But if you look to the perfect law of freedom and follow it, not as someone who just listens and then forgets, but as someone who acts on it—then you will be blessed in what you do.
After the meeting in the synagogue, many of the Jews and the converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas who spoke with them, encouraging them to continue to hold on to the grace of God.
God has looked after me so I can stand here today as a witness to everyone, both to ordinary people and to those who are important. I am only repeating what Moses and the prophets said would happen—
You should recognize both God's kindness and toughness—he was tough on the fallen, but God is kind to you so long as you trust in his kindness—otherwise you'll be removed too.
You were not given a spirit to enslave and terrify you once more. No, what you received was the spirit that makes you children in God's family. Now we can shout out, “God is our Father!”
So my dear brothers and sisters: be strong, stand firm, doing everything you can for the Lord's work, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord is wasted.
Examine yourselves to see if you are trusting God. Put yourselves to the test. Don't you yourselves realize that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless you have failed the test…
But your trust in him must continue rock-solid and immovable. Don't be shaken from the hope of the good news that you heard, the good news that's been shared throughout the world—that's the work that I Paul have been doing.
Mind what you're doing and what you're teaching. Keep going with all of this, because as you do so you'll save both yourself and those who listen to you.
As for you, make sure what you heard from the beginning continues to live in you. If what you heard from the beginning lives in you, you will also live in the Son and in the Father.
Then I heard a voice from heaven that told me, “Write this down! Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, because they can rest from their troubles. What they have accomplished will speak for them.”
If you honor the Lord, worship him, do what he tells you, and don't rebel against the Lord's instructions, and if both you and your king follow the Lord your God, then good!