| But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. | But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. |
| If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. | That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. |
| “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!” | The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent and believe in the gospel. |
| Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong. | Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not to have quarrels over opinions. |
| Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. | So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. |
| Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.” | Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” |
| Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them. | For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf. |
| Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere. | With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints. |
| All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. | And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. |
| And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. | And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. |
| And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will. | And He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. |
| All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. | They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. |
| Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place. | Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. |
| For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. | For we have become partakers of Christ if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end. |
| Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. | But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, but with gentleness and respect. |
| I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ. | So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? |
| So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. | Therefore let’s not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this: not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s or sister’s way. |
| Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. | Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. |
| I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. | Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted to him. |
| For God is not unjust. He will not forget how hard you have worked for him and how you have shown your love to him by caring for other believers, as you still do. | For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, by having served and by still serving the saints. |
| It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. | By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. |
| Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. | Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe. |
| If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. | Now if your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother. |
| If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? | If someone says, “I love God,” and yet he hates his brother or sister, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother and sister whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. |
| But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. | Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life. |
Related topics
Faith
I tell you, you...
Jesus
Jesus looked at them...
Spirit
For the Lord is...
Trust
Trust in the LORD...
Community
Let us think of...
Love
Love is patient and...
Bible verse of the day
Give justice to the poor and the orphan;uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.