Take care,brethren,that there not be in any oneof you an evil,unbelievingheartthat falls awayfrom the livingGod.
The LORDsmelledthe soothingaroma;and the LORDsaidto Himself,"I will neveragaincursethe groundon accountof man,for the intentof man'sheartis evilfrom his youth;and I will neveragaindestroyeverylivingthing,as I have done.
"They sayto God,Departfrom us! We do not even desirethe knowledgeof Your ways.
"They saidto God,'Departfrom us!' And 'Whatcan the Almightydoto them?'
For I have keptthe waysof the LORD,And have not wickedlydepartedfrom my God.
"For the waywardnessof the naivewill killthem, And the complacencyof foolswill destroythem.
Transgressingand denyingthe LORD,And turningawayfrom our God,Speakingoppressionand revolt,Conceiving[in] and utteringfrom the heartlyingwords.
Yet they didnot obeyor inclinetheir ear,but walked,eachone,in the stubbornnessof his evilheart;therefore I broughton them allthe wordsof thiscovenant,whichI commanded[them] to do,but they didnot.'"
You too have doneevil,[even] morethanyour forefathers;for behold,you are eachonewalkingaccordingto the stubbornnessof his own evilheart,withoutlisteningto Me.
Thussaysthe LORD,"Cursedis the manwhotrustsin mankindAnd makesfleshhis strength,And whose heartturnsawayfrom the LORD.
"The heartis moredeceitfulthanallelse And is desperatelysick;Whocan understandit?
"But they will say,'It's hopeless!For we are goingto followour own plans,and eachof us will actaccording to the stubbornnessof his evilheart.'
"For My peoplehave committedtwoevils:They have forsakenMe, The fountainof livingwaters,To hewfor themselves cisterns,BrokencisternsThat canholdnowater.
"At that timethey will callJerusalemThe Throneof the LORD,'and allthe nationswill be gatheredto it, to Jerusalem,for the nameof the LORD;norwill they walkanymoreafterthe stubbornnessof their evilheart.
"Yet they did not obeyor inclinetheir ear,but walkedin [their own] counsels[and] in the stubbornnessof their evilheart,and wentbackwardand not forward.
in orderto layholdof the heartsof the houseof Israelwhoare estrangedfrom Me through alltheir idols."'
When the LORDfirstspokethrough Hosea,the LORDsaidto Hosea,"Go,taketo yourself a wifeof harlotryand [have] childrenof harlotry;for the landcommitsflagrantharlotry,forsakingthe LORD."
SimonPeteranswered,"You are the Christ,the Sonof the livingGod."
And Jesusansweredand saidto them, "Seeto it that noonemisleadsyou.
"But take heed;behold,I have toldyou everythingin advance.
"Take heed,keep on the alert;for you do not knowwhenthe [appointed] timewill come.
"But be on your guard;for they will deliveryou to [the] courts,and you will be floggedin [the] synagogues,and you will standbeforegovernorsand kingsfor My sake,as a testimonyto them.
And He said,"Seeto it that you are not misled;for manywill comein My name,saying,I am[He],' and, 'The timeis near.'Do not goafterthem.
for ifGoddid not sparethe naturalbranches,He will not spareyou, either.
Thereforelet him who thinkshe standstake heedthat he does not fall.
Seeto it that noonetakes you captivethroughphilosophyand emptydeception,accordingto the traditionof men,accordingto the elementary principlesof the world,ratherthanaccordingto Christ.
For they themselvesreportaboutus what kindof a receptionwe hadwith you, and howyou turnedto Godfrom idolsto servea livingand true God,
It is a terrifying thingto fallinto the handsof the livingGod.
BUT MY RIGHTEOUS ONESHALL LIVEBY FAITH;AND IFHE SHRINKS BACK,MY SOULHASNOPLEASUREIN HIM.
Seeto it that noonecomes shortof the graceof God;that norootof bitternessspringingup causes trouble,and by it manybe defiled;
But you have cometo MountZionand to the cityof the livingGod,the heavenlyJerusalem,and to myriadsof angels,
Seeto it that you do not refuseHim who is speaking.For ifthosedid not escapewhen they refusedhim who warned[them] on earth,muchless[will] we [escape] who turn awayfrom Him who [warns] from heaven.
Therefore,holybrethren,partakersof a heavenlycalling,considerJesus,the Apostleand High Priestof our confession;
"THEREFOREI WAS ANGRYWITH THISGENERATION,AND SAID,'THEY ALWAYSGO ASTRAYIN THEIR HEART,AND THEY DID NOT KNOWMY WAYS';
[So] we seethat they were not ableto enterbecauseof unbelief.
how muchmorewill the bloodof Christ,whothroughthe eternalSpiritofferedHimselfwithout blemishto God,cleanseyour consciencefrom deadworksto servethe livingGod?
