For the grace of God has appeared bringing salvation to the entire human race. It teaches us to reject godless ways and worldly desires, and in the present age to lead lives that are temperate, just, and godly.
While physical training has some value, the benefits of godliness are unlimited, since it holds out promise not only for this life but also for the life to come.
Therefore, a Sabbath rest still remains for the people of God, since those who enter into God’s rest also cease from their own labors as God did from his.
It is better to spend one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in God’s house than dwell inside the tents of the wicked.
If it seems wrong to you to serve the Lord, then today you must choose whom you will serve, whether it be the gods that your fathers served on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites who dwell in the land. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
As for me, I do not regard my life as of any value, only that I finish the race and complete the mission that I received from the Lord Jesus—to bear witness to the gospel of God’s grace.
But what I tell you is this: Do not swear at all, either by heaven, since it is God’s throne, or by earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the great King.
You did not choose me. Rather, I chose you. And I appointed you to go out and bear fruit, fruit that will remain, so that the Father may give you whatever you ask him in my name.