These enemies left our community of believers, but they didn’t really belong to us. If they had belonged to us, they would have stayed with us. By leaving, they showed that none of them really belonged to us.
They’ve known me for a long time, and they could tell you, if they wanted to, that I’ve lived by the rules of the Pharisees. Their rules are harder to obey than those of any other Jewish group.
It is true that I worship the God of our people as a follower of the Way of Jesus. They call it a cult, but everything I believe agrees with the Law and the Prophets.
“We’ve found that this Paul is a troublemaker. Everywhere he goes in the world, riots break out among the Jews. He’s the leader of a cult called the Nazarenes.
I’m afraid that when I come I won’t find you as I want you to be, and you won’t find me as you want me to be. I’m afraid that there will be arguing, jealousy, fits of anger, selfish ambition, insults, gossip, arrogance, and disorder.