1 Timothy 4 Cross References - WNT

¹ Now the Spirit expressly declares that in later times some will fall away from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons; ² through the hypocrisy of men who teach falsely and have their own consciences seared as with a hot iron; ³ forbidding people to marry, and insisting on abstinence from foods which God has created to be partaken of, with thankfulness, by those who believe and have a clear knowledge of the truth. ⁴ For everything that God has created is good, and nothing is to be cast aside, if only it is received with thanksgiving. ⁵ For it is made holy by the word of God and by prayer. ⁶ If you warn the brethren of these dangers you will be a good and faithful servant of Christ Jesus, inwardly feeding on the lessons of the faith and of the sound teaching of which you have been, and are, so close a follower. ⁷ But worldly stories, fit only for credulous old women, have nothing to do with. ⁸ Train yourself in godliness. Exercise for the body is not useless, but godliness is useful in every respect, possessing, as it does, the promise of Life now and of the Life which is soon coming. ⁹ Faithful is this saying and deserving of universal acceptance: ¹⁰ and here is the motive of our toiling and wrestling, because we have our hopes fixed on the ever-living God, who is the Saviour of all mankind, and especially of believers. ¹¹ Command this and teach this. ¹² Let no one think slightingly of you because you are a young man; but in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, be an example for your fellow Christians to imitate. ¹³ Till I come, bestow your attention on reading, exhortation and teaching. ¹⁴ Do not be careless about the gifts with which you are endowed, which were conferred on you through a divine revelation when the hands of the elders were placed upon you. ¹⁵ Habitually practise these duties, and be absorbed in them; so that your growing proficiency in them may be evident to all. ¹⁶ Be on your guard as to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things; for by doing this you will make certain your own salvation and that of your hearers.

⁵ "for many will come assuming my name and saying 'I am the Christ;' and they will mislead many. ⁶ And before long you will hear of wars and rumours of wars. Do not be alarmed, for such things must be; but the End is not yet. ⁷ FOR NATION WILL RISE IN ARMS AGAINST NATION, KINGDOM AGAINST KINGDOM, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places; ⁸ but all these miseries are but like the early pains of childbirth. ⁹ "At that time they will deliver you up to punishment and will put you to death; and you will be objects of hatred to all the nations because you are called by my name. ¹⁰ Then WILL MANY STUMBLE AND FALL, and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹ Many false prophets will rise up and lead multitudes astray; ¹² and because of the prevalent disregard of God's law the love of the great majority will grow cold;

¹³ But when He has come--the Spirit of Truth--He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak as Himself originating what He says, but all that He hears He will speak, and He will make known the future to you.

² While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for Me, now at once, Barnabas and Saul, for the work to which I have called them."

¹⁸ A few of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also encountered him. Some of them asked, "What has this beggarly babbler to say?" "His business," said others, "seems to be to cry up some foreign gods." This was because he had been telling the Good News of Jesus and the Resurrection.

²⁵ Unable to agree among themselves, they at last left him, but not before Paul had spoken a parting word to them, saying, "Right well did the Holy Spirit say to your forefathers through the Prophet Isaiah:

⁵ For if so-called gods do exist, either in Heaven or on earth--and in fact there are many such gods and many such lords-- ⁶ yet *we* have but one God, the Father, who is the source of all things and for whose service we exist, and but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom we and all things exist.

²⁰ No, but that which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons, not to God; and I would not have you have fellowship with one another through the demons.

¹¹ But these results are all brought about by one and the same Spirit, who bestows His gifts upon each of us in accordance with His own will.

³ But I am afraid that, as the serpent in his craftiness deceived Eve, so your minds may be led astray from their single-heartedness and their fidelity to Christ.

¹³ For men of this stamp are sham apostles, dishonest workmen, assuming the garb of Apostles of Christ. ¹⁴ And no wonder. Satan, their master, can disguise himself as an angel of light. ¹⁵ It is therefore no great thing for his servants also to disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be in accordance with their actions.

¹⁸ Let no one defraud you of your prize, priding himself on his humility and on his worship of the angels, and taking his stand on the visions he has seen, and idly puffed up with his unspiritual thoughts.

³ Let no one in any way deceive you, for that day cannot come without the coming of the apostasy first, and the appearing of the man of sin, the son of perdition, who sets himself against, ⁴ and exalts himself above, every so-called 'god' or object of worship, and goes the length of taking his seat in the very temple of God, giving it out that he himself is God. ⁵ Do you not remember that while I was still with you I used to tell you all this? ⁶ And now you know what restrains him, in order that his true character may be revealed at his appointed time. ⁷ For lawlessness is already at work in secret; but only until the man who is now exercising a restraining influence is removed, ⁸ and then the Lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will sweep away with the tempest of His anger, and utterly overwhelm by the awful splendour of His Coming. ⁹ The appearing of the Lawless one will be attended by various miracles and tokens and delusive marvels--for so Satan works-- ¹⁰ and by every kind of wicked deception for those who are on the way to perdition because they did not welcome into their hearts the love of the truth, so that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this reason God sends them a misleading influence that they may believe the lie; ¹² in order that all may come under judgement who have refused to believe the truth and have taken pleasure in unrighteousness.

¹ But of this be assured: in the last days grievous times will set in. ² For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, haughty, profane. They will be disobedient to parents, thankless, irreligious, ³ destitute of natural affection, unforgiving, slanderers. They will have no self-control, but will be brutal, opposed to goodness, ⁴ treacherous, headstrong, self-important. They will love pleasure instead of loving God, ⁵ and will keep up a make-believe of piety and yet live in defiance of its power. Turn away from people of this sort. ⁶ Among them are included the men who make their way into private houses and carry off weak women as their prisoners--women who, weighed down by the burden of their sins, are led by ever-changing caprice, ⁷ and are always learning something new, and yet are never able to arrive at real knowledge of the truth. ⁸ And just as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so also these false teachers withstand the truth--being, as they are, men of debased intellects, and of no real worth so far as faith is concerned. ⁹ But they will have no further success; for their folly will be as clearly manifest to all men, as that of the opponents of Moses came to be.

¹³ But bad men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.

⁴ and will turn away from listening to the truth and will turn aside to fables.

²⁰ He was pre-destined indeed to this work, even before the creation of the world, but has been plainly manifested in these last days for the sake of you who, through Him,

¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, as there will be teachers of falsehood among you also, who will cunningly introduce fatal divisions, disowning even the Sovereign Lord who has redeemed them, and bringing on themselves swift destruction.

³ But, above all, remember that, in the last days, men will come who make a mock at everything--men governed only by their own passions,

¹⁸ Dear children, the last hour has come; and as you once heard that there was to be an anti-Christ, so even now many anti-Christs have appeared. By this we may know that the last hour has come.

⁶ The man who is beginning to know God listens to us, but he who is not a child of God does not listen to us. By this test we can distinguish the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error.

⁴ For certain persons have crept in unnoticed--men spoken of in ancient writings as pre-destined to this condemnation--ungodly men, who pervert the grace of our God into an excuse for immorality, and disown Jesus Christ, our only Sovereign and Lord.

¹⁸ how they declared to you, "In the last times there shall be scoffers, obeying only their own ungodly passions."

⁷ "'Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. To him who overcomes I will give the privilege of eating the fruit of the Tree of Life, which is in the Paradise of God.'

¹¹ "'Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. He who overcomes shall be in no way hurt by the Second Death.'

¹⁷ "'Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. He who overcomes--to him I will give some of the hidden Manna, and a white stone; and--written upon the stone and known only to him who receives it-- a new name.'

²⁹ Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.'

⁶ Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.'

¹³ Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.'

²² Let all who have ears give heed to what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.'"

² and he opened the depths of the bottomless pit. And smoke came up out of the pit resembling the smoke of a vast furnace, so that the sun was darkened, and the air also, by reason of the smoke of the pit. ³ And from the midst of the smoke there came locusts on to the earth, and power was given to them resembling the power which earthly scorpions possess. ⁴ And they were forbidden to injure the herbage of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree. They were only to injure human beings--those who have not the seal of God on their foreheads. ⁵ Their mission was not to kill, but to cause awful agony for five months; and this agony was like that which a scorpion inflicts when it stings a man. ⁶ And at that time people will seek death, but will by no possibility find it, and will long to die, but death evades them. ⁷ The appearance of the locusts was like that of horses equipped for war. On their heads they had wreaths which looked like gold. ⁸ Their faces seemed human and they had hair like women's hair, but their teeth resembled those of lions. ⁹ They had breast-plates which seemed to be made of steel; and the noise caused by their wings was like that of a vast number of horses and chariots hurrying into battle. ¹⁰ They had tails like those of scorpions, and also stings; and in their tails lay their power of injuring mankind for five months. ¹¹ The locusts had a king over them--the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is 'Abaddon,' while in the Greek he is called 'Apollyon.'

²⁰ But the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues, did not even then repent and leave the things they had made, so as to cease worshipping the demons, and the idols of gold and silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which can neither see nor hear, nor move.

¹⁴ And his power of leading astray the inhabitants of the earth is due to the marvels which he has been permitted to work in the presence of the Wild Beast. And he told the inhabitants of the earth to erect a statue to the Wild Beast who had received the sword-stroke and yet had recovered.

¹⁴ For they are the spirits of demons working marvels--spirits that go out to control the kings of the whole earth, to assemble them for the battle which is to take place on the great day of God, the Ruler of all.

² and with a mighty voice he cried out, saying, "Great Babylon has fallen, has fallen, and has become a home for demons and a stronghold for every kind of foul spirit and for every kind of foul and hateful bird.

²³ Never again shall the light of a lamp shine in thee, and never again shall the voice of a bridegroom or of a bride be heard in thee. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth, and with the magic which thou didst practise all nations were led astray.

²⁰ who had done the miracles in his presence with which he had led astray those who had received the mark of the Wild Beast, and those who worshipped his statue. Both of them were thrown alive into the Lake of fire that was all ablaze with sulphur.

² He laid hold of the Dragon--the ancient serpent--who is the Devil and the Adversary, and bound him for a thousand years, and hurled him into the bottomless pit. ³ He closed the entrance and put a seal upon him in order that he might be unable to lead the nations astray any more until the thousand years were at an end. Afterwards he is to be set at liberty for a short time.

⁸ and will go out to lead astray the nations in all the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, and assemble them for war, and they are like the sands on the seashore in number.

¹⁰ and the Devil, who had been leading them astray, was thrown into the Lake of fire and sulphur where the Wild Beast and the false Prophet were, and day and night they will suffer torture until the Ages of the Ages.

¹⁵ "Beware of the false teachers--men who come to you in sheep's fleeces, but beneath that disguise they are ravenous wolves.

²⁴ For there will rise up false Christs and false prophets, displaying wonderful signs and prodigies, so as to deceive, were it possible, even God's own People.

³⁰ and that from among your own selves men will rise up who will seek with their perverse talk to draw away the disciples after them.

²⁸ And just as they had refused to continue to have a full knowledge of God, so it was to utterly worthless minds that God gave them up, for them to do things which should not be done.

¹⁸ For men of that stamp are not bondservants of Christ our Lord, but are slaves to their own appetites; and by their plausible words and their flattery they utterly deceive the minds of the simple.

¹⁴ So we shall no longer be babes nor shall we resemble mariners tossed on the waves and carried about with every changing wind of doctrine according to men's cleverness and unscrupulous cunning, making use of every shifting device to mislead.

¹⁹ Such men being past feeling have abandoned themselves to impurity, greedily indulging in every kind of profligacy.

⁵ and will keep up a make-believe of piety and yet live in defiance of its power. Turn away from people of this sort.

¹ But there were also false prophets among the people, as there will be teachers of falsehood among you also, who will cunningly introduce fatal divisions, disowning even the Sovereign Lord who has redeemed them, and bringing on themselves swift destruction. ² And in their immoral ways they will have many eager disciples, through whom religion will be brought into disrepute. ³ Thirsting for riches, they will trade on you with their canting talk. From of old their judgement has been working itself out, and their destruction has not been slumbering.

¹⁹ and He told all the people to sit down on the grass. Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and after looking up to heaven and blessing them, He broke up the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples distributed them to the people.

³⁶ and He took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks He broke them up and then distributed them to the disciples, and they to the people.

³⁰ But as soon as He had sat down with them, and had taken the bread and had blessed and broken it, and was handing it to them,

²³ Yet a number of small boats came from Tiberias to the neighbourhood of the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

³¹ Jesus therefore said to those of the Jews who had now believed in Him, "As for you, if you hold fast to my teaching, then you are truly my disciples; ³² and you shall know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free."

¹³ and a voice came to him which said, "Rise, Peter, kill and eat." ¹⁴ "On no account, Lord," he replied; "for I have never yet eaten anything unholy and impure." ¹⁵ Again a second time a voice was heard which said, "What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy."

³⁵ Having said this he took some bread, and, after giving thanks to God for it before them all, he broke it in pieces and began to eat it.

³ Let not him who eats certain food look down upon him who abstains from it, nor him who abstains from it find fault with him who eats it; for God has received both of them.

⁶ He who regards the day as sacred, so regards it for the Master's sake; and he who eats certain food eats it for the Master's sake, for he gives thanks to God; and he who refrains from eating it refrains for the Master's sake, and he also gives thanks to God.

¹⁷ For the Kingdom of God does not consist of eating and drinking, but of right conduct, peace and joy, through the Holy Spirit;

¹³ Food of all kinds is meant for the stomach, and the stomach is meant for food, and God will cause both of them to perish. Yet the body does not exist for the purpose of fornication, but for the Master's service, and the Master exists for the body;

²⁸ Yet if you marry, you have not sinned; and if a maiden marries, she has not sinned. Such people, however, will have outward trouble. But I am for sparing you.

³⁶ If, however, a father thinks he is acting unbecomingly towards his still unmarried daughter if she be past the bloom of her youth, and so the matter is urgent, let him do what she desires; he commits no sin; she and her suitor should be allowed to marry. ³⁷ But if a father stands firm in his resolve, being free from all external constraint and having a legal right to act as he pleases, and in his own mind has come to the decision to keep his daughter unmarried, he will do well. ³⁸ So that he who gives his daughter in marriage does well, and yet he who does not give her in marriage will do better. ³⁹ A woman is bound to her husband during the whole period that he lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to marry whom she will, provided that he is a Christian.

⁸ It is true that a particular kind of food will not bring us into God's presence; we are neither inferior to others if we abstain from it, nor superior to them if we eat it.

³⁰ If, so far as I am concerned, I partake with a grateful heart, why am I to be found fault with in regard to a thing for which I give thanks?" ³¹ Whether, then, you are eating or drinking, or whatever you are doing, let everything be done to the glory of God.

¹⁶ Therefore suffer no one to sit in judgement on you as to eating or drinking or with regard to a festival, a new moon or a sabbath.

²⁰ If you have died with Christ and have escaped from the world's rudimentary notions, why, as though your life still belonged to the world, do you submit to such precepts as ²¹ "Do not handle this;" "Do not taste that;" "Do not touch that other thing" -- ²² referring to things which are all intended to be used up and perish--in obedience to mere human injunctions and teachings? ²³ These rules have indeed an appearance of wisdom where self-imposed worship exists, and an affectation of humility and an ascetic severity. But not one of them is of any value in combating the indulgence of our lower natures.

¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, and let it be through Him that you give thanks to God the Father.

¹³ And from us thanks are always due to God on your behalf--brethren whom the Lord loves--because God from the beginning has chosen you for salvation through the Spirit's sanctifying influence and your belief in the truth. ¹⁴ To this blessing God has called you by our Good News, so that you may have a share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴ who is willing for all mankind to be saved and come to a full knowledge of the truth.

⁴ For everything that God has created is good, and nothing is to be cast aside, if only it is received with thanksgiving.

⁴ Let marriage be held in honour among all, and let the marriage bed be unpolluted; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

⁹ Do not be drawn aside by all sorts of strange teaching; for it is well to have the heart made stedfast through God's grace, and not by special kinds of food, from which those who scrupulously attend to them have derived no benefit.

⁷ I also heard a voice saying to me, "'Rise, Peter, kill and eat.' ⁸ "'On no account, Lord,' I replied, 'for nothing unholy or impure has ever gone into my mouth.' ⁹ "But a voice answered, speaking a second time from the sky, "'What God has purified, you must not regard as unholy.'

²⁰ Yet let us send them written instructions to abstain from things polluted by connexion with idolatry, from fornication, from meat killed by strangling, and from blood. ²¹ For Moses from the earliest times has had his preachers in every town, being read, as he is, Sabbath after Sabbath, in the various synagogues."

²⁹ You must abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication. Keep yourselves clear of these things, and it will be well with you. Farewell."

²⁵ But as for the Gentiles who have accepted the faith, we have communicated to them our decision that they are carefully to abstain from anything sacrificed to an idol, from blood, from what is strangled, and from fornication."

¹⁴ As one who lives in union with the Lord Jesus, I know and am certain that in its own nature no food is 'impure'; but if people regard any food as impure, to them it is.

²⁰ Do not for food's sake be throwing down God's work. All food is pure; but a man is in the wrong if his food is a snare to others.

²³ Everything is allowable, but not everything is profitable. Everything is allowable, but everything does not build others up.

²⁵ Anything that is for sale in the meat market, eat, and ask no questions for conscience' sake;

³ forbidding people to marry, and insisting on abstinence from foods which God has created to be partaken of, with thankfulness, by those who believe and have a clear knowledge of the truth. ⁴ "It is written," replied Jesus, "'IT IS NOT ON BREAD ALONE THAT A MAN SHALL LIVE.'"

⁴¹ But as to what is within, give alms, and instantly all is clean in you.

¹⁴ For, in such cases, the unbelieving husband has become--and is--holy through union with a Christian woman, and the unbelieving wife is holy through union with a Christian brother. Otherwise your children would be unholy, but in reality they have a place among God's people.

¹⁵ To the pure everything is pure; but to the polluted and unbelieving nothing is pure, but on the contrary their very minds and consciences are polluted.

⁵² "Therefore," He said, "remember that every Scribe well trained for the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse new things and old."

¹⁶ Jesus answered their question by saying, "My teaching does not belong to me, but comes from Him who sent me. ¹⁷ If any one is willing to do His will, he shall know about the teaching, whether it is from God or originates with me.

³¹ Therefore be on the alert; and remember that, night and day, for three years, I never ceased admonishing every one, even with tears.

³⁵ In all things I have set you an example, showing you that, by working as I do, you ought to help the weak, and to bear in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, "'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

¹⁵ But I write to you the more boldly--partly as reminding you of what you already know--because of the authority graciously entrusted to me by God,

¹ As for us Apostles, let any one take this view of us--we are Christ's officers, and stewards of God's secret truths. ² This being so, it follows that fidelity is what is required in stewards.

¹⁷ For this reason I have sent Timothy to you. Spiritually he is my dearly-loved and faithful child. He will remind you of my habits as a Christian teacher--the manner in which I teach everywhere in every Church.

⁶ It is He also who has made us competent to serve Him in connexion with a new Covenant, which is not a written code but a Spirit; for the written code inflicts death, but the Spirit gives Life.

⁴ On the contrary, as God's servants, we seek their full approval--by unwearied endurance, by afflictions, by distress, by helplessness;

¹⁵ But we shall lovingly hold to the truth, and shall in all respects grow up into union with Him who is our Head, even Christ. ¹⁶ Dependent on Him, the whole body--its various parts closely fitting and firmly adhering to one another-- grows by the aid of every contributory link, with power proportioned to the need of each individual part, so as to build itself up in a spirit of love.

²¹ But in order that you also may know how I am doing, Tychicus our dearly-loved brother and faithful helper in the Lord's service will tell you everything.

¹⁶ But whatever be the point that we have already reached, let us persevere in the same course.

¹⁹ Such a one does not keep his hold upon Christ, the Head, from whom the Body, in all its parts nourished and strengthened by its points of contact and its connections, grows with a divine growth.

¹⁶ Let the teaching concerning Christ remain as a rich treasure in your hearts. In all wisdom teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and sing with grace in your hearts to God.

⁷ Tychicus, our much-loved brother, a trusty assistant and fellow servant with us in the Lord's work, will give you every information about me.

² and sent Timothy our brother and God's minister in the service of Christ's Good News, that he might help you spiritually and encourage you in your faith;

¹⁰ fornicators, sodomites, slave-dealers, liars and false witnesses; and for whatever else is opposed to wholesome teaching

¹⁶ Be on your guard as to yourself and your teaching. Persevere in these things; for by doing this you will make certain your own salvation and that of your hearers.

³ So teach and exhort. If any one is a teacher of any other kind of doctrine, and refuses assent to wholesome instructions--those of our Lord Jesus Christ--and the teaching that harmonizes with true godliness,

⁶ For this reason let me remind you to rekindle God's gift which is yours through the laying on of my hands.

¹⁴ Bring all this to men's remembrances, solemnly charging them in the presence of God not to waste time in wrangling about mere words, a course which is altogether unprofitable and tends only to the ruin of the hearers. ¹⁵ Earnestly seek to commend yourself to God as a servant who, because of his straightforward dealing with the word of truth, has no reason to feel any shame.

¹⁰ But you have intimately known my teaching, life, aims, faith, patience, love, resignation,

¹⁴ But you must cling to the things which you have learnt and have been taught to believe, knowing who your teachers were, ¹⁵ and that from infancy you have known the sacred writings which are able to make you wise to obtain salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ Every Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for convincing, for correction of error, and for instruction in right doing; ¹⁷ so that the man of God may himself be complete and may be perfectly equipped for every good work.

³ For a time is coming when they will not tolerate wholesome instruction, but, wanting to have their ears tickled, they will find a multitude of teachers to satisfy their own fancies;

¹ But as for you, you must speak in a manner that befits wholesome teaching.

⁷ and above all make your own life a pattern of right conduct, having in your teaching no taint of insincerity, but a serious tone, ⁸ and healthy language which no one can censure, so that our opponents may feel ashamed at having nothing evil to say against us. ⁹ Exhort slaves to be always obedient to their owners, and to give them satisfaction in everything, not contradicting and not pilfering, ¹⁰ but manifesting perfect fidelity and kind feeling, in order to bring honour to the teaching of our Saviour, God, in all things.

² Thirst, like newly-born infants, for pure milk for the soul, that by it you may grow up to salvation;

¹² For this reason I shall always persist in reminding you of these things, although you know them and are stedfast believers in truth which you already possess. ¹³ But I think it right, so long as I remain in the body, my present dwelling-place, to arouse you by such reminders. ¹⁴ For I know that the time for me to lay aside my body is now rapidly drawing near, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to me. ¹⁵ So on every possible occasion I will also do my best to enable you to recall these things after my departure.

¹ This letter which I am now writing to you, dear friends, is my second letter. In both my letters I seek to revive in your honest minds the memory of certain things, ² so that you may recall the words spoken long ago by the holy Prophets, and the commandments of our Lord and Saviour given you through your Apostles.

⁹ No one has God, who instead of remaining true to the teaching of Christ, presses on in advance: but he who remains true to that teaching has both the Father and the Son.

⁵ I desire to remind you--although the whole matter is already familiar to you--that the Lord saved a people out of the land of Egypt, but afterwards destroyed those who had no faith.

¹⁶ This too is my own earnest endeavour--always to have a clear conscience in relation to God and man.

⁴ and the attention they bestow on mere fables and endless pedigrees, such as lead to controversy rather than to a true stewardship for God, which only exists where there is faith. And I make the same request now.

¹⁰ but--as befits women making a claim to godliness--with the ornament of good works.

¹⁶ And, beyond controversy, great is the mystery of our religion-- that Christ appeared in human form, and His claims justified by the Spirit, was seen by angels and proclaimed among Gentile nations, was believed on in the world, and received up again into glory.

¹¹ But you, O man of God, must flee from these things; and strive for uprightness, godliness, good faith, love, fortitude, and a forgiving temper.

²⁰ O Timothy, guard the truths entrusted to you, shunning irreligious and frivolous talk, and controversy with what is falsely called 'knowledge';

¹⁶ But from irreligious and frivolous talk hold aloof, for those who indulge in it will proceed from bad to worse in impiety,

²³ But avoid foolish discussions with ignorant men, knowing--as you do--that these lead to quarrels;

¹² And indeed every one who is determined to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

¹⁴ and not give attention to Jewish legends and the maxims of men who turn their backs on the truth.

¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and all the pleasures of this world, and to live sober, upright, and pious lives at the present time,

⁹ But hold yourself aloof from foolish controversies and pedigrees and discussions and wrangling about the Law, for they are useless and vain.

¹⁴ Such persons are mere babes. But solid food is for adults--that is, for those who through constant practice have their spiritual faculties carefully trained to distinguish good from evil.

⁵ But for this very reason--adding, on your part, all earnestness-- along with your faith, manifest also a noble character: along with a noble character, knowledge; ⁶ along with knowledge, self-control; along with self-control, power of endurance; ⁷ along with power of endurance, godliness; along with godliness, brotherly affection; and along with brotherly affection, love. ⁸ If these things exist in you, and continually increase, they prevent your being either idle or unfruitful in advancing towards a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for to them belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens. ⁴ "Blessed are the mourners, for they shall be comforted. ⁵ "Blessed are the meek, for they as heirs shall obtain possession of the earth. ⁶ "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be completely satisfied. ⁷ "Blessed are the compassionate, for they shall receive compassion. ⁸ "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ⁹ "Blessed are the peacemakers, for it is they who will be recognized as sons of God. ¹⁰ "Blessed are those who have borne persecution in the cause of Righteousness, for to them belongs the Kingdom of the Heavens. ¹¹ "Blessed are you when they have insulted and persecuted you, and have said every cruel thing about you falsely for my sake. ¹² Be joyful and triumphant, because your reward is great in the Heavens; for so were the Prophets before you persecuted.

³³ But make His Kingdom and righteousness your chief aim, and then these things shall all be given you in addition.

²⁹ And whoever has forsaken houses, or brothers or sisters, or father or mother, or children or lands, for my sake, shall receive many times as much and shall have as his inheritance the Life of the Ages.

¹⁹ You know the Commandments-- 'DO NOT MURDER;' 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY;' 'DO NOT STEAL;' 'DO NOT LIE IN GIVING EVIDENCE;' 'DO NOT DEFRAUD;' 'HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.'" ²⁰ "Rabbi," he replied, "all these Commandments I have carefully obeyed from my youth."

³⁰ but will receive a hundred times as much now in this present life--houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, lands--and persecution with them--and in the coming age the Life of the Ages.

³¹ But make His Kingdom the object of your pursuit, and these things shall be given you in addition. ³² "Dismiss your fears, little flock: your Father finds a pleasure in giving you the Kingdom.

²⁸ Now we know that for those who love God all things are working together for good--for those, I mean, whom with deliberate purpose He has called.

²² For everything belongs to you--be it Paul or Apollos or Peter, the world or life or death, things present or future--everything belongs to you;

⁶ And godliness *is* gain, when associated with contentment;

⁸ This is a faithful saying, and on these various points I would have you insist strenuously, in order that those who have their faith fixed on God may be careful to set an example of good actions. For these are not only good in themselves, but are also useful to mankind.

⁹ And this is a figure--for the time now present--answering to which both gifts and sacrifices are offered, unable though they are to give complete freedom from sin to him who ministers. ¹⁰ For their efficacy depends only on meats and drinks and various washings, ceremonies pertaining to the body and imposed until a time of reformation.

³ seeing that His divine power has given us all things that are needful for life and godliness, through our knowledge of Him who has appealed to us by His own glorious perfections. ⁴ It is by means of these that He has granted us His precious and wondrous promises, in order that through them you may, one and all, become sharers in the very nature of God, having completely escaped the corruption which exists in the world through earthly cravings.

²⁵ And this is the promise which He Himself has given us--the Life of the Ages.

¹² "'He who overcomes--I will make him a pillar in the sanctuary of My God, and he shall never go out from it again. And I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which is to come down out of Heaven from My God, and My own new name.

²¹ "'To him who overcomes I will give the privilege of sitting down with Me on My throne, as I also have overcome and have sat down with My Father on His throne.

¹⁵ Faithful is the saying, and deserving of universal acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; among whom I stand foremost.

⁴³ His trust is in God: let God deliver him now, if He will have him; for he said, 'I am God's Son.'"

²⁹ The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and exclaimed, "Look, that is the Lamb of God who is to take away the sin of the world!

¹⁵ in order that every one who trusts in Him may have the Life of the Ages." ¹⁶ For so greatly did God love the world that He gave His only Son, that every one who trusts in Him may not perish but may have the Life of Ages. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

⁴² and they said to the woman, "We no longer believe in Him simply because of your statements; for we have now heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Saviour of the world."

²⁴ "In most solemn truth I tell you that he who listens to my teaching and believes Him who sent me, has the Life of the Ages, and does not come under judgement, but has passed over out of death into Life.

¹² And again Isaiah says, "THERE SHALL BE THE ROOT OF JESSE AND ONE WHO RISES UP TO RULE THE GENTILES. ON HIM SHALL THE GENTILES BUILD THEIR HOPES." ¹³ May God, the giver of hope, fill you with continual joy and peace because you trust in Him--so that you may have abundant hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

⁹ God, it seems to me, has exhibited us Apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; for we have come to be a spectacle to all creation--alike to angels and to men. ¹⁰ We, for Christ's sake, are labeled as "foolish"; you, as Christians, are men of shrewd intelligence. We are mere weaklings: you are strong. You are in high repute: we are outcasts. ¹¹ To this very moment we endure both hunger and thirst, with scanty clothing and many a blow. ¹² Homes we have none. Wearily we toil, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we bear it patiently; ¹³ when slandered, we try to conciliate. We have come to be regarded as the mere dirt and filth of the world--the refuse of the universe, even to this hour.

⁸ We are hard pressed, yet never in absolute distress; perplexed, yet never utterly baffled; ⁹ pursued, yet never left unsuccoured; struck to the ground, yet never slain; ¹⁰ always, wherever we go, carrying with us in our bodies the putting to death of Jesus, so that in our bodies it may also be clearly shown that Jesus lives.

³ We endeavour to give people no cause for stumbling in anything, lest the work we are doing should fall into discredit. ⁴ On the contrary, as God's servants, we seek their full approval--by unwearied endurance, by afflictions, by distress, by helplessness; ⁵ by floggings, by imprisonments; by facing riots, by toil, by sleepless watching, by hunger and thirst; ⁶ by purity of life, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love; ⁷ by the proclamation of the truth, by the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness, wielded in both hands; ⁸ through honour and ignominy, through calumny and praise. We are looked upon as impostors and yet are true men; ⁹ as obscure persons, and yet are well known; as on the point of death, and yet, strange to tell, we live; as under God's discipline, and yet we are not deprived of life; ¹⁰ as sad, but we are always joyful; as poor, but we bestow wealth on many; as having nothing, and yet we securely possess all things.

²³ Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as if I were out of my mind.) Much more am I His servant; serving Him more thoroughly than they by my labours, and more thoroughly also by my imprisonments, by excessively cruel floggings, and with risk of life many a time. ²⁴ From the Jews I five times have received forty lashes all but one. ²⁵ Three times I have been beaten with Roman rods, once I have been stoned, three times I have been shipwrecked, once for full four and twenty hours I was floating on the open sea. ²⁶ I have served Him by frequent travelling, amid dangers in crossing rivers, dangers from robbers; dangers from my own countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles; dangers in the city, dangers in the Desert, dangers by sea, dangers from spies in our midst; ²⁷ with labour and toil, with many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, in frequent fastings, in cold, and with insufficient clothing.

⁶ who gave Himself as the redemption price for all--a fact testified to at its own appointed time,

¹⁵ But, for fear I may be hindered, I now write, so that you may have rules to guide you in dealing with God's household. For this is what the Church of the ever-living God is, and it is the pillar and foundation-stone of the truth.

¹⁷ Impress on those who are rich in the present age that they must not be haughty nor set their hopes on riches--that unstable foundation--but on God who provides us richly with all things for our enjoyment.

⁹ For preaching the Good News I suffer, and am even put in chains, as if I were a criminal: yet the word of God is not imprisoned. ¹⁰ For this reason I endure all things for the sake of God's own people; so that they also may obtain salvation--even the salvation which is in Christ Jesus--and with it eternal glory.

¹⁰ But you have intimately known my teaching, life, aims, faith, patience, love, resignation, ¹¹ and the persecutions and sufferings which I have endured; the things which happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra. You know the persecutions I endured, and how the Lord delivered me out of them all. ¹² And indeed every one who is determined to live a godly life as a follower of Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

²⁶ because he deemed the reproaches which he might meet with in the service of the Christ to be greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt; for he fixed his gaze on the coming reward.

¹³ Therefore let us go to Him outside the camp, sharing the insults directed against Him.

²¹ are faithful to God, who raised Him from among the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are resting upon God.

¹⁴ You are to be envied, if you are being reproached for bearing the name of Christ; for in that case the Spirit of glory-- even the Spirit of God--is resting upon you. ¹⁵ But let not one of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evil-doer, or as a spy upon other people's business.

² and He is an atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

¹⁴ And we have seen and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

¹⁰ He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in his own heart: he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, in that he has refused to accept the testimony which God has given about His Son. ¹¹ And that testimony is to the effect that God has given us the Life of the Ages, and that this Life is in His Son. ¹² He who has the Son has the Life: he who has not the Son of God has not the Life. ¹³ I write all this to you in order that you who believe in the Son of God may know for certain that you already have the Life of the Ages.

⁷ Press these facts upon them, so that they may live lives free from reproach.

² And those who have believing masters should not be wanting in respect towards them because they are their brethren, but should serve them all the more willingly because those who profit by the faithful service rendered are believers and are friends.

² proclaim God's message, be zealous in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, encourage, with the utmost patience as a teacher.

¹⁵ Thus speak, exhort, reprove, with all impressiveness. Let no one make light of your authority.

¹⁰ "Beware of ever despising one of these little ones, for I tell you that in Heaven their angels have continual access to my Father who is in Heaven.

¹ Be imitators of me, in so far as I in turn am an imitator of Christ.

¹⁰ If Timothy pays you a visit, see that he is free from fear in his relations with you; for he is engaged in the Master's work just as I am. ¹¹ Therefore let no one slight him, but all of you should help him forward in peace to join me; for I am waiting for him and others of the brethren.

⁴ On the contrary, as God's servants, we seek their full approval--by unwearied endurance, by afflictions, by distress, by helplessness; ⁵ by floggings, by imprisonments; by facing riots, by toil, by sleepless watching, by hunger and thirst; ⁶ by purity of life, by knowledge, by patience, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love; ⁷ by the proclamation of the truth, by the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness, wielded in both hands; ⁸ through honour and ignominy, through calumny and praise. We are looked upon as impostors and yet are true men; ⁹ as obscure persons, and yet are well known; as on the point of death, and yet, strange to tell, we live; as under God's discipline, and yet we are not deprived of life; ¹⁰ as sad, but we are always joyful; as poor, but we bestow wealth on many; as having nothing, and yet we securely possess all things. ¹¹ O Corinthians, our lips are unsealed to you: our heart is expanded. ¹² There is no narrowness in our love to you: the narrowness is in your own feelings. ¹³ And in just requital--I speak as to my children--let your hearts expand also. ¹⁴ Do not come into close association with unbelievers, like oxen yoked with asses. For what is there in common between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what partnership has light with darkness? ¹⁵ Where can harmony between Christ and Belial be found? Or what participation has a believer with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ And what compact has the Temple of God with idols? For *we* are the Temple of the ever-living God; as God has said, "I WILL DWELL AMONG THEM, AND WALK ABOUT AMONG THEM; AND WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND IT IS THEY WHO SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." ¹⁷ Therefore, "'COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM AND SEPARATE YOURSELVES,' SAYS THE LORD, 'AND TOUCH NOTHING IMPURE; AND I WILL RECEIVE YOU, AND WILL BE A FATHER TO YOU,

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever wins respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovable, whatever is of good repute--if there is any virtue or anything deemed worthy of praise--cherish the thought of these things.

⁶ And you followed the pattern set you by us and by the Master, after you had received the Message amid severe persecution, and yet with the joy which the Holy Spirit gives,

¹⁰ You yourselves are witnesses--and God is witness--how holy and upright and blameless our dealings with you believers were.

⁷ For you yourselves know that it is your duty to follow our example. There was no disorder in our lives among you, ⁸ nor did we eat any one's bread without paying for it, but we laboured and toiled, working hard night and day in order not to be a burden to any of you. ⁹ This was not because we had not a claim upon you, but it arose from a desire to set you an example--for you to imitate us.

¹⁴ and the grace of our Lord came to me in overflowing fulness, conferring faith on me and the love which is in Christ Jesus.

⁷ Mark well what I am saying: the Lord will give you discernment in everything.

¹⁵ Earnestly seek to commend yourself to God as a servant who, because of his straightforward dealing with the word of truth, has no reason to feel any shame.

²² Keep a strong curb, however, on your youthful cravings; and strive for integrity, good faith, love, peace, in company with all who pray to the Lord with pure hearts.

⁷ and above all make your own life a pattern of right conduct, having in your teaching no taint of insincerity, but a serious tone,

¹³ Which of you is a wise and well-instructed man? Let him prove it by a right life with conduct guided by a wisely teachable spirit.

¹⁷ The wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceful, courteous, not self-willed, full of compassion and kind actions, free from favouritism and from all insincerity.

³ not lording it over your Churches but proving yourselves patterns for the flock to imitate.

⁵¹ "Have you understood all this?" He asked. "Yes," they said. ⁵² "Therefore," He said, "remember that every Scribe well trained for the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse new things and old."

³⁹ "You search the Scriptures, because you suppose that in them you will find the Life of the Ages; and it is those Scriptures that yield testimony concerning me;

⁴ But, as for us, we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the delivery of the Message."

¹¹ The Jews at Beroea were of a nobler disposition than those in Thessalonica, for they very readily received the Message, and day after day searched the Scriptures to see whether it was as Paul stated.

⁸ The teacher must do the same in his teaching; and he who exhorts others, in his exhortation. He who gives should be liberal; he who is in authority should be energetic and alert; and he who succours the afflicted should do it cheerfully.

³ But he who prophesies speaks to men words of edification, encouragement and comfort.

⁶ But, brethren, as things are, if I come to you speaking in 'tongues,' what benefit shall I confer on you, if the utterance is neither in the form of a revelation nor of additional knowledge nor of prophecy nor of teaching?

²⁶ What then, brethren? Whenever you assemble, there is not one of you who is not ready either with a song of praise, a sermon, a revelation, a 'tongue,' or an interpretation. Let everything be done with a view to the building up of faith and character.

¹⁴ All this I write to you, though I am hoping before long to come to see you. ¹⁵ But, for fear I may be hindered, I now write, so that you may have rules to guide you in dealing with God's household. For this is what the Church of the ever-living God is, and it is the pillar and foundation-stone of the truth.

⁶ If you warn the brethren of these dangers you will be a good and faithful servant of Christ Jesus, inwardly feeding on the lessons of the faith and of the sound teaching of which you have been, and are, so close a follower.

¹⁵ Earnestly seek to commend yourself to God as a servant who, because of his straightforward dealing with the word of truth, has no reason to feel any shame. ¹⁶ But from irreligious and frivolous talk hold aloof, for those who indulge in it will proceed from bad to worse in impiety, ¹⁷ and their teaching will spread like a running sore. Hymenaeus and Philetus are men of that stamp.

¹⁴ "Why, it is like a man who, when going on his travels, called his bondservants and entrusted his property to their care. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one--to each according to his individual capacity; and then started from home. ¹⁶ Without delay the one who had received the five talents went and employed them in business, and gained five more. ¹⁷ In the same way he who had the two gained two more. ¹⁸ But the man who had received the one went and dug a hole and buried his master's money. ¹⁹ "After a long lapse of time the master of those servants returned, and had a reckoning with them. ²⁰ The one who had received the five talents came and brought five more, and said, "'Sir, it was five talents that you entrusted to me: see, I have gained five more.' ²¹ "'You have done well, good and trustworthy servant,' replied his master; 'you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master's joy.' ²² "The second, who had received the two talents, came and said, "'Sir, it was two talents you entrusted to me: see, I have gained two more.' ²³ "'Good and trustworthy servant, you have done well,' his master replied; 'you have been trustworthy in the management of a little, I will put you in charge of much: share your master's joy.' ²⁴ "But, next, the man who had the one talent in his keeping came and said, "'Sir, I knew you to be a severe man, reaping where you had not sown and garnering what you had not winnowed. ²⁵ So being afraid I went and buried your talent in the ground: there you have what belongs to you.' ²⁶ "'You wicked and slothful servant,' replied his master, 'did you know that I reap where I have not sown, and garner what I have not winnowed? ²⁷ Your duty then was to deposit my money in some bank, and so when I came I should have got back my property with interest. ²⁸ So take away the talent from him, and give it to the man who has the ten.' ²⁹ (For to every one who has, more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him who has nothing, even what he has shall be taken away.) ³⁰ 'But as for this worthless servant, put him out into the darkness outside: *there* will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.'

¹² So He said to them, "A man of noble family travelled to a distant country to obtain the rank of king, and to return. ¹³ And he called ten of his servants and gave each of them a pound, instructing them to trade with the money during his absence. ¹⁴ "Now his countrymen hated him, and sent a deputation after him to say, 'We are not willing that he should become our king.' ¹⁵ And upon his return, after he had obtained the sovereignty, he ordered those servants to whom he had given the money to be summoned before him, that he might learn their success in trading. ¹⁶ "So the first came and said, "'Sir, your pound has produced ten pounds more.' ¹⁷ "'Well done, good servant,' he replied; 'because you have been faithful in a very small matter, be in authority over ten towns.' ¹⁸ "The second came, and said, "'Your pound, Sir, has produced five pounds.' ¹⁹ "So he said to this one also, "'And you, be the governor of five towns.' ²⁰ "The next came. "'Sir,' he said, 'here is your pound, which I have kept wrapt up in a cloth. ²¹ For I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man: you take up what you did not lay down, and you reap what you did not sow.' ²² "'By your own words,' he replied, 'I will judge you, you bad servant. You knew me to be a severe man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow: ²³ why then did you not put my money into a bank, that when I came I might have received it back with interest? ²⁴ "And he said to those who stood by, "'Take the pound from him and give it to him who has the ten pounds.' ²⁵ ("They said to him, "'Sir, he already has ten pounds.') ²⁶ "'I tell you that to every one who has anything, more shall be given; and from him who has not anything, even what he has shall be taken away.

⁶ These men they brought to the Apostles, and, after prayer, they laid their hands upon them.

¹⁷ Then the Apostles placed their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Spirit.

³ So, after fasting and prayer and the laying on of hands, they let them go.

⁶ and when Paul laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

⁶ But since we have special gifts which differ in accordance with the diversified work graciously entrusted to us, if it is prophecy, let the prophet speak in exact proportion to his faith; ⁷ if it is the gift of administration, let the administrator exercise a sound judgement in his duties. ⁸ The teacher must do the same in his teaching; and he who exhorts others, in his exhortation. He who gives should be liberal; he who is in authority should be energetic and alert; and he who succours the afflicted should do it cheerfully.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit.

¹⁸ This is the charge which I entrust to you, my son Timothy, in accordance with the inspired instructions concerning you which were given me long ago, that being equipped with them as your armour you may be continually fighting the good fight,

²² Do not ordain any one hastily; and do not be a partaker in the sins of others; keep *yourself* pure.

⁹ Extend ungrudging hospitality towards one another. ¹⁰ Whatever be the gifts which each has received, you must use them for one another's benefit, as good stewards of God's many-sided kindness. ¹¹ If any one preaches, let it be as uttering God's truth; if any one renders a service to others, let it be in the strength which God supplies; so that in everything glory may be given to God in the name of Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the might to the Ages of the Ages. Amen.

¹⁶ Just so let your light shine before all men, in order that they may see your holy lives and may give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.

¹⁵ And I beseech you, brethren--you know the household of Stephanas, how they were the earliest Greek converts to Christ, and have devoted themselves to the service of God's people--

¹⁴ For we know that He who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will raise us also to be with Jesus, and will cause both us and you to stand in His own presence.

⁵ They not only did this, as we had expected, but first of all in obedience to God's will they gave their own selves to the Lord and to us.

¹⁵ so that you may always prove yourselves to be blameless and spotless--irreproachable children of God in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you are seen as heavenly lights in the world, ¹⁶ holding out to them a Message of Life. It will then be my glory on the day of Christ that I did not run my race in vain nor toil in vain.

¹⁴ who gave Himself for us to purchase our freedom from all iniquity, and purify for Himself a people who should be specially His own, zealous for doing good works.

⁹ "You yourselves must be on your guard. They will deliver you up to Sanhedrins; you will be brought into synagogues and cruelly beaten; and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to be witnesses to them for me.

³⁴ "But take heed to yourselves, lest your souls be weighed down with self-indulgence and drunkenness or the anxieties of this life, and that day come upon you, suddenly, like a falling trap;

²⁶ Therefore I protest to you to-day that I am not responsible for the ruin of any one of you. ²⁷ For I have not shrunk from declaring to you God's whole truth. ²⁸ "Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock among which the Holy Spirit has placed you to take the oversight for Him and act as shepherds to the Church of God, which He has bought with His own blood.

²² Having, however, obtained the help which is from God, I have stood firm until now, and have solemnly exhorted rich and poor alike, saying nothing except what the Prophets and Moses predicted as soon to happen,

⁷ to those on the one hand who, by lives of persistent right-doing, are striving for glory, honour and immortality, the Life of the Ages;

¹⁰ For with the heart men believe and obtain righteousness, and with the mouth they make confession and obtain salvation. ¹¹ The Scripture says, "NO ONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM SHALL HAVE REASON TO FEEL ASHAMED." ¹² Jew and Gentile are on precisely the same footing; for the same Lord is Lord over all, and is infinitely kind to all who call upon Him for deliverance. ¹³ For "EVERY ONE, WITHOUT EXCEPTION, WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL BE SAVED." ¹⁴ But how are they to call on One in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in One whose voice they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?

¹⁴ trying whether I can succeed in rousing my own countrymen to jealousy and thus save some of them.

¹⁷ But I beseech you, brethren, to keep a watch on those who are causing the divisions among you, and are leading others into sin, in defiance of the instruction which you have received; and habitually to shun them.

¹⁰ In discharge of the task which God graciously entrusted to me, I--like a competent master-builder--have laid a foundation, and others are building upon it. But let every one be careful how and what he builds. ¹¹ For no one can lay any other foundation in addition to that which is already laid, namely Jesus Christ.

²² To the weak I have become weak, so as to gain the weak. To all men I have become all things, in the hope that in every one of these ways I may save some.

²⁷ but I hit hard and straight at my own body and lead it off into slavery, lest possibly, after I have been a herald to others, I should myself be rejected.

¹⁷ And tell Archippus to discharge carefully the duties devolving upon him as a servant of the Lord.

¹⁶ for they still try to prevent our preaching to the Gentiles so that they may find salvation. They thus continually fill up the measure of their own sins, and God's anger in its severest form has overtaken them.

¹⁹ For what is our hope or joy, or the crown of which we boast? Is it not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His Coming? ²⁰ Yes, you are our glory and our joy.

³ When I was on my journey to Macedonia I begged you to remain on in Ephesus that you might remonstrate with certain persons because of their erroneous teaching

¹⁰ For this reason I endure all things for the sake of God's own people; so that they also may obtain salvation--even the salvation which is in Christ Jesus--and with it eternal glory.

¹⁴ But you must cling to the things which you have learnt and have been taught to believe, knowing who your teachers were,

⁹ holding fast to the faithful Message which he has received, so that he may be well qualified both to encourage others with sound teaching and to reply successfully to opponents.

¹⁹ I Paul write this with my own hand--I will pay you in full. (I say nothing of the fact that you owe me even your own self.)

¹⁵ Be carefully on your guard lest there be any one who falls back from the grace of God; lest any root bearing bitter fruit spring up and cause trouble among you, and through it the whole brotherhood be defiled;

²⁰ let him know that he who brings a sinner back from his evil ways will save the man's soul from death and throw a veil over a multitude of sins.

⁸ Keep guard over yourselves, so that you may not lose the results of your good deeds, but may receive back a full reward. ⁹ No one has God, who instead of remaining true to the teaching of Christ, presses on in advance: but he who remains true to that teaching has both the Father and the Son.