To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4).
As for you brothers, do not grow weary in doing good (2 Thessalonians 3:13) Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28) Therefore, my beloved brothers, be firm, steadfast, always fully devoted to the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58) The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace (Exodus 14:14) And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you (Matthew 6:33) Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2) My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me (John 10:27) For the love of God is this, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome, for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world. And the victory that conquers the world is our faith. Who indeed is the victor over the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:3-5) And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32) 11 Better one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. Better the threshold of the house of my God than a home in the tents of the wicked. 12 For a sun and shield is the Lord God, bestowing all grace and glory. The Lord withholds no good thing from those who walk without reproach. 13 O Lord of hosts, blessed the man who trusts in you (Psalm 84:11-13) There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love (1 John 4:18) For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control (2 Timothy 1:7) Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6) And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ (Colossians 3:23-24) For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother (Matthew 12:50) Though I thought I had toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly spent my strength, Yet my reward is with the Lord, my recompense is with my God (Isaiah 49:4) For I know well the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe; plans to give you a future full of hope (Jeremiah 29:11) In his mind a man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9) As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace (1 Peter 4:10) Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath” (Mark 2:27).
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ (Colossians 2:16-17). One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it (Romans 14:5-6). Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you (Galatians 4:8-11). And he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised (2 Corinthians 5:15)
My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me (John 10:27) But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22) Every word that I command you, you shall be careful to observe, neither adding to it nor subtracting from it (Deuteronomy 13:1) But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed (James 1:25) If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15) Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him (John 14:21) Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me (John 14:24) If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love (John 15:10) You are my friends if you do what I command you (John 15:14) Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13) Take care lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statues (Deuteronomy 8:11) Abstain from all appearance of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22) If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (1 John 1:6) Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the Lord’s command? Obedience is better than sacrifice, to listen, better than the fat of rams (1 Samuel 15:22) The way we may be sure that we know him is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to live just as he lived (1 John 2:3-6) He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:4) Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the [teaching] doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son (2 John 9) Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Reform your ways and your deeds so that I may dwell with you in this place. Do not put your trust in these deceptive words: “The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord! The temple of the Lord!” Only if you thoroughly reform your ways and your deeds; if each of you deals justly with your neighbor; if you no longer oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow; if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow after other gods to your own harm, only then will I let you continue to dwell in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors long ago and forever (Jeremiah 7:3-7) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever (1 John 2:15-17) Therefore whosoever listens to these words of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock (Matthew 7:24) Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed (John 8:31) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3) For there have been some intruders, who long ago were designated for this condemnation, godless persons, who pervert the grace of our God into licentiousness and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ (Jude 1:4) Seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near. Let the scoundrel forsake his way, and the wicked man his thoughts; let him turn to the Lord for mercy; to our God, who is generous in forgiving (Isaiah 55:6-7)
If my people, which are called by name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land (2 Chronicles 7:14) Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand! (Matthew 4:17 & 3:2) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he shall also reap (Galatians 6:7) For he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Galatians 6:8) The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30) I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance (Acts 26:20) Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves ‘we have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones (Luke 3:8) I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish (Luke 13:3) Why are you arguing with me? You have all rebelled against me – oracle of the Lord (Jeremiah 2:29) Do I have pleasure at all that the wicked should die?' says the Lord God, 'and not that he should turn from his ways and live?' (Ezekiel 18:23) The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9) 10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? 11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? (Ezekiel 33:10-11) Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out (Acts 3:19) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:19) By your stubbornness and impenitent heart, you are storing up wrath for yourself for the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God, who will repay everyone according to his works: eternal life to those who seek glory, honor, and immortality through perseverance in good works, but wrath and fury to those who selfishly disobey the truth and obey wickedness (Romans 2:5-8) At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented (Luke 11:32) Repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem (Luke 24:47) Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD (Jeremiah 3:12-13) Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:1-2) Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you (James 4:7) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (James 4:8-10) He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy (Proverbs 28:13) 9 Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. 11 For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter (2 Corinthians 7:9-11) You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity (Acts 8:21-23) There shall be lamentation when I pass through your midst (Amos 5:16-17) Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest (Psalm 51:1-4) [David after Bathsheba lost firstborn son – 2 Samuel 11 sin & 2 Samuel 12 repent & consequence of sin] Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more” (John 8:11) The concern of the flesh is death, but the concern of the spirit is life and peace (Romans 8:6)
I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live (Deuteronomy 30:19) Choose you this day whom ye will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord (Joshua 24:15) He [Moses] chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season (Hebrews 11:25) Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? For I find no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies—oracle of the Lord God. Turn back and live! (Ezekiel 18:31-32) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:23)
No one who remains in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or known Him (1 John 3:6) Whoever sins belongs to the devil, because the devil has sinned from the beginning. Indeed, the Son of God was revealed to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8) And you who were once alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him (Colossians 1:21-22) You were dead in your transgressions and sins in which you once lived following the age of this world, following the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the disobedient. All of us once lived among them in the desires of our flesh, following the wishes of the flesh and the impulses, and we were by nature children of wrath, like the rest (Ephesians 2:1-3) But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ - by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind [sodomites], Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners , shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:6-7) God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5) 1 What then shall we say? Shall we persist in sin that grace may abound? Of course not! 2 How can we who died to sin yet live in it? 3 Or are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life (Romans 6:1-4) We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin (Romans 6:6) Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify/cleanse for himself a people of his own, zealous for good works (Titus 2:14) Two evils my people have done: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13)
For I know that good does not dwell in me, that is, in my flesh. The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not (Romans 7:18) Although they know the just degree of God that all who practice such things deserve death, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them (Romans 1:32) The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him (Ezekiel 18:20) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away (Isaiah 64:6 kjv, 64:5 nabre) What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:9-10) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23) If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us (1 John 1:8-10) To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20) For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, blasphemy, pride, arrogance, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile the man (Mark 7:21-23, also see Matthew 15:19) Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. Whoever speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save or to destroy. Who then are you to judge your neighbor? (James 4:11-12)
I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; not even to eat with such a person. For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person (1 Corinthians 5:9-13) Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgement you judge, you will be judged; with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you (Matthew 7:1-2) Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove that splinter from your eye,’ while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother’s eye (Matthew 7:3-5) We cannot judge the motivation of a person’s heart only God knows the heart, “for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts “(1 Chronicles 28:9) Ultimately God is the judge, “…He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained” (Acts 17:31) In rendering judgment, do not consider who a person is; give ear to the lowly and to the great alike, fearing no one, for the judgment is God’s (Deuteronomy 1:17 – judges) Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment (John 7:24) But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? but we have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:15-16) Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them (Romans 16:17) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them (Matthew 7:15-20) [judge by fruit] Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another (Colossians 3:16) Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching (2 Timothy 4:2) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16) But without faith it is impossible to please him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (John 3:16-18) But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7) If we sin deliberately after receiving knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains sacrifice for sins, but a fearful prospect of judgment and a flaming fire that is going to consume the adversaries (Hebrews 10:26-27) Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’ (Matthew 7:21-23) Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it (Matthew 7:13-14) Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so shall you perish, because you would not obey the voice of the Lord your God (Deuteronomy 8:20) And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea (Mark 9:42) If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned (John 15:6) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he shall also reap (Galatians 6:7) Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12) He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life… (Revelation 3:5) Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever disobeys the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him (John 3:36) For many, as I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction. Their god is their stomach, and they glory in their shame, with their minds set on earthly things (Philippians 3:18-19) I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:27) Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall (1 Corinthians 10:12) And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him (Hebrews 5:9) See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you… But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish… I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days (Deuteronomy 30:15-20) Now the works of the flesh are obvious: [adultery, fornication,] immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, fury, selfishness, dissensions, factions, [heresies,] envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, [orgies,] and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Galatians 5:19-21) And you who once were alienated and hostile in mind because of evil deeds he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through his death, to present you holy, without blemish, and irreproachable before him, provided that you persevere in the faith, firmly grounded, stable, and not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, am a minister (Colossians 1:21-23) As for you, son of man, say to your people: The justice of the just will not save them on the day they sin; the wickedness of the wicked will not bring about their downfall on the day they turn from their wickedness. No, the just cannot save their lives on the day they sin (Ezekiel 33:12) 13 Even though I say to the just that they shall surely live, if they, relying on their justice, do wrong, none of their just deeds shall be remembered; because of the wrong they have done, they shall die. 14 And though I say to the wicked that they shall die, if they turn away from sin and do what is just and right— 15 returning pledges, restoring stolen goods, walking by statutes that bring life, doing nothing wrong—they shall surely live; they shall not die. 16 None of the sins they committed shall be remembered against them. If they do what is right and just, they shall surely live (Ezekiel 33:13-16) When the just turn away from justice and do wrong, they shall die for it. When the wicked turn away from wickedness and do what is right and just, because of this they shall live (Ezekiel 33:18-19) But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a disciplinarian. For through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free person, there is not male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendant, heirs according to the promise (Galatians 3:25-29)
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39) Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him (John 14:21) Whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:27)
No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God (Luke 9:62) Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 10:37-39) If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples (John 8:31) We love because he first loved us (1 John 4:19)
The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love (1 John 4:8) Whoever does not love abides in death (1 John 3:14) I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26) Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, [love] is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13:13) You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:30-31) Jesus answered and said to him, “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23) For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:3) Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, as love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8) For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another (Galatians 5:13) If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother (1 John 4:20-21) We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. Whoever does not love remains in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life remaining in him. The way we came to know love was that he laid down his life for us; so we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him? Children, let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth (1 John 3:14-18) You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:43-48) For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love (Galatians 5:6)
And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2) ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me’ (Matthew 25:34-36) I preached the need to repent and turn to God, and to do works giving evidence of repentance (Acts 26:20)
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance (Luke 8:15) And let us provoke one another to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24) Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance; and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones (Luke 3:8, Matthew 3:8-9) For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men (1 Peter 2:15) Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:10, Luke 3:9) And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s works, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile (1 Peter 1:17) 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? 17 So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 Indeed someone may say, “You have faith and I have works.” Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works. 19 You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble. 20 Do you want proof, you ignoramus, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered his son Isaac upon the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by the works. 23 Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called “the friend of God.” 24 See how a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by a different route? 26 For just as a body without a spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead (James 2:14-26) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10) Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people of his own, zealous for good works (Titus 2:14) (see 2:11 renounce ungodliness & worldly passions) I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth (Revelation 3:15-16) In the same way, my brothers, you also were put to death to the law through the body of Christ, so that you might belong to another, to the one who was raised from the dead in order that we might bear fruit for God. For when we were in the flesh, our sinful passions, awakened by the law, worked in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, dead to what held us captive, so that we may serve in the newness of the spirit and not under the obsolete letter (Romans 7:4-6) For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified (Romans 2:13) Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves (James 1:22) As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God’s varied grace (1 Peter 4:10) For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of the law (Romans 3:28)
For what does the scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” A worker’s wage is credited not as a gift, but as something due. But when one does not work, yet believes in the one who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness (Romans 4:3-5) Just as David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin” (Romans 4:6-8) And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace (Romans 11:6) Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:23-24) Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified (Galatians 2:16) And that no one is justified before God by the law is clear, for “the one who is righteous by faith will live” (Galatians 3:11) But God, who is rich in mercy, because of the great love he had for us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, brought us to life with Christ (by grace you have been saved) (Ephesians 2:4-5) For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so no one may boast (Ephesians 2:8-9) He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5) And be found in him, not having any righteousness of my own based on the law but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God, depending on faith (Philippians 3:9) Who hath saved us, and called us to a holy life, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:9-10) Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his stripes we are healed (Isaiah 53:4-5) These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God (1 John 5:13) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved (Romans 10:9) For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved. For the Scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame” (Romans 10:10-11) And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved” (Acts 16:31) Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13) For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth (Romans 10:4) But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law (Romans 9:31-32) Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness (1 John 2:9)
If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him (Luke 17:3-4) Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22) ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you your entire debt because you begged me to. Should you not have had pity on your fellow servant, as I had pity on you?’ Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart (Matthew 18:32-35) Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors (Matthew 6:12) Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little (Luke 7:47) He must increase; I must decrease (John 3:30)
Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning (James 1:16-17) When pride comes, then comes shame; But with the humble is wisdom (Proverbs 11:2) When you have done all you have been commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants; we have done what we were obliged to do (Luke 17:10) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:5-8) For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD (Isaiah 55:8) Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage (Psalm 94:12-14) When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you (Matthew 6:5-6) But take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you (Matthew 6:1-4) When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you (Matthew 6:16-18) Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2nd Timothy 2:15)
Test [and prove] all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – His good, pleasing and perfect will (Romans 12:2) Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless indeed you fail to meet the test! But I trust that you shall know that we are not reprobates (2 Corinthians 13:5-6) Is not my word like fire – oracle of the Lord – like a hammer shattering rock? (Jeremiah 23:29) These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so (Acts 17:11) Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others judge (1 Corinthians 14:29) Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1) Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test all things; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil (1 Thessalonians 5:19-22) 15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So by their fruits you will know them (Matthew 7:15-20) |