- Unless the Lord builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the Lord protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good. - You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.
- So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
- Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised. - Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it. It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.
- When you pray, don’t babble on and on as the Gentiles do. They think their prayers are answered merely by repeating their words again and again.
- I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
- Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
- If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.
- For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.
- Their ways are futile and foolish.
They cut down a tree, and a craftsman carves an idol.
They decorate it with gold and silver
and then fasten it securely with hammer and nails
so it won’t fall over.
Their gods are like
helpless scarecrows in a cucumber field!
They cannot speak,
and they need to be carried because they cannot walk.
Do not be afraid of such gods,
for they can neither harm you nor do you any good.
Who is the King of glory?
The Lord of Heaven’s Armies—
he is the King of glory. 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.Next verse!With image