"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will by any means pass from the Law until all is accomplished. read more. Whoever then breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. "You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that anyone who is angry with his brother shall be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca,' shall be answerable to the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fire of hell. Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go. First be reconciled to your brother; and then come and offer your gift. Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him to court, lest your adversary deliver you to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and you be thrown into prison. Truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell. "It has also been said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that every one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to become an adulteress; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' But I say to you, do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil. "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. But if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brethren, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Then Peter came to him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.

Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. read more. You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth." Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing; go and sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But he fell sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Then Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God." Peter began to say to him, "See, we have left everything and followed you." Jesus said, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this timehouse and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."

And he said to him, "You have answered right; do this, and you will live."

Now a certain ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. read more. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.'" And he said, "All these I have kept from my youth." When Jesus heard it, he said to him, "One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." But when he heard this, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" But he said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." Then Peter said, "Behold, we have left all and followed you." So he said to them, "Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life."

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so death spread to all men, because all men sinned. (For sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted when there is no law. read more. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sins were not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come. But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man's trespass many died, much more the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, abounded to many. And the free gift is not like the effect of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the gift following many trespasses brings justification. For if, by the one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.) So then, as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. Law came in, that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live any longer in it? read more. Or do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also, consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to Godthrough Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I of myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he does not belong to him.

Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Let love be genuine. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not covet," and any other commandment there may be, are summed up in this sentence, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." read more. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. And do this, knowing the hour, that now it is full time for you to wake from sleep. For now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same judgment.

Yet we do speak a wisdom among the mature, a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away.

But I, brethren, could not address you as spiritual men, but as carnal men, as infants in Christ.

Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; be infants in evil, but in thinking be mature.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, read more. that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, read more. one Lord, one faith, one baptism,

they are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to the hardness of their heart;

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;

For I am confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Not that I have already obtained this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

Let those of us who are mature have this attitude; and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. read more. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Practice what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. For this reason also, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

For this reason also, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will live a life worthy of the Lord, to please him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. read more. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authoritiesall things were created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might have the first place in everything. For all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in him and through him, to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. And although you were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, yet he has now reconciled you in his fleshly body through death, in order to present you before him holy and blameless and beyond reproach if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a minister.

We proclaim him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Epaphras, who is one of your number, a servant of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God.

For it was fitting that he, for whom and through whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him,

About this we have much to say which is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.

Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

Now if perfection could have been through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not one designated according to the order of Aaron? For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law. read more. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. This becomes even more evident if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become a priest not on the basis of a law of carnal requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life. For it is declared of him, "You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek." On the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect); and on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever.

This is symbolic for the present time. According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper,

For by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

because God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

and church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,

equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

But one who looks intently into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but a doer that acts, this man will be blessed in what he does.

For we all stumble in many ways. If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well.

Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an inexpressible and glorious joy,