But for that very reason I was treated mercifully, so that in me Jesus Christ might exhibit his inexhaustible patience, making me an example for those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.
However, if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you are upright in your dealings with your neighbor; if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you do not shed innocent blood in this place; and if you do not follow other gods and thereby cause your own destruction, then I will allow you to live in this place, in the land that I gave as a permanent gift to your fathers long ago.
At the time that discipline is received, it always seems painful rather than pleasant, but afterward it yields a harvest of peace and uprightness to those who have been trained by it.
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.
What then should we say? That the Law is sinful? Absolutely not! Yet if it had not been for the Law, I would not have known what sin was. I would not have known what covet is if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
You can eat any water creature that has fins and scales; those you can eat. Whatever does not have fins or scales, you are not to eat. It is unclean for you.
Therefore, do not allow anyone to pass judgment on you in regard to what you eat or drink, or about the observance of Festivals, New Moons, or Sabbaths. These are only a shadow of what is to come. The reality is Christ.