For you, Brothers, began to follow the example of the Churches of God in Judea which are in union with Jesus Christ; you, in your turn, suffering at the hands of your fellow-citizens, in the same way as those Churches did at the hands of the Jews--

So that your conduct may win respect from those outside the Church, and that you may not want for anything.

We do not wish you to remain in ignorance, Brothers, with regard to those who have passed to their rest, that your grief may not be like that of others, who have no hope.

For, as we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also we believe that God will bring, with Jesus, those who through him have passed to their rest.

This we tell you on the authority of the Lord--that those of us who are still living at the Coming of the Lord will not anticipate those who have passed to their rest.

Then those who died in union with Christ shall rise first; and afterwards we who are still living shall be caught up in the clouds, with them, to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall be for ever with the Lord.

We beg you, Brothers, to value those who toil among you, and are your leaders in the Lord's service, and give you counsel.

Since God deems it just to inflict suffering upon those who are now inflicting suffering upon you,

Then he will 'inflict punishment upon those who refuse to know God, and upon those who turn a deaf ear' to the Good News of Jesus, our Lord.

to the ruin of those who are on the path to destruction, because they have never received and loved the Truth to their own Salvation.

So that sentence may be passed on all those who refuse to believe the Truth, but delight in wickedness.

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,

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.

This, then, is the charge that I lay upon you, Timothy, my Child, in accordance with what was predicted of you--Fight the good fight in the spirit of those predictions,

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.

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.

Those are the points on which you should dwell, that there may be no call for your censure.

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.

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.

In the same way noble deeds become conspicuous, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed.

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.

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.

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.

Remind people of all this; urge them solemnly, as in the sight of God, to avoid controversy, a useless thing and the ruin of those who listen to it.

Avoid profane prattle. Those who indulge in it only get deeper into irreligious ways,

Yet God's firm foundation still stands unmoved, and it bears this inscription-- 'THE LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS'; and this-- 'LET ALL THOSE WHO USE THE NAME OF THE LORD TURN AWAY FROM WICKEDNESS.'

Flee from the passions of youth, but pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, in the company of those who, with a pure heart, invoke the Lord.

For among them are to be found those who creep into homes and captivate weak women--women who, loaded with sins, and slaves to all kinds of passions,

and may pay no attention to Jewish legends, or to the directions of those who turn their backs upon the Truth.

Everything is pure to the pure-minded, but to those whose minds are polluted and who are unbelievers nothing is pure. Their minds and consciences are alike polluted.

How true that saying is! And it is on these subjects that I desire you to lay especial stress, so that those who have learned to trust in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing good. Such subjects are excellent in themselves, and of real use to mankind.

Are not all the angels spirits in the service of God, sent out to minister for the sake of those who are destined to obtain Salvation?

how can we, of all people, expect to escape, if we disregard so great a Salvation? It was the Master who at the outset spoke of this Salvation, and its authority was confirmed for us by those who heard him,

For he who purifies, and those whom he purifies, all spring from One; and therefore he is not ashamed to call them 'Brothers.'

and so might deliver all those who, from fear of death, had all their lives been living in slavery.

The fact that he himself suffered under temptation enables him to help those who are tempted.

Who were they who heard God speak and yet provoked him? Were not they all those who left Egypt under the leadership of Moses?

And with whom was it that God was sorely vexed for forty years? Was not it with those who had sinned, and who fell dead in the desert?

And who were they to whom God swore that they should not enter upon his rest, if not those who had proved faithless?

For we have had the Good News told us just as they had. But the Message which they heard did them no good, since they did not share the faith of those who were attentive to it.

Since, then, there is still a promise that some shall enter upon this Rest, and since those who were first told the Good News did not enter upon it, because of their disbelief,

and, being made perfect, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal Salvation,

But 'solid food' is for Christians of mature faith--those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish right from wrong.

For if those who were once for all brought into the Light, and learned to appreciate the gift from Heaven, and came to share in the Holy Spirit,

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.

Ground that drinks in the showers that from time to time fall upon it, and produces vegetation useful to those for whom it is tilled, receives a blessing from God;

Then you will not show yourselves slow to learn, but you will copy those who, through faith and patience, are now entering upon the enjoyment of God's promises.

And therefore God, in his desire to show, with unmistakable plainness, to those who were to enter on the enjoyment of what he had promised, the unchangeableness of his purpose, bound himself with an oath.

Those descendants of Levi, who are from time to time appointed to the priesthood, are directed to collect tithes from the people in accordance with the Law--that is from their own Brothers, although they also are descended from Abraham.

And that is why he is able to save perfectly those who come to God through him, living for ever, as he does, to intercede of their behalf.

one who has no need to offer sacrifices daily as those High Priests have, first for their own sins, and then for those of the People. For this he did once and for all, when he offered himself as the sacrifice.

"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.

For, if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of the ashes of a heifer, purify those who have been defiled (as far as ceremonial purification goes),

And that is why he is the intermediary of a new Covenant; in order that, as a death has taken place to effect a deliverance from the offenses committed under the first Covenant, those who have received the Call may obtain the eternal inheritance promised to them.

so it is with the Christ. He was offered up once and for all, to 'bear away the sins of many'; and the second time he will appear--but without any burden of sin--to those who are waiting for him, to bring Salvation.

The Law, though able to foreshadow the Better System which was coming, never had its actual substance. Its priests, with those sacrifices which they offer continuously year after year, can never make those who come to worship perfect.

By a single offering he has made perfect for all time those who are being purified.

'"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,"'

How much worse then, think you, will be the punishment deserved by those who have trampled underfoot the Son of God, who have treated the blood that rendered the Covenant valid--the very blood by which they were purified--as of no account, and who have outraged the Spirit of Love?

Call to mind those early days in which, after you had received the Light, you patiently underwent a long and painful conflict.

For you not only sympathized with those who were in prison, but you even took the confiscation of your possessions joyfully, knowing, as you did, that you had in yourselves a greater possession and a lasting one.

But we do not belong to those who draw back, to their Ruin, but to those who have faith, to the saving of their souls.

But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that God exists, and that he rewards those who seek for him.

Those who speak thus show plainly that they are seeking their fatherland.

Need I add anything more? Time would fail me if I attempted to relate the stories of Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah, and those of David, Samuel, and the Prophets.

No discipline is pleasant at the time; on the contrary, it is painful. But afterwards its fruit is seen in the peacefulness of a righteous life which is the lot of those who have been trained under it.

and the blast of a trumpet, and an audible voice.' Those who heard that voice entreated that they might hear no more,

And those words 'still once more' indicate the passing away of all that is shaken--that is, of all created things--in order that only what is unshaken may remain.

Let marriage be honoured by all and the married life be pure; for God will judge those who are immoral and those who commit adultery.

Do not let yourselves be carried away by the various novel forms of teaching. It is better to rely for spiritual strength upon the divine help, than upon regulations regarding food; for those whose lives are guided by such regulations have not found them of service.

We are not without an altar; but it is one at which those who still worship in the Tabernacle have no right to eat.

The bodies of those animals whose blood is brought by the High Priest into the Sanctuary, as an offering for sin, are burnt outside the camp.

Blessed is the man who remains firm under temptation, for, when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of Life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Listen, my dear Brothers. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the things of this world to be rich through their faith, and to possess the Kingdom which he has promised to those who love him?

And righteousness, its fruit, is sown in peace by those who work for peace.

We count those who displayed such endurance blessed! You have heard, too, of Job's endurance, and have seen what the Lord's purpose was, for 'the Lord is full of pity and compassion.'

And it was revealed to them that it was not for themselves, but for you, that they were acting as Ministers of the truths which have now been told to you, by those who, with the help of the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven, have brought you the Good News--truths into which even angels long to look.

It is to you, then, who believe in him that he is precious, but to those who do not believe he is 'a stone which, though rejected by the builders, has now itself become the corner-stone,'

and to governors as the men sent by him to punish evil-doers and to commend those who do right.

Act as free men, yet not using your freedom as those do who make it a cloak for wickedness, but as Servants of God.

Those of you who are domestic servants should always be submissive and respectful to their masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are arbitrary.

Again, those of you who are married men should live considerately with their wives, showing due regard to their sex, as weaker than their own, and not forgetting that they share with you in the gift of Life. Then you will be able to pray without hindrance.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And his ears are attentive to their prayers, But the face of the Lord is set against those who do wrong.'

and keeping your consciences clear, so that, whenever you are maligned, those who vilify your good and Christian conduct may be put to shame.

For the time has come for judgment to begin with the House of God; and, if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who reject God's Good News?

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.

To those to whom, through the justice of our God and Savior Jesus Christ, there has been granted faith equally privileged with our own, from Simon Peter, a servant and an Apostle of Jesus Christ.

especially those who, following the promptings of their lower nature, indulge their polluting passions and despise all control. Audacious and self-willed, they feel no awe of the Mighty, maligning them,

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,

With boastful and foolish talk, they appeal to the passions of man's lower nature, and, by their profligacy, entice those who are just escaping from the men who live such misguided lives.

and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but for those of the whole world besides.

In writing thus to you, I have in mind those who are trying to mislead you.

Those men belong to the world; and therefore they speak as the world speaks, and the world listens to them.

To an eminent Christian Lady, and to her Children, from the Officer of the Church. I sincerely love you all, and not I only, but also all those who have learned to know the Truth.