For the authorities are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you like to live without being afraid of the authorities? Then do what is right, and you will receive their approval.

so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God's power.

None of the rulers of this world understood it, because if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, greedy, robbers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.

I would like everyone to be unmarried, like I am. However, each person has a special gift from God, one this and another that.

For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified because of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

This is my defense to those who would examine me:

But I have not used any of these rights, and I'm not writing this so that they may be applied in my case. I would rather die than let anyone deprive me of my reason for boasting.

For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast about, for this obligation has been entrusted to me. How terrible it would be for me if I didn't preach the gospel!

But if we judged ourselves correctly, we would not be judged.

If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be?

Now if all of it were one part, there wouldn't be a body, would there?

But in church I would rather speak five words with my mind to instruct others than 10,000 words in a foreign language.

In fact, we felt that we had received a death sentence so we would not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.

This is the very reason I wrote you, so that when I did come I might not be made sad by those who should have made me happy. For I had confidence that all of you would share the joy that I have.

I had also written to you to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in every way.

We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from this body and to live with the Lord.

God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that God's righteousness would be produced in us.

Otherwise, if any Macedonians come with me and find out that you are not ready, we would be humiliated to say nothing of you in this undertaking.

We would not dare put ourselves in the same class with, or compare ourselves to, those who recommend themselves. Whenever they measure themselves by their own standards or compare themselves among themselves, they show how foolish they are.

I wish you would tolerate a little of my foolishness. Yes, please tolerate me!

However, if I did want to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I am not going to do it in order to keep anyone from thinking more of me than what he sees and hears about me.

To keep me from becoming conceited because of the exceptional nature of these revelations, a thorn was given to me and placed in my body. It was Satan's messenger to keep on tormenting me so that I would not become conceited.

Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be the Messiah's servant.

Until some men arrived from James, he was in the habit of eating with the gentiles, but after those men came, he withdrew from the gentiles and would not associate with them any longer, because he was afraid of the circumcision party.

Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, "Through you all nations will be blessed."

This happened in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the gentiles through the Messiah Jesus, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

So is the Law in conflict with the promises of God? Of course not! For if a law had been given that could give us life, then certainly righteousness would come through the Law.

What, then, happened to your positive attitude? For I testify that if it had been possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.

I wish that those who are upsetting you would castrate themselves!

so that we would praise his glorious grace that he gave us in the Beloved One.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the most glorious Father, would give you a wise spirit, along with revelation that comes through knowing the Messiah fully.

I pray that he would give you, according to his glorious riches, strength in your inner being and power through his Spirit,

and that the Messiah would make his home in your hearts through faith. Then, having been rooted and grounded in love,

The one who went down is the same one who went up above all the heavens so that all things would be fulfilled.

Then we will no longer be little children, tossed like waves and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people's trickery, or by clever strategies that would lead us astray.

Now if I continue living, fruitful labor is the result, so I do not know which I would prefer.

Indeed, he was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow on top of another.

At the same time also pray for us that God would open before us a door for the word so that we may tell the secret about the Messiah, for which I have been imprisoned.

Brothers, you remember our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not become a burden to any of you while we proclaimed the gospel of God to you.

so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions, for which you are aware that we were destined.

and every type of evil to deceive those who are dying, those who refused to love the truth that would save them.

With this purpose in mind, he called you through our proclamation of the gospel so that you would obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

I am the worst of them. But for that very reason I received mercy, so that in me, as the worst sinner, the Messiah Jesus might demonstrate all of his patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life.

This is a trustworthy saying: The one who would an elder be, a noble task desires he.

17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.

Moses was faithful in all God's household as a servant who was to testify to what would be said later,

So in my anger I swore a solemn oath that they would never enter my rest."

And to whom did he swear that they would never enter his rest? It was to those who disobeyed him, was it not?

We who have believed are entering that rest, just as he has said, "So in my anger I swore a solemn oath that they would never enter my rest,"

For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken later about another day.

Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood for on this basis the people received the Law what further need would there be to speak of appointing another kind of priest according to the order of Melchizedek, not one according to the order of Aaron?

Now if he were on earth, he would not even be a priest, because other men offer the gifts prescribed by the Law.

If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one,

since they deal only with food, drink, and various washings, which are required for the body until the time when things would be set right.

Then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the creation of the world. But now, at the end of the ages, he has appeared once for all to remove sin by his sacrifice.

Otherwise, would they not have stopped offering them, because the worshipers, cleansed once for all, would no longer be aware of any sins?

By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.

If they had been thinking about what they had left behind, they would have had an opportunity to go back.

And what more should I say? For time would fail me to tell you about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

since God had planned something better for us, so that they would not be perfected without us.

Continue to follow and be submissive to your leaders, since they are watching over your souls as those who will have to give a word of explanation. By doing this, you will be letting them carry out their duties joyfully, and not with grief, for that would be harmful for you.

They tried to find out what era or specific time the Spirit of the Messiah in them kept referring to when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow.

It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and turn their backs on the holy commandment that was committed to them.

They left us, but they were not part of us, for if they had been part of us, they would have stayed with us. Their leaving made it clear that none of them was really part of us.

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray that God would give him life. This applies to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not telling you to pray about that.

Although I have a great deal to write to you, I would prefer not to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

Although I have a great deal to write to you, I would rather not write with pen and ink.

But I have a few things against you: You have there some who hold to the teaching of Balaam, the one who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality.

Each of them was given a white robe. They were told to rest a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers was completed, who would be killed as they themselves had been.

The second beast was allowed to impart life to the image of the first beast so that the image of the beast could talk and order the execution of those who would not worship the image of the beast.