But, as things are, I say that you are not to associate with any one who, although a Brother in name, is immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or abusive, or a drunkard, or grasping-no, not even to sit at table with such people.

Do not you know that we are to try angels-to say nothing of the affairs of this life?

I say this, however, as a concession, not as a command.

To all others I say-I, not the Master-If a Brother is married to a woman, who is an unbeliever but willing to live with him, he should not divorce her;

I say this for your own benefit, not with any intention of putting a halter round your necks, but in order to secure for the Master seemly and constant devotion, free from all distraction.

Am I, in all this, speaking only from the human standpoint? Does not the Law also say the same?

Do not become idolaters, as some of them became. Scripture says-'The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to dance.'

No; what I say is that the sacrifices offered by the Gentiles 'are offered to demons and to a Being who is no God,' and I do not want you to share with demons.

But, if any one should say to you 'This has been offered in sacrifice to an idol,' then, for the sake of the speaker and his scruples, do not eat it.

I do not say 'your' scruples, but 'his.' For why should the freedom that I claim be condemned by the scruples of another?

Have you no houses in which you can eat and drink? Or are you trying to show your contempt for the Church of God, and to humiliate the poor? What can I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this matter I cannot praise you.

Therefore I tell you plainly that no one who speaks under the influence of the Spirit of God says 'JESUS IS ACCURSED,' and that no one can say 'JESUS IS LORD,' except under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

If the foot says 'Since I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' it does not on that account cease to belong to the body.

Or if the ear says 'Since I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' it does not on that account cease to belong to the body.

The eye cannot say to the hand 'I do not need you,' nor, again, the head to the feet 'I do not need you.'

And so with you; unless, in using the gift of 'tongues,' you utter intelligible words, how can what you say be understood? You will be speaking to the winds!

If you bless God with your spirit only, how can the man in the congregation who is without your gift say 'Amen' to your thanksgiving? He does not know what you are saying!

It is said in the Law-'In strange tongues and by the lips of strangers will I speak to this people, but even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.'

So, when the whole Church meets, if all present use the gift of 'tongues,' and some men who are without the gift, or who are unbelievers, come in, will not they say that you are mad?

Now, if it is proclaimed of Christ that he has been raised from the dead, how is it that some of you say that there is no such thing as a resurrection of the dead?

This I say, Brothers-Flesh and blood can have no share in the Kingdom of God, nor can the perishable share the imperishable.

As this was my plan, where, pray, did I show any fickleness of purpose? Or do you think that my plans are formed on mere impulse, so that in the same breath I say 'Yes' and 'No'?

For he says--'At the time for acceptance I listened to thee, And on the day of deliverance I helped thee.' Now is the time for acceptance! Now is the day of deliverance!

Therefore "Come out from among the nations, and separate yourselves from them," says the Lord, "and touch nothing impure; And I will welcome you;

And I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters," says the Lord, the Ruler of all.'

As Scripture says--'The man who had much had nothing over, and the man who had little did not lack!'

If I must say anything about Titus, he is my intimate companion, and he shares my work for you; if it is our Brothers, they are delegates of the Churches, an honor to Christ.

With reference, indeed, to the Fund for your fellow-Christians, it is quite superfluous for me to say anything to you.

Otherwise, if any Macedonians were to come with me, and find you unprepared, we--to say nothing of you--should feel ashamed of our present confidence.

(As Scripture says--'He scattered broadcast, he gave to the poor; His righteousness continues for ever.'

I say this, that it may not seem as if I were trying to overawe you by my letters.

For people say "His letters are impressive and vigorous, but his personal appearance is insignificant and his speaking contemptible."

Perhaps you say that I did wrong in humbling myself that you might be exalted--I mean because I told you God's Good News without payment.

I say again--Let no one think me a fool! Yet, if you do, at least welcome me as you would a fool, that I, too may indulge in a little boasting.

I admit, to my shame, that we have been weak. But whatever the subject on which others are not afraid to boast--though it is foolish to say so--I am not afraid either!

You will admit that I was not a burden to you but you say that I was "crafty" and caught you "by a trick"!

I have said it, and I say it again before I come, just as if I were with you on my second visit, though for the moment absent, I say to those who have been long sinning, as well as to all others--that if I come again, I shall spare no one.

Of those who are thought somewhat highly of--what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not recognize human distinctions--those, I say, who are thought highly of added nothing to my Message.

All who rely upon obedience to Law are under a curse, for Scripture says--'Cursed is every one who does not abide by all that is written in the Book of the Law, and do it.'

Christ ransomed us from the curse pronounced in the Law, by taking the curse on himself for us, for Scripture says--'Cursed is any one who is hanged on a tree.'

Scripture says that Abraham had two sons, one the child of the slave-woman and the other the child of the free woman.

For Scripture says--'Rejoice, thou barren one, who dost never bear, Break into shouts, thou who art never in labor, For many are the children of her who is desolate--aye, more than of her who has a husband.'

But what does the passage of Scripture say? 'Send away the slave-woman and her son; for the slave's son shall not be co-heir with the son of the free woman.'

This is what I have to say--Let your steps be guided by the Spirit, and then you will never gratify the cravings of your earthly nature.

Therefore, I say, as the opportunity occurs, let us treat every one with kindness, and especially members of the Household of the Faith.

In him, I say, for by our union with him we became God's Heritage, having from the first been destined for this in the intention of him who, in all that happens, is carrying out his own fixed purpose;

This, then, as one in union with the Lord, I say to you and urge upon you: Do not continue to live such purposeless lives as the Gentiles live,

I say this to prevent any one from deceiving you by plausible arguments.

And, whatever you say or do, do everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus; and through him offer thanksgiving to God the father.

For it was from you that the Lord's Message resounded throughout Macedonia and Greece; and, more than that, your faith in God has become known far and wide; so that there is no need for us to say another word.

Console your hearts, and strengthen you to do and to say all that is right.

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,

Reflect upon what I say; the Lord will always help you to understand.

They have gone completely astray as regards the Truth; they say that a resurrection has already taken place, and so upset some people's faith.

let the instruction that you give be sound and above reproach, so that the enemy may be ashamed when he fails to find anything bad to say about us.

If a man is causing divisions among you, after warning him once or twice, have nothing more to say to him.

I, Paul, put my own hand to it--I will repay you myself. I say nothing about your owing me your very self.

For to which of the angels did God ever say-- 'Thou art my Son; this day I have become thy Father'? or again-- 'I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son'?

He says-- 'I will tell of thy Name to my Brothers, In the midst of the congregation I will sing thy praise.'

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says-- 'If to-day you hear God's voice,

Now on this subject I have much to say, but it is difficult to explain it to you, because you have shown yourselves so slow to learn.

if those, I say, fell away, it would be impossible to bring them again to repentance; they would be crucifying the Son of God over again for themselves, and exposing him to open contempt.

But, finding fault with the people, God says-- '"Behold, a time is coming," says the Lord, "when I will ratify a new Covenant with the People of Israel and with the People of Judah--

Not such a Covenant as I made with their ancestors on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not abide by their Covenant with me, And therefore I disregarded them," says the Lord.

"This is the Covenant that I will make with the People of Israel After those days," says the Lord. "I will impress my laws on their minds, and will inscribe them on their hearts; And I will be their God, and they shall be my People.

There shall be no need for every man to instruct his fellow-citizen, or for a man to say to his Brother 'Learn to know the Lord'; For every one will know me, From the lowest to the highest.

But, when Christ came, he appeared as High Priest of that Better System which was established; and he entered through that nobler and more perfect 'Tabernacle,' not made by human hands--that is to say, not a part of this present creation.

'"This is the Covenant that I will make with them after those days," says the Lord; "I will impress my laws on their hearts, and will inscribe them on their minds,"'

Therefore we may say with confidence-- 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'

Let no one say, when he is tempted, "It is God who is tempting me!" For God, who cannot be tempted to do wrong, does not himself tempt any one.

And you are deferential to the man who is wearing grand clothes, and say--"There is a good seat for you here," but to the poor man--"You must stand; or sit down there by my footstool,"

And one of you were to say to them--"Go, and peace be with you; find warmth and food for yourselves," and yet you were not to give them the necessaries of life, what good would it be to them?

Some one, indeed, may say--"You are a man of faith, and I am a man of action." "Then show me your faith," I reply, "apart from any actions, and I will show you my faith by my actions."

Listen to me, you who say 'To-day or to-morrow we will go to such and such a town, spend a year there, and trade, and make money,'

You ought, rather, to say 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'

For Scripture says-- 'You shall be holy, because I am holy.'

I need hardly say that no one among you must suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a criminal, or for interfering in matters which do not concern Christians.

Therefore, I say, let those who suffer, because God wills it so, commit their lives into the hands of a faithful Creator, and persevere in doing right.

These men, however, like animals without reason, intended by nature to be caught and killed--these men, I say, malign those of whom they know nothing, and will assuredly perish through their own corruption,

If we say that we have communion with him, and yet continue to live in the Darkness, we lie, and are not living the Truth.

If we say that there is no sin in us, we are deceiving ourselves, and the Truth has no place in us.

If we say that we have not sinned, we are making God a liar, and his Message has no place in us.

The man who says 'I know Jesus,' but does not lay his commands to heart, is a liar, and the Truth has no place in him;

He who says that he is in the Light, and yet hates his Brother, is in the Darkness even now.

If a man says 'I love God,' and yet hates his Brother, he is a liar; for the man who does not love his Brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.

If any one sees his Brother committing some sin that is not a deadly sin, he will ask, and so be the means of giving Life to him--to any whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin; about that I do not say that a man should pray.

I say this because many impostors have left us to go into the world--men who do not acknowledge Jesus as Christ come in our human nature. It is that which marks a man as an impostor and an anti-Christ.

Though I have a great deal to say to you, I would rather not trust it to paper and ink, but I am hoping to come and see you, and to speak with you face to face, so that your joy may be complete.

Every one has always had a good word for Demetrius, and the Truth itself speaks for him. Yes, and we also add our good word, and you know that what we say about him is true.

I have a great deal to say to you, but I do not care to trust it to pen and ink in a letter.

how they used to say to you-- 'As time draws to an end, there will be scoffers, who will be led by their godless passions.'

'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord, the God who is, and who was, and who shall be, the Almighty.

But I say to the rest of you at Thyatira--all who do not accept such teaching, whose who did not learn 'the secrets of Satan,' as men call them--I am not laying on you any further burden;

To the Angel of the Church in Sardis write:-- "These are the words of him who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars;--I know your life, and that men say of you that you are living, though you are dead.

You say 'I am rich and have grown rich, and I want for nothing,' and you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, naked!

These four Creatures have each of them six wings, and all round, and within, they are full of eyes; and day and night they never cease to say-- 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord, our God, the Almighty, who was, and who is, and who shall be.'

And, when they spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from Heaven say-- 'Keep secret what the seven peals of thunder said, and do not write it down.'

for her self-glorification and her luxury, give her now an equal measure of torture and misery. In her heart she says 'I sit here a queen; no widow am I; I shall never know misery.'

'Come,' say the Spirit and the Bride; and let him who hears say 'Come.' Let him who thirsts come; let him who will take the Water of Life freely.

He whose testimony this is says-- 'Assuredly I will come quickly.' 'Amen, come, Lord Jesus.'