1. Genesis 4:3-7 (esv), 3.In the course of time Cain brought to the LORD an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4.and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the LORD had regard for Abel and his offering, 5.but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6.The LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7.If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” Note: Cain did not give God the correct offering. He did not do what God told him to do. 2. Judges 8:31-35 (esv), 31.And his concubine who was in Shechem also bore him a son, and he called his name Abimelech. 32.And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age and was buried in the tomb of Joash his father, at Ophrah of the Abiezrites. 33.As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 34.And the people of Israel did not remember the LORD their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, 35.and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) in return for all the good that he had done to Israel. Note: Their sin was that as soon as Gideon died the people of Israel started following other (false) Gods. 3. Psalm 1:1-6 The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked 1.Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2. but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4.The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. 5.Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; 6.for the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. 4. Psalm 19:7-17 (esv), 7.The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; 8.the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; 9.the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. 10.More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. 11.Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12.Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13.Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14.Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. 5. Psalm 25:6-7 (esv), 6.Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. 7.Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of your goodness, O LORD! 6. Psalm 51:1-19 (esv), 1. Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God 1.Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. 2.Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!3.For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4.Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. 5.Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6.Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7.Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8.Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice. 9 .Hide your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10.Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11.Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12.Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13.Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 7. Psalm 119:25-29 (esv), 25.My soul clings to the dust; give me life according to your word! 26.When I told of my ways, you answered me; teach me your statutes! 27.Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wondrous works. 28.My soul melts away for sorrow; strengthen me according to your word! 29.Put false ways far from me and graciously teach me your law! 8. Psalm 119:133 (esv), 133.Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me. 9. Proverb 5:1-22 (esv), Warning Against Adultery 1.My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, 2.that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge. 3.For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, 4.but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5.Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol (Hades); 6.she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it. 7.And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. 8.Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, 9.lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, 10.lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, 11.and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed, 12.and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 13.I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 14.I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.” 15.Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. 16.Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? 17.Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you. 18.Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, 19.a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. 20.Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress? 21.For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths. 22.The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. 10. Proverbs 28:13 (esv), 13.Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. 11. Isaiah 40:28-31 (esv), 28.Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29.He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30.Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31.but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.' 12. Matthew 6:9-15, (note: An example of how we should pray.) 9.Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10.Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11.Give us this day our daily bread, 12.and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 14.For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15.but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. 13. Matthew 7:3 (esv), 3. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? (Sin: We should understand other people and the situation they are in.) 14. Matthew 18:15-20 (esv), If Your Brother Sins Against You 15.“If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. 16.But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. 17.If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. 18.Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19.Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20.For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” 15. Matthew 23:23-36 (esv), 23.“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24.You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! 25.“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26.You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and the plate, that the outside also may be clean. 27.“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like white washed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people's bones and all uncleanness. 28.So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29.“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30.saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31.Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32.Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33.You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? 34.Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, 35.so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. 36.Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. 16. Matthew 25:1-46, The Parable of the Ten Virgins 1.“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2.Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3.For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4.but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5.As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6.But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7.Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8.And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9.But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10.And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11.Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12.But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13.Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. The Parable of the Talents 14.“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15.To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16.He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17.So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18.But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19.Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20.And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ 21.His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22.And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ 23.His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24.He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25.so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ 26.But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27.Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28.So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29.For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30.And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ The Final Judgment 31.“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32.Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33.And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34.Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 .For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36.I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37.Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38.And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39.And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40.And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41.“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42.For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43.I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44.Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45.Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46.And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” 17. Luke 6:45 (esv), 45.The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. 18. Luke 17:3-4 (esv), 3.Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4.and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 19. John 4:10-14 (esv), 10.Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11.The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12.Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13.Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14.but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 20. John 5: 28-29 (esv), 28.Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29.and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. 21. Romans 3:23-24 (esv),God's Righteousness Upheld 1.Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2.Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3.What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4.By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written, The Righteousness of God Through Faith 21.But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22.the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23.for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24.and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25.whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26.It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27.Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28.For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. 29.Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30.since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. 31.Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law. 22. Romans 6:12-23 (esv), 12.Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13.Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Slaves to Righteousness 15.What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16.Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17.But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 18.and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 19.I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20.For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21.But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22.But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23.For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 23. Romans 8:1-39 (esv), Life in the Spirit 1.There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2.For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. 3.For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, 4.in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5.For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6.For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7.For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. 8.Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9.You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. 10.But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11.If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Heirs with Christ 12.So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13.For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14.For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15.For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16.The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17.and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. Future Glory 18.For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19.For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20.For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21.that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22.For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23.And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24.For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25.But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26.Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27.And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28.And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29.For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30.And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. God's Everlasting Love 31.What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32.He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33.Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. 34.Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35.Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36.As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37.No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38.For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39.nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 24. 1 Corinthians 6:1-19 (esv), Lawsuits Against Believers 1.When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints? 2.Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3.Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life! 4.So if you have such cases, why do you lay them before those who have no standing in the church? 5.I say this to your shame. Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6.but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7.To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8.But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers! 9.Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10.nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11.And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Flee Sexual Immorality 12.“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. 13.“Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14.And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. 15.Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16.Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” 17.But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18.Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19.Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20.for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. 25. 1 Corinthians 15:1-58 (esv), The Resurrection of Christ 1.Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2. and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3.For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4.that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5.and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6.Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7.Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8.Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9.For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10.But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11.Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. The Resurrection of the Dead 12.Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13.But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14.And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15.We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16.For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17.And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19.If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20.But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21.For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22.For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. 23.But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. 24.Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25.For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26.The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27.For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when it says, “all things are put in subjection,” it is plain that he is excepted who put all things in subjection under him. 28.When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all. 29.Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead? If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf? 30.Why are we in danger every hour? 31.I protest, brothers, by my pride in you, which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! 32.What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” 33.Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.” 34.Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame. The Resurrection Body 35.But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” 36.You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37.And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. 38.But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. 39.For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. 40.There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. 41.There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory. 42.So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. 43.It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 44.It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45.Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 46.But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. 47.The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. 48.As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49.Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven. Mystery and Victory 50.I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51.Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52.in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53.For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54.When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 26. Galatians 5:13-26 (esv), 13.For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14.For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15.But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Keep in Step with the Spirit 16.But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17.For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18.But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19.Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20.idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21.envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23.gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24.And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25.If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26.Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. 27. Galatians 6:1-10 (esv), 1.Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2.Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3.For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4.But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5.For each will have to bear his own load. 6.Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7.Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8.For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9.And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10.So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. 28. Ephesians 5:1-32 (esv), Walk in Love 1.Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2.And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3.But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4.Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5.For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6.Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7.Therefore do not become partners with them; 8.for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9.(for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10.and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11.Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12.For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13.But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14.for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says, Wives and Husbands 22.Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23.For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24.Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25.Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26.that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27.so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28.In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29.For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30.because we are members of his body. 31.“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32.This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33.However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. 29. Colossians 3:1-12 (esv), Put On the New Self 1.If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2.Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3.For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4.When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5.Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6.On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7.In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8.But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9.Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10.and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11.Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. 12.Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 30. Hebrews 9:24-28 (esv), 24.For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. 25Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, 26.for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27.And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28.so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. 31. Hebrews 12:1-17 (esv), 24.Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith 1.Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2.looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Do Not Grow Weary 3.Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4.In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5.And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? 32. 1 Peter 2:20-25 (esv), 20.For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21.For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22.He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23.When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24.He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. 25.For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. 33. 1 Peter 4:5-19 (esv), 5.but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6.For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. 7.The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8.Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9.Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10.As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: 11.whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Suffering as a Christian 12.Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13.But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. 14.If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. 15.But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. 16.Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. 17.For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18.And “If the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19.Therefore let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. 34. James 1:1-27 (esv), 1.James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Testing of Your Faith 2.Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3.for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4.And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5.If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6.But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7.For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8.he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9.Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10.and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11.For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 12.Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13.Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14.But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15.Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16.Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17.Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18.Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Hearing and Doing the Word 19.Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20.for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21.Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22.But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23.For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24.For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25.But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26.If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27.Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. 35. James 3:1-18 (esv),Taming the Tongue 1.Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2.For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3.If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4.Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5.So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6.And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7.For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8.but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9.With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10.From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11.Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12.Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. Wisdom from Above 13.Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14.But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15.This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16.For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17.But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18.And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 36. James 4:1-12 (esv),Warning Against Worldliness 1.What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2. You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3.You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4.You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5.Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? 6.But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7.Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8.Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9.Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10.Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. 11.Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12.There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? 37. 1 John 1:1-10 (esv),The Word of Life 1.That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2.the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3.that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4.And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. Walking in the Light 5.This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6.If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7.But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8.If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9.If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10.If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 38. Revelation 22:1-20 (esv),The River of Life 1.Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2. through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3.No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4.They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5.And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever. Jesus Is Coming 6.And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” 7.“And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” 8.I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9.but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” 10.And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11.Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” 12.“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13.I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 14.Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15.Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16.“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 17.The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. 18.I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19.and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. 20.He who testifies to these things says, To be forgiven of your sins you need to: 1. Admit – that you are a sinner and in need of a Savior (Rom 6:23) 2. Abandon – self-effort and realize that you cannot be saved by your works or your own efforts (Acts 16:31) 3. Accept freely Christ’s payment for your sins, required of the Father (John 3:16) 4. Acknowledge Jesus Christ as your personal lord and Savior (Acts 4:12) |
