19 Bible Verses about defence, human

So, pay close attention to your [own] lives, and to all [members] of the flock [i.e., the congregation] of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers [i.e., elders, shepherds or pastors]. Provide [spiritual] food for the church of the Lord which He purchased by [shedding] His own blood. [Because] I know that after I am gone [from here] there will be vicious wolves [i.e., ravaging false teachers] who will come in among you, and they will not spare the flock [i.e., the congregation]. [Indeed, even] from among your own selves [i.e., the body of elders there in Ephesus] some men will arise and, by speaking false things, they will lead away the disciples, [influencing them] to follow them.read more.
So, be very watchful, and remember that for three years I never stopped warning every one of you [about such matters] both night and day with tears [in my eyes].

So, after they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you really love me more than these [other disciples do]?" Peter answered Him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." [Note: Since two different Greek words for "love" are used in this conversation, some scholars see a distinction in their meaning. See Butler, Vol. II, pp. 453-457 for a discussion of these views]. Jesus replied to him, "[Then] feed my lambs." Jesus asked him a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you [really] love me?" Peter answered Him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus replied to him, "[Then] take care of my sheep." Then Jesus asked him a third time, "Simon, son of John, do you [truly] love me?" Peter was sad because Jesus had asked him a third time, "Do you [even] love me?" So, he said to Jesus, "Lord, you know all things. You [surely] know that I love you." Jesus replied to him, "[Then] feed my sheep.

If you point out these things to the brothers you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, and will be nurtured by the message of the faith and of the good teaching which you have been following.

For there are many rebellious people, especially among the circumcision [i.e., the Jews], whose talk is useless and who deceive people. They must be silenced [because] they are upsetting entire families by teaching things they should not be for the shameful purpose of making money.

And when Moses observed one [of his relatives] being mistreated, he came to his defense by hitting the Egyptian,

[You should] obey your leaders [Note: This probably refers to church elders] and submit to their oversight, for they look out for [the welfare of] your souls as men who will give an accounting [for your spiritual progress]. [Be obedient], so that they will be able to do this joyfully and not with sorrow, for that would be unprofitable to you.

You should serve as shepherds of God's flock [i.e., the church], among whom you minister, providing careful oversight [of the people], not because you feel forced to, but because you want to, as this is in accordance with the way God wants it to be. Do not [serve as elders] simply out of a desire for the income you receive, but because your heart is in it.

So, [whatever happens], live your daily lives in such a way as to be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that, whether I come and see you or remain absent from you, I will hear about you, that you are standing firm in one spirit [i.e., united in purpose, and] contending with one mind for the faith of the Gospel [i.e., for the body of Christian teaching]. [I also want to hear] that you are not being frightened by those who oppose you, which [opposition] is proof that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved, and this will [all] be done by God.

So then, brothers, stand firm [in the faith], and hold onto the [inspired] traditions which you were taught, whether by word [of mouth] or by a letter from us.

You should hold on firmly to the pattern of sound teaching that you have heard from me, while [maintaining your] faith and love in [harmony with] Christ Jesus. [Also] guard that precious treasure [i.e., the Gospel message] which was entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit, who lives in us.

As I urged you to do when I was leaving Macedonia [See Acts 20:1ff], I want you to remain in Ephesus in order to urge certain people not to teach a different [i.e., false] doctrine, and not to listen to legends or exhaustive lists of ancestors. These [only] serve to arouse speculations, rather than [promote] God's plan which is based on faith. But the goal of this instruction is [to] love [God and people] from a pure heart, a good conscience and a sincere faith.read more.
Some people have strayed away from these things and have turned aside to useless discussions. They want to be teachers of the law of Moses, even though they do not understand what they are saying or what they are affirming with [such] confidence. But we know that the law of Moses is good if a person uses it properly. We [also] know this: Law [or, "the law of Moses"] is not intended for a righteous person, but for lawbreakers and rebels, for ungodly people and sinners, for unholy and irreverent people, for people who kill their parents, for murderers, for sexually immoral people, for homosexuals, for kidnappers, for liars, and for people who give false testimony. And [law is for] everything else that is against the sound teaching

[So], Timothy, guard [the Gospel message] which has been entrusted to you, while avoiding worldly, empty chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called "knowledge," which some people have claimed [to have], and in doing so have strayed from the faith. May [God's] unearned favor be upon you.

Even one of their own prophets said, "The people of Crete are always liars, vicious beasts and lazy gluttons." [And] this testimony is true. [So], for this reason you should rebuke them severely, so that they will be sound in the faith, instead of paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who reject the truth.

Those who do it out of love [for me] know that I am prepared to defend the Gospel [i.e., before government authorities].

And Stephen [i.e., one of the seven men chosen to minister to widows, verse 5], who was full of [God's] favor and power, performed great wonders and [miraculous] signs in front of the [Jewish] people. But several men from the synagogue, made up of freed slaves from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia and Asia, began arguing with Stephen. But they could not stand up to the wisdom and [power of] the Holy Spirit by which Stephen spoke.

And when he desired to travel over into Achaia, he was encouraged [to do so] by the brothers, who wrote to the disciples [in Achaia and urged them] to welcome him. When he arrived [in Achaia] he was a great help to those who had become believers through the unearned favor of God. [Note: An alternate meaning is, "he was a great help, through God's unearned favor on him to those who had become believers"]. For Apollos effectively refuted [the position of] the Jews, publicly proving, by using the [Old Testament] Scriptures, that Jesus was the Christ.

I am astonished that you people are so quickly abandoning God [i.e., by rejecting His truth], who called you [to Himself] through the unearned favor bestowed [on us] by Christ. [You are turning] to a different "gospel," although it is really not a different one, but rather some people are causing you trouble by trying to pervert the [true] Gospel of Christ. However, if we [apostles] or even an angel [claiming to be] from heaven were to preach any other "gospel" than the one we have [already] preached to you, let that person be cut off from God's [salvation].read more.
I repeat what I have already said: If any person preaches to you a "gospel" other than what you have already received [from us apostles], he should be cut off from God's [salvation].

But when Cephas came to Antioch [of Syria], I confronted him personally [about a matter] for which he deserved to be condemned. For, before certain [leaders] came from James [i.e., Jesus' brother, a leader of the Jerusalem church, See Acts 12:17; 15:13-22], he had eaten [a social meal] with some Gentiles. But when these men came, he abruptly discontinued this practice out of fear of the circumcised ones [i.e., out of concern for what the Jews would think of him]. Then the rest of the Jews also discontinued [eating with Gentiles] along with Peter, until even Barnabas was influenced to go along with this hypocritical practice.read more.
But, when I saw that they did not act in harmony with [the principles of] the truth of the Gospel [message], I said to Cephas in front of everyone, "If you, being a Jew, act like a Gentile [by showing such discrimination], how do you expect to persuade Gentiles to live like Jews [i.e., like Christian Jews who are taught to love all people]?"

It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart [i.e., you are dear to me], for you people are sharing in God's unearned favor with me [Note: Paul here refers to his ministry], both in my imprisonment and in my defense and confirmation of the Gospel [i.e., in my efforts to give proof of the Gospel's truth].