Therefore, rid yourselves of everything sordid and of every wicked excess, and welcome in all humility the word that is implanted in you and is able to save your souls.
However, now that you have been freed from sin and bound to the service of God, the benefit you receive is sanctification, and the end is eternal life.
For this reason, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who have been called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since his death has served to redeem the sins that were committed under the first covenant.
But for that very reason I was treated mercifully, so that in me Jesus Christ might exhibit his inexhaustible patience, making me an example for those who would come to believe in him for eternal life.
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.”
Prepare in advance what you want to say, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Take away all guilt and give us what is good, so that we may present as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.”
But according to Scripture all things have been confined under sin, so that through faith in Jesus Christ what was promised might be given to those who believe.
Jesus then said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, even though he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Therefore, brethren, be diligent in providing a firm foundation for your call and election. If you do this, you will never stumble, and you will receive a glorious welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe in him already stands condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God.
But now the righteousness of God that is attested by the Law and the Prophets has been manifested apart from law: the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. No distinction has been made.
So if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out there. If they say, ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For just as lightning comes from the east and is visible even in the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be.
After he had decided to follow this course of action, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to receive Mary into your home as your wife. For this child has been conceived in her womb through the Holy Spirit.”
Everyone who seeks a prize submits himself to rigorous self-discipline in every respect. They do so to win a perishable crown, while we seek an imperishable one.
O God, you are my God, for whom I have been searching earnestly. My soul yearns for you and my body thirsts for you, like the earth when it is parched, arid and without water.