Then you’ll be pure and blameless, “children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation.” Then you’ll shine within your generation like stars in the universe
People who don’t believe might accuse you of doing wrong. But lead such good lives among them that they’ll see your good deeds and give glory to God on the day Jesus returns.
That way you’ll be the children of your Father who is in heaven. He causes his sun to shine on bad people and good people, and he sends rain on those who do right and those who don’t.
May God himself, the God of peace, make you holy and complete. May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless from now until our Lord Jesus Christ comes.
They must not steal from them, either. Instead, they should show that they can be trusted completely. By doing all these things, they’ll make the teaching about God our Savior very attractive.
But God chose you to be his own people, his royal priests, a holy nation, his special treasure. You’re all these things so that you can tell everyone how wonderful God is. He brought you out of darkness and into his marvelous light.
But a leader must have a good reputation. He must be faithful to his wife. He must be restrained, self-controlled, and worthy of respect. He must welcome people into his home, and he must be able to teach.
But everyone has heard that you obey God, and that makes me very happy. I want you to be wise about what is good but not know anything about what is evil.
A high priest like him truly meets our needs. He’s holy, blameless, and pure, and he has been lifted up high above the heavens. He’s different from people who sin.
An elder must be blameless. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers and not give anyone a reason to say that they’re wild and disobedient.
But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then you will have a great reward. You will be children of the Most High God, who is kind to people who do wrong and are ungrateful.
“You faithless, disobedient generation!” Jesus replied. “How long am I going to be with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.”
Some people claim that they’re Jews, but they’re not. They’re lying. They’re a synagogue of Satan. I’m going to make those people come and fall down at your feet and admit in public that I have loved you.
So I encourage younger widows to get married again, have children, and take care of their own homes. That way the enemy won’t get the chance to say bad things about them.
As for being strict about the law, I’m a Pharisee. As for zeal, I opposed and attacked the church. As far as keeping the law is concerned, I kept it perfectly.
Think about how far you’ve fallen! Realize how you’ve gone wrong, and go back to the things you were doing at first. If you don’t, I’ll come and take your lampstand away.