by one who recognizes that laws were not made for good men, but for the lawless and disorderly, for irreligious and wicked people, for those who are irreverent and profane, for those who ill-treat their fathers or mothers, for murderers,

I am thankful to Christ Jesus, our Lord, who has been my strength, for showing that he thought me worthy of trust by appointing me to his ministry,

Yet mercy was shown me for the express purpose that Christ Jesus might exhibit in my case, beyond all others, his exhaustless patience, as an example for those who were afterwards to believe on him and attain Immortal Life.

Hymenaeus and Alexander are instances--the men whom I delivered over to Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

especially for kings and all who are in high positions, in order that we may lead a quiet and peaceful life in a deeply religious and reverent spirit.

who gave himself as a ransom on behalf of all men. This must be our testimony, as opportunities present themselves;

but--as is proper for women who profess to be religious--with good actions.

And it was not Adam who was deceived; it was the woman who was entirely deceived and fell into sin.

he should be a man who rules his own household well, and whose children are kept under control and are well-behaved.

but men who hold the deep truths of the Faith and have a clear conscience.

Assistant-Officers should be faithful husbands, and men who rule their children and their households well.

Those who have filled that post with honour gain for themselves an honorable position, as well as great confidence through the faith that they place in Christ Jesus.

But the Spirit distinctly says that in later times there will be some who will fall away from the Faith, and devote their attention to misleading spirits, and to the teaching of demons,

who will make use of the hypocrisy of lying teachers. These men's consciences are seared,

and they discourage marriage and enjoin abstinence from certain kinds of food; though God created these foods to be enjoyed thankfully by those who hold the Faith and have attained a full knowledge of the Truth.

With that aim we toil and struggle, for we have set our hopes on the Living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who hold the Faith.

Do not let any one look down on you because you are young, but, by your conversation, your conduct, your love, your faith, and your purity, be an example to those who hold the Faith.

Show consideration for widows--I mean those who are really widowed.

As for the woman who is really widowed and left quite alone, her hopes are fixed on God, and she devotes herself to prayers and supplications night and day.

But the life of a widow who is devoted to pleasure is a living death.

Any one who fails to provide for his own relations, and especially for those under his own roof, has disowned the Faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

and be well spoken of for her kind actions. She should have brought up children, have shown hospitality to strangers, have washed the feet of her fellow Christians, have relieved those who were in distress, and devoted herself to every kind of good action.

There are some who have already left us, to follow Satan.

Any Christian woman, who has relations who are widows, ought to relieve them and not allow them to become a burden to the Church, so that the Church may relieve those widows who are really widowed.

Those Officers of the Church who fill their office well should be held deserving of especial consideration, particularly those whose work lies in preaching and teaching.

All who are in the position of slaves should regard their masters as deserving of the greatest respect, so that the Name of God, and our Teaching, may not be maligned.

Those who have Christian masters should not think less of them because they are their Brothers, but on the contrary they should serve them all the better, because those who are to benefit by their good work are dear to them as their fellow Christians. Those are the things to insist upon in your 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,

and incessant wrangling on the part of these corrupt-minded people who have lost all hold on the Truth, and who think of religion only as a source of gain.

Those who want to be rich fall into the snares of temptation, and become the prey of many foolish and harmful ambitions, which plunge people into Destruction and Ruin.

I urge you, as in the sight of God, the source of all life, and of Christ Jesus who before Pontius Pilate made the great profession of Faith--

who alone is possessed of immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has ever seen or ever can see--to whom be ascribed honour and power for ever. Amen.

Urge upon those who are wealthy in this life not to pride themselves, or fix their hopes, on so uncertain a thing as wealth, but on God, who gives us a wealth of enjoyment on every side.

for there are those who, while asserting their proficiency in it, have yet, as regards the Faith, gone altogether astray. God bless you all.