I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. | And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. |
So that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. | Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other. |
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For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. | The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. |
And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. | And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever. |
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. | Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. |
My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. | My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart. |
I hasten and do not delay to keep your commandments. | I will hurry, without delay, to obey your commands. |
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him. | And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment. |
The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way. | The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. |
I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and be careful to obey my rules, and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. | ‘I am the Lord your God,’ I told them. ‘Follow my decrees, pay attention to my regulations, and keep my Sabbath days holy, for they are a sign to remind you that I am the Lord your God.’ |
So you shall keep my commandments and do them: I am the Lord. | You must faithfully keep all my commands by putting them into practice, for I am the Lord. |
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. | Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. |
But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. | But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. |
Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. | Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. |
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine. | Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. |
Return to me, says the Lord of hosts, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. | Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. |
Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. | My child, listen to me and do as I say, and you will have a long, good life. |
So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. | So obey the commands of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and fearing him. |
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” | Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.” |
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. | So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. |
And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. | In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him. |
If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. | If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. |
You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. | You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you. |
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. | So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall. |
Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. | Get wisdom; develop good judgment. Don’t forget my words or turn away from them. |