Romans 13 Cross References - WNT

¹ Let every individual be obedient to those who rule over him; for no one is a ruler except by God's permission, and our present rulers have had their rank and power assigned to them by Him. ² Therefore the man who rebels against his ruler is resisting God's will; and those who thus resist will bring punishment upon themselves. ³ For judges and magistrates are to be feared not by right-doers but by wrong-doers. You desire--do you not? --to have no reason to fear your ruler. Well, do the thing that is right, and then he will commend you. ⁴ For he is God's servant for your benefit. But if you do what is wrong, be afraid. He does not wear the sword to no purpose: he is God's servant--an administrator to inflict punishment upon evil-doers. ⁵ We must obey therefore, not only in order to escape punishment, but also for conscience' sake. ⁶ Why, this is really the reason you pay taxes; for tax-gatherers are ministers of God, devoting their energies to this very work. ⁷ Pay promptly to all men what is due to them: taxes to those to whom taxes are due, toll to those to whom toll is due, respect to those to whom respect is due, honour to those to whom honour is due. ⁸ Owe nothing to any one except mutual love; for he who loves his fellow man has satisfied the demands of Law. ⁹ For the precepts, "THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY," "THOU SHALT DO NO MURDER," "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL," "THOU SHALT NOT COVET," and all other precepts, are summed up in this one command, "THOU SHALT LOVE THY FELLOW MAN AS MUCH AS THOU LOVEST THYSELF." ¹⁰ Love avoids doing any wrong to one's fellow man, and is therefore complete obedience to Law. ¹¹ Carry out these injunctions because you know the critical period at which we are living, and that it is now high time, to rouse yourselves from sleep; for salvation is now nearer to us than when we first became believers. ¹² The night is far advanced, and day is about to dawn. We must therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness, and clothe ourselves with the armour of Light. ¹³ Living as we do in broad daylight, let us conduct ourselves becomingly, not indulging in revelry and drunkenness, nor in lust and debauchery, nor in quarrelling and jealousy. ¹⁴ On the contrary, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for gratifying your earthly cravings.

¹³ and bring us not into temptation, but rescue us from the Evil one.'

¹¹ "You would have had no power whatever over me," replied Jesus, "had it not been granted you from above. On that account he who has delivered me up to you is more guilty than you are."

²¹ and submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

¹ Remind people that they must submit to the rulers who are in authority over them; that they must obey the magistrates, be prepared for every right action,

¹³ Submit, for the Lord's sake, to every authority set up by man, whether it be to the Emperor as supreme ruler, ¹⁴ or to provincial Governors as sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and the encouragement of those who do what is right. ¹⁵ For it is God's will that by doing what is right you should thus silence the ignorant talk of foolish persons. ¹⁶ Be free men, and yet do not make your freedom an excuse for base conduct, but be God's bondservants. ¹⁷ Honour every one. Love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the Emperor.

¹⁰ and especially those who are abandoned to sensuality--craving, as they do, for polluted things, and scorning control. Fool-hardy and self-willed, they do not tremble when speaking evil of glorious beings; ¹¹ while angels, though greater than they in might and power, do not bring any insulting accusation against such in the presence of the Lord.

⁸ Yet in just the same way these dreamers also pollute the body, while they set authority at naught and speak evil of dignities.

⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the truthful witness, the first of the dead to be born to Life, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins with His own blood,

¹⁴ They will make war upon the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them; for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who accompany Him--called, as they are, and chosen, and faithful--shall share in the victory."

¹⁶ And on His outer garment and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.

¹³ "But alas for you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you lock the door of the Kingdom of the Heavens against men; you yourselves do not enter, nor do you allow those to enter who are seeking to do so.

⁴⁰ and who swallow up the property of widows and then mask their wickedness by making long prayers: these men will receive far heavier punishment."

⁴⁷ who swallow up the property of widows and mask their wickedness by making long prayers. They will be punished far more severely than others."

⁵ We must obey therefore, not only in order to escape punishment, but also for conscience' sake.

¹ Do not be eager, my brethren, for many among you to become teachers; for you know that we teachers shall undergo severer judgement.

¹³ Submit, for the Lord's sake, to every authority set up by man, whether it be to the Emperor as supreme ruler,

⁴ For he is God's servant for your benefit. But if you do what is wrong, be afraid. He does not wear the sword to no purpose: he is God's servant--an administrator to inflict punishment upon evil-doers.

¹³ Submit, for the Lord's sake, to every authority set up by man, whether it be to the Emperor as supreme ruler, ¹⁴ or to provincial Governors as sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and the encouragement of those who do what is right.

¹³ And who will be able to harm you, if you show yourselves zealous for that which is good? ¹⁴ But even if you suffer for righteousness' sake, you are to be envied. So do not be alarmed by their threats, nor troubled;

¹⁹ Do not be revengeful, my dear friends, but give way before anger; for it is written, "'REVENGE BELONGS TO ME: I WILL PAY BACK,' says the Lord."

⁶ Why, this is really the reason you pay taxes; for tax-gatherers are ministers of God, devoting their energies to this very work.

⁶ and that in this matter there be no encroaching on the rights of a brother Christian and no overreaching him. For the Lord is an avenger in all such cases, as we have already taught you and solemnly warned you.

¹⁶ This too is my own earnest endeavour--always to have a clear conscience in relation to God and man.

¹ Remind people that they must submit to the rulers who are in authority over them; that they must obey the magistrates, be prepared for every right action, ² not speak evil of any one, nor be contentious, but yield unselfishly to others and constantly manifest a forgiving spirit towards all men.

¹⁸ Keep on praying for us; for we are sure that we have clear consciences, and we desire to live nobly in every respect.

¹³ Submit, for the Lord's sake, to every authority set up by man, whether it be to the Emperor as supreme ruler, ¹⁴ or to provincial Governors as sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and the encouragement of those who do what is right. ¹⁵ For it is God's will that by doing what is right you should thus silence the ignorant talk of foolish persons.

¹⁹ For it is an acceptable thing with God, if, from a sense of duty to Him, a man patiently submits to wrong, when treated unjustly.

¹⁶ Yet argue modestly and cautiously, keeping your consciences free from guilt, so that, when you are spoken against, those who slander your good Christian lives may be put to shame.

²⁴ After their arrival at Capernaum the collectors of the half-shekel came and asked Peter, "Does not your Teacher pay the half-shekel?" ²⁵ "Yes," he replied, and then went into the house. But before he spoke a word Jesus said, "What think you, Simon? From whom do this world's kings receive customs or capitation tax? from their own children, or from others?" ²⁶ "From others," he replied. "Then the children go free," said Jesus. ²⁷ "However, lest we cause them to sin, go and throw a hook into the Lake, and take the first fish that comes up. When you open its mouth, you will find a shekel in it: bring that coin and give it to them for yourself and me."

¹⁷ Give us your judgement therefore: is it allowable for us to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?" ¹⁸ Perceiving their wickedness, Jesus replied, "Why are you hypocrites trying to ensnare me? ¹⁹ Show me the tribute coin." And they brought Him a shilling. ²⁰ "Whose likeness and inscription," He asked, "is this?" ²¹ "Caesar's," they replied. "Pay therefore," He rejoined, "what is Caesar's to Caesar; and what is God's to God."

¹⁴ So they came to Him. "Rabbi," they said, "we know that you are a truthful man and you do not fear any one; for you do not recognize human distinctions, but teach God's way truly. Is it allowable to pay poll-tax to Caesar, or not? ¹⁵ Shall we pay, or shall we refuse to pay?" But He, knowing their hypocrisy, replied, "Why try to ensnare me? Bring me a shilling for me to look at." ¹⁶ They brought one; and He asked them, "Whose is this likeness and this inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied. ¹⁷ "What is Caesar's," replied Jesus, "pay to Caesar--and what is God's, pay to God." And they wondered exceedingly at Him.

²¹ So they put a question to Him. "Rabbi," they said, "we know that you say and teach what is right and that you make no distinctions between one man and another, but teach God's way truly. ²² Is it allowable to pay a tax to Caesar, or not?" ²³ But He saw through their knavery and replied, ²⁴ "Show me a shilling; whose likeness and inscription does it bear?" "Caesar's," they said. ²⁵ "Pay therefore," He replied, "what is Caesar's to Caesar--and what is God's to God." ²⁶ There was nothing here that they could lay hold of before the people, and marvelling at His answer they said no more.

² "We have found this man," they said, "an agitator among our nation, forbidding the payment of tribute to Caesar, and claiming to be himself an anointed king."

⁸ The teacher must do the same in his teaching; and he who exhorts others, in his exhortation. He who gives should be liberal; he who is in authority should be energetic and alert; and he who succours the afflicted should do it cheerfully.

²⁵ "Yes," he replied, and then went into the house. But before he spoke a word Jesus said, "What think you, Simon? From whom do this world's kings receive customs or capitation tax? from their own children, or from others?"

²¹ "Caesar's," they replied. "Pay therefore," He rejoined, "what is Caesar's to Caesar; and what is God's to God."

¹⁷ "What is Caesar's," replied Jesus, "pay to Caesar--and what is God's, pay to God." And they wondered exceedingly at Him.

²⁵ "Pay therefore," He replied, "what is Caesar's to Caesar--and what is God's to God."

³³ Yet I insist that among you also, each man is to love his own wife as much as he loves himself, and let a married woman see to it that she treats her husband with respect.

² "HONOUR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER" --this is the first Commandment which has a promise added to it-- ³ "SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH."

⁵ Slaves, be obedient to your earthly masters, with respect and eager anxiety to please and with simplicity of motive as if you were obeying Christ.

¹³ And at the same time they also learn to be idle as they go round from house to house; and they are not only idle, but are gossips also and busybodies, speaking of things that ought not to be spoken of.

¹⁷ Let the Elders who perform their duties wisely and well be held worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching.

¹ Let all who are under the yoke of slavery hold their own masters to be deserving of honour, so that the name of God and the Christian teaching may not be spoken against.

¹⁷ Honour every one. Love the brotherhood, fear God, honour the Emperor. ¹⁸ Household servants, be submissive to your masters, and show them the utmost respect--not only if they are kind and thoughtful, but also if they are unreasonable.

⁷ Married men, in the same way, live with your wives with a clear recognition of the fact that they are weaker than you. Yet, since you are heirs with them of God's free gift of Life, treat them with honour; so that your prayers may not be hindered.

¹² Everything, therefore, be it what it may, that you would have men do to you, do you also the same to them; for in this the Law and the Prophets are summed up.

³⁹ And the second is similar to it: 'THOU SHALT LOVE THY FELLOW MAN AS MUCH AS THYSELF.' ⁴⁰ The whole of the Law and the Prophets is summed up in these two Commandments."

³⁴ A new commandment I give you, to love one another; that as I have loved you, you also may love one another.

⁷ Pay promptly to all men what is due to them: taxes to those to whom taxes are due, toll to those to whom toll is due, respect to those to whom respect is due, honour to those to whom honour is due.

¹⁰ Love avoids doing any wrong to one's fellow man, and is therefore complete obedience to Law.

¹⁴ For the entire Law has been obeyed when you have kept the single precept, which says, "YOU ARE TO LOVE YOUR FELLOW MAN EQUALLY WITH YOURSELF."

¹⁴ And over all these put on love, which is the perfect bond of union;

⁵ But the end sought to be secured by exhortation is the love which springs from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith.

⁸ If, however, you are keeping the Law as supreme, in obedience to the Commandment which says "YOU ARE TO LOVE YOUR FELLOW MAN JUST AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF," you are acting rightly.

¹⁸ "Which Commandments?" he asked. Jesus answered, "'THOU SHALT NOT KILL;' 'THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT ADULTERY;' 'THOU SHALT NOT STEAL;' 'THOU SHALT NOT LIE IN GIVING EVIDENCE;' ¹⁹ 'HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER'; AND 'THOU SHALT LOVE THY FELLOW MAN AS MUCH AS THYSELF.'"

³⁹ And the second is similar to it: 'THOU SHALT LOVE THY FELLOW MAN AS MUCH AS THYSELF.'

¹⁹ You know the Commandments-- 'DO NOT MURDER;' 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY;' 'DO NOT STEAL;' 'DO NOT LIE IN GIVING EVIDENCE;' 'DO NOT DEFRAUD;' 'HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.'"

³¹ "The second is this: 'THOU SHALT LOVE THY FELLOW MAN AS THOU LOVEST THYSELF.' "Other Commandment greater than these there is none."

²⁷ "'THOU SHALT LOVE THE LORD THY GOD,'" he replied, "'WITH THY WHOLE HEART, THY WHOLE SOUL, THY WHOLE STRENGTH, AND THY WHOLE MIND; AND THY FELLOW MAN AS MUCH AS THYSELF.'"

²⁰ You know the Commandments: 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY;' 'DO NOT MURDER;' 'DO NOT STEAL;' 'DO NOT LIE IN GIVING EVIDENCE;' 'HONOUR THY FATHER AND THY MOTHER.'"

⁷ What follows? Is the Law itself a sinful thing? No, indeed; on the contrary, unless I had been taught by the Law, I should have known nothing of sin as sin. For instance, I should not have known what covetousness is, if the Law had not repeatedly said, "THOU SHALT NOT COVET." ⁸ Sin took advantage of this, and by means of the Commandment stirred up within me every kind of coveting; for apart from Law sin would be dead.

¹³ You however, brethren, were called to freedom. Only do not turn your freedom into an excuse for giving way to your lower natures; but become bondservants to one another in a spirit of love.

⁸ If, however, you are keeping the Law as supreme, in obedience to the Commandment which says "YOU ARE TO LOVE YOUR FELLOW MAN JUST AS YOU LOVE YOURSELF," you are acting rightly. ⁹ But if you are making distinctions between one man and another, you are guilty of sin, and are convicted by the Law as offenders. ¹⁰ A man who has kept the Law as a whole, but has failed to keep some one command, has become guilty of violating all.

⁸ Owe nothing to any one except mutual love; for he who loves his fellow man has satisfied the demands of Law.

⁴ Love is patient and kind. Love knows neither envy nor jealousy. Love is not forward and self-assertive, nor boastful and conceited. ⁵ She does not behave unbecomingly, nor seek to aggrandize herself, nor blaze out in passionate anger, nor brood over wrongs. ⁶ She finds no pleasure in injustice done to others, but joyfully sides with the truth. ⁷ She knows how to be silent. She is full of trust, full of hope, full of patient endurance.

³ and in the morning, 'It will be rough weather to-day, for the sky is red and murky.' You learn how to distinguish the aspect of the heavens, but the signs of the times you cannot.

⁴² Be on the alert therefore, for you do not know the day on which your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But of this be assured, that if the master of the house had known the hour at which the robber was coming, he would have kept awake, and not have allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready; for it is at a time when you do not expect Him that the Son of Man will come.

⁵ The bridegroom was a long time in coming, so that meanwhile they all became drowsy and fell asleep. ⁶ But at midnight there is a loud cry, "'The bridegroom! Go out and meet him!' ⁷ "Then all those bridesmaids roused themselves and trimmed their torches.

⁴⁰ Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and He said to Peter, "Alas, none of you could keep awake with me for even a single hour! ⁴¹ Keep awake, and pray that you may not enter into temptation: the spirit is right willing, but the body is frail."

³⁵ Be wakeful therefore, for you know not when the master of the house is coming--in the evening, at midnight, at cock-crow, or at dawn. ³⁶ Beware lest He should arrive unexpectedly and find you asleep. ³⁷ Moreover, what I say to you I say to all--Be wakeful!"

²⁸ But when all this is beginning to take place, grieve no longer. Lift up your heads, because your deliverance is drawing near."

²⁹ Yet of this I warn you, brethren: the time has been shortened--so that henceforth those who have wives should be as though they had none, ³⁰ those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess, ³¹ and those who use the world as not using it to the full. For the world as it now exists is passing away.

¹¹ All this kept happening to them with a figurative meaning; but it was put on record by way of admonition to us upon whom the ends of the Ages have come.

³⁴ Wake from this drunken fit; live righteous lives, and cease to sin; for some have no knowledge of God: I speak thus in order to move you to shame.

¹⁴ For this reason it is said, "Rise, sleeper; rise from among the dead, and Christ will shed light upon you."

¹ But as to times and dates it is unnecessary that anything be written to you. ² For you yourselves know perfectly well that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. ³ While they are saying "Peace and safety!" then in a moment destruction falls upon them, like birth-pains on a woman who is with child; and escape there is none.

⁵ for all of you are sons of Light and sons of the day. We belong neither to the night nor to darkness. ⁶ So then let us not sleep, like the rest of the world, but let us keep awake and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who drink freely, drink at night. ⁸ But let us, belonging--as we do--to the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation.

⁷ But the end of all things is now close at hand: therefore be sober-minded and temperate, so that you may give yourselves to prayer.

¹³ But in accordance with His promise we are expecting new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness will dwell. ¹⁴ Therefore, dear friends, since you have these expectations, earnestly seek to be found in His presence, free from blemish or reproach, in peace. ¹⁵ And always regard the patient forbearance of our Lord as salvation, as our dear brother Paul also has written to you in virtue of the wisdom granted to him.

¹² "I am coming quickly; and My reward is with Me, that I may requite every man in accordance with what his conduct has been.

²⁰ "He who solemnly declares all this says, "'Yes, I am coming quickly.'" Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

¹⁹ And this is the test by which men are judged--the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness more than they loved the Light, because their deeds were wicked. ²⁰ For every wrongdoer hates the light, and does not come to the light, for fear his actions should be exposed and condemned. ²¹ But he who does what is honest and right comes to the light, in order that his actions may be plainly shown to have been done in God.

¹⁴ On the contrary, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for gratifying your earthly cravings.

⁷ by the proclamation of the truth, by the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness, wielded in both hands;

²² to put away, in regard to your former mode of life, your original evil nature which is doomed to perish as befits its misleading impulses,

¹¹ Have nothing to do with the barren unprofitable deeds of darkness, but, instead of that, set your faces against them;

¹¹ Put on the complete armour of God, so as to be able to stand firm against all the stratagems of the Devil. ¹² For ours is not a conflict with mere flesh and blood, but with the despotisms, the empires, the forces that control and govern this dark world--the spiritual hosts of evil arrayed against us in the heavenly warfare. ¹³ Therefore put on the complete armour of God, so that you may be able to stand your ground on the day of battle, and, having fought to the end, to remain victors on the field. ¹⁴ Stand therefore, first fastening round you the girdle of truth and putting on the breastplate of uprightness ¹⁵ as well as the shoes of the Good News of peace-- a firm foundation for your feet. ¹⁶ And besides all these take the great shield of faith, on which you will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the Wicked one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. ¹⁸ Pray with unceasing prayer and entreaty on every fitting occasion in the Spirit, and be always on the alert to seize opportunities for doing so, with unwearied persistence and entreaty on behalf of all God's people,

⁸ But now you must rid yourselves of every kind of sin--angry and passionate outbreaks, ill-will, evil speaking, foul-mouthed abuse--so that these may never soil your lips. ⁹ Do not speak falsehoods to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its doings, ¹⁰ and have clothed yourselves with the new self which is being remoulded into full knowledge so as to become like Him who created it. ¹¹ In that new creation there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free man, but Christ is everything and is in all of us. ¹² Clothe yourselves therefore, as God's own people holy and dearly loved, with tender-heartedness, kindness, lowliness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; ¹³ bearing with one another and readily forgiving each other, if any one has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, you also must forgive. ¹⁴ And over all these put on love, which is the perfect bond of union; ¹⁵ and let the peace which Christ gives settle all questionings in your hearts, to which peace indeed you were called as belonging to His one Body; and be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the teaching concerning Christ remain as a rich treasure in your hearts. In all wisdom teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and sing with grace in your hearts to God. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, and let it be through Him that you give thanks to God the Father.

²¹ Ridding yourselves, therefore, of all that is vile and of the evil influences which prevail around you, welcome in a humble spirit the Message implanted within you, which is able to save your souls.

¹ Rid yourselves therefore of all ill-will and all deceitfulness, of insincerity and envy, and of all evil speaking.

⁵ This is the Message which we have heard from the Lord Jesus and now deliver to you--God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness. ⁶ If, while we are living in darkness, we profess to have fellowship with Him, we speak falsely and are not adhering to the truth. ⁷ But if we live in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanses us from all sin.

⁸ And yet I *am* giving you a new command, for such it really is, so far as both He and you are concerned: because the darkness is now passing away and the light, the true light, is already beginning to shine. ⁹ Any one who professes to be in the light and yet hates his brother man is still in darkness.

³ Blessed is he who reads and blessed are those who listen to the words of this prophecy and lay to heart what is written in it; for the time for its fulfillment is now close at hand.

¹⁰ "Make no secret," he added, "of the meaning of the predictions contained in this book; for the time for their fulfillment is now close at hand.

⁴⁸ But if the man, being a bad servant, should say in his heart, 'My master is a long time in coming,' ⁴⁹ and should begin to beat his fellow servants, while he eats and drinks with drunkards; ⁵⁰ the master of that servant will arrive on a day when he is not expecting him and at an hour of which he has not been informed; ⁵¹ he will treat him with the utmost severity and assign him a place among the hypocrites: there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.

⁶ They were both of them upright before God, blamelessly obeying all the Lord's precepts and ordinances.

¹⁹ "There was once a rich man who habitually arrayed himself in purple and fine linen, and enjoyed a splendid banquet every day,

²⁷ Men were eating and drinking, taking wives and giving wives, up to the very day on which Noah entered the Ark, and the Deluge came and destroyed them all. ²⁸ The same was true in the time of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building;

³⁴ "But take heed to yourselves, lest your souls be weighed down with self-indulgence and drunkenness or the anxieties of this life, and that day come upon you, suddenly, like a falling trap;

¹⁵ For this is not intoxication, as you suppose, it being only the third hour of the day.

⁹ Do you not know that unrighteous men will not inherit God's Kingdom? Cherish no delusion here. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor any who are guilty of unnatural crime, ¹⁰ nor theives, nor avaricious people, nor any who are addicted to hard drinking, to abusive language or to greed of gain, will inherit God's Kingdom.

¹⁵ But if you are perpetually snarling and snapping at one another, beware lest you are destroyed by one another. ¹⁶ This then is what I mean. Let your lives be guided by the Spirit, and then you will certainly not indulge the cravings of your lower natures.

¹⁹ Now you know full well the doings of our lower natures. Fornication, impurity, indecency, idol-worship, sorcery;

²¹ hard drinking, riotous feasting, and the like. And as to these I forewarn you, as I have already forewarned you, that those who are guilty of such things will have no share in the Kingdom of God.

²⁵ If we are living by the Spirit's power, let our conduct also be governed by the Spirit's power. ²⁶ Let us not become vain-glorious, challenging one another, envying one another.

¹ I, then, the prisoner for the Master's sake, entreat you to live and act as becomes those who have received the call that you have received--

¹⁷ Therefore I warn you, and I implore you in the name of the Master, no longer to live as the Gentiles in their perverseness live,

² And live and act lovingly, as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up to death on our behalf as an offering and sacrifice to God, yielding a fragrant odor. ³ But fornication and every kind of impurity, or covetousness, let them not even be mentioned among you, for they ought not to be named among God's people. ⁴ Avoid shameful and foolish talk and low jesting--they are all alike discreditable--and in place of these give thanks. ⁵ For be well assured that no fornicator or immoral person and no money-grubber--or in other words idol-worshipper--has any share awaiting him in the Kingdom of Christ and of God.

⁸ There was a time when you were nothing but darkness. Now, as Christians, you are Light itself.

¹⁵ Therefore be very careful how you live and act. Let it not be as unwise men, but as wise.

¹⁸ Do not over-indulge in wine--a thing in which excess is so easy--

²⁷ Only let the lives you live be worthy of the Good News of the Christ, in order that, whether I come and see you or, being absent, only hear of you, I may know that you are standing fast in one spirit and with one mind, fighting shoulder to shoulder for the faith of the Good News.

³ Do nothing in a spirit of factiousness or of vainglory, but, with true humility, let every one regard the rest as being of more account than himself;

¹⁶ But whatever be the point that we have already reached, let us persevere in the same course. ¹⁷ Brethren, vie with one another in imitating me, and carefully observe those who follow the example which we have set you. ¹⁸ For there are many whom I have often described to you, and I now even with tears describe them, as being enemies to the Cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their end is destruction, their bellies are their God, their glory is in their shame, and their minds are devoted to earthly things. ²⁰ We, however, are free citizens of Heaven, and we are waiting with longing expectation for the coming from Heaven of a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ,

⁸ Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever wins respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovable, whatever is of good repute--if there is any virtue or anything deemed worthy of praise--cherish the thought of these things. ⁹ The doctrines and the line of conduct which I taught you--both what you heard and what you saw in me-- hold fast to them; and God who gives peace will be with you.

¹⁰ so that your lives may be worthy of the Lord and perfectly pleasing to Him, while you exhibit the results of right action of every sort and grow into a fuller knowledge of God.

⁵ Therefore put to death your earthward inclinations--fornication, impurity, sensual passion, unholy desire, and all greed, for that is a form of idolatry.

¹² and imploring you to live lives worthy of fellowship with God who is inviting you to share His own Kingship and glory.

³ For this is God's will--your purity of life, that you abstain from fornication; ⁴ that each man among you shall know how to procure a wife who shall be his own in purity and honour; ⁵ that you be not overmastered by lustful cravings, like the Gentiles who have no knowledge of God;

¹² so as to live worthy lives in relation to outsiders, and not be a burden to any one.

¹⁷ Be unceasing in prayer.

¹⁴ But if in your hearts you have bitter feelings of envy and rivalry, do not speak boastfully and falsely, in defiance of the truth. ¹⁵ That is not the wisdom which comes down from above: it belongs to earth, to the unspiritual nature, and to evil spirits. ¹⁶ For where envy and rivalry are, there also are unrest and every vile deed.

⁵ Or do you suppose that it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "The Spirit which He has caused to dwell in our hearts yearns jealously over us"?

¹ Rid yourselves therefore of all ill-will and all deceitfulness, of insincerity and envy, and of all evil speaking. ² Thirst, like newly-born infants, for pure milk for the soul, that by it you may grow up to salvation;

¹¹ Dear friends, I entreat you as pilgrims and foreigners not to indulge the cravings of your lower natures: for all such cravings wage war upon the soul. ¹² Live honourable lives among the Gentiles, in order that, although they now speak against you as evil-doers, they may yet witness your good conduct, and may glorify God on the day of reward and retribution.

³ For you have given time enough in the past to the doing of the things which the Gentiles delight in-- pursuing, as you did, a course of habitual licence, debauchery, hard drinking, noisy revelry, drunkenness and unholy image-worship. ⁴ At this they are astonished--that you do not run into the same excess of profligacy as they do; and they speak abusively of you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to Him who stands ready to pronounce judgement on the living and the dead.

¹³ being doomed to receive a requital for their guilt. They reckon it pleasure to feast daintily in broad daylight. They are spots and blemishes, while feeding luxuriously at their love-feasts, and banqueting with you. ¹⁴ Their very eyes are full of adultery--being eyes which never cease from sin. These men set traps to catch unstedfast souls, their own hearts being well trained in greed. They are fore-doomed to God's curse!

¹⁸ For, while they pour out their frivolous and arrogant talk, they use earthly cravings--every kind of immorality--as a bait to entrap men who are just escaping from the influence of those who live in error. ¹⁹ And they promise them freedom, although they are themselves the slaves of what is corrupt. For a man is the slave of any one by whom he has been worsted in fight. ²⁰ For if, after escaping from the pollutions of the world through a full knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, people are once more entangled in these pollutions and are overcome, their last state has become worse than their first.

⁶ The man who professes to be continuing in Him is himself also bound to live as He lived.

⁴ It is an intense joy to me to have found some of your children living true Christian lives, in obedience to the command which we have received from the Father.

²³ others you must try to save, as brands plucked from the flames; and on others look with pity mingled with fear, while you hate every trace of their sin.

¹² Therefore, brethren, it is not to our lower natures that we are under obligation that we should live by their rule. ¹³ For if you so live, death is near; but if, through being under the sway of the spirit, you are putting your old bodily habits to death, you will live.

²⁷ for all of you who have been baptized into Christ, have clothed yourselves with Christ.

¹⁶ This then is what I mean. Let your lives be guided by the Spirit, and then you will certainly not indulge the cravings of your lower natures. ¹⁷ For the cravings of the lower nature are opposed to those of the Spirit, and the cravings of the Spirit are opposed to those of the lower nature; because these are antagonistic to each other, so that you cannot do everything to which you are inclined.

²⁴ Against such things as these there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their lower nature with its passions and appetites.

²⁴ with that new and better self which has been created to resemble God in the righteousness and holiness which come from the truth.

⁵ Therefore put to death your earthward inclinations--fornication, impurity, sensual passion, unholy desire, and all greed, for that is a form of idolatry. ⁶ It is on account of these very sins that God's anger is coming, ⁷ and you also were once addicted to them, while you were living under their power. ⁸ But now you must rid yourselves of every kind of sin--angry and passionate outbreaks, ill-will, evil speaking, foul-mouthed abuse--so that these may never soil your lips.

¹⁰ and have clothed yourselves with the new self which is being remoulded into full knowledge so as to become like Him who created it. ¹¹ In that new creation there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free man, but Christ is everything and is in all of us. ¹² Clothe yourselves therefore, as God's own people holy and dearly loved, with tender-heartedness, kindness, lowliness of mind, meekness, long-suffering;

¹¹ Dear friends, I entreat you as pilgrims and foreigners not to indulge the cravings of your lower natures: for all such cravings wage war upon the soul.

¹⁵ Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If any one loves the world, there is no love in his heart for the Father. ¹⁶ For the things in the world--the cravings of the earthly nature, the cravings of the eyes, the show and pride of life--they all come, not from the Father, but from the world. ¹⁷ And the world, with its cravings, is passing away, but he who does God's will continues for ever.