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.
Follow my statutes and keep my commandments and obey them. Then I will give you rain in its proper season and the yield of the land shall increase and the trees of the field shall bear their fruit.
By faith Abraham also received the power of procreation, even though he was well past the age—and Sarah herself was barren—because he believed that the one who had made the promise would be faithful in fulfilling it.
Therefore, brethren, I implore you by the mercies of God to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and acceptable to God—a spiritual act of worship.
Conduct yourselves wisely toward outsiders, making the most of your opportunity. Let your speech always be gracious and seasoned with wisdom, so that you will know how to respond properly to all.
This is the conclusion I have reached: it is fitting for a man to eat and drink and find satisfaction in the results of his labors under the sun during the brief span of life that God has allotted him.
Make every effort to present yourself before God as one who is worthy of his approval, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, but who imparts the word of truth without any alteration.
Jesus answered, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive in this age a hundred times more houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and lands—as well as persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.”
They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and offered worship and service to the creature rather than to the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural practices. Likewise, men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameful acts with men and received in their own persons the fitting penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since these people did not see fit to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their depraved way of thinking and to all types of vile behavior.
Then Peter asked, “Ananias, why has Satan so gained control of your heart that you lied to the Holy Spirit and retained part of the sale price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not belong to you? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds yours? What caused you to contrive this scheme? You have lied not to men but to God.”