| Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of 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. |
| Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. | You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” |
| If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. | 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. |
| If we diligently observe this entire commandment before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, we will be in the right. | For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us. |
| The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. | Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender. |
| For, while physical training is of some value, godliness is valuable in every way, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. | Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. |
| As they came from their mother's womb, so they shall go again, naked as they came; they shall take nothing for their toil, which they may carry away with their hands. | We all come to the end of our lives as naked and empty-handed as on the day we were born. We can’t take our riches with us. |
| He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. | He loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth. |
| But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him” | That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” |
| Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one. | Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Anything beyond this is from the evil one. |
| The sum of your word is truth; and every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever. | The very essence of your words is truth; all your just regulations will stand forever. |
| One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple. | The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple. |
| For what human being knows what is truly human except the human spirit that is within? So also no one comprehends what is truly God's except the Spirit of God. | No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. |
| For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly. | For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God. |
| Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good. | Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. |
| Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. | Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. |
| This means understanding that the law is laid down not for the innocent but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their father or mother, for murderers, fornicators, sodomites, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to the sound teaching that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me. | For the law was not intended for people who do what is right. It is for people who are lawless and rebellious, who are ungodly and sinful, who consider nothing sacred and defile what is holy, who kill their father or mother or commit other murders. The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching that comes from the glorious Good News entrusted to me by our blessed God. |
| The Almighty —we cannot find him; he is great in power and justice, and abundant righteousness he will not violate. | We cannot imagine the power of the Almighty; but even though he is just and righteous, he does not destroy us. |
| Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.” | Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” |
| For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures. | I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. |
| Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that I need. | First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. |
| So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up. | So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. |
| For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. | For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. |
| You must neither add anything to what I command you nor take away anything from it, but keep the commandments of the Lord your God with which I am charging you. | Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you. |
| For since death came through a human being, the resurrection of the dead has also come through a human being. | So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. |
Related topics
Sin
Do you not know...
Righteousness
Whoever pursues righteousness and...
Law
Keep these words that...
Reliability
But the Lord is...
Love
Love is patient; love...
Obedience
Jesus answered him, “Those...