But if a person is punished for doing wrong and they take it patiently, they don’t deserve any special praise. But if you do suffer for doing good and you put up with it, God will praise you for that.
You’re also like living stones. As you come to Christ, you’re being built into a house for worship. There you will be holy priests and offer spiritual sacrifices that God will accept because of what Jesus Christ has done.
Knowing we’re going to face judgment puts the fear of God in us, and we don’t pretend to anyone that we’re something we’re not. What we truly are is clear to God, and I hope that you’re clearly aware of it too.
Keep your conscience clear, so that even if people say bad things about you as believers in Christ, they’ll be ashamed when the way you live proves them wrong.
But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these relatives should first learn to put their faith into practice and care for their own family. That way they will repay their parents and grandparents, which is something that pleases God.
I’ve already received my full pay, and I have more than enough. I have everything I need, now that Epaphroditus has brought me the gifts you sent. They’re a sweet-smelling offering, a sacrifice that God accepts and that makes him happy.
Instead, we refuse to do secret and shameful things. We don’t trick anyone, and we don’t twist God’s word. We do just the opposite! We present the truth plainly so that everyone can judge us in their own conscience before God.
Someone who was a slave when the Lord called them is now serving the Lord as a free person. But it’s just as true that someone who was free when God called them is now a slave of Christ.
because people like that are serving their own appetites, not our Lord Jesus Christ. With smooth talk and flattery they fool people who don’t know any better.
Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? Whether they’re faithful or not is their own master’s concern. And they will be faithful, because the Lord is able to make them faithful.
But you’ve been set free from sin, and you’ve become slaves of God. You’re gaining a great benefit from that: You’re living in the right way, and the end result will be eternal life.
It’s like a man who goes away and puts his servants in charge of his house. He gives each one a task to do, and the one he leaves at the door he tells to keep watch.
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.
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.