Bible verses about "entitlement" | Twentieth_Century

¹⁶ Remember, I am sending you out as my Messengers like sheep among wolves. So be as wise as serpents, and as blameless as doves.

⁷ Observing that the guests were choosing the best places for themselves, Jesus told them this parable-- ⁸ "When you are invited by any one to a wedding banquet, do not seat yourself in the best place, for fear that some one of higher rank should have been invited by your host; ⁹ And he who invited you both will come and say to you 'Make room for this man,' and then you will begin in confusion to take the lowest place. ¹⁰ No, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place, so that, when he who has invited you comes, he may say to you 'Friend, come higher up'; and then you will be honored in the eyes of all your fellow-guests. ¹¹ For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

¹ Then Jesus speaking to the crowds and to his disciples, said: ² "The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees now occupy the chair of Moses. ³ Therefore practice and lay to heart everything that they tell preach but do not practice. ⁴ While they make up heavy loads and pile them on other men's shoulder's they decline, themselves, to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ All their actions are done to attract attention. They widen their phylacteries, and increase the size of their tassels, ⁶ and like to have the place of honor at dinner, and the best seats in the Synagogues, ⁷ and to be greeted in the markets with respect, and to be called 'Rabbi' for everybody. ⁸ But do not allow yourselves to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Father, the heavenly Father. ⁹ And do not call any one Father, the heavenly Father. ¹⁰ Nor must you allow yourselves to be called 'Leaders,' for you have only one Leader, the Christ. ¹¹ The man who would be the greatest among you must be your servant. ¹² Whoever shall exalt himself will be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself will be exalted. ¹³ But alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You turn the key of the Kingdom of Heaven in men's faces. For you do not go in yourselves, nor yet allow those who try to go in to do so. ¹⁴ Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You destroy widow's houses, even while pretending to make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation. ¹⁵ Alas for you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You scour land and sea to make a single convert, and, when he is gained, you make him twice as deserving of the Pit as you are yourselves. ¹⁶ Alas for you, you blind guides! You say 'if any answer by the Temple, his oath counts for nothing; but, if any one swears by the gold of the Temple, his oath is binding him'! ¹⁷ Fools that you are and blind! Which is the more important? The gold? Or the Temple which has given sacredness to the gold? ¹⁸ You say, too, 'If any one swears by the altar, his oath counts for nothing, but, if any one swears by the offering placed on it, his oath is binding on him'! ¹⁹ Blind indeed! Which is the more important? The offering? or the altar which gives sacredness to the offering? ²⁰ Therefore a man, swearing by the altar, swears by it and by all that is on it, ²¹ and a man, swearing by the Temple, swears by it and by him who dwells in it, ²² while a man, swearing by Heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it. ²³ Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law--justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first. ²⁴ You blind guides, to strain out a gnat and to swallow a camel! ²⁵ Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are filled with the results of greed and self-indulgence. ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the dish, so that the outside may become clean as well. ²⁷ Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed look fair outside, while inside they are filled with dead men's bones and all kinds of filth. ²⁸ It is the same with you. Outwardly, and to others, you have the look of religious men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and sin. ²⁹ Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You build the tombs of the Prophets, and decorate the monuments of religious men, ³⁰ and say 'Had we been living in the days of our ancestors, we should have taken part in their murder of the Prophets! ³¹ By doing this you are furnishing evidence against yourselves that you are true children of the men who murdered the Prophets. ³² Fill up the measure of your ancestor's guilt. ³³ You serpents and brood of vipers! How can you escape being sentenced to the Pit? ³⁴ That is why I send you Prophets, wise men, and Teachers of the Law, some of whom you will crucify and kill, and some of whom you will scourge in your Synagogues, and persecute from town to town; ³⁵ in order that upon your heads may fall every drop of innocent 'blood split on earth,' from the blood of innocent Abel down to that of Zechariah, Barachiah's son, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. ³⁶ All this, I tell you, will come home to the present generation. ³⁷ Jerusalem! Jerusalem! She who slays the Prophets and stones the messengers sent to her--Oh, how often have I wished to gather your children round me, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not came! ³⁸ Verily, your house is left to you desolate! ³⁹ For nevermore, I tell you, shall you see me, until you say-- 'Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!'"

¹ Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like ten bridesmaids who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were prudent. ³ The foolish ones took their lamps, but took no oil with them; ⁴ While the prudent ones, besides taking their lamps, took oil in their jars. ⁵ As the bridegroom was late in coming, they all became drowsy, and slept. ⁶ But at midnight a shout was raised--'The Bridegroom is coming! Come out to meet him!' ⁷ Then all the bridesmaids awoke and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the prudent 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.' ⁹ But the prudent ones answered 'No, for fear that there will not be enough for you and for us. Go instead to those who sell it, and buy for yourselves.' ¹⁰ But while they were on their way to buy it, the bridegroom came; and the bridesmaids who were ready went in with him to the banquet, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Afterwards the other bridesmaids came. 'Sir, Sir,' they said, 'open the door to us!' ¹² But the bridegroom answered 'I tell you, I do not know you.' ¹³ Therefore watch, since you know neither the Day nor the Hour. ¹⁴ For it is as though a man, going on his travels, called his servants, and gave his property into their charge. ¹⁵ He gave three thousand pounds to one, twelve hundred to another, and six hundred to a third, in proportion to the ability of each. Then he set out on his travels. ¹⁶ The man who had received the three thousand pounds went at once and traded with it, and made another three thousand. ¹⁷ So, too, the man who had received the twelve hundred pounds made another twelve hundred. ¹⁸ But the man who had received the six hundred went and dug a hole in the ground, and hid his master's money. ¹⁹ After a long time the master of those servants returned, and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ The man who had received the three thousand pounds came up and brought three thousand more. 'Sir,' he said, 'you entrusted me with three thousand pounds; look, I have made another three thousand!' ²¹ 'Well done, good, trustworthy servant!' said his master. 'You have been trustworthy with a small sum; now I will place a large one in your hands; come and share your master's joy!' ²² Then the one who had received the twelve hundred pounds came up and said 'Sir, you entrusted me with twelve hundred pounds; look, I have made another twelve hundred!' ²³ 'Well done, good, trustworthy servant!' said his master. 'You have been trustworthy with a small sum; now I will place a large one in your hands; come and share your master's joy!' ²⁴ The man who had received the six hundred pounds came up, too, and said 'Sir, I knew that you were a hard man; you reap where you have not sown, and gather up where you have not winnowed; ²⁵ And, in my fear, I went and hid your money in the ground; look, here is what belongs to you!' ²⁶ 'You lazy, worthless servant!' was his master's reply. 'You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather up where I have not winnowed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have placed my money in the hands of bankers, and I, on my return, should have received my money, with interest. ²⁸ 'Therefore,' he continued, 'take away from him the six hundred pounds, and give it to the one who has the six thousand. ²⁹ For, to him who has, more will be given, and he shall have abundance; but, as for him who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away from him. ³⁰ As for the useless servant, 'put him out into the darkness' outside, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.' ³¹ When the Son of Man has come in his glory and all the angels with him, then he 'will take his seat on his throne of glory'; ³² And all the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people--just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats- - ³³ Placing the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, enter upon possession of the Kingdom prepared for you ever since the beginning of the world. ³⁵ For, when I was hungry, you gave me food; when I was thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger, you took me to your homes; ³⁶ When I was naked, you clothed me; when I fell ill, you visited me; and when I was in prison, you came to me.' ³⁷ Then the Righteous will answer 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you? Or thirsty, and give you a drink? ³⁸ When did we see you a stranger, and take you to our homes? Or naked, and clothe you? ³⁹ When did we see you ill, or in prison, and come to you?' ⁴⁰ And the King will reply 'I tell you, as often as you did it to one of these my Brothers, however lowly, you did it to me.' ⁴¹ Then he will say to those on his left 'Go from my presence, accursed, into the 'aeonian fire which has been prepared for the Devil and his angels.' ⁴² For, when I was hungry, you gave me no food; when I was thirsty, you gave me no drink; ⁴³ When I was a stranger, you did not take me to your homes; when I was naked, you did not clothe me; and, when I was ill and in prison, you did not visit me.' ⁴⁴ Then they, in their turn, will answer 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or ill, or in prison, and did not supply your wants?' ⁴⁵ And then he will reply 'I tell you, as often as you failed to do it to one of these, however lowly, you failed to do it to me.' ⁴⁶ And these last will go away 'into aeonian punishment,' but the righteous 'into aeonian life.'"

¹⁹ Never avenge yourselves, dear friends, but make way for the Wrath of God; for Scripture declares--'"It is for me to avenge, I will requite," says the Lord.'

¹⁶ And, moreover, we have learned to know, and have accepted as a fact, the love which God has for us. God is Love; and he who lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

¹ For the Kingdom of Heaven is like an employer who went out in the early morning to hire laborers for his vineyards. ² He agreed with the laborers to pay them two shillings a day, and sent them into his vineyard. ³ On going out again, about nine o'clock, he saw some others standing in the market-place, doing nothing. ⁴ 'You also may go into my vineyard,' he said, 'and I will pay you what is fair.' ⁵ So the men went. Going out again about mid-day and about three o'clock, he did as before. ⁶ When he went out about five, he found some other men standing there, and said to them 'Why have you been standing here all day long, doing nothing?' ⁷ 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. 'You also may go into my vineyard,' he said. ⁸ In the evening the owner of the vineyard said to his steward 'Call the laborers, and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, and ending with the first. ⁹ Now when those who had been hired about five o'clock went up, they received two shillings each. ¹⁰ So, when the first went up, they thought that they would receive more, but they also received two shillings each; ¹¹ On which they began to grumble at their employer. ¹² 'These last,' they said, 'have done only one hour's work, and yet you have put them on the same footing with us, who have borne the brunt of the day's work, and the heat.' ¹³ 'My friend,' was his reply to one of them, 'I am not treating you unfairly. Did not you agree with me for two shillings? ¹⁴ Take what belongs to you, and go. I choose to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵ Have not I the right to do as I choose with what is mine? Are you envious because I am liberal?' ¹⁶ So those who are last will be first, and the first last."

¹⁸ 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, For he has consecrated me to bring Good News to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and restoration of sight to the blind, To set the oppressed at liberty,

⁸ Any one who fails to provide for his own relations, and especially for those under his own roof, has disowned the Faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

¹ I urge you, then--I who am a prisoner in the Master's cause-- to live lives worthy of the Call that you have received; ² Always humble and gentle, patient, bearing lovingly with one another, ³ And striving to maintain in the bond of peace the unity given by the Spirit. ⁴ There is but one Body and one Spirit, just as there was but one hope set before you when you received your Call. ⁵ There is but one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism. ⁶ There is but one God and Father of all--the God who is over all, pervades all, and is in all. ⁷ Every one of us, however, has been entrusted with some charge, each in accordance with the extent of the gift of the Christ. ⁸ That is why it is said--'When he went up on high, he led his captives into captivity. And gave gifts to mankind.' ⁹ Now surely this 'going up' must imply that he had already gone down into the world beneath. ¹⁰ He who went down is the same as he who went up--up beyond the highest Heaven, that he might fill all things with his presence. ¹¹ And he it is who gave to the Church Apostles, Prophets, Missionaries, Pastors, and Teachers, ¹² To fit his People for the work of the ministry, for the building up of the Body of the Christ. ¹³ And this shall continue, until we all attain to that unity which is given by faith and by a fuller knowledge of the Son of God; until we reach the ideal man--the full standard of the perfection of the Christ. ¹⁴ Then we shall no longer be like infants, tossed backward and forward, blown about by every breath of human teaching, through the trickery and the craftiness of men, towards the snares of error; ¹⁵ But holding the truth in a spirit of love, we shall grow into complete union with him who is our Head--Christ himself. ¹⁶ For from him the whole Body, closely joined and knit together by the contact of every part with the source of its life, derives its power to grow, in proportion to the vigor of each individual part; and so is being built up in a spirit of love. ¹⁷ This, then, as one in union with the Lord, I say to you and urge upon you: Do not continue to live such purposeless lives as the Gentiles live, ¹⁸ With their powers of discernment darkened, cut off from the Life of God, owing to the ignorance that prevails among them and to the hardness of their hearts. ¹⁹ Lost to all sense of shame, they have abandoned themselves to licentiousness, in order to practice every kind of impurity without restraint. ²⁰ But far different is the lesson you learned from the Christ-- if, that is, you really listened to him, ²¹ And through union with him were taught the Truth, as it is to be found in Jesus. ²² For you learned with regard to your former way of living that you must cast off your old nature, which, yielding to deluding passions, grows corrupt; ²³ That the very spirit of your minds must be constantly renewed; ²⁴ And that you must clothe yourselves in that new nature which was created to resemble God, with the righteousness and holiness springing from the Truth. ²⁵ Since, therefore, you have cast off what is false, 'you must every one of you speak the truth to your neighbors.' For we are united to one another like the parts of a body. ²⁶ 'Be angry, yet do not sin.' Do not let the sun go down upon your anger; ²⁷ And give no opportunity to the Devil. ²⁸ Let the man who steals steal no longer, but rather let him toil with his hands at honest work, so that he may have something to share with any one in want. ²⁹ Never let any foul word pass your lips, but only such good words as the occasion demands, that they may be a help to those who hear them. ³⁰ And do not grieve God's Holy Spirit; for it was through that Spirit that God sealed you as his, against the Day of Redemption. ³¹ Let all bitterness, passion, anger, brawling, and abusive language be banished from among you, as well as all malice. ³² Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, ready to forgive one another, just as God, in Christ, forgave you.

¹² All such people we urge, and entreat, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to attend quietly to their business, and earn their own living.

⁶ No; the gift that God gives is for a nobler end; and that is why it is said--'God is opposed to the haughty, but gives help to the humble.'

¹⁰ Indeed, when we were with you, what we urged upon you was-- 'If a man does not choose to work, then he shall not eat.'

¹ What is the cause of the fighting and quarreling that goes on among you? Is not it to be found in the desires which are always at war within you? ² You crave, yet do not obtain. You murder and rage, yet cannot gain your end. You quarrel and fight. You do not obtain, because you do not ask. ³ You ask, yet do not receive, because you ask for a wrong purpose--to spend what you get upon your pleasures. ⁴ Unfaithful people! Do not you know that to be friends with the world means to be at enmity with God? Therefore whoever chooses to be friends with the world makes himself an enemy to God. ⁵ Do you suppose there is no meaning in the passage of Scripture which asks--'Is envy to result from the longings of the Spirit which God has implanted within you?' ⁶ No; the gift that God gives is for a nobler end; and that is why it is said--'God is opposed to the haughty, but gives help to the humble.' ⁷ Therefore submit to God; but resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Make your hands clean, you sinners; and your hearts pure, you vacillating men! ⁹ Grieve, mourn, and lament! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your happiness to gloom! ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. ¹¹ Do not disparage one another, Brothers. He who disparages his Brother, or passes judgment on his Brother, disparages the Law and passes judgment on the Law. But, if you pass judgment on the Law, you are not obeying it, but judging it. ¹² There is only one Lawgiver and Judge--he who has the power both to save and to destroy. But who are you that pass judgment on your neighbor?