Bible verses about "tough love" | Godbey

¹ Criticise not, that you may not be criticised. ² For with what criticism you criticise, you will be criticised: and with what measure you measure, it will be measured unto you. ³ But why do you see the mote which is in the eye of your brother, and do not recognize the beam which is in your own eye? ⁴ Or how will you say to your brother, Permit me, I will cast out the mote from your eye; and behold, there is a beam in your own eye? ⁵ O hypocrite, first cast out the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to cast out the mote from the eye of your brother. ⁶ Give not that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine, lest they may trample them under their feet, and having turned round tear you to pieces. ⁷ Ask, and it shall be given unto you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. ⁸ For every one asking receives; and the one seeking finds; and to the one knocking it shall be opened. ⁹ What man is there of you, whom, if his son shall ask bread, he will give him a stone? ¹⁰ And if he may ask a fish, whether will he give him a serpent? ¹¹ Therefore if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in the heavens give good things to them that ask Him? ¹² Therefore all things whatsoever you may wish that the people may do unto you, do ye even so unto them: for this is the law and the prophets. ¹³ Enter ye in through the narrow gate: because wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there are, who are going in through it. ¹⁴ Because narrow is the gate, and contracted the way, that leadeth into life, and few there are who find it. ¹⁵ But beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are rapacious wolves. ¹⁶ You shall know them by their fruits. Do the people gather the grape-bunches from thorns, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ So every good tree produces good fruits; and a corrupt tree produces evil fruits. ¹⁸ A good tree is not able to produce evil fruits, neither is a corrupt tree able to produce beautiful fruits. ¹⁹ Every tree not producing beautiful fruit is cut down and cast into the fire. ²⁰ Therefore you shall know them perfectly by their fruits. ²¹ Not every one saying to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in the heavens. ²² Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out demons, and in thy name done many mighty works? ²³ Then I will confess unto them that I never knew you: depart from me, ye who work iniquity. ²⁴ Then every one who hears these words of mine, and does them, I will liken him unto a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. ²⁵ And the rain came down, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and fell against that house; and it did not fall; for it was founded upon the rock. ²⁶ And every one hearing these words of mine, and doing them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand. ²⁷ And the rain came down, and the rivers came, and the winds blew, and beat against that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. ²⁸ And it came to pass when Jesus finished these discourses, the multitudes were astonished at His teaching: ²⁹ for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

¹ James, the servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are in the Dispersion, greeting. ² Count it all joy, my brethren, when you may fall into manifold temptations. ³ Knowing that the trial of your faith works out endurance. ⁴ But let endurance have its perfect work, in order that you may be perfect and whole in every part, lacking in nothing. ⁵ But if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all cheerfully and upbraids none; and it will be given unto him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, doubting as to nothing; for he that doubts is like unto a wave of the sea driven by the winds and tossed by the tempest. ⁷ For let not that man think that he will receive anything from the Lord, ⁸ the double-minded man, the most unstable in all his ways. ⁹ But let the humble brother boast in his exaltation: ¹⁰ and the rich man, in his humility: because as the flower of the grass he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun with a scorching wind has risen, and dried up the grass, and its flower fell off, and the beauty of its countenance perished: so indeed the rich man will pass away in his ways. ¹² Happy is the man who endures temptation: because, being proved, he will receive a crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him with divine love. ¹³ Let no one being tempted say, I am tempted from God. For God can not be tempted with evils, and he tempts no one: ¹⁴ but each one is tempted by his own lusts, being drawn out, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then the lust, conceiving, brings forth sin; and sin, having been perfected, produces death. ¹⁶ Be not deceived, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of change. ¹⁸ Of his own will begat he us by the word of truth, that we should be some first fruit of his creations. ¹⁹ Know, my beloved brethren; but let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow toward wrath: ²⁰ for the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God. ²¹ Therefore having laid aside all filthiness and excess of evil, receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if any one is a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a mirror: ²⁴ for he recognized himself, and has gone away, and immediately forgot what kind he was. ²⁵ But the one having looked into the perfect law which is the law of liberty, and having remained in it, not being a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, he shall be happy in his work. ²⁶ But if any one seems to be religious, bridling not his own tongue, but deceiving his own heart, the religion of that man is vain. ²⁷ Pure religion and undefiled with God even the Father is this, to relieve the orphans and widows in their affliction, and keep himself unspotted from the world.

⁵ for each one shall bear his own responsibility.

¹² Therefore all things whatsoever you may wish that the people may do unto you, do ye even so unto them: for this is the law and the prophets.

⁸ before all things having divine love stedfast toward one another; because divine love covers a multitude of sins:

¹ In the presence of God, and Jesus Christ, the one about to judge the living and the dead, I testify to, both his appearing and his kingdom; ² preach the word: be instant in season and out of season; convict, exhort, rebuke, with all longsuffering and teaching. ³ For the time will come when they will not endure healthy teaching; but according to their own lusts they will heap to themselves teachers itching as to their hearing; ⁴ and they will indeed turn their hearing from the truth, and be turned unto fables. ⁵ But be thou sober in all things, suffer affliction, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. ⁶ For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: ⁸ finally there is a crown of righteousness laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me in that day: not only to me, but to all those who with divine love, do love his appearing. ⁹ Hasten to come to me quickly. ¹⁰ For Demas has left me, having loved the present age, and is gone into Thessalonica; Crescents into Galatia, Titus into Dalmatia. ¹¹ Luke alone is with me. Having taken Mark, bring him with you: for he is useful unto me for the ministry. ¹² But I sent Tychicus into Ephesus. ¹³ Coming, bring the cloak, which I left in Troas with Carpus, and the books, especially the parchments. ¹⁴ Alexander the coppersmith showed to me much evil: the Lord will reward him according to his works. ¹⁵ Whom you also watch for he resisted our words exceedingly. ¹⁶ In my first defence no one stood by me, but all left me: may it not be charged against them: ¹⁷ but the Lord stood by me, and impowered me; in order that the preaching through me might be fulfilled, and all the Gentiles hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion. ¹⁸ And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work, and save me into his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory unto the ages of the ages. Amen. ¹⁹ Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the house of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus remained in Corinth: and I left Trophimus in Miletum sick. ²¹ Hasten to come before winter. Eubulus and Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers salute you. ²² The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.

⁴ Divine love suffers long; divine love is kind; divine love envies not; does not make a display of itself, is not puffed up, ⁵ does not behave itself uncomely, seeks not its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but it rejoices in the truth; ⁷ it bears all things, it believes all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things. ⁸ Divine love never falls: but whether there are prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there are tongues, they shall cease; whether there is knowledge, it shall vanish away.