Category
VERSES ABOUT VICES AND ADDICTIONS
Addiction and bad habits can be so destructive. Think about it, addiction is clinging to something—a behavior, a substance, an activity, even a person—that's actually harming you. So many of us struggle with these things, feeling trapped by a vice or an addiction. Sometimes, we feel like it's because of our past.
But here's the truth: in God, we're free. Christ set us free from all of that and forgave our sins. If you keep dwelling on the past, those chains can really hold you back. Sometimes, these struggles can even stem from negative spiritual influences, finding a foothold and coming to light when we unknowingly open a door, giving the enemy a legal right to step in.
You have the power to let go of what's binding you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any areas of bondage you need to address. Receive God's forgiveness and His healing. He's there for you.
I pray that we all find freedom from anything that's hurting us and holding us back. Just like it says in John 8:36, "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church. He even agreed to die on its behalf.
He did that to make us completely clean, as the people of God. It was like he washed us with water, as he brought God's message to us.
When a man has just married, do not send him away to fight in the army. Do not make him work at jobs in other places. He should stay at home for one year. Then he will make his new wife very happy.
If you are alone, one person might attack you and hurt you. But two people together can help each other to win the fight. If you use three strings to make a rope, it is difficult for anyone to break it.
At this time there are three things that continue. We have faith to trust God. We have hope to receive his good things. We have love for other people. But the most important of these things is love.
And you must also love each other. That is the most important thing that you should do. Love holds all these good things completely together.
When a man and a woman have married each other, they must each respect the marriage. Husbands and wives must only have sex with each other. God will punish anyone who has sex with another person's husband or wife. He will punish anyone who has sex in a wrong way.
Love other people in a true way, not like a hypocrite. Hate anything that is bad. Continue to do things that are good.
Wives, obey your husbands. That is the right thing to do, because you belong to the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives. Do not bring trouble to them.
Then they can continue to have sex with each other in a way that is good. It will please both of them.
People who are sad should live as if they were not sad. People who are happy should live as if they had nothing to laugh about. People who buy things should live as if those things do not belong to them.
If you enjoy the things of this world, do not live as if those things are important. This world, as it is now, will soon finish.
I do not want you to worry about anything. A man who has not married wants to serve the Lord. He wants to live in a way that pleases the Lord.
But a man who has married thinks a lot about this world's things. He wants to live in a way that makes his wife happy.
As a result, he wants to do two different things. It is the same for a woman who has no husband, or a young girl who has not yet married. She wants to serve the Lord very well. She wants to be completely pure, both in her body and in her spirit. But a woman who has a husband has to think about this world's things. She wants to live in a way that makes her husband happy.
I am saying this because I want to help you. I am not making rules that you have to obey. Instead, I want you to live in a right way. I do not want you to worry about anything. Then you will be able to serve the Lord very well.
Perhaps a man has agreed to marry a young woman. They may have decided to wait before they marry. But, as they grow older, the man may think differently. He may think that he needs to marry her. Then, he should do what he wants to do. It is good for them to marry. It is not wrong.
But another man may not change his thoughts. He may be sure that he does not need to marry his young woman. If he decides not to marry her, he is doing the right thing.
So the man who marries his young woman is doing a good thing. But another man who does not marry is doing a better thing.
If a woman has married, she may not leave her husband while he is still alive. But if he dies, then she is free to marry again. She may marry any man that she wants to. But he must be someone who belongs to the Lord.
The wife does not have authority over her own body. She belongs to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body. He belongs to his wife.
The Bible says this: ‘When a man marries, he leaves his father and his mother. Instead, God joins the man and his wife together. The two people become like one body.’
God has chosen you to be his own special people. You belong to him and he loves you very much. So this is how you should live: Be kind to other people and help them. Do not think that you are better than other people. Instead, respect them and be patient with them.
Do not become angry with each other. If you think that someone has done something wrong against you, forgive them. Remember that the Lord has forgiven you. So you should also forgive other people.
And you must also love each other. That is the most important thing that you should do. Love holds all these good things completely together.
Christ has given you peace in your minds. So let that peace rule your thoughts. God has chosen you to be like one body, as his people. So he wants you to live together in peace. Thank God for everything that he gives to you.
Let Christ's message always be in your thoughts, with all the good things that it brings. Use that message to teach and to warn each other. Be very wise as you do that. And also sing all kinds of spiritual songs to praise God. Sing psalms and Christian songs. As you sing, thank God from inside yourselves.
Show that you belong to the Lord Jesus with everything that you do and with everything that you say. Always thank God the Father in the way that you serve Jesus.
Because of this, when a man marries, he leaves his father and his mother. Instead, God joins the man and his wife together. The two people become as one body.
So, as God's people, you must never have sex in a wrong way. Do not do any kind of bad thing like that. Do not want to have many things for your own pleasure. That is not how God's people should live.
We are like the parts of Christ's body.
The Bible says this: ‘When a man marries, he leaves his father and his mother. Instead, God joins the man and his wife together. The two people become like one body.’
This is God's secret and it is difficult to understand. But I am saying that it teaches us about Christ and the church.
But each one of you husbands should understand this: love your own wife as you love yourself. And every wife among you must respect her husband.
Do not speak in a way which uses disgusting words. Do not talk about silly things, like fools do. It is not right for God's people to talk like that. Instead, you should speak in a way which shows that you are thanking God.
You can be sure about this: If anyone has sex in a wrong way, that person does not belong to God's people. Nobody who does any kind of disgusting thing belongs to God's people. People who want many things just to please themselves are like people who worship an idol. They also do not belong to God's people. Nobody like that belongs to the kingdom where Christ and God rule. They will not receive the good things that God has prepared for his people.
Do not think about the things that will help you. Instead, each of you should think about what will help other people.
Do not think that you are better than other people. Always be kind and patient with each other. Love one another, so that you do not quickly become angry with each other.
Instead, we will love each other and we will speak God's true message. As a result, we will become more and more like Christ in every way. He is the head of his body, which is the church.
Wives, obey your own husbands, as you obey the Lord.
A husband has authority over his wife, in the same way that Christ has authority over the church. The church is like Christ's body. As its head, he saves her.
As the church serves Christ as its master, so wives should serve their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church. He even agreed to die on its behalf.
He did that to make us completely clean, as the people of God. It was like he washed us with water, as he brought God's message to us.
Christ himself did this to bring us to himself as a beautiful group of his people. His church would belong to him completely. It would be pure, without anything bad to spoil it.
So husbands should love their wives, just as they love their own bodies. A man who loves his wife shows that he loves himself.
There is nobody who hates his own body. Everyone feeds his body and he takes care of it. In the same way, the church is like Christ's body that he takes care of.
So, as God's people, you must never have sex in a wrong way. Do not do any kind of bad thing like that. Do not want to have many things for your own pleasure. That is not how God's people should live.
We are like the parts of Christ's body.
The Bible says this: ‘When a man marries, he leaves his father and his mother. Instead, God joins the man and his wife together. The two people become like one body.’
This is God's secret and it is difficult to understand. But I am saying that it teaches us about Christ and the church.
But each one of you husbands should understand this: love your own wife as you love yourself. And every wife among you must respect her husband.
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church. He even agreed to die on its behalf.
A husband has authority over his wife, in the same way that Christ has authority over the church. The church is like Christ's body. As its head, he saves her.
Love will always continue. The gift to speak messages from God will not always be necessary. The gift to speak in different languages will stop one day. The gift to know special things will not always be necessary.
That may be true, but then people may have sex in wrong ways. So every man should have his own wife and every woman should have her own husband.
If you are kind and faithful, you will live a long life! Other people will respect you and they will be kind to you.
Keep hold of faithful love. That will be like a beautiful necklace that you always wear. Think about what it means to love other people.
Do not quarrel with other people if they have done nothing to hurt you. You have no reason to accuse them of anything wrong.
Do not be jealous of cruel people. Do not try to copy the things that they do.
The Lord hates wicked people, but he makes righteous people his friends.
The Lord curses the homes of wicked people, but he blesses the homes of righteous people.
The Lord laughs at proud people who laugh at other people, but he is kind to humble people.
Wise people will receive honour, But fools will only have shame.
If you do that, you will make God happy. People will also be pleased and they will respect you.
I need to speak to you wives. You should each respect the authority of your own husband. Even if your husband does not believe God's message about Jesus Christ, you should still respect him. If you do that, he may then turn to God and believe his message. You will not need to tell him what is true. He will see the good way that you live.
The Bible says this: ‘Do you want to enjoy your life? Do you want to be happy? Then you must be careful not to say evil things. Do not tell any lies.
Stop doing evil things. Instead, do things that are good. Try to be friends with people. Help people to live in peace with each other.
Remember that the Lord God sees what everyone does. He takes care of people who do what is right. When they pray, he listens to them. But the Lord God turns against people who do evil things.’
If you always try to do good things, then nobody should hurt you.
But you may suffer, even when you do what is right. If that happens, God will bless you. So do not be afraid of what people may do to you. Do not worry about it.
Instead, always remember that Christ is your Lord. Let him rule how you live. People may ask you, ‘Why do you trust God to help you?’ You must always be ready to answer them about that.
But when you tell them, be kind and polite. Do only what you know is right. Then those people will see that you live in a good way because you believe in Christ. When they say bad things against you they will become ashamed.
God may allow you to suffer even when you have done good things. But that is better than if you suffer because you have done bad things.
Christ himself always did what was right. But he suffered on behalf of people who do what is wrong. He died once to take away all those wrong things. He did that to bring you near to God. People killed Christ's body, but God's Spirit made him alive again.
Like this, Jesus went to the spirits who were in prison. He told them God's true message.
He will see that you obey God and that you do things that are completely good.
Those were the spirits of people who had refused to obey God long ago. At that time God waited patiently for them to turn to him while Noah was building a large ship. But only a few people agreed to go into that ship. God saved only eight people when the ship sailed on the deep water.
That shows how God now saves you. It is like a picture of baptism. The water of baptism does not wash dirt from a person's body. Instead, it shows that a person has decided to obey God. He is choosing to do what is right. That saves you, because Jesus Christ became alive again after his death.
After that, Jesus went into heaven. Now he is sitting at God's right side. He rules over angels and over everything that has authority and power.
Think about what makes you beautiful. The way that you prepare your hair does not really make you beautiful. Gold things or beautiful clothes do not make you beautiful.
Do not only think about your body, but think about what you are really like inside yourself. Be patient and do not become angry easily. Then you will always continue to be beautiful. If you are beautiful in your spirit, God likes that very much.
That was how holy women made themselves beautiful many years ago. They trusted God that he would help them. They respected the authority of their husbands.
Sarah was a woman like that. She obeyed her husband, Abraham. She called him, ‘My master’. So you wives also should do what is right. Do not let anything make you afraid. Then you will be like true daughters of Sarah.
You husbands must also respect your wives. Be kind to your wife and help her. Remember that she is not as strong as you are. Because God is very kind, she has received his gift of true life, as you have. So you should respect her. Then God will answer you when you pray to him.
How difficult it is to find a wife who is truly wise! She is worth much more than valuable jewels.
This shows what love is: It is not that we have loved God, but that he loved us. He loved us so much that he sent his Son to save us from sin. He sent Jesus to die as a sacrifice, to take the punishment for our sins.
Continue to love each other very much. That is more important than anything else. If you love people, you will forgive them for any wrong things that they have done.
Then the Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to live alone. I will make a helper who is right for him.’
—20— It is wisdom that helps a man to build a house. The house will have a strong foundation if he understands what is right.
Love your wife and enjoy your life together with her. God has given you your life. It is a short life and it is difficult to understand everything that happens. God wants you to enjoy these things as you do hard work during your life on the earth.
They want to be teachers of God's Law. They speak very strongly, but they do not really understand what they are talking about.
I may be able to speak many different languages that people or angels speak. But that is worth nothing if I do not love other people. I would only be making a loud noise, like someone who hits a metal cymbal.
If I love people, I will be patient. I will be kind. I will not be jealous of other people. I will not be proud or boast.
If I love people, I will be polite. I will not just want to please myself. I will not quickly become angry. If someone does a wrong thing against me, I will not keep it in my thoughts.
If I love people, I will not be happy when wicked things happen. Instead, I will be happy when things happen that are right and true.
If I love people, I will always accept their problems. I will always believe them. I will always hope for what is best. I will always be patient in any kind of trouble.
My lover belongs to me, and I belong to him. He moves among the lilies with his sheep.
Jesus then said, ‘You know what God's command says: “You must not have sex with anyone who is not your husband or your wife.”
But what I tell you is this: A man may look at a woman who is not his wife. And he may want to have sex with her. In his thoughts he has had sex with her, so he has done a wrong thing.
Keep me near to you, like a seal over your heart. Keep me like a seal on your arm. Keep me there always, because love is as powerful as death. It keeps hold of people as strongly as the grave does. Love burns like a hot fire. It burns with bright flames.
Even a flood of water cannot stop the flames. Rivers of water cannot carry it away. A man might try to give all his riches to buy a woman's love. But she would refuse to accept what he offers to her.
God made humans. He made them to be like himself. He made them to be male and female.
God blessed them. He said to them, ‘Give birth to children. Grow in number. Fill the earth and rule over it. Rule over the fish in the sea. Rule over the birds in the sky. Rule over every different kind of living animal that moves along the ground.’
Anyone who does not love other people does not know God. We know this because God's own nature is love.
How difficult it is to find a wife who is truly wise! She is worth much more than valuable jewels.
Her husband trusts her to help him. He will have everything that he needs.
She does good things for him every day of her life. She never tries to hurt him.
Do not think that you are better than other people. Always be kind and patient with each other. Love one another, so that you do not quickly become angry with each other.
But when you learned about Christ, you did not learn to do things like that!
I am sure that you have heard about him properly. People taught you the true message that comes from Jesus.
They taught you to change the way that you live. You must remove the nature that you had before. That old nature deceived you. As a result, you wanted to do things that would destroy you.
Instead, let God's Spirit make you think in a new way.
Take up the new nature that God has prepared for you. That nature is like God's own nature. Then you will live in a truly good way that pleases God.
So you must stop telling lies. Each of you must say only true things to one another. Remember that all of us belong to one another, like parts of the same body.
When you are angry, do not do anything bad as a result. Once the day comes to an end, do not continue to be angry.
Do not give the devil a chance to hurt you like that.
Any of you who robbed people before must now stop taking things. Instead, you should work hard with your own hands. Then you will be able to share what you have with people who are poor.
Do not say bad things that hurt or insult people. Instead, say only good things that will help people. Your words should help people to become strong when they hear them.
Do your best to let God's Spirit keep you united. You belong together so live in peace with each other.
That may be true, but then people may have sex in wrong ways. So every man should have his own wife and every woman should have her own husband.
Each of you should continue as you were when God called you to come to him.
You may have been a slave when God called you. That does not matter. But if you have the chance to become a free person, accept it.
The Lord may call a slave to come to him. Then, that slave has become free, because he belongs to the Lord. In the same way, when God calls a free person to belong to Christ, he becomes Christ's slave.
God bought you for himself. He paid the price for you. So do not let anyone else make you their slave.
My Christian friends, each of you should continue as you were when God first called you to come to him. Remember that you serve God.
You asked me a question about people who have not yet married. The Lord has not told me any special rule about this. But I will tell you what I myself think about it. The Lord has been very kind to me. You know that you can believe what I say.
This is what I think. There are many troubles in the world today. So it is better for everybody to continue as they are.
If you have a wife, do not try to send her away. If you do not have a wife, do not try to marry.
But if you do marry, that is not wrong. And if a young woman marries, that is not wrong. But people who marry will have many troubles during their life together. I want to save you from problems like that.
My Christian friends, this is what I mean. The time that remains is very short. So men who have wives should live as if they had no wife.
Then they can continue to have sex with each other in a way that is good. It will please both of them.
People who are sad should live as if they were not sad. People who are happy should live as if they had nothing to laugh about. People who buy things should live as if those things do not belong to them.
If you enjoy the things of this world, do not live as if those things are important. This world, as it is now, will soon finish.
I do not want you to worry about anything. A man who has not married wants to serve the Lord. He wants to live in a way that pleases the Lord.
But a man who has married thinks a lot about this world's things. He wants to live in a way that makes his wife happy.
As a result, he wants to do two different things. It is the same for a woman who has no husband, or a young girl who has not yet married. She wants to serve the Lord very well. She wants to be completely pure, both in her body and in her spirit. But a woman who has a husband has to think about this world's things. She wants to live in a way that makes her husband happy.
I am saying this because I want to help you. I am not making rules that you have to obey. Instead, I want you to live in a right way. I do not want you to worry about anything. Then you will be able to serve the Lord very well.
Perhaps a man has agreed to marry a young woman. They may have decided to wait before they marry. But, as they grow older, the man may think differently. He may think that he needs to marry her. Then, he should do what he wants to do. It is good for them to marry. It is not wrong.
But another man may not change his thoughts. He may be sure that he does not need to marry his young woman. If he decides not to marry her, he is doing the right thing.
So the man who marries his young woman is doing a good thing. But another man who does not marry is doing a better thing.
If a woman has married, she may not leave her husband while he is still alive. But if he dies, then she is free to marry again. She may marry any man that she wants to. But he must be someone who belongs to the Lord.
The wife does not have authority over her own body. She belongs to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body. He belongs to his wife.
I do think that she would be happier if she remains without a husband. I think that God's Spirit has taught me this.
Do not refuse to have sex with each other, unless both of you agree to stop for a short time. Then you will have more time to pray. But you should come together again soon, as husband and wife. If not, Satan may try to make you do something wrong. You may want too strongly to have sex with someone else.
Because of that, this is how you can make me completely happy: In your mind, think about things in the same way as each other. Love one another completely. In your spirit, agree with one another. Work together for the same purpose.
Timothy really loves you, as I do. There is nobody else here with me like him.
Everyone else thinks only about themselves. They have no interest in the things that are important to Jesus Christ.
But you know what Timothy is like. He has worked with me like a son works to help his father. Together we have taught people God's good news.
That is why I hope to send him to you soon. But first, I want to know what will happen to me here.
I trust the Lord that I will soon come to you myself.
But I think I must send Epaphroditus to come back to you. He is our true Christian brother. He has worked with me to serve God. We have worked hard, like soldiers. When I needed help, you sent him to me. He has helped me on your behalf.
Now he wants very much to see all of you again. He became very sad, because you heard the message that he was ill.
Certainly, he was very ill and he almost died. But God was kind to him. And God was kind to me too. If Epaphroditus had died, I would have become even more sad.
So I want even more to send him back to you. Then you can be really happy, and I will not feel sad any more.
Be happy to welcome Epaphroditus when he comes. Like you, he belongs to the Lord's people. You should respect people like him and be kind to them.
In the way that you live, do not just try to help yourself. Do not be proud. Instead, respect other people. Think about other people as more important than yourself.
He nearly died because he was working to serve Christ. He came to help me, because you could not help me yourselves. He was even ready to die so that he could do that on your behalf.
Do not think only about the things that you want to do for yourself. Each of you should think also about how you can help other people.
Love each other truly like brothers and sisters. Be happy to give honour to other Christians.
My Christian friends, God has chosen you to serve him as free people. But you are still weak and human. So you are not free to do anything that you might want to do. Instead, you must serve one another, because you love each other.
It is better to eat vegetables with people who love each other than to eat good meat with people who hate each other.
So I think that widows who are still young women should marry again. Then they can have children and they can take care of their own homes. If they live well like that, the enemy of God's people will not have a chance to say bad things against us.
The Lord must build your house. If not, the work of the builders is useless. The Lord must keep the city safe. If not, the city guards are useless.
Then they can continue to have sex with each other in a way that is good. It will please both of them.
People who are sad should live as if they were not sad. People who are happy should live as if they had nothing to laugh about. People who buy things should live as if those things do not belong to them.
If you enjoy the things of this world, do not live as if those things are important. This world, as it is now, will soon finish.
I do not want you to worry about anything. A man who has not married wants to serve the Lord. He wants to live in a way that pleases the Lord.
But a man who has married thinks a lot about this world's things. He wants to live in a way that makes his wife happy.
As a result, he wants to do two different things. It is the same for a woman who has no husband, or a young girl who has not yet married. She wants to serve the Lord very well. She wants to be completely pure, both in her body and in her spirit. But a woman who has a husband has to think about this world's things. She wants to live in a way that makes her husband happy.
I am saying this because I want to help you. I am not making rules that you have to obey. Instead, I want you to live in a right way. I do not want you to worry about anything. Then you will be able to serve the Lord very well.
Perhaps a man has agreed to marry a young woman. They may have decided to wait before they marry. But, as they grow older, the man may think differently. He may think that he needs to marry her. Then, he should do what he wants to do. It is good for them to marry. It is not wrong.
But another man may not change his thoughts. He may be sure that he does not need to marry his young woman. If he decides not to marry her, he is doing the right thing.
So the man who marries his young woman is doing a good thing. But another man who does not marry is doing a better thing.
If a woman has married, she may not leave her husband while he is still alive. But if he dies, then she is free to marry again. She may marry any man that she wants to. But he must be someone who belongs to the Lord.
The wife does not have authority over her own body. She belongs to her husband. In the same way, the husband does not have authority over his own body. He belongs to his wife.
I do think that she would be happier if she remains without a husband. I think that God's Spirit has taught me this.
Do not refuse to have sex with each other, unless both of you agree to stop for a short time. Then you will have more time to pray. But you should come together again soon, as husband and wife. If not, Satan may try to make you do something wrong. You may want too strongly to have sex with someone else.
Jesus replied, ‘You surely have read about this in the Bible. In the beginning, when God created the world, he made people male and female.
Because of this, a man leaves his father and his mother. God joins him and his wife together. The man and the woman become like one body.
They are not two separate people any longer. They have come together as one person. God has put them together to be husband and wife. So nobody should make them separate.’
I will say this to people who have married. (This is not my rule. It is a command that comes from the Lord himself.) A wife must not leave her husband.
But if she does leave him, she must not marry another man. Or she should go back to live with her husband. In the same way, a husband must not send his wife away.
‘God's Law also says: “Any man who wants to send his wife away must give her a letter. This letter must say that they are no longer married.”
But what I tell you is this: A man must not send his wife away except for one reason. He may only send her away if she has had sex with another man. If he sends her away for any other reason, he has done a wrong thing. He has caused her to have sex with another man, who is not her husband. Also, if a woman has left her husband, another man must not marry her. That is the same as if he had sex with another man's wife.’
If you love other people, you will never do anything bad to them. So anyone who loves other people has obeyed God's Law completely.
Every believer must take care of his own family. Certainly, he must do that for the people who live with him in his home. If anyone does not do that, it shows that he has refused God's true message. That person is worse than someone who does not believe in Christ.
God will be faithful to us and he will love us with his faithful love. His justice and his peace will join together, like friends that hug each other.
But God's Spirit causes us to live in a different way. We love other people. We are happy and we have peace in our minds. We are patient, kind and good. People can trust us to do what is right.
We respect other people and we control ourselves properly. God's Spirit helps us to live in that way. There is no law that says these things are wrong.
Many people say that you can trust them. But it is difficult to find a truly faithful person.
Your parents may give you riches and a house to live in. But only the Lord can give you a wise wife.
I love you so much that I never want to leave you, my sister and my bride. When you looked at me only once and I saw one jewel in your necklace, I knew that I could never leave you.
Lord, I want to make you happy. I want my words and my thoughts to please you. You are my strong Rock and you are my Redeemer.