Under all circumstances let your lives be worthy of the Good News of the Christ: so that, whether I come and see you, or whether I hear of your affairs at a distance, I may know that you are standing firm, animated by one spirit, and joining with one heart in a common struggle for the Faith taught by the Good News,

Bring everything to the test; cling to what is good;

who holds doctrine that can be relied on as being in accordance with the accepted Teaching; so that he may be able to encourage others by sound teaching, as well as to refute our opponents.

the faithfulness of Christ was that of a Son set over the House of God. And we are his House--if only we retain, unshaken to the end, the courage and confidence inspired by our hope.

We have, then, in Jesus, the Son of God, a great High Priest who has passed into the highest Heaven; let us, therefore, hold fast to the Faith which we have professed.

Let us maintain the confession of our hope unshaken, for he who has given us his promise will not fail us.

Dear friends, while I was making every effort to write to you about our common Salvation, I felt that I must write to you at once to urge you to fight in defense of the Faith that has once for all been entrusted to the keeping of Christ's People.

only hold fast to what you have received, until I come.

Therefore remember what you have received and heard, and lay it to heart and repent. Unless you are on the watch, I shall come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I am coming to you.

The form

And a teacher of the childish, because in the Law you possess the outline of all Knowledge and Truth.

God be thanked that, though you were once servants of Sin, yet you learned to give hearty obedience to that form of doctrine under which you were placed.

for the immoral, for people guilty of sodomy, for slave-dealers, for liars, for perjurers, and for whatever else is opposed to sound Christian teaching--

Any one who teaches otherwise, and refuses his assent to sound instruction--the instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ--and to the teaching of religion,

Do you, however, speak of such subjects as properly have a place in sound Christian teaching.

Which

and what you learnt from me, in the presence of many listeners, entrust to reliable men, who will be able in their turn to teach others.

All that you learned and received and heard and saw in me put into practice continually; and then God, the giver of peace, will be with you.

In faith

Now that we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all his People,

and the loving-kindness of our Lord was boundless, and filled me with that faith and love which come from union with Christ Jesus.

General references

Do you, however, speak of such subjects as properly have a place in sound Christian teaching.