| Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” | Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.” |
| The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen. | May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. |
| In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace. | He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. |
| But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ” | But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” |
| For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” | This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” |
| Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. | So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. |
| And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. | Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. |
| Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel— rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. | Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. |
| Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. | So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. |
| Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. | For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. |
| Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. | Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. |
| For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ. | For I know that as you pray for me and the Spirit of Jesus Christ helps me, this will lead to my deliverance. |
| For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. | And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
| For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality; that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God. | God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. |
| For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. | For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. |
| Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. | Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law. |
| I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. | And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. |
| Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen. | Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. |
| Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. | Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. |
| For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law. | When the Gentiles sin, they will be destroyed, even though they never had God’s written law. And the Jews, who do have God’s law, will be judged by that law when they fail to obey it. |
| Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. | In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents. |
| In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. | In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. |
| But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. | But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. |
| Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. | If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. |
| Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. | Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. |
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