| Unfailing love, O Lord, is yours. Surely you repay all people according to what they have done. | And so does kindness, O Lord. You reward each person in accordance with his deeds. |
| Sing to the Lord, for he has done wonderful things. Make known his praise around the world. | Sing praise to the Lord for his mighty deeds; let this be known throughout the entire world. |
| But when you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Give your gifts in private, and your Father, who sees everything, will reward you. | But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Your almsgiving must be done in secret. And your Father who sees everything that is done in secret will reward you. |
| Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. | And let us consider how to spur one another to love and good works. Do not neglect to attend your assemblies, as some do, but rather encourage one another, especially since you can see the Day approaching. |
| So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. | Therefore, let us leave behind the basic teaching about Christ and advance toward maturity. We must not be forever laying the foundation: repentance for actions that lead to death, faith in God, instruction about baptisms and the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. |
| 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. | Does God give you the Spirit and work mighty deeds among you because you have kept the Law or because you believed what you have heard? |
| He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. | Not because of any righteous deeds on our part but because of his mercy, he saved us through the bath of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. |
| The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. | The love of the Lord is never exhausted, nor do his deeds of mercy ever come to an end. They are renewed every morning; his faithfulness never ceases. |
| When you give to someone in need, don’t do as the hypocrites do—blowing trumpets in the synagogues and streets to call attention to their acts of charity! I tell you the truth, they have received all the reward they will ever get. | Therefore, whenever you give alms, do not trumpet your generosity, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets in order to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have already received their reward. |
| And I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do. | I also ask that the women should dress themselves modestly and decently in suitable clothing. They should be adorned not with braided hair or with gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good works, as is fitting for women who profess their reverence for God. |
| When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. | Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you previously, that no one who does such things will inherit the kingdom of God. |
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