For you know that it was not with perishable things like silver or gold that you have been ransomed from the worthless way of life handed down to you by your ancestors,

On the one hand, he was foreknown before the creation of the world, but on the other hand, he was revealed at the end of time for your sake.

For you have been born again, not by a seed that perishes but by one that cannot perish by the living and everlasting word of God.

For "All human life is like grass, and all its glory is like a flower in the grass. The grass dries up and the flower drops off,

Like newborn babies, thirst for the pure milk of the word so that by it you may grow in your salvation.

For the Lord's sake submit yourselves to every human authority: whether to the king as supreme,

For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people.

Live like free people, and do not use your freedom as an excuse for doing evil. Instead, be God's servants.

You household servants must submit yourselves to your masters out of respect, not only to those who are kind and fair, but also to those who are unjust.

For it is a fine thing if, when moved by your conscience to please God, you suffer patiently when wronged.

What good does it do if, when you sin, you patiently receive punishment for it? But if you suffer for doing good and receive it patiently, you have God's approval.

This is, in fact, what you were called to do, because: The Messiah also suffered for you and left an example for you to follow in his steps.

Do not pay others back evil for evil or insult for insult. Instead, keep blessing them, because you were called to inherit a blessing.

"For the person who wants to love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit.

For the Lord watches the righteous, and he pays attention to their prayers. But the Lord opposes those who do wrong."

But even if you should suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. "Never be afraid of their threats, and never get upset.

After all, if it is the will of God, it is better to suffer for doing right than for doing wrong.

For the Messiah also suffered for sins once for all, an innocent person for the guilty, so that he could bring you to God. He was put to death in a mortal body but was brought to life by the Spirit,

Baptism, which is symbolized by that water, now saves you also, not by removing dirt from the body, but by asking God for a clear conscience based on the resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah,

For you spent enough time in the past doing what the gentiles like to do, living in sensuality, sinful desires, drunkenness, wild celebrations, drinking parties, and detestable idolatry.

Instead, because you are participating in the sufferings of the Messiah, keep on rejoicing, so that you may be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed.

If you are insulted because of the name of the Messiah, you are blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God is resting on you.

Of course, none of you should suffer for being a murderer, thief, criminal, or troublemaker.

But if you suffer for being a Christian, do not feel ashamed, but glorify God with that name.

For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. And if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who refuse to obey the gospel of God?

"If it is hard for the righteous person to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and sinful person?"

In a similar way, you young people must submit to the elders. All of you must clothe yourselves with humility for the sake of each other, because: "God opposes the arrogant, but gives grace to the humble."

Throw all your worry on him, because he cares for you.

Be clear-minded and alert. Your opponent, the Devil, is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you by the Messiah Jesus to his eternal glory, will restore you, establish you, strengthen you, and support you.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the full knowledge of the one who called us by his own glory and excellence.

For this very reason, you must make every effort to supplement your faith with moral character, your moral character with knowledge,

For if you possess these qualities, and if they continue to increase among you, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in attaining a full knowledge of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

For the person who lacks these qualities is blind and shortsighted, and has forgotten the cleansing that he has received from his past sins.

So then, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election certain, for if you keep on doing this you will never fail.

For in this way you will be generously granted entry into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah.

For he received honor and glory from God the Father when these words from the Majestic Glory were spoken about him: "This is my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with him."

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but threw them into the lowest hell and imprisoned them in chains of deepest darkness, holding them for judgment;

for as long as that righteous man lived among them, day after day he was being tortured in his righteous soul by what he saw and heard in their lawless actions

then the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials and to hold unrighteous people for punishment on the day of judgment,

suffering harm as punishment for their wrongdoing. They take pleasure in wild parties in broad daylight. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their deceitful pleasures while they eat with you.

They have left the straight path and wandered off to follow the path of Bosor's son Balaam, who loved the reward he got for doing wrong.

But he was rebuked for his offense. A donkey that normally cannot talk spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet's insanity.

These men are dried-up springs, mere clouds driven by a storm. Gloomy darkness is reserved for them.

Promising them freedom, they themselves are slaves to depravity, for a person is a slave to whatever conquers him.

For if, after escaping the world's corruptions through a full knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus, the Messiah, they are again entangled and conquered by those corruptions, then their last condition is worse than their former one.

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.

Now by that same word, the present heavens and earth have been reserved for fire and are being kept for the day when ungodly people will be judged and destroyed.

But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief. On that day the heavens will disappear with a roaring sound, the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done on it will be exposed.

as you look forward to and hasten the coming of the day of God, when the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved and the elements will melt with fire.

If we make it our habit to confess our sins, in his faithful righteousness he forgives us for those sins and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

It is he who is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world's.

On the other hand, I am writing to you a new commandment that is truly in him and in you. For the darkness is fading away, and the true light is already shining.

The person who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no reason for him to stumble.

For everything that is in the world the desire for fleshly gratification, the desire for possessions, and worldly arrogance is not from the Father but is from the world.

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.

See what kind of love the Father has given us: We are called God's children and that is what we are! For this reason the world does not recognize us, because it did not recognize him, either.

This is how we have come to know love: the Messiah gave his life for us. We, too, ought to give our lives for our brothers.

This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

We have seen for ourselves and can testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

We have come to know and rely on the love that God has for us. God is love, and the person who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

There is no fear where love exists. Rather, perfect love banishes fear, for fear involves punishment, and the person who lives in fear has not been perfected in love.