I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse!
As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse!
When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a boy, ruddy and handsome.
“Am I a dog,” he said to David, “that you come at me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.
“Come here,” he called to David, “and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field!”
But David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand. This day I will strike you down, cut off your head, and give the carcasses of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the creatures of the earth. Then the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
. . .
And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
to equip the saints for works of ministry and to build up the body of Christ,
But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.
If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:
Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.
who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In the ark a few people, only eight souls, were saved through water.
But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked directly at Elymas
and said, “O child of the devil and enemy of all righteousness, you are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery! Will you never stop perverting the straight ways of the Lord?
Now look, the hand of the Lord is against you, and for a time you will be blind and unable to see the light of the sun.” Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And Saul was there, giving approval to Stephen’s death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Then Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through.
And there was a man named Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, who was very wealthy.
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature.
So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way.
When Jesus came to that place, He looked up and said, “Zacchaeus, hurry down, for I must stay at your house today.”
. . .
I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree together, so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be united in mind and conviction.
To the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:
I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud, and that they all passed through the sea.
They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
They all ate the same spiritual food
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the wilderness.
. . .
First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone—
for kings and all those in authority—so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.
This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
. . .
This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave Himself as a ransom for all—the testimony that was given at just the right time.
Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?
What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?
What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
. . .
The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.
At Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue, where they spoke so well that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
The people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles.
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, well versed in the Scriptures.
He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him in and explained to him the way of God more accurately.
When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words.
These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day!
No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
. . .
Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
But we consider your views worth hearing, because we know that people everywhere are speaking against this sect.”
So they set a day to meet with Paul, and many people came to the place he was staying. He expounded to them from morning to evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and persuading them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets.
Some of them were convinced by what he said, but others refused to believe.
They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit was right when He spoke to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:
But resistance arose from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and men from the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. They began to argue with Stephen,
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior.
Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her
When Cephas came to Antioch, however, I opposed him to his face, because he stood to be condemned.
For 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, for fear of those in the circumcision group.
The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save your souls.
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only. Otherwise, you are deceiving yourselves.
For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror,
and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so—not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer—he will be blessed in what he does.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was with God in the beginning.
Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.
Again there was division among the Jews because of Jesus’ message.
Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
But others replied, “These are not the words of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?”
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me. The one who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him.”
Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”
Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. The word that you hear is not My own, but it is from the Father who sent Me.
So He said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, you are truly My disciples.
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
“We are Abraham’s descendants,” they answered. “We have never been slaves to anyone. How can You say we will be set free?”
Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
. . .
Beloved, although I made every effort to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt it necessary to write and urge you to contend earnestly for the faith entrusted once for all to the saints.
Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but division.
From now on, five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.
They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”
“Lord,” someone asked Him, “will only a few people be saved?” Jesus answered,
“Make every effort to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.
After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne,
God did not reject His people, whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says about Elijah, how he appealed to God against Israel:
“Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars. I am the only one left, and they are seeking my life as well”?
And what was the divine reply to him? “I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
In the same way, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace.
God “will repay each one according to his deeds.”
To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life.
But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.
There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek;
but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek.
We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.