9 Dear friends, we are saying these hard things, but we really we expect better things from you. We feel sure that you will do the things that are a part of salvation.
9 But we are convinced of better things in your case, brothers and sisters, even though we are talking this way—things that go together with salvation.
God is high and lifted up.\par God lives forever.\par God’s name is holy.\par God says:\par I live in a high and holy place,\par but also with people that are\par sad and humble.\par I will give new life to the people\par that are humble in spirit.\par I will give new life to the people\par that are sad in their hearts.\par
When the Jewish believers heard these things, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is allowing the non-Jewish people to change their hearts and have life the same as us!”
Do you think that we have been defending ourselves to you all this time? No. We say these things in Christ. And we say these things before God. You are our dear friends. And everything that we do is to make you stronger.
Dear friends, we have these promises \{from God\}. So we should make ourselves pure—free from anything that makes our body or our soul unclean. We should try to become perfect in the way we live, because we respect God.
Being sorry like God wants makes a person change his heart and life. This leads a person to salvation, and we cannot be sorry for that. But the kind of sorrow the world has will bring death.
When a person is in Christ Jesus, it is not important if he is circumcised or not. The important thing is faith—the kind of faith that works through love.
Yes, you helped those people in prison and shared in their suffering. And you were still happy when all the things you owned were taken away from you. You continued to be happy, because you knew that you had something much better—something that would continue forever.
The salvation \{that was given to us\} is very great. So surely we also will be punished if we live like this salvation is not important. It was the Lord (Jesus) who first told people about this salvation. And the people who heard him proved to us that this salvation is true.
God is fair. God will remember all the work you have done. And God will remember that you showed your love to him by helping his people. And God will remember that you continue to help his people.
Dear friends, you are like visitors and strangers \{in this world\}. So I beg you to stay away from the evil things your bodies want to do. These things fight against your soul.
My dear friends, I am not writing a new command to you. It is the same command you have had since the beginning. This command is the teaching you have already heard.