So I ask: When the Jews fell, did that fall destroy them? No! But their mistake brought salvation to the non-Jews. This happened to make the Jews jealous.
They are my brothers and sisters, my earthly family. I wish I could help them. I would even have a curse on me and cut myself off from Christ if that would help them.
This is what God with his wisdom wanted: The world did not know God through the world’s own wisdom. So God used the message {\cf2\super [8]} that sounds foolish to save the people that believe it.
Be careful in your life and in your teaching. Continue to live and teach rightly. Then you will save yourself and those people who listen to your teaching.
God saved us and made us his holy people. {\cf2\super [6]} That happened not because of anything we did ourselves. No! God saved us and made us his people because that was what he wanted and because of his grace (kindness). That grace was given to us through Christ Jesus before time began.
So I patiently accept all these troubles. I do this to help all the people that God has chosen. I accept these troubles so that those people can have the salvation that is in Christ Jesus. With that salvation comes glory that never ends.
The salvation \{that was given to us\} is very great. So surely we also will be punished if we live like this salvation is not important. It was the Lord (Jesus) who first told people about this salvation. And the people who heard him proved to us that this salvation is true.
Remember this: Any person who brings a sinner back from the wrong way will save that sinner from death (hell). By doing this, that person will cause many sins to be forgiven.