The Gospel of Mark (Part Six)

How to Embrace Your Identity in Christ

Paul's Letters | 60-Day Bible Reading Plan

Lord's Prayer: Forgive Us

Low Vibes Are Good Vibes

Freely Receive, Freely Give

#1 Most Difficult Commandment of All - Can You Keep It?

True Prosperity When You're Suffering

Warrior Relations

Waiting With Purpose: Single Women Preparing for Marriage

The Listener’s Bible®: NIV Edition

New International Version™  (Anglicised), Audio Edition

Holy Bible, New International Version™ (Anglicised), South Asian Audio Edition

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 <div class="label">1</div><div class="p"> 1Paul, an apostle&#8212;sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead&#8212; 2and all the brothers and sisters#1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in verse 11; and in 3:15; 4:12, 28, 31; 5:11, 13; 6:1, 18. with me,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To the churches in Galatia:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p"> 3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.</div><div class="s1">No Other Gospel</div><div class="p"> 6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel&#8212; 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God&#8217;s curse! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God&#8217;s curse!</div><div class="p"> 10Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.</div><div class="s1">Paul Called by God</div><div class="p"> 11I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.</div><div class="p"> 13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from my mother&#8217;s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.</div><div class="p"> 18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas#1:18 That is, Peter and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles&#8212;only James, the Lord&#8217;s brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.</div><div class="p"> 21Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: &#8220;The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.&#8221; 24And they praised God because of me.</div>
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 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Paul Accepted by the Apostles</div><div class="p"> 1Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.</div><div class="p"> 6As for those who were held in high esteem&#8212;whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism&#8212;they added nothing to my message. 7On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,#2:7 That is, Gentiles just as Peter had been to the circumcised.#2:7 That is, Jews; also in verses 8 and 9 8For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9James, Cephas#2:9 That is, Peter; also in verses 11 and 14 and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.</div><div class="s1">Paul Opposes Cephas</div><div class="p"> 11When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.</div><div class="p"> 14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, &#8220;You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?</div><div class="p"> 15&#8220;We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in#2:16 Or but through the faithfulness of&#8230; justified on the basis of the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.</div><div class="p"> 17&#8220;But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn&#8217;t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.</div><div class="p"> 19&#8220;For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!&#8221;#2:21 Some interpreters end the quotation after verse 14.</div>
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 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">Faith or Works of the Law</div><div class="p"> 1You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh?#3:3 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit. 4Have you experienced#3:4 Or suffered so much in vain&#8212;if it really was in vain? 5So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6So also Abraham &#8220;believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.&#8221;#3:6 Gen. 15:6</div><div class="p"> 7Understand, then, that those who have faith are children of Abraham. 8Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: &#8220;All nations will be blessed through you.&#8221;#3:8 Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18 9So those who rely on faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.</div><div class="p"> 10For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: &#8220;Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.&#8221;#3:10 Deut. 27:26 11Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because &#8220;the righteous will live by faith.&#8221;#3:11 Hab. 2:4 12The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, &#8220;The person who does these things will live by them.&#8221;#3:12 Lev. 18:5 13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: &#8220;Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.&#8221;#3:13 Deut. 21:23 14He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.</div><div class="s1">The Law and the Promise</div><div class="p"> 15Brothers and sisters, let me take an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or add to a human covenant that has been duly established, so it is in this case. 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say &#8220;and to seeds,&#8221; meaning many people, but &#8220;and to your seed,&#8221;#3:16 Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 24:7 meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on the promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise.</div><div class="p"> 19Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.</div><div class="p"> 21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.</div><div class="s1">Children of God</div><div class="p"> 23Before the coming of this faith,#3:22,23 Or through the faithfulness of Jesus&#8230; 23 Before faith came we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.</div><div class="p"> 26So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham&#8217;s seed, and heirs according to the promise.</div>
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 <div class="label">4</div><div class="p"> 1What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces#4:3 Or under the basic principles of the world. 4But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.#4:5 The Greek word for adoption to sonship is a legal term referring to the full legal standing of an adopted male heir in Roman culture. 6Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, &#8220;Abba,#4:6 Aramaic for Father Father.&#8221; 7So you are no longer a slave, but God&#8217;s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Concern for the Galatians</div><div class="p"> 8Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9But now that you know God&#8212;or rather are known by God&#8212;how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces#4:9 Or principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.</div><div class="p"> 12I plead with you, brothers and sisters, become like me, for I became like you. You did me no wrong. 13As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you, 14and even though my illness was a trial to you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 15Where, then, is your blessing of me now? I can testify that, if you could have done so, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me. 16Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?</div><div class="p"> 17Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may have zeal for them. 18It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always, not just when I am with you. 19My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you!</div><div class="s1">Hagar and Sarah</div><div class="p"> 21Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? 22For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. 23His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a divine promise.</div><div class="p"> 24These things are being taken figuratively: The women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. 25Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. 26But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. 27For it is written:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;Be glad, barren woman,</div><div class="q2">you who never bore a child;</div><div class="q1">shout for joy and cry aloud,</div><div class="q2">you who were never in labor;</div><div class="q1">because more are the children of the desolate woman</div><div class="q2">than of her who has a husband.&#8221;#4:27 Isaiah 54:1</div><div class="p"> 28Now you, brothers and sisters, like Isaac, are children of promise. 29At that time the son born according to the flesh persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now. 30But what does Scripture say? &#8220;Get rid of the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman&#8217;s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman&#8217;s son.&#8221;#4:30 Gen. 21:10 31Therefore, brothers and sisters, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.</div>
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 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">Freedom in Christ</div><div class="p"> 1It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.</div><div class="p"> 2Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.</div><div class="p"> 7You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9&#8220;A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.&#8221; 10I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!</div><div class="s1">Life by the Spirit</div><div class="p"> 13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh#5:13 In contexts like this, the Greek word for flesh (sarx) refers to the sinful state of human beings, often presented as a power in opposition to the Spirit; also in verses 16, 17, 19 and 24; and in 6:8.; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: &#8220;Love your neighbor as yourself.&#8221;#5:14 Lev. 19:18 15If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.</div><div class="p"> 16So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever#5:17 Or you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.</div><div class="p"> 19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.</div><div class="p"> 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.</div>
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 <div class="label">6</div><div class="s1">Doing Good to All</div><div class="p"> 1Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2Carry each other&#8217;s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5for each one should carry their own load. 6Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor.</div><div class="p"> 7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.</div><div class="s1">Not Circumcision but the New Creation</div><div class="p"> 11See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!</div><div class="p"> 12Those who want to impress people by means of the flesh are trying to compel you to be circumcised. The only reason they do this is to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. 14May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which#6:14 Or whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. 16Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule&#8212;to#6:16 Or rule and to the Israel of God.</div><div class="p"> 17From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.</div><div class="p"> 18The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.</div>
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 <div class="label">1</div><div class="p"> 1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:</div><div class="b"></div><div class="p">Greetings.</div><div class="s1">Trials and Temptations</div><div class="p"> 2Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,#1:2 The Greek word for brothers and sisters (adelphoi) refers here to believers, both men and women, as part of God&#8217;s family; also in verses 16 and 19; and in 2:1, 5, 14; 3:10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19. whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.</div><div class="p"> 9Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10But the rich should take pride in their humiliation&#8212;since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.</div><div class="p"> 12Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.</div><div class="p"> 13When tempted, no one should say, &#8220;God is tempting me.&#8221; For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.</div><div class="p"> 16Don&#8217;t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.</div><div class="s1">Listening and Doing</div><div class="p"> 19My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.</div><div class="p"> 22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it&#8212;not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it&#8212;they will be blessed in what they do.</div><div class="p"> 26Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. 27Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.</div>
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 <div class="label">2</div><div class="s1">Favoritism Forbidden</div><div class="p"> 1My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, &#8220;Here&#8217;s a good seat for you,&#8221; but say to the poor man, &#8220;You stand there&#8221; or &#8220;Sit on the floor by my feet,&#8221; 4have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?</div><div class="p"> 5Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? 7Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong?</div><div class="p"> 8If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, &#8220;Love your neighbor as yourself,&#8221;#2:8 Lev. 19:18 you are doing right. 9But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. 10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. 11For he who said, &#8220;You shall not commit adultery,&#8221;#2:11 Exodus 20:14; Deut. 5:18 also said, &#8220;You shall not murder.&#8221;#2:11 Exodus 20:13; Deut. 5:17 If you do not commit adultery but do commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker.</div><div class="p"> 12Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, 13because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.</div><div class="s1">Faith and Deeds</div><div class="p"> 14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to them, &#8220;Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,&#8221; but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.</div><div class="p"> 18But someone will say, &#8220;You have faith; I have deeds.&#8221;</div><div class="p">Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that&#8212;and shudder.</div><div class="p"> 20You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless#2:20 Some early manuscripts dead? 21Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, &#8220;Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,&#8221;#2:23 Gen. 15:6 and he was called God&#8217;s friend. 24You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.</div><div class="p"> 25In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.</div>
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 <div class="label">3</div><div class="s1">Taming the Tongue</div><div class="p"> 1Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check.</div><div class="p"> 3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one&#8217;s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.</div><div class="p"> 7All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.</div><div class="p"> 9With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God&#8217;s likeness. 10Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. 11Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? 12My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.</div><div class="s1">Two Kinds of Wisdom</div><div class="p"> 13Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. 14But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. 15Such &#8220;wisdom&#8221; does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.</div><div class="p"> 17But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. 18Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.</div>
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 <div class="label">4</div><div class="s1">Submit Yourselves to God</div><div class="p"> 1What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don&#8217;t they come from your desires that battle within you? 2You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God. 3When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.</div><div class="p"> 4You adulterous people,#4:4 An allusion to covenant unfaithfulness; see Hosea 3:1. don&#8217;t you know that friendship with the world means enmity against God? Therefore, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. 5Or do you think Scripture says without reason that he jealously longs for the spirit he has caused to dwell in us#4:5 Or that the spirit he caused to dwell in us envies intensely; or that the Spirit he caused to dwell in us longs jealously? 6But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:</div><div class="q1">&#8220;God opposes the proud</div><div class="q2">but shows favor to the humble.&#8221;#4:6 Prov. 3:34</div><div class="p"> 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.</div><div class="p"> 11Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister#4:11 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos) refers here to a believer, whether man or woman, as part of God&#8217;s family. or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. 12There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you&#8212;who are you to judge your neighbor?</div><div class="s1">Boasting About Tomorrow</div><div class="p"> 13Now listen, you who say, &#8220;Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.&#8221; 14Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, &#8220;If it is the Lord&#8217;s will, we will live and do this or that.&#8221; 16As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. 17If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn&#8217;t do it, it is sin for them.</div>
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 <div class="label">5</div><div class="s1">Warning to Rich Oppressors</div><div class="p"> 1Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you. 2Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes. 3Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days. 4Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. 5You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.#5:5 Or yourselves as in a day of feasting 6You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.</div><div class="s1">Patience in Suffering</div><div class="p"> 7Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord&#8217;s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. 8You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord&#8217;s coming is near. 9Don&#8217;t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!</div><div class="p"> 10Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job&#8217;s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.</div><div class="p"> 12Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear&#8212;not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple &#8220;Yes&#8221; or &#8220;No.&#8221; Otherwise you will be condemned.</div><div class="s1">The Prayer of Faith</div><div class="p"> 13Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.</div><div class="p"> 17Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.</div><div class="p"> 19My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.</div>
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New International Version

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 <div class="p">30So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. </div>
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 <div class="p">31The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. </div>
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 <div class="p">32Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. </div>
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 <div class="p">33After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. </div>
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 <div class="p">[34]#15:34 Some manuscripts include here But Silas decided to remain there. </div>
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 <div class="p">35But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.</div><div class="p"> </div>
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 <div class="p">36Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, &#8220;Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.&#8221; </div>
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 <div class="p">37Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, </div>
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 <div class="p">38but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. </div>
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 <div class="p">39They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, </div>
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 <div class="p">40but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. </div>
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 <div class="p">41He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.</div>
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 <div class="label">16</div><div class="s1">Timothy Joins Paul and Silas</div><div class="p"> 1Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.</div><div class="s1">Paul&#8217;s Vision of the Man of Macedonia</div><div class="p"> 6Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, &#8220;Come over to Macedonia and help us.&#8221; 10After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.</div><div class="s1">Lydia&#8217;s Conversion in Philippi</div><div class="p"> 11From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district#16:12 The text and meaning of the Greek for the leading city of that district are uncertain. of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.</div><div class="p"> 13On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul&#8217;s message. 15When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. &#8220;If you consider me a believer in the Lord,&#8221; she said, &#8220;come and stay at my house.&#8221; And she persuaded us.</div><div class="s1">Paul and Silas in Prison</div><div class="p"> 16Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, &#8220;These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.&#8221; 18She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, &#8220;In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!&#8221; At that moment the spirit left her.</div><div class="p"> 19When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. 20They brought them before the magistrates and said, &#8220;These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 22The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. 24When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.</div><div class="p"> 25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. 26Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone&#8217;s chains came loose. 27The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul shouted, &#8220;Don&#8217;t harm yourself! We are all here!&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 29The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30He then brought them out and asked, &#8220;Sirs, what must I do to be saved?&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 31They replied, &#8220;Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved&#8212;you and your household.&#8221; 32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. 34The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God&#8212;he and his whole household.</div><div class="p"> 35When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: &#8220;Release those men.&#8221; 36The jailer told Paul, &#8220;The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 37But Paul said to the officers: &#8220;They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 38The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed. 39They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city. 40After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia&#8217;s house, where they met with the brothers and sisters and encouraged them. Then they left.</div>
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 <div class="label">17</div><div class="s1">In Thessalonica</div><div class="p"> 1When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. &#8220;This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,&#8221; he said. 4Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.</div><div class="p"> 5But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason&#8217;s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.#17:5 Or the assembly of the people 6But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: &#8220;These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar&#8217;s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.&#8221; 8When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.</div><div class="s1">In Berea</div><div class="p"> 10As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.</div><div class="p"> 13But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.</div><div class="s1">In Athens</div><div class="p"> 16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, &#8220;What is this babbler trying to say?&#8221; Others remarked, &#8220;He seems to be advocating foreign gods.&#8221; They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, &#8220;May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.&#8221; 21(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)</div><div class="p"> 22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: &#8220;People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship&#8212;and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.</div><div class="p"> 24&#8220;The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28&#8216;For in him we live and move and have our being.&#8217;#17:28 From the Cretan philosopher Epimenides As some of your own poets have said, &#8216;We are his offspring.&#8217;#17:28 From the Cilician Stoic philosopher Aratus</div><div class="p"> 29&#8220;Therefore since we are God&#8217;s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone&#8212;an image made by human design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.&#8221;</div><div class="p"> 32When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, &#8220;We want to hear you again on this subject.&#8221; 33At that, Paul left the Council. 34Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.</div>
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 <div class="p">1After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. </div>
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 <div class="p">2There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, </div>
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 <div class="p">3and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. </div>
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