christ.


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 and you have been given full life in union with him. He is supreme over every spiritual ruler and authority.


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 In union with Christ you were circumcised, not with the circumcision that is made by human beings, but with the circumcision made by Christ, which consists of being freed from the power of this sinful self.


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 For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in baptism you were also raised with Christ through your faith in the active power of God, who raised him from death.


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 You were at one time spiritually dead because of your sins and because you were Gentiles without the Law. But God has now brought you to life with Christ. God forgave us all our sins;


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 he canceled the unfavorable record of our debts with its binding rules and did away with it completely by nailing it to the cross.


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 And on that cross Christ freed himself from the power of the spiritual rulers and authorities; he made a public spectacle of them by leading them as captives in his victory procession.


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 So let no one make rules about what you eat or drink or about holy days or the New Moon Festival or the Sabbath.


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 Do not allow yourselves to be condemned by anyone who claims to be superior because of special visions and who insists on false humility and the worship of angels. For no reason at all, such people are all puffed up by their human way of thinking


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 and have stopped holding on to Christ, who is the head of the body. Under Christ's control the whole body is nourished and held together by its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God wants it to grow.


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 You have died with Christ and are set free from the ruling spirits of the universe. Why, then, do you live as though you belonged to this world? Why do you obey such rules as


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 All these refer to things which become useless once they are used; they are only human rules and teachings.


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 Of course such rules appear to be based on wisdom in their forced worship of angels, and false humility, and severe treatment of the body; but they have no real value in controlling physical passions.


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 You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right side of God.


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 Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!


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 You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry).


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 At one time you yourselves used to live according to such desires, when your life was dominated by them.


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 But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips.


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 and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself.


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 As a result, there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, savages, slaves, and free, but Christ is all, Christ is in all.


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 You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.


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 Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.


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 The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful.


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 Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct one another with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts.


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 Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.


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 Slaves, obey your human masters in all things, not only when they are watching you because you want to gain their approval; but do it with a sincere heart because of your reverence for the Lord.


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 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people.


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 Remember that the Lord will give you as a reward what he has kept for his people. For Christ is the real Master you serve.


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 And all wrongdoers will be repaid for the wrong things they do, because God judges everyone by the same standard.


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 Masters, be fair and just in the way you treat your slaves. Remember that you too have a Master in heaven.


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 At the same time pray also for us, so that God will give us a good opportunity to preach his message about the secret of Christ. For that is why I am now in prison.


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 Be wise in the way you act toward those who are not believers, making good use of every opportunity you have.


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 Your speech should always be pleasant and interesting, and you should know how to give the right answer to everyone.


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 Our dear friend Tychicus, who is a faithful worker and fellow servant in the Lord's work, will give you all the news about me.


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 That is why I am sending him to you, in order to cheer you up by telling you how all of us are getting along.


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 With him goes Onesimus, that dear and faithful friend, who belongs to your group. They will tell you everything that is happening here.


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 Aristarchus, who is in prison with me, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have already received instructions to welcome Mark if he comes your way.)


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 Joshua, also called Justus, sends greetings too. These three are the only Jewish believers who work with me for the Kingdom of God, and they have been a great help to me.


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 Greetings from Epaphras, another member of your group and a servant of Christ Jesus. He always prays fervently for you, asking God to make you stand firm, as mature and fully convinced Christians, in complete obedience to God's will.


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 Give our best wishes to the believers in Laodicea and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house.


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 After you read this letter, make sure that it is read also in the church at Laodicea. At the same time, you are to read the letter that the believers in Laodicea will send you.


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 With my own hand I write this: <i>Greetings from Paul</i>.Do not forget my chains! May God's grace be with you.


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 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy--- To the people of the church in Thessalonica, who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: May grace and peace be yours.


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 For we remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how your hope in our Lord Jesus Christ is firm.


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 For we brought the Good News to you, not with words only, but also with power and the Holy Spirit, and with complete conviction of its truth. You know how we lived when we were with you; it was for your own good.


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 You imitated us and the Lord; and even though you suffered much, you received the message with the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit.


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 For not only did the message about the Lord go out from you throughout Macedonia and Achaia, but the news about your faith in God has gone everywhere. There is nothing, then, that we need to say.


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 All those people speak about how you received us when we visited you, and how you turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God


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 and to wait for his Son to come from heaven---his Son Jesus, whom he raised from death and who rescues us from God's anger that is coming.


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 You know how we had already been mistreated and insulted in Philippi before we came to you in Thessalonica. And even though there was much opposition, our God gave us courage to tell you the Good News that comes from him.


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 Instead, we always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the Good News. We do not try to please people, but to please God, who tests our motives.


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 You know very well that we did not come to you with flattering talk, nor did we use words to cover up greed---God is our witness!


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 even though as apostles of Christ we could have made demands on you. But we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother taking care of her children.


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 Because of our love for you we were ready to share with you not only the Good News from God but even our own lives. You were so dear to us!


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 Surely you remember, our friends, how we worked and toiled! We worked day and night so that we would not be any trouble to you as we preached to you the Good News from God.


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 You are our witnesses, and so is God, that our conduct toward you who believe was pure, right, and without fault.


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 We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God, who calls you to share in his own Kingdom and glory.


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 And there is another reason why we always give thanks to God. When we brought you God's message, you heard it and accepted it, not as a message from human beings but as God's message, which indeed it is. For God is at work in you who believe.


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 Our friends, the same things happened to you that happened to the churches of God in Judea, to the people there who belong to Christ Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions from your own people that they suffered from the Jews,


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 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and persecuted us. How displeasing they are to God! How hostile they are to everyone!


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 They even tried to stop us from preaching to the Gentiles the message that would bring them salvation. In this way they have brought to completion all the sins they have always committed. And now God's anger has at last come down on them!


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 As for us, friends, when we were separated from you for a little while---not in our thoughts, of course, but only in body---how we missed you and how hard we tried to see you again!


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 After all, it is you---you, no less than others!---who are our hope, our joy, and our reason for boasting of our victory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes.


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 while we sent Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in preaching the Good News about Christ. We sent him to strengthen you and help your faith,


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 so that none of you should turn back because of these persecutions. You yourselves know that such persecutions are part of God's will for us.


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 For while we were still with you, we told you ahead of time that we were going to be persecuted; and as you well know, that is exactly what happened.


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 That is why I had to send Timothy. I could not bear it any longer, so I sent him to find out about your faith. Surely it could not be that the Devil had tempted you and all our work had been for nothing!


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 Now Timothy has come back, and he has brought us the welcome news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always think well of us and that you want to see us just as much as we want to see you.


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 So, in all our trouble and suffering we have been encouraged about you, friends. It was your faith that encouraged us,


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 Now we can give thanks to our God for you. We thank him for the joy we have in his presence because of you.


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 Day and night we ask him with all our heart to let us see you personally and supply what is needed in your faith.


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 May the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow more and more and become as great as our love for you.


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 In this way he will strengthen you, and you will be perfect and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all who belong to him.


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 Finally, our friends, you learned from us how you should live in order to please God. This is, of course, the way you have been living. And now we beg and urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to do even more.


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 In this matter, then, none of you should do wrong to other Christians or take advantage of them. We have told you this before, and we strongly warned you that the Lord will punish those who do that.


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 So then, whoever rejects this teaching is not rejecting a human being, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.


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 There is no need to write you about love for each other. You yourselves have been taught by God how you should love one another.


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 And you have, in fact, behaved like this toward all the believers in all of Macedonia. So we beg you, our friends, to do even more.


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 Make it your aim to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to earn your own living, just as we told you before.


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 In this way you will win the respect of those who are not believers, and you will not have to depend on anyone for what you need.


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 Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope.


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 We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him.


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 W_ hat we are teaching you now is the Lord's teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died.


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 There will be the shout of command, the archangel's voice, the sound of God's trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first;


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 then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.


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 There is no need to write you, friends, about the times and occasions when these things will happen.


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 When people say, "Everything is quiet and safe," then suddenly destruction will hit them! It will come as suddenly as the pains that come upon a woman in labor, and people will not escape.


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 But you, friends, are not in the darkness, and the Day should not take you by surprise like a thief.


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 All of you are people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.


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 But we belong to the day, and we should be sober. We must wear faith and love as a breastplate, and our hope of salvation as a helmet.


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 who died for us in order that we might live together with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes.


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 We beg you, our friends, to pay proper respect to those who work among you, who guide and instruct you in the Christian life.


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 Treat them with the greatest respect and love because of the work they do. Be at peace among yourselves.


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 We urge you, our friends, to warn the idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.


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 See that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but at all times make it your aim to do good to one another and to all people.


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 be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.


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 May the God who gives us peace make you holy in every way and keep your whole being---spirit, soul, and body---free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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 From Paul, Silas, and Timothy--- To the people of the church in Thessalonica, who belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:


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 Our friends, we must thank God at all times for you. It is right for us to do so, because your faith is growing so much and the love each of you has for the others is becoming greater.


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 That is why we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God. We boast about the way you continue to endure and believe through all the persecutions and sufferings you are experiencing.


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 All of this proves that God's judgment is just and as a result you will become worthy of his Kingdom, for which you are suffering.


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 and he will give relief to you who suffer and to us as well. He will do this when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven with his mighty angels,


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 with a flaming fire, to punish those who reject God and who do not obey the Good News about our Lord Jesus.


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 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and from his glorious might,


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 when he comes on that Day to receive glory from all his people and honor from all who believe. You too will be among them, because you have believed the message that we told you.


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 That is why we always pray for you. We ask our God to make you worthy of the life he has called you to live. May he fulfill by his power all your desire for goodness and complete your work of faith.


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 In this way the name of our Lord Jesus will receive glory from you, and you from him, by the grace of our God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.


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 Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to be with him: I beg you, my friends,


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 not to be so easily confused in your thinking or upset by the claim that the Day of the Lord has come. Perhaps it is thought that we said this while prophesying or preaching, or that we wrote it in a letter.


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 Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until the final Rebellion takes place and the Wicked One appears, who is destined to hell.


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 He will oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all. He will even go in and sit down in God's Temple and claim to be God.


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 Yet there is something that keeps this from happening now, and you know what it is. At the proper time, then, the Wicked One will appear.


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 The Mysterious Wickedness is already at work, but what is going to happen will not happen until the one who holds it back is taken out of the way.


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 Then the Wicked One will be revealed, but when the Lord Jesus comes, he will kill him with the breath from his mouth and destroy him with his dazzling presence.


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 The Wicked One will come with the power of Satan and perform all kinds of false miracles and wonders,


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 and use every kind of wicked deceit on those who will perish. They will perish because they did not welcome and love the truth so as to be saved.


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 The result is that all who have not believed the truth, but have taken pleasure in sin, will be condemned.


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 We must thank God at all times for you, friends, you whom the Lord loves. For God chose you as the first to be saved by the Spirit's power to make you his holy people and by your faith in the truth.


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 God called you to this through the Good News we preached to you; he called you to possess your share of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.


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 So then, our friends, stand firm and hold on to those truths which we taught you, both in our preaching and in our letter.


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 May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope,


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 Finally, our friends, pray for us that the Lord's message may continue to spread rapidly and be received with honor, just as it was among you.


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 Pray also that God will rescue us from wicked and evil people; for not everyone believes the message.


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 And the Lord gives us confidence in you, and we are sure that you are doing and will continue to do what we tell you.


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 May the Lord lead you into a greater understanding of God's love and the endurance that is given by Christ.


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 Our friends, we command you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to keep away from all believers who are living a lazy life and who do not follow the instructions that we gave them.


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 You yourselves know very well that you should do just what we did. We were not lazy when we were with you.


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 We did not accept anyone's support without paying for it. Instead, we worked and toiled; we kept working day and night so as not to be an expense to any of you.


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 We did this, not because we do not have the right to demand our support; we did it to be an example for you to follow.


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 We say this because we hear that there are some people among you who live lazy lives and who do nothing except meddle in other people's business.


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 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ we command these people and warn them to lead orderly lives and work to earn their own living.


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 It may be that some there will not obey the message we send you in this letter. If so, take note of them and have nothing to do with them, so that they will be ashamed.


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 May the Lord himself, who is our source of peace, give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with you all.


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 With my own hand I write this: <i>Greetings from Paul</i>.This is the way I sign every letter; this is how I write.


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 To Timothy, my true son in the faith: May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.


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 I want you to stay in Ephesus, just as I urged you when I was on my way to Macedonia. Some people there are teaching false doctrines, and you must order them to stop.


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 Tell them to give up those legends and those long lists of ancestors, which only produce arguments; they do not serve God's plan, which is known by faith.


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 The purpose of this order is to arouse the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a genuine faith.


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 They want to be teachers of God's law, but they do not understand their own words or the matters about which they speak with so much confidence.


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 It must be remembered, of course, that laws are made, not for good people, but for lawbreakers and criminals, for the godless and sinful, for those who are not religious or spiritual, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers,


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 for the immoral, for sexual perverts, for kidnappers, for those who lie and give false testimony or who do anything else contrary to sound doctrine.


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 That teaching is found in the gospel that was entrusted to me to announce, the Good News from the glorious and blessed God.


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 I give thanks to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength for my work. I thank him for considering me worthy and appointing me to serve him,


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 even though in the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet have faith and so did not know what I was doing.


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 And our Lord poured out his abundant grace on me and gave me the faith and love which are ours in union with Christ Jesus.


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 This is a true saying, to be completely accepted and believed: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. I am the worst of them,


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 but God was merciful to me in order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience in dealing with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in him and receive eternal life.


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 To the eternal King, immortal and invisible, the only God---to him be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.


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 Timothy, my child, I entrust to you this command, which is in accordance with the words of prophecy spoken in the past about you. Use those words as weapons in order to fight well,


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 and keep your faith and a clear conscience. Some people have not listened to their conscience and have made a ruin of their faith.


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 Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have punished by handing them over to the power of Satan; this will teach them to stop their blasphemy.


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 First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, requests, and thanksgivings be offered to God for all people;


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 for kings and all others who are in authority, that we may live a quiet and peaceful life with all reverence toward God and with proper conduct.


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 For there is one God, and there is one who brings God and human beings together, the man Christ Jesus,


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 who gave himself to redeem the whole human race. That was the proof at the right time that God wants everyone to be saved,


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 and that is why I was sent as an apostle and teacher of the Gentiles, to proclaim the message of faith and truth. I am not lying; I am telling the truth!


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 In every church service I want the men to pray, men who are dedicated to God and can lift up their hands in prayer without anger or argument.


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 I also want the women to be modest and sensible about their clothes and to dress properly; not with fancy hair styles or with gold ornaments or pearls or expensive dresses,


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 But a woman will be saved through having children, if she perseveres in faith and love and holiness, with modesty.


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 A church leader must be without fault; he must have only one wife, be sober, self-controlled, and orderly; he must welcome strangers in his home; he must be able to teach;


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 For if a man does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of the church of God?


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 He must be mature in the faith, so that he will not swell up with pride and be condemned, as the Devil was.


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 He should be a man who is respected by the people outside the church, so that he will not be disgraced and fall into the Devil's trap.


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 Church helpers must also have a good character and be sincere; they must not drink too much wine or be greedy for money;


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 Their wives also must be of good character and must not gossip; they must be sober and honest in everything.


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 Those helpers who do their work well win for themselves a good standing and are able to speak boldly about their faith in Christ Jesus.


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 But if I delay, this letter will let you know how we should conduct ourselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.


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 No one can deny how great is the secret of our religion: He appeared in human form, was shown to be right by the Spirit, and was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, and was taken up to heaven.


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 The Spirit says clearly that some people will abandon the faith in later times; they will obey lying spirits and follow the teachings of demons.


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 Such teachings are spread by deceitful liars, whose consciences are dead, as if burnt with a hot iron.


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 Such people teach that it is wrong to marry and to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten, after a prayer of thanks, by those who are believers and have come to know the truth.


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 Everything that God has created is good; nothing is to be rejected, but everything is to be received with a prayer of thanks,


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 If you give these instructions to the believers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, as you feed yourself spiritually on the words of faith and of the true teaching which you have followed.


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 But keep away from those godless legends, which are not worth telling. Keep yourself in training for a godly life.


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 Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way, because it promises life both for the present and for the future.


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 We struggle and work hard, because we have placed our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all and especially of those who believe.


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 Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, faith, and purity.


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 Until I come, give your time and effort to the public reading of the Scriptures and to preaching and teaching.


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 Do not neglect the spiritual gift that is in you, which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the elders laid their hands on you.


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 Watch yourself and watch your teaching. Keep on doing these things, because if you do, you will save both yourself and those who hear you.


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 Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as if he were your father. Treat the younger men as your brothers,


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 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they should learn first to carry out their religious duties toward their own family and in this way repay their parents and grandparents, because that is what pleases God.


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 A widow who is all alone, with no one to take care of her, has placed her hope in God and continues to pray and ask him for his help night and day.


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 But if any do not take care of their relatives, especially the members of their own family, they have denied the faith and are worse than an unbeliever.


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 Do not add any widow to the list of widows unless she is over sixty years of age. In addition, she must have been married only once


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 and have a reputation for good deeds: a woman who brought up her children well, received strangers in her home, performed humble duties for other Christians, helped people in trouble, and devoted herself to doing good.


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 But do not include younger widows in the list; because when their desires make them want to marry, they turn away from Christ,


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 They also learn to waste their time in going around from house to house; but even worse, they learn to be gossips and busybodies, talking of things they should not.


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 So I would prefer that the younger widows get married, have children, and take care of their homes, so as to give our enemies no chance of speaking evil of us.


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 But if any Christian woman has widows in her family, she must take care of them and not put the burden on the church, so that it may take care of the widows who are all alone.


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 The elders who do good work as leaders should be considered worthy of receiving double pay, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.


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 For the scripture says, "Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain" and "Workers should be given their pay."


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 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the holy angels I solemnly call upon you to obey these instructions without showing any prejudice or favor to anyone in anything you do.


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 Be in no hurry to lay hands on people to dedicate them to the Lord's service. Take no part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure.


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 Do not drink water only, but take a little wine to help your digestion, since you are sick so often.


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 The sins of some people are plain to see, and their sins go ahead of them to judgment; but the sins of others are seen only later.


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 In the same way good deeds are plainly seen, and even those that are not so plain cannot be hidden.


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 Those who are slaves must consider their masters worthy of all respect, so that no one will speak evil of the name of God and of our teaching.


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 Slaves belonging to Christian masters must not despise them, for they are believers too. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their work are believers whom they love. You must teach and preach these things.


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 Whoever teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching of our religion


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 is swollen with pride and knows nothing. He has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words, and this brings on jealousy, disputes, insults, evil suspicions,


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 and constant arguments from people whose minds do not function and who no longer have the truth. They think that religion is a way to become rich.


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 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and are caught in the trap of many foolish and harmful desires, which pull them down to ruin and destruction.


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 For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.


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 But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.


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 Run your best in the race of faith, and win eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God called you when you firmly professed your faith before many witnesses.


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 Before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who firmly professed his faith before Pontius Pilate, I command you


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 His appearing will be brought about at the right time by God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and the Lord of lords.


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 He alone is immortal; he lives in the light that no one can approach. No one has ever seen him; no one can ever see him. To him be honor and eternal power! Amen.


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 Command those who are rich in the things of this life not to be proud, but to place their hope, not in such an uncertain thing as riches, but in God, who generously gives us everything for our enjoyment.


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 In this way they will store up for themselves a treasure which will be a solid foundation for the future. And then they will be able to win the life which is true life.


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 Timothy, keep safe what has been entrusted to your care. Avoid the profane talk and foolish arguments of what some people wrongly call "Knowledge."


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 For some have claimed to possess it, and as a result they have lost the way of faith. God's grace be with you all.


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 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, sent to proclaim the promised life which we have in union with Christ Jesus---


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 To Timothy, my dear son: May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.


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 I give thanks to God, whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did. I thank him as I remember you always in my prayers night and day.


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 I remember the sincere faith you have, the kind of faith that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice also had. I am sure that you have it also.


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 For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control.


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 Do not be ashamed, then, of witnessing for our Lord; neither be ashamed of me, a prisoner for Christ's sake. Instead, take your part in suffering for the Good News, as God gives you the strength for it.


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 He saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace by means of Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,


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 but now it has been revealed to us through the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus. He has ended the power of death and through the gospel has revealed immortal life.


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 and it is for this reason that I suffer these things. But I am still full of confidence, because I know whom I have trusted, and I am sure that he is able to keep safe until that Day what he has entrusted to me.


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 Hold firmly to the true words that I taught you, as the example for you to follow, and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus.


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 Through the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, keep the good things that have been entrusted to you.


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 You know that everyone in the province of Asia, including Phygelus and Hermogenes, has deserted me.


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 May the Lord show mercy to the family of Onesiphorus, because he cheered me up many times. He was not ashamed that I am in prison,


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 May the Lord grant him his mercy on that Day! And you know very well how much he did for me in Ephesus.


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 Take the teachings that you heard me proclaim in the presence of many witnesses, and entrust them to reliable people, who will be able to teach others also.


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 A soldier on active duty wants to please his commanding officer and so does not get mixed up in the affairs of civilian life.


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 Remember Jesus Christ, who was raised from death, who was a descendant of David, as is taught in the Good News I preach.


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 Because I preach the Good News, I suffer and I am even chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not in chains,


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 and so I endure everything for the sake of God's chosen people, in order that they too may obtain the salvation that comes through Christ Jesus and brings eternal glory.


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 Remind your people of this, and give them a solemn warning in God's presence not to fight over words. It does no good, but only ruins the people who listen.


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 Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth.


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 Such teaching is like an open sore that eats away the flesh. Two men who have taught such things are Hymenaeus and Philetus.


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 They have left the way of truth and are upsetting the faith of some believers by saying that our resurrection has already taken place.


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 But the solid foundation that God has laid cannot be shaken; and on it are written these words: "The Lord knows those who are his" and "Those who say that they belong to the Lord must turn away from wrongdoing."


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 In a large house there are dishes and bowls of all kinds: some are made of silver and gold, others of wood and clay; some are for special occasions, others for ordinary use.


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 Those who make themselves clean from all those evil things, will be used for special purposes, because they are dedicated and useful to their Master, ready to be used for every good deed.


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 Avoid the passions of youth, and strive for righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who with a pure heart call out to the Lord for help.


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 As the Lord's servant, you must not quarrel. You must be kind toward all, a good and patient teacher,


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 who is gentle as you correct your opponents, for it may be that God will give them the opportunity to repent and come to know the truth.


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 And then they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the Devil, who had caught them and made them obey his will.


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 People will be selfish, greedy, boastful, and conceited; they will be insulting, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, and irreligious;


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 they will be treacherous, reckless, and swollen with pride; they will love pleasure rather than God;


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 they will hold to the outward form of our religion, but reject its real power. Keep away from such people.


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 Some of them go into people's houses and gain control over weak women who are burdened by the guilt of their sins and driven by all kinds of desires,


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 As Jannes and Jambres were opposed to Moses, so also these people are opposed to the truth---people whose minds do not function and who are failures in the faith.


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 But they will not get very far, because everyone will see how stupid they are. That is just what happened to Jannes and Jambres.


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 But you have followed my teaching, my conduct, and my purpose in life; you have observed my faith, my patience, my love, my endurance,


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 my persecutions, and my sufferings. You know all that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, the terrible persecutions I endured! But the Lord rescued me from them all.


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 and evil persons and impostors will keep on going from bad to worse, deceiving others and being deceived themselves.


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 But as for you, continue in the truths that you were taught and firmly believe. You know who your teachers were,


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 and you remember that ever since you were a child, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.


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 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living,


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 so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.


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 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and because he is coming to rule as King, I solemnly urge you


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 to preach the message, to insist upon proclaiming it (whether the time is right or not), to convince, reproach, and encourage, as you teach with all patience.


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 The time will come when people will not listen to sound doctrine, but will follow their own desires and will collect for themselves more and more teachers who will tell them what they are itching to hear.


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 But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances; endure suffering, do the work of a preacher of the Good News, and perform your whole duty as a servant of God.


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 And now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day---and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear.


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 Demas fell in love with this present world and has deserted me, going off to Thessalonica. Crescens went to Galatia, and Titus to Dalmatia.


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 When you come, bring my coat that I left in Troas with Carpus; bring the books too, and especially the ones made of parchment.


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 Alexander the metalworker did me great harm; the Lord will reward him according to what he has done.


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 No one stood by me the first time I defended myself; all deserted me. May God not count it against them!


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 But the Lord stayed with me and gave me strength, so that I was able to proclaim the full message for all the Gentiles to hear; and I was rescued from being sentenced to death.


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 And the Lord will rescue me from all evil and take me safely into his heavenly Kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.


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 Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, and Claudia send their greetings, and so do all the other Christians.


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 From Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ. I was chosen and sent to help the faith of God's chosen people and to lead them to the truth taught by our religion,


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 which is based on the hope for eternal life. God, who does not lie, promised us this life before the beginning of time,


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 and at the right time he revealed it in his message. This was entrusted to me, and I proclaim it by order of God our Savior.


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 I write to Titus, my true son in the faith that we have in common. May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior give you grace and peace.


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 I left you in Crete, so that you could put in order the things that still needed doing and appoint church elders in every town. Remember my instructions:


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 an elder must be without fault; he must have only one wife, and his children must be believers and not have the reputation of being wild or disobedient.


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 For since a church leader is in charge of God's work, he should be without fault. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered, or a drunkard or violent or greedy for money.


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 He must be hospitable and love what is good. He must be self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.


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 He must hold firmly to the message which can be trusted and which agrees with the doctrine. In this way he will be able to encourage others with the true teaching and also to show the error of those who are opposed to it.


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 For there are many, especially the converts from Judaism, who rebel and deceive others with their nonsense.


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 It is necessary to stop their talk, because they are upsetting whole families by teaching what they should not, and all for the shameful purpose of making money.


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 It was a Cretan himself, one of their own prophets, who spoke the truth when he said, "Cretans are always liars, wicked beasts, and lazy gluttons." For this reason you must rebuke them sharply, so that they may have a healthy faith


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 and no longer hold on to Jewish legends and to human commandments which come from people who have rejected the truth.


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 Everything is pure to those who are themselves pure; but nothing is pure to those who are defiled and unbelieving, for their minds and consciences have been defiled.


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 They claim that they know God, but their actions deny it. They are hateful and disobedient, not fit to do anything good.


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 Instruct the older men to be sober, sensible, and self-controlled; to be sound in their faith, love, and endurance.


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 In the same way instruct the older women to behave as women should who live a holy life. They must not be slanderers or slaves to wine. They must teach what is good,


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 to be self-controlled and pure, and to be good housewives who submit themselves to their husbands, so that no one will speak evil of the message that comes from God.


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 In all things you yourself must be an example of good behavior. Be sincere and serious in your teaching.


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 Use sound words that cannot be criticized, so that your enemies may be put to shame by not having anything bad to say about us.


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 Slaves are to submit themselves to their masters and please them in all things. They must not talk back to them


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 or steal from them. Instead, they must show that they are always good and faithful, so as to bring credit to the teaching about God our Savior in all they do.


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 That grace instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this world,


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 as we wait for the blessed Day we hope for, when the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ will appear.


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 He gave himself for us, to rescue us from all wickedness and to make us a pure people who belong to him alone and are eager to do good.


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 Teach these things and use your full authority as you encourage and rebuke your hearers. Let none of them look down on you.


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 Remind your people to submit to rulers and authorities, to obey them, and to be ready to do good in every way.


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 Tell them not to speak evil of anyone, but to be peaceful and friendly, and always to show a gentle attitude toward everyone.


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 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them.


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 he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us.


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 so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for.


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 This is a true saying. I want you to give special emphasis to these matters, so that those who believe in God may be concerned with giving their time to doing good deeds, which are good and useful for everyone.


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 But avoid stupid arguments, long lists of ancestors, quarrels, and fights about the Law. They are useless and worthless.


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 Give at least two warnings to those who cause divisions, and then have nothing more to do with them.


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 When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me in Nicopolis, because I have decided to spend the winter there.


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 Do your best to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos to get started on their travels, and see to it that they have everything they need.


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 Our people must learn to spend their time doing good, in order to provide for real needs; they should not live useless lives.


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 All who are with me send you greetings. Give our greetings to our friends in the faith. God's grace be with you all.


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 From Paul, a prisoner for the sake of Christ Jesus, and from our brother Timothy--- To our friend and fellow worker Philemon,


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 My prayer is that our fellowship with you as believers will bring about a deeper understanding of every blessing which we have in our life in union with Christ.


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 Your love, dear brother, has brought me great joy and much encouragement! You have cheered the hearts of all of God's people.


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 For this reason I could be bold enough, as your brother in Christ, to order you to do what should be done.


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 But because I love you, I make a request instead. I do this even though I am Paul, the ambassador of Christ Jesus, and at present also a prisoner for his sake.


text:
 So I make a request to you on behalf of Onesimus, who is my own son in Christ; for while in prison I have become his spiritual father.


text:
 I would like to keep him here with me, while I am in prison for the gospel's sake, so that he could help me in your place.


text:
 However, I do not want to force you to help me; rather, I would like for you to do it of your own free will. So I will not do anything unless you agree.


text:
 It may be that Onesimus was away from you for a short time so that you might have him back for all time.


text:
 And now he is not just a slave, but much more than a slave: he is a dear brother in Christ. How much he means to me! And how much more he will mean to you, both as a slave and as a brother in the Lord!


text:
 Here, I will write this with my own hand: <i>I, Paul, will pay you back</i>. (I should not have to remind you, of course, that you owe your very self to me.)


text:
 I am sure, as I write this, that you will do what I ask---in fact I know that you will do even more.


text:
 At the same time, get a room ready for me, because I hope that God will answer the prayers of all of you and give me back to you.


text:
 but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son. He is the one through whom God created the universe, the one whom God has chosen to possess all things at the end.


text:
 He reflects the brightness of God's glory and is the exact likeness of God's own being, sustaining the universe with his powerful word. After achieving forgiveness for the sins of all human beings, he sat down in heaven at the right side of God, the Supreme Power.


text:
 The Son was made greater than the angels, just as the name that God gave him is greater than theirs.


text:
 For God never said to any of his angels, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father." Nor did God say about any angel, "I will be his Father, and he will be my Son."


text:
 But when God was about to send his first-born Son into the world, he said, "All of God's angels must worship him."


text:
 About the Son, however, God said: "Your kingdom, O God, will last forever and ever! You rule over your people with justice.


text:
 You love what is right and hate what is wrong. That is why God, your God, has chosen you and has given you the joy of an honor far greater than he gave to your companions."


text:
 He also said, "You, Lord, in the beginning created the earth, and with your own hands you made the heavens.


text:
 You will fold them up like a coat, and they will be changed like clothes. But you are always the same, and your life never ends."


text:
 God never said to any of his angels: "Sit here at my right side until I put your enemies as a footstool under your feet."


text:
 What are the angels, then? They are spirits who serve God and are sent by him to help those who are to receive salvation.


text:
 That is why we must hold on all the more firmly to the truths we have heard, so that we will not be carried away.


text:
 The message given to our ancestors by the angels was shown to be true, and those who did not follow it or obey it received the punishment they deserved.


text:
 How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation? The Lord himself first announced this salvation, and those who heard him proved to us that it is true.


text:
 At the same time God added his witness to theirs by performing all kinds of miracles and wonders and by distributing the gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his will.


text:
 Instead, as it is said somewhere in the Scriptures: "What are human beings, O God, that you should think of them; mere human beings, that you should care for them?


text:
 and made them rulers over all things." It says that God made them "rulers over all things"; this clearly includes everything. We do not, however, see human beings ruling over all things now.


text:
 But we do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, so that through God's grace he should die for everyone. We see him now crowned with glory and honor because of the death he suffered.


text:
 It was only right that God, who creates and preserves all things, should make Jesus perfect through suffering, in order to bring many children to share his glory. For Jesus is the one who leads them to salvation.


text:
 He purifies people from their sins, and both he and those who are made pure all have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his family.


text:
 He also says, "I will put my trust in God." And he also says, "Here I am with the children that God has given me."


text:
 Since the children, as he calls them, are people of flesh and blood, Jesus himself became like them and shared their human nature. He did this so that through his death he might destroy the Devil, who has the power over death,


text:
 For it is clear that it is not the angels that he helps. Instead, he helps the descendants of Abraham.


text:
 This means that he had to become like his people in every way, in order to be their faithful and merciful High Priest in his service to God, so that the people's sins would be forgiven.


text:
 My Christian friends, who also have been called by God! Think of Jesus, whom God sent to be the High Priest of the faith we profess.


text:
 He was faithful to God, who chose him to do this work, just as Moses was faithful in his work in God's house.


text:
 A man who builds a house receives more honor than the house itself. In the same way Jesus is worthy of much greater honor than Moses.


text:
 Moses was faithful in God's house as a servant, and he spoke of the things that God would say in the future.


text:
 But Christ is faithful as the Son in charge of God's house. We are his house if we keep up our courage and our confidence in what we hope for.


text:
 do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God, as they were that day in the desert when they put him to the test.


text:
 There they put me to the test and tried me, says God, although they had seen what I did for forty years.


text:
 And so I was angry with those people and said, 'They are always disloyal and refuse to obey my commands.'


text:
 I was angry and made a solemn promise: 'They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest!' "


text:
 My friends, be careful that none of you have a heart so evil and unbelieving that you will turn away from the living God.


text:
 Instead, in order that none of you be deceived by sin and become stubborn, you must help one another every day, as long as the word "Today" in the scripture applies to us.


text:
 For we are all partners with Christ if we hold firmly to the end the confidence we had at the beginning.


text:
 This is what the scripture says: "If you hear God's voice today, do not be stubborn, as your ancestors were when they rebelled against God."


text:
 Who were the people who heard God's voice and rebelled against him? All those who were led out of Egypt by Moses.


text:
 With whom was God angry for forty years? With the people who sinned, who fell down dead in the desert.


text:
 When God made his solemn promise, "They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest"---of whom was he speaking? Of those who rebelled.


text:
 Now, God has offered us the promise that we may receive that rest he spoke about. Let us take care, then, that none of you will be found to have failed to receive that promised rest.


text:
 For we have heard the Good News, just as they did. They heard the message, but it did them no good, because when they heard it, they did not accept it with faith.


text:
 We who believe, then, do receive that rest which God promised. It is just as he said, "I was angry and made a solemn promise: 'They will never enter the land where I would have given them rest!' " He said this even though his work had been finished from the time he created the world.


text:
 For somewhere in the Scriptures this is said about the seventh day: "God rested on the seventh day from all his work."


text:
 This same matter is spoken of again: "They will never enter that land where I would have given them rest."


text:
 Those who first heard the Good News did not receive that rest, because they did not believe. There are, then, others who are allowed to receive it.


text:
 This is shown by the fact that God sets another day, which is called "Today." Many years later he spoke of it through David in the scripture already quoted: "If you hear God's voice today, do not be stubborn."


text:
 If Joshua had given the people the rest that God had promised, God would not have spoken later about another day.


text:
 As it is, however, there still remains for God's people a rest like God's resting on the seventh day.


text:
 For those who receive that rest which God promised will rest from their own work, just as God rested from his.


text:
 Let us, then, do our best to receive that rest, so that no one of us will fail as they did because of their lack of faith.


text:
 The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart.


text:
 There is nothing that can be hid from God; everything in all creation is exposed and lies open before his eyes. And it is to him that we must all give an account of ourselves.


text:
 Let us, then, hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we have a great High Priest who has gone into the very presence of God---Jesus, the Son of God.


text:
 Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin.


text:
 Let us have confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.


text:
 Every high priest is chosen from his fellow-men and appointed to serve God on their behalf, to offer sacrifices and offerings for sins.


text:
 Since he himself is weak in many ways, he is able to be gentle with those who are ignorant and make mistakes.


text:
 And because he is himself weak, he must offer sacrifices not only for the sins of the people but also for his own sins.


text:
 No one chooses for himself the honor of being a high priest. It is only by God's call that a man is made a high priest---just as Aaron was.


text:
 In the same way, Christ did not take upon himself the honor of being a high priest. Instead, God said to him, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father."


text:
 He also said in another place, "You will be a priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek."


text:
 In his life on earth Jesus made his prayers and requests with loud cries and tears to God, who could save him from death. Because he was humble and devoted, God heard him.


text:
 There is much we have to say about this matter, but it is hard to explain to you, because you are so slow to understand.


text:
 There has been enough time for you to be teachers---yet you still need someone to teach you the first lessons of God's message. Instead of eating solid food, you still have to drink milk.


text:
 Anyone who has to drink milk is still a child, without any experience in the matter of right and wrong.


text:
 Solid food, on the other hand, is for adults, who through practice are able to distinguish between good and evil.


text:
 Let us go forward, then, to mature teaching and leave behind us the first lessons of the Christian message. We should not lay again the foundation of turning away from useless works and believing in God;


text:
 of the teaching about baptisms and the laying on of hands; of the resurrection of the dead and the eternal judgment.


text:
 For how can those who abandon their faith be brought back to repent again? They were once in God's light; they tasted heaven's gift and received their share of the Holy Spirit;


text:
 And then they abandoned their faith! It is impossible to bring them back to repent again, because they are again crucifying the Son of God and exposing him to public shame.


text:
 God blesses the soil which drinks in the rain that often falls on it and which grows plants that are useful to those for whom it is cultivated.


text:
 But if it grows thorns and weeds, it is worth nothing; it is in danger of being cursed by God and will be destroyed by fire.


text:
 But even if we speak like this, dear friends, we feel sure about you. We know that you have the better blessings that belong to your salvation.


text:
 God is not unfair. He will not forget the work you did or the love you showed for him in the help you gave and are still giving to other Christians.


text:
 Our great desire is that each of you keep up your eagerness to the end, so that the things you hope for will come true.


text:
 We do not want you to become lazy, but to be like those who believe and are patient, and so receive what God has promised.


text:
 When God made his promise to Abraham, he made a vow to do what he had promised. Since there was no one greater than himself, he used his own name when he made his vow.


text:
 When we make a vow, we use the name of someone greater than ourselves, and the vow settles all arguments.


text:
 To those who were to receive what he promised, God wanted to make it very clear that he would never change his purpose; so he added his vow to the promise.


text:
 There are these two things, then, that cannot change and about which God cannot lie. So we who have found safety with him are greatly encouraged to hold firmly to the hope placed before us.


text:
 We have this hope as an anchor for our lives. It is safe and sure, and goes through the curtain of the heavenly temple into the inner sanctuary.


text:
 On our behalf Jesus has gone in there before us and has become a high priest forever, in the priestly order of Melchizedek.


text:
 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and a priest of the Most High God. As Abraham was coming back from the battle in which he defeated the four kings, Melchizedek met him and blessed him,


text:
 and Abraham gave him one tenth of all he had taken. (The first meaning of Melchizedek's name is "King of Righteousness"; and because he was king of Salem, his name also means "King of Peace.")


text:
 There is no record of Melchizedek's father or mother or of any of his ancestors; no record of his birth or of his death. He is like the Son of God; he remains a priest forever.


text:
 You see, then, how great he was. Abraham, our famous ancestor, gave him one tenth of all he got in the battle.


text:
 And those descendants of Levi who are priests are commanded by the Law to collect one tenth from the people of Israel, that is, from their own people, even though they are also descendants of Abraham.


text:
 Melchizedek was not descended from Levi, but he collected one tenth from Abraham and blessed him, the man who received God's promises.


text:
 In the case of the priests the tenth is collected by men who die; but as for Melchizedek the tenth was collected by one who lives, as the scripture says.


text:
 And, so to speak, when Abraham paid the tenth, Levi (whose descendants collect the tenth) also paid it.


text:
 For Levi had not yet been born, but was, so to speak, in the body of his ancestor Abraham when Melchizedek met him.


text:
 It was on the basis of the levitical priesthood that the Law was given to the people of Israel. Now, if the work of the levitical priests had been perfect, there would have been no need for a different kind of priest to appear, one who is in the priestly order of Melchizedek, not of Aaron.


text:
 And our Lord, of whom these things are said, belonged to a different tribe, and no member of his tribe ever served as a priest.


text:
 It is well known that he was born a member of the tribe of Judah; and Moses did not mention this tribe when he spoke of priests.


text:
 He was made a priest, not by human rules and regulations, but through the power of a life which has no end.


text:
 For the Law of Moses could not make anything perfect. And now a better hope has been provided through which we come near to God.


text:
 But Jesus became a priest by means of a vow when God said to him, "The Lord has made a solemn promise and will not take it back: 'You will be a priest forever.' "


text:
 There is another difference: there were many of those other priests, because they died and could not continue their work.


text:
 And so he is able, now and always, to save those who come to God through him, because he lives forever to plead with God for them.


text:
 Jesus, then, is the High Priest that meets our needs. He is holy; he has no fault or sin in him; he has been set apart from sinners and raised above the heavens.


text:
 He is not like other high priests; he does not need to offer sacrifices every day for his own sins first and then for the sins of the people. He offered one sacrifice, once and for all, when he offered himself.


text:
 The Law of Moses appoints men who are imperfect to be high priests; but God's promise made with the vow, which came later than the Law, appoints the Son, who has been made perfect forever.


text:
 The whole point of what we are saying is that we have such a High Priest, who sits at the right of the throne of the Divine Majesty in heaven.


text:
 He serves as high priest in the Most Holy Place, that is, in the real tent which was put up by the Lord, not by human hands.


text:
 Every high priest is appointed to present offerings and animal sacrifices to God, and so our High Priest must also have something to offer.


text:
 If he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer the gifts required by the Jewish Law.


text:
 The work they do as priests is really only a copy and a shadow of what is in heaven. It is the same as it was with Moses. When he was about to build the Sacred Tent, God told him, "Be sure to make everything according to the pattern you were shown on the mountain."


text:
 But now, Jesus has been given priestly work which is superior to theirs, just as the covenant which he arranged between God and his people is a better one, because it is based on promises of better things.


text:
 If there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, there would have been no need for a second one.


text:
 But God finds fault with his people when he says, "The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will draw up a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.


text:
 It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. They were not faithful to the covenant I made with them, and so I paid no attention to them.


text:
 Now, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel in the days to come, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.


text:
 None of them will have to teach their friends or tell their neighbors, 'Know the Lord.' For they will all know me, from the least to the greatest.


text:
 By speaking of a new covenant, God has made the first one old; and anything that becomes old and worn out will soon disappear.


text:
 A tent was put up, the outer one, which was called the Holy Place. In it were the lampstand and the table with the bread offered to God.


text:
 In it were the gold altar for the burning of incense and the Covenant Box all covered with gold and containing the gold jar with the manna in it, Aaron's stick that had sprouted leaves, and the two stone tablets with the commandments written on them.


text:
 Above the Box were the winged creatures representing God's presence, with their wings spread over the place where sins were forgiven. But now is not the time to explain everything in detail.


text:
 This is how those things have been arranged. The priests go into the outer tent every day to perform their duties,


text:
 but only the high priest goes into the inner tent, and he does so only once a year. He takes with him blood which he offers to God on behalf of himself and for the sins which the people have committed without knowing they were sinning.


text:
 The Holy Spirit clearly teaches from all these arrangements that the way into the Most Holy Place has not yet been opened as long as the outer tent still stands.


text:
 This is a symbol which points to the present time. It means that the offerings and animal sacrifices presented to God cannot make the worshiper's heart perfect,


text:
 since they have to do only with food, drink, and various purification ceremonies. These are all outward rules, which apply only until the time when God will establish the new order.


text:
 But Christ has already come as the High Priest of the good things that are already here. The tent in which he serves is greater and more perfect; it is not a tent made by human hands, that is, it is not a part of this created world.


text:
 When Christ went through the tent and entered once and for all into the Most Holy Place, he did not take the blood of goats and bulls to offer as a sacrifice; rather, he took his own blood and obtained eternal salvation for us.


text:
 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a burnt calf are sprinkled on the people who are ritually unclean, and this purifies them by taking away their ritual impurity.


text:
 Since this is true, how much more is accomplished by the blood of Christ! Through the eternal Spirit he offered himself as a perfect sacrifice to God. His blood will purify our consciences from useless rituals, so that we may serve the living God.


text:
 For this reason Christ is the one who arranges a new covenant, so that those who have been called by God may receive the eternal blessings that God has promised. This can be done because there has been a death which sets people free from the wrongs they did while the first covenant was in effect.


text:
 for a will means nothing while the person who made it is alive; it goes into effect only after his death.


text:
 First, Moses proclaimed to the people all the commandments as set forth in the Law. Then he took the blood of bulls and goats, mixed it with water, and sprinkled it on the book of the Law and all the people, using a sprig of hyssop and some red wool.


text:
 In the same way Moses also sprinkled the blood on the Sacred Tent and over all the things used in worship.


text:
 Indeed, according to the Law almost everything is purified by blood, and sins are forgiven only if blood is poured out.


text:
 Those things, which are copies of the heavenly originals, had to be purified in that way. But the heavenly things themselves require much better sacrifices.


text:
 For Christ did not go into a Holy Place made by human hands, which was a copy of the real one. He went into heaven itself, where he now appears on our behalf in the presence of God.


text:
 The Jewish high priest goes into the Most Holy Place every year with the blood of an animal. But Christ did not go in to offer himself many times,


text:
 for then he would have had to suffer many times ever since the creation of the world. Instead, now when all ages of time are nearing the end, he has appeared once and for all, to remove sin through the sacrifice of himself.


text:
 In the same manner Christ also was offered in sacrifice once to take away the sins of many. He will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are waiting for him.


text:
 The Jewish Law is not a full and faithful model of the real things; it is only a faint outline of the good things to come. The same sacrifices are offered forever, year after year. How can the Law, then, by means of these sacrifices make perfect the people who come to God?


text:
 If the people worshiping God had really been purified from their sins, they would not feel guilty of sin any more, and all sacrifices would stop.


text:
 For this reason, when Christ was about to come into the world, he said to God: "You do not want sacrifices and offerings, but you have prepared a body for me.


text:
 Then I said, 'Here I am, to do your will, O God, just as it is written of me in the book of the Law.' "


text:
 First he said, "You neither want nor are you pleased with sacrifices and offerings or with animals burned on the altar and the sacrifices to take away sins." He said this even though all these sacrifices are offered according to the Law.


text:
 Then he said, "Here I am, O God, to do your will." So God does away with all the old sacrifices and puts the sacrifice of Christ in their place.


text:
 Because Jesus Christ did what God wanted him to do, we are all purified from sin by the offering that he made of his own body once and for all.


text:
 Every Jewish priest performs his services every day and offers the same sacrifices many times; but these sacrifices can never take away sins.


text:
 Christ, however, offered one sacrifice for sins, an offering that is effective forever, and then he sat down at the right side of God.


text:
 "This is the covenant that I will make with them in the days to come, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts and write them on their minds."


text:
 We have, then, my friends, complete freedom to go into the Most Holy Place by means of the death of Jesus.


text:
 So let us come near to God with a sincere heart and a sure faith, with hearts that have been purified from a guilty conscience and with bodies washed with clean water.


text:
 Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.


text:
 For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us.


text:
 Instead, all that is left is to wait in fear for the coming Judgment and the fierce fire which will destroy those who oppose God!


text:
 Anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty from the evidence of two or more witnesses.


text:
 What, then, of those who despise the Son of God? who treat as a cheap thing the blood of God's covenant which purified them from sin? who insult the Spirit of grace? Just think how much worse is the punishment they will deserve!


text:
 For we know who said, "I will take revenge, I will repay"; and who also said, "The Lord will judge his people."


text:
 Remember how it was with you in the past. In those days, after God's light had shone on you, you suffered many things, yet were not defeated by the struggle.


text:
 You were at times publicly insulted and mistreated, and at other times you were ready to join those who were being treated in this way.


text:
 You shared the sufferings of prisoners, and when all your belongings were seized, you endured your loss gladly, because you knew that you still possessed something much better, which would last forever.


text:
 For, as the scripture says, "Just a little while longer, and he who is coming will come; he will not delay.


text:
 My righteous people, however, will believe and live; but if any of them turns back, I will not be pleased with them."


text:
 It is by faith that we understand that the universe was created by God's word, so that what can be seen was made out of what cannot be seen.


text:
 It was faith that made Abel offer to God a better sacrifice than Cain's. Through his faith he won God's approval as a righteous man, because God himself approved of his gifts. By means of his faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.


text:
 It was faith that kept Enoch from dying. Instead, he was taken up to God, and nobody could find him, because God had taken him up. The scripture says that before Enoch was taken up, he had pleased God.


text:
 No one can please God without faith, for whoever comes to God must have faith that God exists and rewards those who seek him.


text:
 It was faith that made Noah hear God's warnings about things in the future that he could not see. He obeyed God and built a boat in which he and his family were saved. As a result, the world was condemned, and Noah received from God the righteousness that comes by faith.


text:
 It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going.


text:
 By faith he lived as a foreigner in the country that God had promised him. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who received the same promise from God.


text:
 For Abraham was waiting for the city which God has designed and built, the city with permanent foundations.


text:
 It was faith that made Abraham able to become a father, even though he was too old and Sarah herself could not have children. He trusted God to keep his promise.


text:
 Though Abraham was practically dead, from this one man came as many descendants as there are stars in the sky, as many as the numberless grains of sand on the seashore.


text:
 It was in faith that all these persons died. They did not receive the things God had promised, but from a long way off they saw them and welcomed them, and admitted openly that they were foreigners and refugees on earth.


text:
 They did not keep thinking about the country they had left; if they had, they would have had the chance to return.


text:
 Instead, it was a better country they longed for, the heavenly country. And so God is not ashamed for them to call him their God, because he has prepared a city for them.


text:
 It was faith that made Abraham offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice when God put Abraham to the test. Abraham was the one to whom God had made the promise, yet he was ready to offer his only son as a sacrifice.


text:
 Abraham reckoned that God was able to raise Isaac from death---and, so to speak, Abraham did receive Isaac back from death.


text:
 It was faith that made Jacob bless each of the sons of Joseph just before he died. He leaned on the top of his walking stick and worshiped God.


text:
 It was faith that made Joseph, when he was about to die, speak of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, and leave instructions about what should be done with his body.


text:
 It was faith that made the parents of Moses hide him for three months after he was born. They saw that he was a beautiful child, and they were not afraid to disobey the king's order.


text:
 It was faith that made Moses, when he had grown up, refuse to be called the son of the king's daughter.


text:
 He reckoned that to suffer scorn for the Messiah was worth far more than all the treasures of Egypt, for he kept his eyes on the future reward.


text:
 It was faith that made Moses leave Egypt without being afraid of the king's anger. As though he saw the invisible God, he refused to turn back.


text:
 It was faith that made him establish the Passover and order the blood to be sprinkled on the doors, so that the Angel of Death would not kill the first-born sons of the Israelites.


text:
 It was faith that made the Israelites able to cross the Red Sea as if on dry land; when the Egyptians tried to do it, the water swallowed them up.


text:
 It was faith that made the walls of Jericho fall down after the Israelites had marched around them for seven days.


text:
 It was faith that kept the prostitute Rahab from being killed with those who disobeyed God, for she gave the Israelite spies a friendly welcome.


text:
 Should I go on? There isn't enough time for me to speak of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.


text:
 Through faith they fought whole countries and won. They did what was right and received what God had promised. They shut the mouths of lions,


text:
 put out fierce fires, escaped being killed by the sword. They were weak, but became strong; they were mighty in battle and defeated the armies of foreigners.


text:
 Through faith women received their dead relatives raised back to life. Others, refusing to accept freedom, died under torture in order to be raised to a better life.


text:
 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were killed by the sword. They went around clothed in skins of sheep or goats---poor, persecuted, and mistreated.


text:
 The world was not good enough for them! They wandered like refugees in the deserts and hills, living in caves and holes in the ground.


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 What a record all of these have won by their faith! Yet they did not receive what God had promised,


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 because God had decided on an even better plan for us. His purpose was that only in company with us would they be made perfect.


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 As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us.


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 Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from beginning to end. He did not give up because of the cross! On the contrary, because of the joy that was waiting for him, he thought nothing of the disgrace of dying on the cross, and he is now seated at the right side of God's throne.


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 Think of what he went through; how he put up with so much hatred from sinners! So do not let yourselves become discouraged and give up.


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 Have you forgotten the encouraging words which God speaks to you as his children? "My child, pay attention when the Lord corrects you, and do not be discouraged when he rebukes you.


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 Endure what you suffer as being a father's punishment; your suffering shows that God is treating you as his children. Was there ever a child who was not punished by his father?


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 If you are not punished, as all his children are, it means you are not real children, but bastards.


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 In the case of our human fathers, they punished us and we respected them. How much more, then, should we submit to our spiritual Father and live!


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 Our human fathers punished us for a short time, as it seemed right to them; but God does it for our own good, so that we may share his holiness.


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 When we are punished, it seems to us at the time something to make us sad, not glad. Later, however, those who have been disciplined by such punishment reap the peaceful reward of a righteous life.


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 Try to be at peace with everyone, and try to live a holy life, because no one will see the Lord without it.


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 Guard against turning back from the grace of God. Let no one become like a bitter plant that grows up and causes many troubles with its poison.


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 Let no one become immoral or unspiritual like Esau, who for a single meal sold his rights as the older son.


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 Afterward, you know, he wanted to receive his father's blessing; but he was turned back, because he could not find any way to change what he had done, even though in tears he looked for it.


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 You have not come, as the people of Israel came, to what you can feel, to Mount Sinai with its blazing fire, the darkness and the gloom, the storm,


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 the blast of a trumpet, and the sound of a voice. When the people heard the voice, they begged not to hear another word,


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 because they could not bear the order which said, "If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death."


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 Instead, you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, with its thousands of angels.


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 You have come to the joyful gathering of God's first-born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, who is the judge of all people, and to the spirits of good people made perfect.


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 You have come to Jesus, who arranged the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that promises much better things than does the blood of Abel.


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 Be careful, then, and do not refuse to hear him who speaks. Those who refused to hear the one who gave the divine message on earth did not escape. How much less shall we escape, then, if we turn away from the one who speaks from heaven!


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 His voice shook the earth at that time, but now he has promised, "I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven as well."


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 The words "once more" plainly show that the created things will be shaken and removed, so that the things that cannot be shaken will remain.


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 Let us be thankful, then, because we receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Let us be grateful and worship God in a way that will please him, with reverence and awe;


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 Remember to welcome strangers in your homes. There were some who did that and welcomed angels without knowing it.


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 Remember those who are in prison, as though you were in prison with them. Remember those who are suffering, as though you were suffering as they are.


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 Marriage is to be honored by all, and husbands and wives must be faithful to each other. God will judge those who are immoral and those who commit adultery.


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 Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, "I will never leave you; I will never abandon you."


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 Let us be bold, then, and say, "The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?"


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 Remember your former leaders, who spoke God's message to you. Think back on how they lived and died, and imitate their faith.


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 Do not let all kinds of strange teachings lead you from the right way. It is good to receive inner strength from God's grace, and not by obeying rules about foods; those who obey these rules have not been helped by them.


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 The priests who serve in the Jewish place of worship have no right to eat any of the sacrifice on our altar.


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 The Jewish high priest brings the blood of the animals into the Most Holy Place to offer it as a sacrifice for sins; but the bodies of the animals are burned outside the camp.


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 For this reason Jesus also died outside the city, in order to purify the people from sin with his own blood.


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 Let us, then, always offer praise to God as our sacrifice through Jesus, which is the offering presented by lips that confess him as Lord.


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 Do not forget to do good and to help one another, because these are the sacrifices that please God.


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 Obey your leaders and follow their orders. They watch over your souls without resting, since they must give to God an account of their service. If you obey them, they will do their work gladly; if not, they will do it with sadness, and that would be of no help to you.


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 Keep on praying for us. We are sure we have a clear conscience, because we want to do the right thing at all times.


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 God has raised from death our Lord Jesus, who is the Great Shepherd of the sheep as the result of his blood, by which the eternal covenant is sealed. May the God of peace provide you with every good thing you need in order to do his will, and may he, through Jesus Christ, do in us what pleases him. And to Christ be the glory forever and ever! Amen.


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 I beg you, my friends, to listen patiently to this message of encouragement; for this letter I have written you 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 comes soon enough, I will have him with me when I see you.


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 Give our greetings to all your leaders and to all God's people. The believers from Italy send you their greetings.


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 This book is the record of the events that Jesus Christ revealed. God gave him this revelation in order to show to his servants what must happen very soon. Christ made these things known to his servant John by sending his angel to him,


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 and John has told all that he has seen. This is his report concerning the message from God and the truth revealed by Jesus Christ.


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 Happy is the one who reads this book, and happy are those who listen to the words of this prophetic message and obey what is written in this book! For the time is near when all these things will happen.


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 From John to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace be yours from God, who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits in front of his throne,


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 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first to be raised from death and who is also the ruler of the kings of the world. He loves us, and by his sacrificial death he has freed us from our sins


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 and made us a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father. To Jesus Christ be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen.


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 Look, he is coming on the clouds! Everyone will see him, including those who pierced him. All peoples on earth will mourn over him. So shall it be!


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 I am John, your brother, and as a follower of Jesus I am your partner in patiently enduring the suffering that comes to those who belong to his Kingdom. I was put on the island of Patmos because I had proclaimed God's word and the truth that Jesus revealed.


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 On the Lord's day the Spirit took control of me, and I heard a loud voice, that sounded like a trumpet, speaking behind me.


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 It said, "Write down what you see, and send the book to the churches in these seven cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea."


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 and among them there was what looked like a human being, wearing a robe that reached to his feet, and a gold band around his chest.


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 his feet shone like brass that has been refined and polished, and his voice sounded like a roaring waterfall.


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 He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came out of his mouth. His face was as bright as the midday sun.


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 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. He placed his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid! I am the first and the last.


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 I am the living one! I was dead, but now I am alive forever and ever. I have authority over death and the world of the dead.


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 Write, then, the things you see, both the things that are now and the things that will happen afterward.


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 Here is the secret meaning of the seven stars that you see in my right hand, and of the seven gold lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.


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 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: "This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who walks among the seven gold lampstands.


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 I know what you have done; I know how hard you have worked and how patient you have been. I know that you cannot tolerate evil people and that you have tested those who say they are apostles but are not, and have found out that they are liars.


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 Think how far you have fallen! Turn from your sins and do what you did at first. If you don't turn from your sins, I will come to you and take your lampstand from its place.


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 "If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! "To those who win the victory I will give the right to eat the fruit of the tree of life that grows in the Garden of God.


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 "To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: "This is the message from the one who is the first and the last, who died and lived again.


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 I know your troubles; I know that you are poor---but really you are rich! I know the evil things said against you by those who claim to be Jews but are not; they are a group that belongs to Satan!


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 Don't be afraid of anything you are about to suffer. Listen! The Devil will put you to the test by having some of you thrown into prison, and your troubles will last ten days. Be faithful to me, even if it means death, and I will give you life as your prize of victory.


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 "If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! "Those who win the victory will not be hurt by the second death.


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 "To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: "This is the message from the one who has the sharp two-edged sword.


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 I know where you live, there where Satan has his throne. You are true to me, and you did not abandon your faith in me even during the time when Antipas, my faithful witness, was killed there where Satan lives.


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 But there are a few things I have against you: there are some among you who follow the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak how to lead the people of Israel into sin by persuading them to eat food that had been offered to idols and to practice sexual immorality.


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 Now turn from your sins! If you don't, I will come to you soon and fight against those people with the sword that comes out of my mouth.


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 "If you have ears, then, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches! "To those who win the victory I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give each of them a white stone on which is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.


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 "To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: "This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes blaze like fire, whose feet shine like polished brass.


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 I know what you do. I know your love, your faithfulness, your service, and your patience. I know that you are doing more now than you did at first.


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 But this is what I have against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a messenger of God. By her teaching she misleads my servants into practicing sexual immorality and eating food that has been offered to idols.


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 And so I will throw her on a bed where she and those who committed adultery with her will suffer terribly. I will do this now unless they repent of the wicked things they did with her.


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 I will also kill her followers, and then all the churches will know that I am the one who knows everyone's thoughts and wishes. I will repay each of you according to what you have done.


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 "But the rest of you in Thyatira have not followed this evil teaching; you have not learned what the others call 'the deep secrets of Satan.' I say to you that I will not put any other burden on you.


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 To those who win the victory, who continue to the end to do what I want, I will give the same authority that I received from my Father: I will give them authority over the nations, to rule them with an iron rod and to break them to pieces like clay pots. I will also give them the morning star.


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 "To the angel of the church in Sardis write: "This is the message from the one who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know what you are doing; I know that you have the reputation of being alive, even though you are dead!


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 So wake up, and strengthen what you still have before it dies completely. For I find that what you have done is not yet perfect in the sight of my God.


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 Remember, then, what you were taught and what you heard; obey it and turn from your sins. If you do not wake up, I will come upon you like a thief, and you will not even know the time when I will come.


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 But a few of you there in Sardis have kept your clothes clean. You will walk with me, clothed in white, because you are worthy to do so.


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 Those who win the victory will be clothed like this in white, and I will not remove their names from the book of the living. In the presence of my Father and of his angels I will declare openly that they belong to me.


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 "To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: "This is the message from the one who is holy and true. He has the key that belonged to David, and when he opens a door, no one can close it, and when he closes it, no one can open it.


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 I know what you do; I know that you have a little power; you have followed my teaching and have been faithful to me. I have opened a door in front of you, which no one can close.


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 Listen! As for that group that belongs to Satan, those liars who claim that they are Jews but are not, I will make them come and bow down at your feet. They will all know that I love you.


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 Because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you safe from the time of trouble which is coming upon the world to test all the people on earth.


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 I will make those who are victorious pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which will come down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my new name.


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 "To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: "This is the message from the Amen, the faithful and true witness, who is the origin of all that God has created.


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 I know what you have done; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. How I wish you were either one or the other!


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 You say, 'I am rich and well off; I have all I need.' But you do not know how miserable and pitiful you are! You are poor, naked, and blind.


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 I advise you, then, to buy gold from me, pure gold, in order to be rich. Buy also white clothing to dress yourself and cover up your shameful nakedness. Buy also some ointment to put on your eyes, so that you may see.


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 Listen! I stand at the door and knock; if any hear my voice and open the door, I will come into their house and eat with them, and they will eat with me.


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 To those who win the victory I will give the right to sit beside me on my throne, just as I have been victorious and now sit by my Father on his throne.


text:
 At this point I had another vision and saw an open door in heaven. And the voice that sounded like a trumpet, which I had heard speaking to me before, said, "Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this."


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 His face gleamed like such precious stones as jasper and carnelian, and all around the throne there was a rainbow the color of an emerald.


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 In a circle around the throne were twenty-four other thrones, on which were seated twenty-four elders dressed in white and wearing crowns of gold.


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 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. In front of the throne seven lighted torches were burning, which are the seven spirits of God.


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 Also in front of the throne there was what looked like a sea of glass, clear as crystal. Surrounding the throne on each of its sides, were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and behind.


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 The first one looked like a lion; the second looked like a bull; the third had a face like a human face; and the fourth looked like an eagle in flight.


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 Each one of the four living creatures had six wings, and they were covered with eyes, inside and out. Day and night they never stop singing: "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come."


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 The four living creatures sing songs of glory and honor and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever. When they do so,


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 the twenty-four elders fall down before the one who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives forever and ever. They throw their crowns down in front of the throne and say,


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 "Our Lord and God! You are worthy to receive glory, honor, and power. For you created all things, and by your will they were given existence and life."


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 I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sits on the throne; it was covered with writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.


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 And I saw a mighty angel, who announced 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 in the world below who could open the scroll and look inside it.


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 I cried bitterly because no one could be found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside it.


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 Then one of the elders said to me, "Don't cry. Look! The Lion from Judah's tribe, the great descendant of David, has won the victory, and he can break the seven seals and open the scroll."


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 Then I saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne, surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb appeared to have been killed. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that have been sent through the whole earth.


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 As he did so, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God's people.


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


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 Again I looked, and I heard angels, thousands and millions of them! They stood around the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders,


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 and sang 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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 And I heard every creature in heaven, on earth, in the world below, and in the sea---all living beings in the universe---and they were singing: "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb, be praise and honor, glory and might, forever and ever!"


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 Then I saw the Lamb break open the first of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice that sounded like thunder, "Come!"


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 I looked, and there was a white horse. Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown. He rode out as a conqueror to conquer.


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 Another horse came out, a red one. Its rider was given the power to bring war on the earth, so that people should kill each other. He was given a large sword.


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 Then the Lamb broke open the third seal; and I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" I looked, and there was a black horse. Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand.


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 I heard what sounded like a voice coming from among the four living creatures, which said, "A quart of wheat for a day's wages, and three quarts of barley for a day's wages. But do not damage the olive trees and the vineyards!"


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 I looked, and there was a pale-colored horse. Its rider was named Death, and Hades followed close behind. They were given authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill by means of war, famine, disease, and wild animals.


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 Then the Lamb broke open the fifth seal. I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because they had proclaimed God's word and had been faithful in their witnessing.


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 They shouted in a loud voice, "Almighty Lord, holy and true! How long will it be until you judge the people on earth and punish them for killing us?"


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 Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to rest a little while longer, until the complete number of other servants and believers were killed, as they had been.


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 And I saw the Lamb break open the sixth seal. There was a violent earthquake, and the sun became black like coarse black cloth, and the moon turned completely red like blood.


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 The stars fell down to the earth, like unripe figs falling from the tree when a strong wind shakes it.


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 The sky disappeared like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.


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 Then the kings of the earth, the rulers and the military chiefs, the rich and the powerful, and all other people, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and under rocks on the mountains.


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 They called out to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the eyes of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb!


text:
 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds so that no wind should blow on the earth or the sea or against any tree.


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 And I saw another angel coming up from the east with the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels to whom God had given the power to damage the earth and the sea.


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 The angel said, "Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees, until we mark the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads."


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 And I was told that the number of those who were marked with God's seal on their foreheads was 144,000. They were from the twelve tribes of Israel,


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 twelve thousand from each tribe: Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin.


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 After this I looked, and there was an enormous crowd---no one could count all the people! They were from every race, tribe, nation, and language, and they stood in front of the throne and of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.


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 They called out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who sits on the throne, and from the Lamb!"


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 All the angels stood around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures. Then they threw themselves face downward in front of the throne and worshiped God,


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 saying, "Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might belong to our God forever and ever! Amen!"


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 One of the elders asked me, "Who are these people dressed in white robes, and where do they come from?"


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 "I don't know, sir. You do," I answered. He said to me, "These are the people who have come safely through the terrible persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white with the blood of the Lamb.


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 That is why they stand before God's throne and serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on the throne will protect them with his presence.


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 because the Lamb, who is in the center of the throne, will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of life-giving water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."


text:
 Another angel, who had a gold incense container, came and stood at the altar. He was given a lot of incense to add to the prayers of all God's people and to offer it on the gold altar that stands before the throne.


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 The smoke of the burning incense went up with the prayers of God's people from the hands of the angel standing before God.


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 Then the angel took the incense container, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it on the earth. There were rumblings and peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.


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 The first angel blew his trumpet. Hail and fire, mixed with blood, came pouring down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees, and every blade of green grass.


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 Then the second angel blew his trumpet. Something that looked like a huge mountain on fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea was turned into blood,


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 Then the third angel blew his trumpet. A large star, burning like a torch, dropped from the sky and fell on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water.


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 (The name of the star is "Bitterness.") A third of the water turned bitter, and many people died from drinking the water, because it had turned bitter.


text:
 Then the fourth angel blew his trumpet. A third of the sun was struck, and a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that their light lost a third of its brightness; there was no light during a third of the day and a third of the night also.


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 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle that was flying high in the air say in a loud voice, "O horror! horror! How horrible it will be for all who live on earth when the sound comes from the trumpets that the other three angels must blow!"


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 Then the fifth angel blew his trumpet. I saw a star which had fallen down to the earth, and it was given the key to the abyss.


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 The star opened the abyss, and smoke poured out of it, like the smoke from a large furnace; the sunlight and the air were darkened by the smoke from the abyss.


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 Locusts came down out of the smoke upon the earth, and they were given the same kind of power that scorpions have.


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 They were told not to harm the grass or the trees or any other plant; they could harm only the people who did not have the mark of God's seal on their foreheads.


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 The locusts were not allowed to kill these people, but only to torture them for five months. The pain caused by the torture is like the pain caused by a scorpion's sting.


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 During those five months they will seek death, but will not find it; they will want to die, but death will flee from them.


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 The locusts looked like horses ready for battle; on their heads they had what seemed to be crowns of gold, and their faces were like human faces.


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 Their chests were covered with what looked like iron breastplates, and the sound made by their wings was like the noise of many horse-drawn chariots rushing into battle.


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 They have tails and stings like those of a scorpion, and it is with their tails that they have the power to hurt people for five months.


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 They have a king ruling over them, who is the angel in charge of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is Abaddon; in Greek the name is Apollyon (meaning "The Destroyer").


text:
 Then the sixth angel blew his trumpet. I heard a voice coming from the four corners of the gold altar standing before God.


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 The voice said to the sixth angel, "Release the four angels who are bound at the great Euphrates River!"


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 The four angels were released; for this very hour of this very day of this very month and year they had been kept ready to kill a third of all the human race.


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 And in my vision I saw the horses and their riders: they had breastplates red as fire, blue as sapphire, and yellow as sulfur. The horses' heads were like lions' heads, and from their mouths came out fire, smoke, and sulfur.


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 A third of the human race was killed by those three plagues: the fire, the smoke, and the sulfur coming out of the horses' mouths.


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 For the power of the horses is in their mouths and also in their tails. Their tails are like snakes with heads, and they use them to hurt people.


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 The rest of the human race, all those who had not been killed by these plagues, did not turn away from what they themselves had made. They did not stop worshiping demons, nor the idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see, hear, or walk.


text:
 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down out of heaven. He was wrapped in a cloud and had a rainbow around his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like columns of fire.


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 He had 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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 and called out in a loud voice that sounded like the roar of lions. After he had called out, the seven thunders answered with a roar.


text:
 As soon as they spoke, I was about to write. But I heard a voice speak from heaven, "Keep secret what the seven thunders have said; do not write it down!"


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 and took a vow in the name of God, who lives forever and ever, who created heaven, earth, and the sea, and everything in them. The angel said, "There will be no more delay!


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 But when the seventh angel blows his trumpet, then God will accomplish his secret plan, as he announced to his servants, the prophets."


text:
 Then the voice that I had heard speaking from heaven spoke to me again, saying, "Go and take the open scroll which is in the hand of the angel standing on the sea and on the land."


text:
 I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me, "Take it and eat it; it will turn sour in your stomach, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey."


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 I took the little scroll from his hand and ate it, and it tasted sweet as honey in my mouth. But after I swallowed it, it turned sour in my stomach.


text:
 Then I was told, "Once again you must proclaim God's message about many nations, races, languages, and kings."


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 I was then given a stick that looked like a measuring-rod, and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count those who are worshiping in the temple.


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 But do not measure the outer courts, because they have been given to the heathen, who will trample on the Holy City for forty-two months.


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 I will send my two witnesses dressed in sackcloth, and they will proclaim God's message during those 1, 260 days."


text:
 The two witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lamps that stand before the Lord of the earth.


text:
 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes out of their mouths and destroys their enemies; and in this way whoever tries to harm them will be killed.


text:
 They have authority to shut up the sky so that there will be no rain during the time they proclaim God's message. They have authority also over the springs of water, to turn them into blood; they have authority also to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they wish.


text:
 When they finish proclaiming their message, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will fight against them. He will defeat them and kill them,


text:
 and their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, where their Lord was crucified. The symbolic name of that city is Sodom, or Egypt.


text:
 People from all nations, tribes, languages, and races will look at their bodies for three and a half days and will not allow them to be buried.


text:
 The people of the earth will be happy because of the death of these two. They will celebrate and send presents to each other, because those two prophets brought much suffering upon the whole human race.


text:
 After three and a half days a life-giving breath came from God and entered them, and they stood up; and all who saw them were terrified.


text:
 Then the two prophets heard a loud voice say to them from heaven, "Come up here!" As their enemies watched, they went up into heaven in a cloud.


text:
 At that very moment there was a violent earthquake; a tenth of the city was destroyed, and seven thousand people were killed. The rest of the people were terrified and praised the greatness of the God of heaven.


text:
 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, "The power to rule over the world belongs now to our Lord and his Messiah, and he will rule forever and ever!"


text:
 Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones in front of God threw themselves face downward and worshiped God,


text:
 saying: "Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was! We thank you that you have taken your great power and have begun to rule!


text:
 The heathen were filled with rage, because the time for your anger has come, the time for the dead to be judged. The time has come to reward your servants, the prophets, and all your people, all who have reverence for you, great and small alike. The time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth!"


text:
 God's temple in heaven was opened, and the Covenant Box was seen there. Then there were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.


text:
 Then a great and mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a woman, whose dress was the sun and who had the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.


text:
 Another mysterious sight appeared in the sky. There was a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and a crown on each of his heads.


text:
 With his tail he dragged a third of the stars out of the sky and threw them down to the earth. He stood in front of the woman, in order to eat her child as soon as it was born.


text:
 Then she gave birth to a son, who will rule over all nations with an iron rod. But the child was snatched away and taken to God and his throne.


text:
 The woman fled to the desert, to a place God had prepared for her, where she will be taken care of for 1, 260 days.


text:
 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, who fought back with his angels;


text:
 The huge dragon was thrown out---that ancient serpent, named the Devil, or Satan, that deceived the whole world. He was thrown down to earth, and all his angels with him.


text:
 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, "Now God's salvation has come! Now God has shown his power as King! Now his Messiah has shown his authority! For the one who stood before our God and accused believers day and night has been thrown out of heaven.


text:
 They won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed; and they were willing to give up their lives and die.


text:
 And so be glad, you heavens, and all you that live there! But how terrible for the earth and the sea! For the Devil has come down to you, and he is filled with rage, because he knows that he has only a little time left."


text:
 When the dragon realized that he had been thrown down to the earth, he began to pursue the woman who had given birth to the boy.


text:
 She was given the two wings of a large eagle in order to fly to her place in the desert, where she will be taken care of for three and a half years, safe from the dragon's attack.


text:
 And then from his mouth the dragon poured out a flood of water after the woman, so that it would carry her away.


text:
 But the earth helped the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the water that had come from the dragon's mouth.


text:
 The dragon was furious with the woman and went off to fight against the rest of her descendants, all those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to the truth revealed by Jesus.


text:
 (12:18) (And the dragon stood on the seashore.) Then I saw a beast coming up out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads; on each of its horns there was a crown, and on each of its heads there was a name that was insulting to God.


text:
 The beast looked like a leopard, with feet like a bear's feet and a mouth like a lion's mouth. The dragon gave the beast his own power, his throne, and his vast authority.


text:
 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have been fatally wounded, but the wound had healed. The whole earth was amazed and followed the beast.


text:
 Everyone worshiped the dragon because he had given his authority to the beast. They worshiped the beast also, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who can fight against it?"


text:
 The beast was allowed to make proud claims which were insulting to God, and it was permitted to have authority for forty-two months.


text:
 It was allowed to fight against God's people and to defeat them, and it was given authority over every tribe, nation, language, and race.


text:
 All people living on earth will worship it, except those whose names were written before the creation of the world in the book of the living which belongs to the Lamb that was killed.


text:
 Whoever is meant to be captured will surely be captured; whoever is meant to be killed by the sword will surely be killed by the sword. This calls for endurance and faith on the part of God's people."


text:
 Then I saw another beast, which came up out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb's horns, and it spoke like a dragon.


text:
 It used the vast authority of the first beast in its presence. It forced the earth and all who live on it to worship the first beast, whose wound had healed.


text:
 This second beast performed great miracles; it made fire come down out of heaven to earth in the sight of everyone.


text:
 And it deceived all the people living on earth by means of the miracles which it was allowed to perform in the presence of the first beast. The beast told them to build an image in honor of the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived.


text:
 The second beast was allowed to breathe life into the image of the first beast, so that the image could talk and put to death all those who would not worship it.


text:
 The beast forced all the people, small and great, rich and poor, slave and free, to have a mark placed on their right hands or on their foreheads.


text:
 No one could buy or sell without this mark, that is, the beast's name or the number that stands for the name.


text:
 This calls for wisdom. Whoever is intelligent can figure out the meaning of the number of the beast, because the number stands for the name of someone. Its number is 666.


text:
 Then I looked, and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion; with him were 144,000 people who have his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.


text:
 And I heard a voice from heaven that sounded like a roaring waterfall, like a loud peal of thunder. It sounded like the music made by musicians playing their harps.


text:
 The 144,000 people stood before the throne, the four living creatures, and the elders; they were singing a new song, which only they could learn. Of the whole human race they are the only ones who have been redeemed.


text:
 They are the men who have kept themselves pure by not having sexual relations with women; they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from the rest of the human race and are the first ones to be offered to God and to the Lamb.


text:
 Then I saw another angel flying high in the air, with an eternal message of Good News to announce to the peoples of the earth, to every race, tribe, language, and nation.


text:
 He said in a loud voice, "Honor God and praise his greatness! For the time has come for him to judge all people. Worship him who made heaven, earth, sea, and the springs of water!"


text:
 A second angel followed the first one, saying, "She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She made all peoples drink her wine---the strong wine of her immoral lust!"


text:
 A third angel followed the first two, saying in a loud voice, "Those who worship the beast and its image and receive the mark on their forehead or on their hand


text:
 will themselves drink God's wine, the wine of his fury, which he has poured at full strength into the cup of his anger! All who do this will be tormented in fire and sulfur before the holy angels and the Lamb.


text:
 The smoke of the fire that torments them goes up forever and ever. There is no relief day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, for anyone who has the mark of its name."


text:
 This calls for endurance on the part of God's people, those who obey God's commandments and are faithful to Jesus.


text:
 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Happy are those who from now on die in the service of the Lord!" "Yes indeed!" answers the Spirit. "They will enjoy rest from their hard work, because the results of their service go with them."


text:
 Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was what looked like a human being, with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.


text:
 Then another angel came out from the temple and cried out in a loud voice to the one who was sitting on the cloud, "Use your sickle and reap the harvest, because the time has come; the earth is ripe for the harvest!"


text:
 Then the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth's harvest was reaped.


text:
 Then another angel, who is in charge of the fire, came from the altar. He shouted in a loud voice to the angel who had the sharp sickle, "Use your sickle, and cut the grapes from the vineyard of the earth, because the grapes are ripe!"


text:
 So the angel swung his sickle on the earth, cut the grapes from the vine, and threw them into the wine press of God's furious anger.


text:
 The grapes were squeezed out in the wine press outside the city, and blood came out of the wine press in a flood two hundred miles long and about five feet deep.


text:
 Then I saw in the sky another mysterious sight, great and amazing. There were seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last ones, because they are the final expression of God's anger.


text:
 Then I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire. I also saw those who had won the victory over the beast and its image and over the one whose name is represented by a number. They were standing by the sea of glass, holding harps that God had given them


text:
 and singing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb: "Lord God Almighty, how great and wonderful are your deeds! King of the nations, how right and true are your ways!


text:
 Who will not stand in awe of you, Lord? Who will refuse to declare your greatness? You alone are holy. All the nations will come and worship you, because your just actions are seen by all."


text:
 The seven angels who had the seven plagues came out of the temple, dressed in clean shining linen and with gold bands tied around their chests.


text:
 Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven gold bowls full of the anger of God, who lives forever and ever.


text:
 The temple was filled with smoke from the glory and power of God, and no one could go into the temple until the seven plagues brought by the seven angels had come to an end.


text:
 Then I heard a loud voice speaking from the temple to the seven angels: "Go and pour out the seven bowls of God's anger on the earth!"


text:
 The first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth. Terrible and painful sores appeared on those who had the mark of the beast and on those who had worshiped its image.


text:
 Then the second angel poured out his bowl on the sea. The water became like the blood of a dead person, and every living creature in the sea died.


text:
 Then the third angel poured out his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood.


text:
 I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, "The judgments you have made are just, O Holy One, you who are and who were!


text:
 They poured out the blood of God's people and of the prophets, and so you have given them blood to drink. They are getting what they deserve!"


text:
 Then I heard a voice from the altar saying, "Lord God Almighty! True and just indeed are your judgments!"


text:
 Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to burn people with its fiery heat.


text:
 They were burned by the fierce heat, and they cursed the name of God, who has authority over these plagues. But they would not turn from their sins and praise his greatness.


text:
 Then the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast. Darkness fell over the beast's kingdom, and people bit their tongues because of their pain,


text:
 and they cursed the God of heaven for their pains and sores. But they did not turn from their evil ways.


text:
 Then the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great Euphrates River. The river dried up, to provide a way for the kings who come from the east.


text:
 Then I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs. They were coming out of the mouth of the dragon, the mouth of the beast, and the mouth of the false prophet.


text:
 They are the spirits of demons that perform miracles. These three spirits go out to all the kings of the world, to bring them together for the battle on the great Day of Almighty God.


text:
 "Listen! I am coming like a thief ! Happy is he who stays awake and guards his clothes, so that he will not walk around naked and be ashamed in public!"


text:
 Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl in the air. A loud voice came from the throne in the temple, saying, "It is done!"


text:
 There were flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder, and a terrible earthquake. There has never been such an earthquake since the creation of human beings; this was the worst earthquake of all!


text:
 The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of all countries were destroyed. God remembered great Babylon and made her drink the wine from his cup---the wine of his furious anger.


text:
 Huge hailstones, each weighing as much as a hundred pounds, fell from the sky on people, who cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because it was such a terrible plague.


text:
 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came to me and said, "Come, and I will show you how the famous prostitute is to be punished, that great city that is built near many rivers.


text:
 The kings of the earth practiced sexual immorality with her, and the people of the world became drunk from drinking the wine of her immorality."


text:
 The Spirit took control of me, and the angel carried me to a desert. There I saw a woman sitting on a red beast that had names insulting to God written all over it; the beast had seven heads and ten horns.


text:
 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and covered with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup full of obscene and filthy things, the result of her immorality.


text:
 On her forehead was written a name that has a secret meaning: "Great Babylon, the mother of all prostitutes and perverts in the world."


text:
 And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's people and the blood of those who were killed because they had been loyal to Jesus. When I saw her, I was completely amazed.


text:
 "Why are you amazed?" the angel asked me. "I will tell you the secret meaning of the woman and of the beast that carries her, the beast with seven heads and ten horns.


text:
 That beast was once alive, but lives no longer; it is about to come up from the abyss and will go off to be destroyed. The people living on earth whose names have not been written before the creation of the world in the book of the living, will all be amazed as they look at the beast. It was once alive; now it no longer lives, but it will reappear.


text:
 "This calls for wisdom and understanding. The seven heads are seven hills, on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings:


text:
 five of them have fallen, one still rules, and the other one has not yet come; when he comes, he must rule only a little while.


text:
 And the beast that was once alive, but lives no longer, is itself an eighth king who is one of the seven and is going off to be destroyed.


text:
 "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet begun to rule, but who will be given authority to rule as kings for one hour with the beast.


text:
 They will fight against the Lamb; but the Lamb, together with his called, chosen, and faithful followers, will defeat them, because he is Lord of lords and King of kings."


text:
 The angel also said to me, "The waters you saw, on which the prostitute sits, are nations, peoples, races, and languages.


text:
 The ten horns you saw and the beast will hate the prostitute; they will take away everything she has and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and destroy her with fire.


text:
 For God has placed in their hearts the will to carry out his purpose by acting together and giving to the beast their power to rule until God's words come true.


text:
 After this I saw another angel coming down out of heaven. He had great authority, and his splendor brightened the whole earth.


text:
 He cried out in a loud voice: "She has fallen! Great Babylon has fallen! She is now haunted by demons and unclean spirits; all kinds of filthy and hateful birds live in her.


text:
 For all the nations have drunk her wine---the strong wine of her immoral lust. The kings of the earth practiced sexual immorality with her, and the merchants of the world grew rich from her unrestrained lust."


text:
 Then I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out, my people! Come out from her! You must not take part in her sins; you must not share in her punishment!


text:
 Treat her exactly as she has treated you; pay her back double for all she has done. Fill her cup with a drink twice as strong as the drink she prepared for you.


text:
 Give her as much suffering and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. For she keeps telling herself: 'Here I sit, a queen! I am no widow, I will never know grief !'


text:
 Because of this, in one day she will be struck with plagues--- disease, grief, and famine. And she will be burned with fire, because the Lord God, who judges her, is mighty."


text:
 The kings of the earth who took part in her immorality and lust will cry and weep over the city when they see the smoke from the flames that consume her.


text:
 They stand a long way off, because they are afraid of sharing in her suffering. They say, "How terrible! How awful! This great and mighty city Babylon! In just one hour you have been punished!"


text:
 no one buys their gold, silver, precious stones, and pearls; their goods of linen, purple cloth, silk, and scarlet cloth; all kinds of rare woods and all kinds of objects made of ivory and of expensive wood, of bronze, iron, and marble;


text:
 and cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, and frankincense; wine and oil, flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and carriages, slaves, and even human lives.


text:
 The merchants say to her, "All the good things you longed to own have disappeared, and all your wealth and glamor are gone, and you will never find them again!"


text:
 The merchants, who became rich from doing business in that city, will stand a long way off, because they are afraid of sharing in her suffering. They will cry and mourn,


text:
 and say, "How terrible! How awful for the great city! She used to dress herself in linen, purple, and scarlet, and cover herself with gold ornaments, precious stones, and pearls!


text:
 And in one hour she has lost all this wealth!" All the ships' captains and passengers, the sailors and all others who earn their living on the sea, stood a long way off,


text:
 and cried out as they saw the smoke from the flames that consumed her: "There never has been another city like this great city!"


text:
 They threw dust on their heads, they cried and mourned, saying, "How terrible! How awful for the great city! She is the city where all who have ships sailing the seas became rich on her wealth! And in one hour she has lost everything!"


text:
 Be glad, heaven, because of her destruction! Be glad, God's people and the apostles and prophets! For God has condemned her for what she did to you!


text:
 Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, "This is how the great city Babylon will be violently thrown down and will never be seen again.


text:
 The music of harps and of human voices, of players of the flute and the trumpet, will never be heard in you again! No workman in any trade will ever be found in you again; and the sound of the millstone will be heard no more!


text:
 Never again will the light of a lamp be seen in you; no more will the voices of brides and grooms be heard in you. Your merchants were the most powerful in all the world, and with your false magic you deceived all the peoples of the world!"


text:
 Babylon was punished because the blood of prophets and of God's people was found in the city; yes, the blood of all those who have been killed on earth.


text:
 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a large crowd of people in heaven, saying, "Praise God! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God!


text:
 True and just are his judgments! He has condemned the prostitute who was corrupting the earth with her immorality. God has punished her because she killed his servants."


text:
 Again they shouted, "Praise God! The smoke from the flames that consume the great city goes up forever and ever!"


text:
 The twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne. They said, "Amen! Praise God!"


text:
 Then there came from the throne the sound of a voice, saying, "Praise our God, all his servants and all people, both great and small, who have reverence for him!"


text:
 Then I heard what sounded like a crowd, like the sound of a roaring waterfall, like loud peals of thunder. I heard them say, "Praise God! For the Lord, our Almighty God, is King!


text:
 Let us rejoice and be glad; let us praise his greatness! For the time has come for the wedding of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself for it.


text:
 Then the angel said to me, "Write this: Happy are those who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." And the angel added, "These are the true words of God."


text:
 I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "Don't do it! I am a servant together with you and with other believers, all those who hold to the truth that Jesus revealed. Worship God!" For the truth that Jesus revealed is what inspires the prophets.


text:
 Then I saw heaven open, and there was a white horse. Its rider is called Faithful and True; it is with justice that he judges and fights his battles.


text:
 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and he wore many crowns on his head. He had a name written on him, but no one except himself knows what it is.


text:
 Out of his mouth came a sharp sword, with which he will defeat the nations. He will rule over them with a rod of iron, and he will trample out the wine in the wine press of the furious anger of the Almighty God.


text:
 Then I saw an angel standing on the sun. He shouted in a loud voice to all the birds flying in midair: "Come and gather together for God's great feast!


text:
 Come and eat the flesh of kings, generals, and soldiers, the flesh of horses and their riders, the flesh of all people, slave and free, great and small!"


text:
 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered to fight against the one who was riding the horse and against his army.


text:
 The beast was taken prisoner, together with the false prophet who had performed miracles in his presence. (It was by those miracles that he had deceived those who had the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped the image of the beast.) The beast and the false prophet were both thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur.


text:
 Their armies were killed by the sword that comes out of the mouth of the one who was riding the horse; and all the birds ate all they could of their flesh.


text:
 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key of the abyss and a heavy chain.


text:
 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent---that is, the Devil, or Satan---and chained him up for a thousand years.


text:
 The angel threw him into the abyss, locked it, and sealed it, so that he could not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were over. After that he must be set loose for a little while.


text:
 Then I saw thrones, and those who sat on them were given the power to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been executed because they had proclaimed the truth that Jesus revealed and the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or its image, nor had they received the mark of the beast on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and ruled as kings with Christ for a thousand years.


text:
 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were over.) This is the first raising of the dead.


text:
 Happy and greatly blessed are those who are included in this first raising of the dead. The second death has no power over them; they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and they will rule with him for a thousand years.


text:
 and he will go out to deceive the nations scattered over the whole world, that is, Gog and Magog. Satan will bring them all together for battle, as many as the grains of sand on the seashore.


text:
 They spread out over the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people and the city that he loves. But fire came down from heaven and destroyed them.


text:
 Then the Devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.


text:
 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sits on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence and were seen no more.


text:
 And I saw the dead, great and small alike, standing before the throne. Books were opened, and then another book was opened, the book of the living. The dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.


text:
 Then the sea gave up its dead. Death and the world of the dead also gave up the dead they held. And all were judged according to what they had done.


text:
 Then death and the world of the dead were thrown into the lake of fire. (This lake of fire is the second death.)


text:
 Those who did not have their name written in the book of the living were thrown into the lake of fire.


text:
 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth disappeared, and the sea vanished.


text:
 And I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared and ready, like a bride dressed to meet her husband.


text:
 I heard a loud voice speaking from the throne: "Now God's home is with people! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God.


text:
 He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared."


text:
 Then the one who sits on the throne said, "And now I make all things new!" He also said to me, "Write this, because these words are true and can be trusted."


text:
 And he said, "It is done! I am the first and the last, the beginning and the end. To anyone who is thirsty I will give the right to drink from the spring of the water of life without paying for it.


text:
 Those who win the victory will receive this from me: I will be their God, and they will be my children.


text:
 But cowards, traitors, perverts, murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and all liars---the place for them is the lake burning with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."


text:
 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came to me and said, "Come, and I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."


text:
 The Spirit took control of me, and the angel carried me to the top of a very high mountain. He showed me Jerusalem, the Holy City, coming down out of heaven from God


text:
 and shining with the glory of God. The city shone like a precious stone, like a jasper, clear as crystal.


text:
 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates and with twelve angels in charge of the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of the people of Israel.


text:
 There were three gates on each side: three on the east, three on the south, three on the north, and three on the west.


text:
 The city's wall was built on twelve foundation stones, on which were written the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.


text:
 The city was perfectly square, as wide as it was long. The angel measured the city with his measuring stick: it was fifteen hundred miles long and was as wide and as high as it was long.


text:
 The angel also measured the wall, and it was 216 feet high, according to the standard unit of measure which he was using.


text:
 The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with all kinds of precious stones. The first foundation stone was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald,


text:
 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh yellow quartz, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chalcedony, the eleventh turquoise, the twelfth amethyst.


text:
 The twelve gates were twelve pearls; each gate was made from a single pearl. The street of the city was of pure gold, transparent as glass.


text:
 The city has no need of the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God shines on it, and the Lamb is its lamp.


text:
 The peoples of the world will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their wealth into it.


text:
 The gates of the city will stand open all day; they will never be closed, because there will be no night there.


text:
 But nothing that is impure will enter the city, nor anyone who does shameful things or tells lies. Only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of the living will enter the city.


text:
 The angel also showed me the river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, and coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb


text:
 and flowing down the middle of the city's street. On each side of the river was the tree of life, which bears fruit twelve times a year, once each month; and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.


text:
 Nothing that is under God's curse will be found in the city. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him.


text:
 There shall be no more night, and they will not need lamps or sunlight, because the Lord God will be their light, and they will rule as kings forever and ever.


text:
 Then the angel said to me, "These words are true and can be trusted. And the Lord God, who gives his Spirit to the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must happen very soon."


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 "Listen!" says Jesus. "I am coming soon! Happy are those who obey the prophetic words in this book!"


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 I, John, have heard and seen all these things. And when I finished hearing and seeing them, I fell down at the feet of the angel who had shown me these things, and I was about to worship him.


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 But he said to me, "Don't do it! I am a servant together with you and with your brothers the prophets and of all those who obey the words in this book. Worship God!"


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 And he said to me, "Do not keep the prophetic words of this book a secret, because the time is near when all this will happen.


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 Whoever is evil must go on doing evil, and whoever is filthy must go on being filthy; whoever is good must go on doing good, and whoever is holy must go on being holy."


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 "Listen!" says Jesus. "I am coming soon! I will bring my rewards with me, to give to each one according to what he has done.


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 Happy are those who wash their robes clean and so have the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life and to go through the gates into the city.


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 But outside the city are the perverts and those who practice magic, the immoral and the murderers, those who worship idols and those who are liars both in words and deeds.


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 "I, Jesus, have sent my angel to announce these things to you in the churches. I am descended 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 must also say, "Come!" Come, whoever is thirsty; accept the water of life as a gift, whoever wants it.


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 I, John, solemnly warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: if any add anything to them, God will add to their punishment the plagues described in this book.


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 And if any take anything away from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from them their share of the fruit of the tree of life and of the Holy City, which are described in this book.


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 He who gives his testimony to all this says, "Yes indeed! I am coming soon!" So be it. Come, Lord Jesus!


