| 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 that we have heard from him and that we declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him. |
| Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. | Remain sober and alert, for your enemy the devil is on the prowl like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. |
| This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! | Consequently, anyone united to Christ is a new creation. The old order has passed away. Behold, all has become new. |
| 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. | It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore, stand firm and refuse to submit again to the yoke of slavery. |
| 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 come not to abolish but to fulfill them. |
| 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 they do their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself. |
| Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! | One who is covetous will never be satisfied with money, nor will the lover of wealth be content with gain. This too is vanity. |
| 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. | Those of you who seek to be justified by the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ and 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. | He made him who did not know sin to be sin for our sake, so that through 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 make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it, for God has no pleasure in fools. Fulfill the vow you have made. |
| As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” | For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. |
| 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 people insult you and persecute you and utter all kinds of calumnies against you for my sake. |
| 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 consider blameless those who take his name in vain. |
| 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. | Therefore, take care to live as intelligent people, and do not be like those who are senseless. Make the most of the present time, for this is a wicked age. |
| Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. | For just as through the disobedience of one man the many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one man the many will be made righteous. |
| 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, will bear much fruit. 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 as a sacrificial offering whose fragrance is pleasing to God. |
| 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 so that you may know that you have eternal life. |
| 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 perseverance and encouragement grant that you may live in harmony with one another, following in the example of Jesus Christ. |
| 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. | Since in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor lack of circumcision is worth anything. All that matters is faith expressing itself through love. |
| 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 has been done by God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and entrusted us with 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 continually; give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. |
| Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.” | Do not succumb to the love of money, but be content with what you have, for God has said, “I will never forsake you or abandon 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 riches increase, so do those who are eager to accumulate them, and those who have accumulated them must remain content simply to feast their eyes on them. |
| 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 lasts for only a moment, while his goodwill endures for a lifetime. Weeping may last throughout the night, but at daybreak there is rejoicing. |
Related topics
Jesus
Jesus looked at them...
Law
And you must commit...
Money
Don’t love money; be...
Materialism
After all, we brought...
Righteousness
Whoever pursues righteousness and...
Love
Love is patient and...