25 Bible Verses about effort

And for this very reason, you people should make every effort to develop goodness along with your faith,

So, brothers, be diligent to make sure of your calling and election [i.e., of your status as being selected by God], for when you do, you will never stumble [and fall away from God].

So, my dearly loved ones, while you are waiting for these things [to happen], do your best to be found at peace with God, pure and blameless in His sight.

So, we should do our best to enter into that state of rest, so that no one fails [to do so] by following the same example of disobedience [i.e., as seen in the Israelites. See verses 2, 6].

So then, it does not depend on what a person wants or does, but on God, who shows pity [i.e., to whomever He wants].

And I will make every effort to see that, after I leave [i.e., die], you will always be able to recall the things [I said to you].

"You should try hard to enter [God's kingdom] by means of the narrow door, for I tell you, many people will try to enter it but will not be able to.

Do your best to present yourself as a worker who is approved by God [and] does not have to be ashamed, [because you are] accurately handling [i.e., explaining] the message of truth.

as you hold out [i.e., offer to people] the message of [never ending] life. Then I will have something to boast about on the day of Christ's [return, See 1:6], that I had not run the race for nothing nor had worked for nothing.

Eagerly try to maintain the unity produced by the Holy Spirit by being bound together in peace.

Hurry up and come to me as soon [as possible],

Actively seek to live in peace with all people. And be dedicated to God, because no one will see God without this.

Are you so foolish [as to believe that after] having begun [your Christian lives] through [the power of] the Holy Spirit, you can [now] become complete by [living according to your human strength]?

Dearly loved ones, as I was very eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we share in common, I felt it necessary [instead] to write urging you to contend earnestly for the faith [i.e., the teaching of Christ] which was once and for all delivered [by the apostles, See verse 17] to the saints [i.e., God's holy people].

So then, let us pursue such things that produce peace and things that build one another up [spiritually].

And while you are on your way to court with your opponent, make every effort to be reconciled [to him] so that he does not drag you in front of the judge, and then the judge turns you over to the officer, and the officer throws you into prison.

I am afraid for you, [i.e., for your spiritual safety], that possibly I may have spent a lot of effort on your behalf for nothing.

knowing that whatever good deed a person does, he will be rewarded for it from the Lord, whether he is a slave or a free person.

For God is not [so] unjust as to forget the work you are doing and the love you have shown for Him, as you ministered to the saints [i.e., His holy people] and continue to minister [to them].

for it is God who is at work in you, both to motivate the desire and to carry out what pleases Him.

Therefore, my dearly loved brothers, stand firm [in the faith]; do not be moved [from your commitment]. Always do your best to work for the Lord, since you know that your labor in the Lord's [service] is not for nothing.

Hurry up and come [to me] before winter. Eubulus sends his greetings, along with Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia and all [the rest of] the brothers.

However I, myself, have [reasons for such] confidence in the flesh. [But] if any other person has [reasons for placing] confidence in the flesh, I have more [reasons].

But brothers, after we were separated from you for a short time --- in person but not in spirit --- we became all the more eager [to come to you] and strongly desired to see you in person. [Note: The word "separated" here denotes the traumatic experience of a child being forcibly removed from its parents. It had been about six months since Paul left Thessalonica under adverse circumstances].

still we know that a person is not justified [i.e., made right with God] by [perfect obedience to] the law of Moses, but rather through faith in [the person and work of] Christ. [Knowing this] we have trusted in Christ Jesus [to save us], so that we might be made right with God by trusting in Him and not by [our compliance with] the requirements of the law of Moses. Because by such law-compliance no one can be made right with God.