| Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! | Then what will you think if you see the Son of Man ascend to heaven again? |
| For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. | For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. |
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| He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. | He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. |
| And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. | And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. |
| For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. | For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. |
| Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings. | Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise. |
| He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? | Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? |
| For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. | Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. |
| For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. | God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. |
| Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? | Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign Lord. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live. |
| To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. | For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. |
| Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave. | But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. |
| Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? | But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it? |
| God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? | God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through? |
| For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. | The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. |
| Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. | 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. |
| And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. | It was by faith that even Sarah was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She believed that God would keep his promise. |
| I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. | I have rejoiced in your laws as much as in riches. |
| You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. | You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. |
| So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. | So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer. |
| For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
| For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. | 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. |
| For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. | If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. |
| You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. | For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. |
| The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” | Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.” |
