Thematic Bible
Thematic Bible
Christian conduct » Abstaining from all appearance of evil
and abstaining from whatever kind is evil.
Verse Concepts
Daily duty » Select readings
see that none of you pays back evil for evil, but always aim at what is kind to one another and to all the world; rejoice at all times, never give up prayer, read more.
thank God for everything ??such is his will for you in Christ Jesus; never quench the fire of the Spirit, never disdain prophetic revelations but test them all, retaining what is good and abstaining from whatever kind is evil. May the God of peace consecrate you through and through! Spirit, soul, and body, may you be kept without break or blame till the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ! He who calls you is faithful, he will do this. Pray for us too, brothers. Salute everyone of the brothers with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read aloud to all the [holy] brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. [Amen.]
thank God for everything ??such is his will for you in Christ Jesus; never quench the fire of the Spirit, never disdain prophetic revelations but test them all, retaining what is good and abstaining from whatever kind is evil. May the God of peace consecrate you through and through! Spirit, soul, and body, may you be kept without break or blame till the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ! He who calls you is faithful, he will do this. Pray for us too, brothers. Salute everyone of the brothers with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read aloud to all the [holy] brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. [Amen.]
Duty » Daily » Select readings ro 12; 1th 515-28
see that none of you pays back evil for evil, but always aim at what is kind to one another and to all the world; rejoice at all times, never give up prayer, read more.
thank God for everything ??such is his will for you in Christ Jesus; never quench the fire of the Spirit, never disdain prophetic revelations but test them all, retaining what is good and abstaining from whatever kind is evil. May the God of peace consecrate you through and through! Spirit, soul, and body, may you be kept without break or blame till the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ! He who calls you is faithful, he will do this. Pray for us too, brothers. Salute everyone of the brothers with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read aloud to all the [holy] brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. [Amen.]
thank God for everything ??such is his will for you in Christ Jesus; never quench the fire of the Spirit, never disdain prophetic revelations but test them all, retaining what is good and abstaining from whatever kind is evil. May the God of peace consecrate you through and through! Spirit, soul, and body, may you be kept without break or blame till the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ! He who calls you is faithful, he will do this. Pray for us too, brothers. Salute everyone of the brothers with a holy kiss. I adjure you by the Lord to have this letter read aloud to all the [holy] brothers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. [Amen.]
Evil » Departing from evil
and abstaining from whatever kind is evil.
Verse Concepts
let him shun wrong and do right, let him seek peace and make peace his aim.
Verse Concepts
Evil » Appearance of, to be avoided
But if someone tells you, 'This was sacrificial meat,' then do not eat it; you must consider the man who told you, and also take conscience into account ??29 his conscience, I mean, not your own; for why should one's own freedom be called in question by someone else's conscience? If one partakes of food after saying a blessing over it, why should one be denounced for eating what one has given thanks to God for? So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, let it be all done for the glory of God. read more.
Put no stumbling-block in the way of Jews or Greeks or the church of God. Such is my own rule, to satisfy all men in all points, aiming not at my own advantage but at the advantage of the greater number ??at their salvation.
Put no stumbling-block in the way of Jews or Greeks or the church of God. Such is my own rule, to satisfy all men in all points, aiming not at my own advantage but at the advantage of the greater number ??at their salvation.
and abstaining from whatever kind is evil.
Verse Concepts
But remember, it is not everyone who has this 'knowledge.' Some who have hitherto been accustomed to idols eat the food as food which has been really offered to an idol, and so their weaker conscience is contaminated. Now mere food will not bring us any nearer to God; if we abstain we do not lose anything, and if we eat we do not gain anything. But see that the exercise of your right does not prove any stumbling-block to the weak. read more.
Suppose anyone sees you, a person of enlightened mind, reclining at meat inside an idol's temple; will that really 'fortify his weak conscience'? Will it not embolden him to violate his scruples of conscience by eating food that has been offered to idols? He is ruined, this weak man, ruined by your 'enlightened mind,' this brother for whose sake Christ died! By sinning against the brotherhood in this way and wounding their weaker consciences, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore if food is any hindrance to my brother's welfare, sooner than injure him I will never eat flesh as long as I live, never!
Suppose anyone sees you, a person of enlightened mind, reclining at meat inside an idol's temple; will that really 'fortify his weak conscience'? Will it not embolden him to violate his scruples of conscience by eating food that has been offered to idols? He is ruined, this weak man, ruined by your 'enlightened mind,' this brother for whose sake Christ died! By sinning against the brotherhood in this way and wounding their weaker consciences, you are sinning against Christ. Therefore if food is any hindrance to my brother's welfare, sooner than injure him I will never eat flesh as long as I live, never!
also, endeavour to live quietly, attend to your own business, and ??as we charged you ??work with your hands, so that your life may be correct in the eyes of the outside world and self-supporting.
Religion » TRUE
Then Peter opened his lips and said, "I see quite plainly that God has no favourites, but that he who reverences Him and lives a good life in any nation is welcomed by Him.
Pure, unsoiled religion in the judgment of God the Father means this: to care for orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself from the stain of the world.
Verse Concepts
But do you, beloved, build up yourselves on your most holy faith and pray in the holy Spirit, so keeping yourselves within the love of God and waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that ends in life eternal.
intelligence with self-control, self-control with stedfastness, stedfastness with piety, piety with brotherliness, brotherliness with Christian love. For as these qualities exist and increase with you, they render you active and fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ; read more.
whereas he who has not these by him is blind, shortsighted, oblivious that he has been cleansed from his erstwhile sins.
whereas he who has not these by him is blind, shortsighted, oblivious that he has been cleansed from his erstwhile sins.
"Teacher," he said, "what is the greatest command in the Law?" He replied, "You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with your whole mind. This is the greatest and chief command. read more.
There is a second like it: you must love your neighbour as yourself. The whole Law and the prophets hang upon these two commands."
There is a second like it: you must love your neighbour as yourself. The whole Law and the prophets hang upon these two commands."
Thus there is no doom now for those who are in Christ Jesus; the law of the Spirit brings the life which is in Christ Jesus, and that law has set me free from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the Law, weakened here by the flesh, could not do; by sending his own Son in the guise of sinful flesh, to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, read more.
in order to secure the fulfilment of the Law's requirements in our lives, as we live and move not by the flesh but by the Spirit. For those who follow the flesh have their interests in the flesh, and those who follow the Spirit have their interests in the Spirit. The interests of the flesh mean death, the interests of the Spirit mean life and peace. For the interests of the flesh are hostile to God; they do not yield to the law of God (indeed they cannot). Those who are in the flesh cannot satisfy God. But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells within you. Anyone who does not possess the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. On the other hand, if Christ is within you, though the body is a dead thing owing to Adam's sin, the spirit is living as the result of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies live by his indwelling Spirit in your lives. Well then, my brothers, we owe a duty ??but it is not to the flesh! It is not to live by the flesh! If you live by the flesh, you are on the road to death; but if by the Spirit you put the actions of the body to death, you will live. For the sons of God are those who are guided by the Spirit of God. You have received no slavish spirit that would make you relapse into fear; you have received the Spirit of sonship. And when we cry, "Abba! Father!", it is this Spirit testifying along with our own spirit that we are children of God; and if children, heirs as well, heirs of God, heirs along with Christ ??for we share his sufferings in order to share his glory. Present suffering, I hold, is a mere nothing compared to the glory that we are to have revealed.
in order to secure the fulfilment of the Law's requirements in our lives, as we live and move not by the flesh but by the Spirit. For those who follow the flesh have their interests in the flesh, and those who follow the Spirit have their interests in the Spirit. The interests of the flesh mean death, the interests of the Spirit mean life and peace. For the interests of the flesh are hostile to God; they do not yield to the law of God (indeed they cannot). Those who are in the flesh cannot satisfy God. But you are not in the flesh, you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells within you. Anyone who does not possess the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. On the other hand, if Christ is within you, though the body is a dead thing owing to Adam's sin, the spirit is living as the result of righteousness. And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells within you, then He who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies live by his indwelling Spirit in your lives. Well then, my brothers, we owe a duty ??but it is not to the flesh! It is not to live by the flesh! If you live by the flesh, you are on the road to death; but if by the Spirit you put the actions of the body to death, you will live. For the sons of God are those who are guided by the Spirit of God. You have received no slavish spirit that would make you relapse into fear; you have received the Spirit of sonship. And when we cry, "Abba! Father!", it is this Spirit testifying along with our own spirit that we are children of God; and if children, heirs as well, heirs of God, heirs along with Christ ??for we share his sufferings in order to share his glory. Present suffering, I hold, is a mere nothing compared to the glory that we are to have revealed.
Oh for their salvation, brothers! That is my heart's desire and prayer to God! I can vouch for their zeal for God; only, it is not zeal with knowledge. They would not surrender to the righteousness of God, because they were ignorant of his righteousness and therefore essayed to set up a righteousness of their own. read more.
Now Christ is an end to law, so as to let every believer have righteousness. Moses writes of law-righteousness, Anyone who can perform it, shall live by it. But here is what faith-righteousness says: ??Say not in your heart, 'Who will go up to heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down). Or, 'who will go down to the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ from the dead). No, what it does say is this: ??The word is close to you, in your very mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach). Confess with your mouth that 'Jesus is Lord,' believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved; for with his heart man believes and is justified, with his mouth he confesses and is saved. No one who believes in him, the scripture says, will ever be disappointed. No one ??12 for there is no distinction of Jew and Greek, the same Lord is Lord of them all, with ample for all who invoke him. Everyone who invokes the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Now Christ is an end to law, so as to let every believer have righteousness. Moses writes of law-righteousness, Anyone who can perform it, shall live by it. But here is what faith-righteousness says: ??Say not in your heart, 'Who will go up to heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down). Or, 'who will go down to the abyss?' (that is, to bring Christ from the dead). No, what it does say is this: ??The word is close to you, in your very mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach). Confess with your mouth that 'Jesus is Lord,' believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved; for with his heart man believes and is justified, with his mouth he confesses and is saved. No one who believes in him, the scripture says, will ever be disappointed. No one ??12 for there is no distinction of Jew and Greek, the same Lord is Lord of them all, with ample for all who invoke him. Everyone who invokes the name of the Lord shall be saved.
But the harvest of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, good temper, kindliness, generosity, fidelity, gentleness, self-control: ??there is no law against those who practise such things. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its emotions and passions. read more.
As we live by the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit;
As we live by the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit;
see that none of you pays back evil for evil, but always aim at what is kind to one another and to all the world; rejoice at all times, never give up prayer, read more.
thank God for everything ??such is his will for you in Christ Jesus; never quench the fire of the Spirit, never disdain prophetic revelations but test them all, retaining what is good and abstaining from whatever kind is evil. May the God of peace consecrate you through and through! Spirit, soul, and body, may you be kept without break or blame till the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ!
thank God for everything ??such is his will for you in Christ Jesus; never quench the fire of the Spirit, never disdain prophetic revelations but test them all, retaining what is good and abstaining from whatever kind is evil. May the God of peace consecrate you through and through! Spirit, soul, and body, may you be kept without break or blame till the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ!
If you really fulfil the royal law laid down by scripture, You must love your neighbour as yourself, well and good; but if you pay servile regard to people, you commit a sin, and the Law convicts you of transgression. For whoever obeys the whole of the Law and only makes a single slip, is guilty of everything. read more.
He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not kill. Now if you do not commit adultery but if you kill, you have transgressed the Law. Speak, act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom; for the judgment will be merciless to the man who has shown no mercy ??whereas the merciful life will triumph in the face of judgment. My brothers, what is the use of anyone declaring he has faith, if he has no deeds to show? Can his faith save him? Suppose some brother or sister is ill-clad and short of daily food; if any of you says to them, "Depart in peace! Get warm, get food," without supplying their bodily needs, what use is that? So faith, unless it has deeds, is dead in itself. Someone will object, 'And you claim to have faith!' Yes, and I claim to have deeds as well; you show me your faith without any deeds, and I will show you by my deeds what faith is! You believe in one God? Well and good. So do the devils, and they shudder. But will you understand, you senseless fellow, that faith without deeds is dead? When our father Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar, was he not justified by what he did? In his case, you see, faith co-operated with deeds, faith was completed by deeds, and the scripture was fulfilled: Abraham believed God, and this was counted to him as righteousness ??he was called God's friend. You observe it is by what he does that a man is justified, not simply by what he believes. So too with Rahab the harlot. Was she not justified by what she did, when she entertained the scouts and got them away by a different road? For as the body without the breath of life is dead, so faith is dead without deeds.
He who said, Do not commit adultery, also said, Do not kill. Now if you do not commit adultery but if you kill, you have transgressed the Law. Speak, act, as those who are to be judged by the law of freedom; for the judgment will be merciless to the man who has shown no mercy ??whereas the merciful life will triumph in the face of judgment. My brothers, what is the use of anyone declaring he has faith, if he has no deeds to show? Can his faith save him? Suppose some brother or sister is ill-clad and short of daily food; if any of you says to them, "Depart in peace! Get warm, get food," without supplying their bodily needs, what use is that? So faith, unless it has deeds, is dead in itself. Someone will object, 'And you claim to have faith!' Yes, and I claim to have deeds as well; you show me your faith without any deeds, and I will show you by my deeds what faith is! You believe in one God? Well and good. So do the devils, and they shudder. But will you understand, you senseless fellow, that faith without deeds is dead? When our father Abraham offered his son Isaac on the altar, was he not justified by what he did? In his case, you see, faith co-operated with deeds, faith was completed by deeds, and the scripture was fulfilled: Abraham believed God, and this was counted to him as righteousness ??he was called God's friend. You observe it is by what he does that a man is justified, not simply by what he believes. So too with Rahab the harlot. Was she not justified by what she did, when she entertained the scouts and got them away by a different road? For as the body without the breath of life is dead, so faith is dead without deeds.
Sin » Should be » Avoided even in appearance
and abstaining from whatever kind is evil.
Verse Concepts