But someone will say, “You have faith and I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to reckless indiscretion. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your hearts to the Lord, . . .

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to the family of faith.

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.

Know that the LORD is God. It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

Act wisely toward outsiders, redeeming the time.

He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil— he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.

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.

Here is a call for the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

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

Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains,

redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness, to rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, and over all the earth itself and every creature that crawls upon it.”

Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary. Praise Him in His mighty heavens. Praise Him for His mighty acts; praise Him for His excellent greatness. Praise Him with the sound of the horn; praise Him with the harp and lyre. Praise Him with tambourine and dancing; praise Him with strings and flute. Praise Him with clashing cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals. . . .

Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

Produce fruit, then, in keeping with repentance.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

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.

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.

For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.

For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.

For one person has faith to eat all things, while another, who is weak, eats only vegetables.

But I will keep on doing what I am doing, in order to undercut those who want an opportunity to be regarded as our equals in the things of which they boast.

in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and encourage with every form of patient instruction.

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where he found a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman and a Greek father. The brothers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, so he took him and circumcised him on account of the Jews in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. . . .

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.

They were delighted to hear this, and they promised to give him money. So Judas began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

So I advise the younger widows to marry, have children, and manage their households, denying the adversary occasion for slander.

Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord,

And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work or planning or knowledge or wisdom.

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Now when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they took as wives whomever they chose. So the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and afterward as well—when the sons of God had relations with the daughters of men. And they bore them children who became the mighty men of old, men of renown. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was altogether evil all the time. . . .

“The harvest has passed, the summer has ended, but we have not been saved.”

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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.

For no word from God will ever fail.”

So from then on Judas looked for an opportunity to betray Jesus.

Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand, because you neglected all my counsel, and wanted none of my correction, in turn I will mock your calamity; I will sneer when terror strikes you, when your dread comes like a storm, and your destruction like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish overwhelm you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me. . . .

Give strong drink to one who is perishing, and wine to the bitter in soul. Let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the number of worshipers there. But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months. And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” These witnesses are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. If anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouths and devours their enemies. In this way, anyone who wants to harm them must be killed. . . .

For sin, seizing its opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through the commandment put me to death.

And we know that God works all things together for the good of those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.

Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly urged him to go to you with the brothers. He was not at all inclined to go now, but he will go when he has the opportunity.

Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity.

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “May the gods deal with me, and ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the lives of those you killed!” And Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” . . .

But if you warn a wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness and his wicked way, he will die in his iniquity, but you will have saved yourself.

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

That servant who knows his master’s will but does not get ready or follow his instructions will be beaten with many blows.

So He said, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to lay claim to his kingship and then return. Beforehand, he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Conduct business with this until I return,’ he said. But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ When he returned from procuring his kingship, he summoned the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned. The first servant came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has produced ten more minas.’ . . .

Judas consented, and began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them in the absence of a crowd.

Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

Woe to the worthless shepherd, who deserts the flock! May a sword strike his arm and his right eye! May his arm be completely withered and his right eye utterly blinded!”

because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me.

“I will give her to David,” Saul thought, “so that she may be a snare to him, and the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “For a second time now you can be my son-in-law.”

So I made up my mind not to make another painful visit to you. For if I grieve you, who is left to cheer me but those whom I have grieved? I wrote as I did so that on my arrival I would not be saddened by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would share my joy. For through many tears I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart, not to grieve you but to let you know how much I love you. Now if anyone has caused grief, he has not grieved me but all of you—to some degree, not to overstate it. . . .

We are not commending ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you can answer those who take pride in appearances rather than in the heart.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.

Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.

Have no fellowship with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”

Leaning back against Jesus, he asked, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I give this morsel after I have dipped it.” Then He dipped the morsel and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. And when Judas had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to Judas, “What you are about to do, do quickly.” But no one at the table knew why Jesus had said this to him.

While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.

But Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests. When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, so I cannot come.’ . . .

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. I urge Euodia and Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true yokefellow, to help these women who have labored with me for the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be apparent to all. The Lord is near. . . .

I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door, which no one can shut. For you have only a little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name.

For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.

who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

As Paul expounded on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “You may go for now. When I find the time, I will call for you.”

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.

as you pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth. Test and prove what pleases the Lord.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

God again designated a certain day as “Today,” when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

And in the morning at sunrise, get up and advance against the city. When Gaal and his men come out against you, do to them whatever you are 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.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves are thrown out.

No, I tell you. But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

When Jesus returned the third time, He said, “Are you still sleeping and resting? That is enough! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take along any extra oil. But the wise ones took oil in flasks along with their lamps. When the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. . . .

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the LORD.

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

For 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.”

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.

Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise,

Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.

Noah, however, found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

Now King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” Others were saying, “He is Elijah,” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead!” For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married. For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife!”

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.