Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.

But she who lives for pleasure is dead even while she is still alive.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’

As soon as night had fallen, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now the Bereans were more noble-minded than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them in rags.

He who loves pleasure will become poor; the one who loves wine and oil will never be rich.

Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain: “Come, let me get the wine, let us imbibe the strong drink, and tomorrow will be like today, only far better!”

For at one time we too were foolish, disobedient, misled, and enslaved to all sorts of desires and pleasures—living in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another.

You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to everyone. It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat.

In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

But look, there is joy and gladness, butchering of cattle and slaughtering of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

Instead, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.

Having lost all sense of shame, they have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity, with a craving for more.

Beloved, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from the desires of the flesh, which war against your soul.

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,

But if you harbor bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast in it or deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every evil practice.

You lie on beds inlaid with ivory, and lounge upon your couches. You dine on lambs from the flock and calves from the stall. You improvise songs on the harp like David and invent your own musical instruments. You drink wine by the bowlful and anoint yourselves with the finest oils, but you fail to grieve over the ruin of Joseph. Therefore, you will now go into exile as the first of the captives, and your feasting and lounging will come to an end.

All of us also lived among them at one time, fulfilling the cravings of our flesh and indulging its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath.

Their eyes are full of adultery; their desire for sin is never satisfied; they seduce the unstable. They are accursed children with hearts trained in greed.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves to depravity. For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.

idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,

But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed.

What causes conflicts and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from the passions at war within you? You crave what you do not have; you kill and covet, but are unable to obtain it. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask. And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.

We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died.

For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

But sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from the law, sin is dead.

And when she had brought them to him to eat, he took hold of her and said, “Come lie with me, my sister!” “No, my brother!” she cried. “Do not humiliate me, for such a thing should never be done in Israel. Do not do this disgraceful thing! Where could I ever take my shame? And you would be like one of the fools in Israel! Please speak to the king, for he will not withhold me from you.” But Amnon refused to listen to her, and being stronger, he violated her and lay with her.

because when such a person hears the words of this oath, he invokes a blessing on himself, saying, ‘I will have peace, even though I walk in the stubbornness of my own heart.’ This will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry.

gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

They called out to Lot, saying, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Send them out to us so we can have relations with them!”

While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with the daughters of Moab,

The former, however, preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can add to the distress of my chains.

He who isolates himself pursues selfish desires; he rebels against all sound judgment.

Instead, he must be hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.

One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman. So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home.

Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near.

But now I am writing you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a verbal abuser, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.

I am afraid that when I come again, my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of their acts of impurity, sexual immorality, and debauchery.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days. Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts. You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter.

I have decked my bed with coverings, with colored linen from Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, with aloes, and with cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love till morning. Let us delight in loving caresses!

When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Do not be deceived: God is not to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return.

Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

After this I saw another angel descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory. And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast. All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.” Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues. For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. . . .

“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”

who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.

For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray.

Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh; but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

But Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s food or wine. So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself.

Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and will build bigger ones, and there I will store up all my grain and my goods. Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’ This is how it will be for anyone who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God.”

and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;

But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good, traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

“Is it a time for you yourselves to live in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?”

For the levy of the prostitute is poverty, and the adulteress preys upon your very life.

For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents. . . .

For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality; each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;

Then I will say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required of you. Then who will own what you have accumulated?’

After a few days, the younger son got everything together and journeyed to a distant country, where he squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent all he had, a severe famine swept through that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. He longed to fill his belly with the pods the pigs were eating, but no one would give him a thing.

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will repay it fourfold.”

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

Do not wear yourself out to get rich; be wise enough to restrain yourself.

But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.

“Everything is permissible,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible,” but not everything is edifying. No one should seek his own good, but the good of others.

As obedient children, do not conform to the passions of your former ignorance.

Consequently, he does not live out his remaining time on earth for human passions, but for the will of God.

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to your husbands, “Bring us more to drink.” The Lord GOD has sworn by His holiness: “Behold, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.

Twelve months later, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty?” While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you. You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, and you will feed on grass like an ox. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes.”

If there is a poor man among your brothers within any of the gates in the land that the LORD your God is giving you, then you are not to harden your heart or shut your hand from your poor brother. Instead, you are to open your hand to him and freely loan him whatever he needs.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress, or embrace the bosom of a stranger? For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and the LORD examines all his paths.

Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.

Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. Therefore I do not run aimlessly; I do not fight like I am beating the air. No, I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

“Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!”? These will all perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such restrictions indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-prescribed worship, their false humility, and their harsh treatment of the body; but they are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.

But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion.

Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.