Bible verses about "following instructions" | MNT

¹ And when he had called his twelve disciples to him, he gave them power over evil spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and infirmity. ² These are the names of the apostles (missionaries). First, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John, his brother; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew, the tax-gatherer; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname is Thaddeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him. ⁵ These men, the Twelve, Jesus sent forth, after giving them the following instructions. "Do not go among the Gentiles, or enter any Samaritan town, ⁶ "but rather be on your way to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ⁷ "As you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.' ⁸ "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give. ⁹ "Take no gold or silver or coppers in your purses; ¹⁰ "not even a bag for the journey, or a change of clothes, or sandals, or even a stick; for the worker is worth his rations. ¹¹ "Into whatever city or town you enter, inquire for some worthy person there, and stay with him until you leave. ¹² "When you enter the house, salute it; ¹³ "and if the house is worthy let your blessing sit upon it; but if it be unworthy, let your blessing return to you. ¹⁴ "And whoever will not receive you or listen to your words, as you go out from that house or that city, shake off the very dust from your feet. ¹⁵ "I tell you solemnly it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that town. ¹⁶ "Behold, it is I who am sending you forth like sheep among wolves. Be then as serpents and as guileless as doves. ¹⁷ "But beware of men! For they will give you up to the Sanhedrin, and flog you in their synagogues. ¹⁸ "And you will be taken before governors and kings for my sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. ¹⁹ "But whenever they apprehend you, do not be anxious about how you shall speak or what you shall say; for it will be given you in that very hour what to say. ²⁰ "For it will not be you who is speaking, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. ²¹ "And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against their parents and put them to death. ²² "You will be hated by all men because of my name; and he who endures to the end shall be saved. ²³ "But when they persecute you in one city, flee to the next. In solemn truth I tell you that you shall not have completed the cities of Israel, before the Son of man comes. ²⁴ "A pupil is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his masters. ²⁵ "It is enough for the pupil to fare like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more, the members of his household. ²⁶ "So do not fear them; for there is nothing concealed which shall not be revealed, nor anything secret which shall not become known. ²⁷ "What I am telling you is in the darkness, do you speak in the light; and what is whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. ²⁸ "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul; but fear rather him who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. ²⁹ "Are not two sparrows sold for a half-penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your father. ³⁰ "The very hairs on your head are all numbered. ³¹ "Cease to be afraid! You are of greater value than many sparrows. ³² "Every one, then, who will confess me before men, I also will confess before my Father who is in heaven. ³³ "But whoever disowns me before men, I also will disown before my Father who is in heaven. ³⁴ "Do not suppose that I am come to bring peace on the earth; I am come not to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ "For I came to set "a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; ³⁶ "and a man's own household will be his enemies. ³⁷ "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸ "and he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. ³⁹ "He who has saved his life shall lose it; and he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it. ⁴⁰ "Whoever receives you is receiving me, and he who receives me is receiving Him who sent me. ⁴¹ "Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet, shall receive a prophet's reward; and whoever receives a righteous man, shall receive a righteous man's reward. ⁴² "And whoever gives to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, because he is a disciple, I tell you in solemn truth, he shall not lose his reward.

⁶ "But that you may know that the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins"—he then says to the paralytic, "Rise, take up your bed, and go to your home." ⁷ And he rose and went to his home. ⁸ But all the crowd were awestruck, and glorified God, who had given such power to men.

¹ Now there was one of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler among the Jews. ² This man came to Jesus by night, and said to him. "Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher sent from God; for no man can do these signs which you are continually doing, unless God is with him." ³ "In very truth I tell you," answered Jesus, "that unless a man is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God." ⁴ "How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus replied; "Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" ⁵ "I tell you solemnly," Jesus answered, "that unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

⁵⁵ "For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ "He who feeds upon my flesh abides in me and I in him. ⁵⁷ "Just as the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father, so also that man who feeds on me shall live by me. ⁵⁸ "This is the bread which came down from heaven; not such as your fathers ate and died, for he who feeds upon this bread shall live forever." ⁵⁹ He spoke these words while in the synagogue, while he was teaching in Capernaum.

⁵⁰ "This is the bread that comes down from heaven, that one may eat thereof and never die. ⁵¹ "I myself am the living bread that has come down from heaven. Any one who eats this bread will live forever; and moreover, the bread which I will give is my flesh, given for the life of the world." ⁵² Then the Jews began to dispute among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" ⁵³ "I tell you solemnly," said Jesus, "that unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ "He who feeds upon my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. ⁵⁵ "For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. ⁵⁶ "He who feeds upon my flesh abides in me and I in him. ⁵⁷ "Just as the living Father has sent me, and I live by the Father, so also that man who feeds on me shall live by me. ⁵⁸ "This is the bread which came down from heaven; not such as your fathers ate and died, for he who feeds upon this bread shall live forever." ⁵⁹ He spoke these words while in the synagogue, while he was teaching in Capernaum. ⁶⁰ So many of his disciples, when they heard it, said: "This teaching is unbelievable! Who can listen to him?" ⁶¹ Jesus, conscious within himself that his disciples were finding fault with him about his teaching, said to them. ⁶² "Does this displease you? What then if you were to behold the Son of man ascending to where he was before? ⁶³ "The spirit is what gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words which I have been speaking to you, are spirit and are life. ⁶⁴ "Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was who should betray him. ⁶⁵ So he added, "This is why I told you that no on can come to me unless it be given from the Father." ⁶⁶ Therefore many of his disciples drew back and no longer companied with him. ⁶⁷ So Jesus appealed to the Twelve. "You also do not wish to leave me, do you?" ⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered. "To whom shall we go Master? You have words of eternal life; ⁶⁹ "and we have learned to believe and we know that you are the holy one of God." ⁷⁰ In reply Jesus said to them. "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? And yet even of you one is an enemy." ⁷¹ Now Jesus was speaking of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot; for Judas was to betray him, although he was one of the Twelve.

¹ I entreat you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies to Him as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. This is your reasonable service of worship. ² And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

¹¹ The foundation is already laid—Jesus Christ—and no man can lay another. ¹² On that foundation, if a man proceeds to build gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, each man's work will be made manifest. ¹³ The Day will disclose it, for it dawns in fire, and the fire will test each man's work, of what quality it is. ¹⁴ If any man's work—the building he has made—stands the test, he will be rewarded. ¹⁵ If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, as it were through the flames.

¹⁴ For this he called you through my gospel, so that you might obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ So, brothers, stand fast, and hold fast the teachings which you have been taught by me, whether by word of mouth or by letter.

⁸ "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.

⁶ Now there were six stone water-jars standing there, according to the Jewish rites of purification, each holding about twenty gallons. ⁷ Jesus said, "Fill up the jars with water." ⁸ So they filled them brimful. Then he said, "Draw some out now, and carry it to the master of the feast." ⁹ So they carried it. And when the master of the feast had tasted of the water which had been made wine, not knowing where it came from, though the attendants who had drawn it knew, he called the bridegroom and said to him. ¹⁰ "Everybody serves first the good wine, and when people have drunk freely, the poor wine; but you have kept the good wine until now."

¹ Now there were in the church in Antioch prophets and teachers; Barnabas and Symeon, surnamed "the Black," Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. ² And as they were worshiping the Lord, and fasting, the Holy Spirit said to them, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." ³ So after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them, and let them go. ⁴ So they, sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia, and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.

¹ Be imitators of me, as I am an imitator of Christ. ² Indeed I praise you for remembering me in everything, and because you are holding fast to the traditions just as you received them.

¹⁴ Although I am hoping to come to you before long, ¹⁵ I am writing this to you in case I should be detained, to let you see how you ought to behave in the household of God—the Church of the everliving God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth.

¹⁸ because Christ also once for all suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but make alive in spirit. ¹⁹ (It was in spirit that he went and preached the Word to the spirits who were in prison, ²⁰ who in old times had been disobedient, when God's longsuffering was waiting in the days of Noah, while an ark was building, in which a few persons—eight in number—were saved by water.) ²¹ Baptism, the counterpart of that, now saves you (not the washing off of the filth of the flesh, but the prayer for a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ²² He is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; to Him angels and authorities and powers have been made subject.

¹⁶ Every Scripture, seeing that it is God-breathed, is also profitable for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

³ This is how we may know that we have come to know Him, by always keeping his commandments. ⁴ He who says, "I know Him," but does no continue obeying his commandments, is a liar,

¹ But of this be sure. In the last days grievous times will come. ² For men will be selfish, mercenary, boastful, haughty, blasphemous, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, irreligious, ³ without natural affection, merciless, slanderous, dissolute, and brutal. ⁴ They will hate goodness, they will be treacherous, reckless, blinded with pride, lovers of pleasure, rather than lovers of God. ⁵ For although they keep up the outward form of religion, they deny its power. ⁶ Turn away from all such. Some of them creep into private houses and lead captive silly women who, laden with sins, ⁷ and led captive by ever-changing impulses, are always learning but never able to arrive at knowledge of truth. ⁸ As Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so also do these men withstand the truth; being corrupt in mind and worthless in all that concerns the faith. ⁹ But they will not get on; for their folly will be made as openly manifest to all as was that of Jannes and Jambres. ¹⁰ But you, Timothy, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aims, my faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹ as well as the persecutions and sufferings which befell me at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You know all the persecutions I endured, and how the Lord delivered me out of them all! ¹² Yes, and all who purpose to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. ¹³ But wicked men and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving others, and being themselves deceived. ¹⁴ But do you hold fast what you have learned and have held to be true. You know those from whom you have learned it, ¹⁵ and how from a child you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ Every Scripture, seeing that it is God-breathed, is also profitable for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the man of God may himself be complete, and completely equipped for every good work.

¹ I adjure you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is about to judge the living and the dead—by his appearing and his kingdom, I adjure you— ² proclaim the message, be urgent in season and out of season; convince, rebuke, encourage, with never-failing patience and teaching. ³ For a time will come when they will not listen to wholesome teaching, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will heap up for themselves teachers upon teachers to satisfy their own fancies. ⁴ They will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside to myths. ⁵ But as for you, be always self-controlled, face hardships, do the work of a missionary, discharge all the duties of your ministry. ⁶ I for my part am a libation already being poured in sacrifice; and the time of my unmooring is at hand. ⁷ I have fought in the glorious contest; I have run the race; I have kept the faith. ⁸ Henceforth there is laid up for me the garland of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that Day, and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing. ⁹ Do your best to come to me speedily, ¹⁰ for Demas has deserted me for love of this present world, and is gone to Thessalonica; Crescens is gone to Galatia; Titus to Dalmatia. ¹¹ Luke only is with me. Pick up Mark, and bring him with you, for he is useful to me in my ministry. ¹² Tychicus I have sent to Ephesus. ¹³ When you come, bring the cloak I left in Troas with Carpus; also my books, but especially my parchments. ¹⁴ Alexander, the coppersmith, manifested bitter hostility toward me. The Lord will requite him according to his works. ¹⁵ Be also on your guard against him, for he has violently opposed my arguments. ¹⁶ At the time of my first defense no one stood by me; on the contrary they all deserted me—may it not be laid to their charge! ¹⁷ Nevertheless the Lord Jesus stood by me, and strengthened my heart, that through me full proclamation of the gospel might be made, and the Gentiles might hear it; and I was rescued from the lion's jaws. ¹⁸ And the Lord will rescue me from every evil assault, and will preserve me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen! ¹⁹ Give my greetings to Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. ²⁰ Erastus remained at Corinth; Trophimus I left behind me ill at Miletus. ²¹ Do try to come before winter. Eubulus greets you, and so do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brotherhood. ²² The Lord Jesus be with your spirit. Grace be with you all.

¹⁷ Obey your leaders and submit to them; for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who must give account; that they may do thus with joy and not with lamentation, for this would be unprofitable to you.