Acts 5:31Plain English VersionAnd he gave Jesus the best place in heaven, right next to God himself, on his right-hand side, the place where the most important person sits. And God made Jesus our leader, the one that can save us. God did that so that all the Israel people can turn back to him, and they can stop doing bad things, and then he will not punish them. See the chapter |
I will show you that God made me the boss over both of those things, so I can say that people are not guilty, and God will not punish them. I’m God’s special man from heaven, and I have the power to say those things, and I have the power to do those things.” Then Jesus looked at the crippled man and said,
You know, God got one of his men to write these words, and they are in God’s book. He wrote, ‘People will look with their eyes at what I do, but they will not try to understand what it means. They will hear my words with their ears, but they will not try to understand them properly. If they do understand me properly, then they will turn around and come back to God, and then God will not blame them for the bad things they did. But they don’t want to know about that.’ And those things are happening now.”
Today a young woman had a baby boy over there in Bethlehem, in the place where David grew up. Go there, and you will find him. He is wrapped up in cloth, and lying in an animal’s food box. Then you will know that this message is true. He is the one that is going to save you people. He is the Christ, the man that God promised to send to you, to be your leader.”
And God says you have to tell everyone about me. Tell them that they have to turn away from the bad things they do and turn to God, so that he will say they are not guilty of the bad things they did. You have to start telling people that message here in Jerusalem, and then go on to other countries, until you tell it to the people in every country.
The Jewish Christians heard Peter say that, and they stopped arguing with him. They started to thank God and say he is really good. They said, “Now we understand it. God will let anyone come to him, even people that are not Jews, and after they turn away from doing bad things, and they come to him, then he will give them new life that never stops. God is so good.”
Then God took him up into heaven. He is there now, sitting right next to God, on God’s right-hand side, the place where the most important person sits. And God gave Jesus the Holy Spirit, and today Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit, just like God promised. That’s the reason why you are seeing and hearing us talk in lots of languages today.
Peter told them, “You have to turn around and follow Jesus. Then let us baptise you, to show that you turned away from the wrong things you are doing, and now you follow Jesus Christ. Then God will not do payback to you for those bad things. And he will give you the Holy Spirit to live in you, just like he promised. You see, God promised to give the Holy Spirit to everyone that he picks to be his own people. That promise is for you, and for your kids, and even for people in other countries a long way away.”
You know, a long time ago, one of God’s men told a picture story about you boss mob, and about Jesus too. They said that some work-men built a house out of big stones, but those work-men thought one of those stones was rubbish, so they chucked it away. But they were wrong. That stone was properly good, and now God made it the most important stone of all. You are like those work-men, and Jesus is like that stone. You did not want him.
I am Peter, and this letter is from me. My other name is Simon. I work for Jesus Christ. I am one of his special workers. You people believe in Jesus Christ, just like I do, so I’m writing this letter to you. Jesus helps us trust him, and that is really special for us. Jesus Christ is God, and he saves us. He is always right, and he is always fair.
Jesus Christ is our leader, and he is the one that saves us. At one time, those liars knew Jesus, and he helped them get away from the dirty things that the people in this world do. But now they are leaving him, and they are getting mixed up again with those bad things. Those bad things are now their boss, and they are worse off now than before.
Don’t do that. You have to believe that our leader, Jesus Christ, will be good to you, and you have to believe it more and more. He is the one that saves us. You have to know him better and better all the time. Everyone has to say that Jesus Christ is very great and good. Everyone has to always say that, now and for ever. That’s right. From Peter
He is the only God. He gets our leader, Jesus Christ, to save us. So everyone has to always thank him and remember how great he is. He has all power. Everyone has to do whatever he says. He always had that power. He had it right from the start of time. And he will have all that power for ever. That is true. From Jude