"Blessed are you when people abuse you, and persecute you, and falsely say everything bad of you, on my account.

For I tell you, as long as heaven and earth endure, not one dotting of an i or crossing of a t will be dropped from the Law until it is all observed.

But your way of speaking must be 'Yes' or 'No.' Anything that goes beyond that comes from the evil one.

But I tell you not to resist injury, but if anyone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him too;

And where no one will welcome you, or listen to you, leave that house or town and shake off its very dust from your feet.

Peter answered, "If it is you, Master, order me to come to you on the water."

For John came to you with a way of uprightness, and you would not believe him. The tax-collectors and prostitutes believed him, but even after seeing that, you would not change your minds and believe him!

So they sent their disciples to him with the Herodians, to say to him, "Master, we know that you tell the truth, and teach the way of God with sincerity, regardless of the consequences, for you are impartial.

But Jesus was silent. And the high priest said to him, "I charge you, on your oath, by the living God, tell us whether you are the Christ, the son of God."

If any place refuses to receive you or to listen to you, when you leave it shake off the very dust from the soles of your feet as a warning to them."

for Herod stood in awe of John, knowing that he was an upright and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him talk he was very much disturbed, and yet he liked to hear him.

and they will not eat anything from the market without first purifying it by sprinkling it, and they have a number of other observances which have come down to them, in the way of washing cups, pitchers, and basins.

He left the neighborhood of Tyre again and went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, crossing the district of the Ten Towns.

It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of God!"

The high priests and the scribes heard of this, and they cast about for a way of destroying him, for they were afraid of him, for all the people were amazed at what he taught.

And they came up and said to him, "Master, we know that you tell the truth regardless of the consequences, for you are not guided by personal considerations, but teach the way of God with sincerity. Is it right to pay the poll tax to the emperor or not?

And what I am telling you I mean for all??e on the watch!"

To shine on men who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, And guide our feet into the way of peace."

To the man that strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from the man who takes away your coat, do not keep back your shirt either.

I tell you, on that Day Sodom will fare better than that town!

The next day he took out a dollar and gave it to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend I will refund to you on my way back.'

It is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into the Kingdom of God!"

And they asked him, "Master, we know that you are right in what you say and teach, and that you show no favor, but teach the way of God in sincerity.

but the Helper, the holy Spirit which the Father will send in my place, will teach you everything and remind you of everything that I have told you.

And I have told you of it now before it happens, in order that when it happens you may believe in me.

But they will do all this to you on my account, because they do not understand him who sent me.

But I have told you about these things in order that when the time comes for them to happen, you may remember that I told you of them. I did not tell you this at first because I was still staying with you.

So you, too, are sorrowful now; but I will see you again, and your hearts will be happy, and no one will rob you of your happiness.

Then Pilate said to him, "Do you refuse to speak to me? Do you not know that it is in my power to release you or to have you crucified?"

So they took Jesus' body, and wrapped it with the spices in bandages, in the Jewish way of preparing bodies for burial.

Ananias set out and went to the house, and there he laid his hands upon Saul, and said to him, "Saul, my brother, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your journey, so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the holy Spirit."

In my opinion, therefore, we ought not to put obstacles in the way of those of the heathen who are turning to God,

This girl would follow Paul and the rest of us, crying out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, and they are making known to you a way of salvation."

For as I was going about and looking at the things you worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: 'To an Unknown God.' So it is what you already worship in ignorance that I am now telling you of.

for I am with you, and no one shall attack you or injure you, for I have many people in this city."

He had had some instruction about the Way of the Lord, and he talked with burning zeal and taught painstakingly about Jesus, though he knew of no baptism but John's.

He spoke very confidently in the synagogue at first, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home and explained the Way of God to him more correctly.

where he stayed for three months. Just as he was going to sail for Syria, the Jews made a plot against him, and he made up his mind to return by way of Macedonia.

I admit that in worshiping the God of my forefathers I follow the way of life that they call a sect, but I believe everything that is taught in the Law or written in the prophets,

In it God's way of uprightness is disclosed through faith and for faith, just as the Scripture says, "The upright will have life because of his faith."

They do not know the way of peace.

But now God's way of uprightness has been disclosed without any reference to law, though the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it.

It is God's way of uprightness and comes through having faith in Jesus Christ, and it is for all who have faith, without distinction.

For in their ignorance of God's way of uprightness and in the attempt to set up one of their own, they refused to conform to God's way of uprightness.

No! This is what it says: "God's message is close to you, on your lips and in your mind"??hat is, the message about faith that we preach.

when I go to Spain I hope to see you on my way there, and to have you see me off on my journey, after I have enjoyed being with you for a while.

So when I have finished this matter, and seen this contribution safely into their possession, I will start for Spain, and come to you on the way,

What I mean is this, that one of you says, "I am a follower of Paul," another, "And I, of Apollos," another, "And I, of Cephas," and another, "And I, of Christ!"

Christ has been divided up! But was it Paul who was crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?

I for my part care very little about being examined by you or by any human court. I do not even offer myself for investigation.

If others enjoy such rights over you, have we not a still better claim? But, you say, we have never availed ourselves of this right. No, we will stand anything rather than put any hindrance in the way of the good news of the Christ.

The eye cannot say to the hand, "I do not need you," or the head to the feet, "I do not need you."

But whether it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.

and I will probably stay some time with you, or even pass the winter, so that you may start me off for wherever I may be going.

as some of you have come to understand me, and that you will understand that you have a right to be proud of me, as I have of you, on the Day of our Lord Jesus.

I was going to visit you on my way to Macedonia, and then to come back to you from Macedonia and have you see me off for Judea.

For that is why I wrote you??o find out how you would stand the test, and see if you would obey me absolutely.

Am I falling into self-recommendation again? Do I, like some people, need letters of recommendation to you or from you?

For he says, "I have listened to you at a welcome time, And helped you on a day of deliverance!" Now the welcome time has come! This is the day of deliverance!

Just as you excel in everything else??aith, expression, knowledge, perfect devotion, and the love we have awakened in you??ou must excel in this generous undertaking too.

for if some people from Macedonia come with me, and find that you are not ready, it will humiliate me??o say nothing of you??or having expressed such confidence.

For you put up with it if a man makes you his slaves, or lives on you, or takes you in, or puts on airs, or gives you a slap in the face.

Those who have kept on in their old sins and all the rest I have warned, and I warn them now while I am still away, as I did on my second visit, that if I come back I will spare nobody??3 since you demand proof that Christ really speaks through me. He is not weak in dealing with you. On the contrary, right among you he exhibits his power.

But even if we or an angel from heaven preach to you good news that contradicts the good news we have preached to you, a curse upon him!

Whatever anyone may say in the way of worthless arguments to deceive you, these are the things that are bringing God's anger down upon the disobedient.

But what difference does it make? All that matters is that, in one way or another, from false motives or honest ones, Christ is being made known; I am glad of that. Yes, and I expect to be glad,

Whatever happens, show yourselves citizens worthy of the good news of the Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am kept away and only hear news of you, I may know that you are standing firm with one spirit, one purpose, fighting side by side for faith in the good news.

offering men the message of life. Then I will have reason to boast of you on the Day of Christ, because my exertion and labor have not been wasted.

Through your relation to him you have received not a physical circumcision, but a circumcision effected by Christ, in stripping you of your material nature,

We never sought praise from men, either from you or anyone else, though as Christ's apostles we might have stood on our dignity.

For you remember what instructions we gave you on the authority of the Lord Jesus.

For we can assure you, on the Lord's own authority, that those of us who will still be living when the Lord comes will have no advantage over those who have fallen asleep.

In one way of putting it, Levi himself, the collector of the tithes, through Abraham paid him tithes,

You must not be avaricious; you must be content with what you have, for God himself has said, "I will never let go of you or desert you!"

for you know that you have not been ransomed with anything perishable like silver or gold, from the futile way of living in which you were brought up,

Therefore I will always remind you of this, although you know it and are firmly grounded in the truth that you have.

For they were no fictitious stories that we followed when we informed you of the power of our Lord Jesus Christ and of his coming, but we had been eye-witnesses of his majesty.

especially those who yield to their physical nature and indulge in passions that defile them, and despise authority. Rash, headstrong men! They stand in no awe of majesty, but deride beings

For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of uprightness than after knowing it to have turned their backs upon the sacred command with which they had been intrusted.

I am coming soon. Keep hold of what you have, so that no one may deprive you of your crown.