Finally, my brothers and sisters, whatever is noble, right, and pure, whatever is lovely and worthy of respect, if anything is excellent or worthy of praise, think about those things.
My brothers and sisters, make every effort to show that God has called you to be saved. If you do everything I’ve just said, you’ll never trip and fall.
Without faith it’s impossible to please God, because those who come to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who try hard to find him.
And so, my dear friends, as you’ve always obeyed God—not just while I was with you, but even more now that I’m not with you— continue to work out your own salvation. Do it with fear and trembling.
Don’t work for food that spoils, but for food that lasts forever. Work for the food that the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”
For this reason, we’ve been praying for you since the day we heard about you. We keep asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives.
Husbands, be understanding of your wives. Treat them with respect, remembering the ways in which they’re physically weaker than you. Honor them as people who will share the gracious gift of life with you. Otherwise, God won’t answer your prayers.
Make sure that no one misses out on God’s grace and that no bitter plant grows up, because if it does, it will cause trouble and make many people impure.
Besides, a wide space has been placed between us and you, so that even if we want to, we can’t go from here to you, and no one can cross over from you to us.’