| If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. | If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. |
| And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. | And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for. |
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| But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. | But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. |
| If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. | So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. |
| For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. | After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content. |
| What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? | Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? |
| For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. | We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. |
| Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him. | This is a trustworthy saying: If we die with him, we will also live with him. |
| We love because He first loved us. | We love each other because he loved us first. |
| What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! | Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! |
| This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. | And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. |
| Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure. | Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. |
| For we live by faith, not by sight. | For we live by believing and not by seeing. |
| We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. | For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. |
| Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. | Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. |
| For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through 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. |
| Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest 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. |
| This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. | And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. |
| ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ | For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ |
| For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. | For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. |
| We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. | But we have sinned and done wrong. We have rebelled against you and scorned your commands and regulations. |
| Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. | Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. |
| This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. | We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. |
| Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. | Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked so hard to achieve. Be diligent so that you receive your full reward. |
| We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. | And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. |
