This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! | Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. |
This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. | This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. |
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So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. | For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. |
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. | Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. |
Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! | He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. |
In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. | In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. |
Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. | Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. |
As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” | Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. |
For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. | You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. |
For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ. | For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. |
When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following through, for God takes no pleasure in fools. Keep all the promises you make to him. | When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. |
You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name. | You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. |
God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. | Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. |
Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. | For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. |
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. | Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. |
Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. | I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. |
Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. | And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. |
May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. | May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus. |
I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. | I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. |
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” | Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” |
And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. | All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. |
Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. | Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. |
The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers! | When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? |
For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. | For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. |
For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning. | For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. |