Brothers

…and all the brothers with me, To the churches of Galatia:

For I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man.

This issue arose because some false brothers had come in under false pretenses to spy on our freedom in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.

Brothers, let me put this in human terms. Even a human covenant, once it is ratified, cannot be canceled or amended.

I beg you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong.

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.

Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

Now, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.

For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.

Brothers, if someone is caught in a trespass, you who are spiritual should restore him with a spirit of gentleness. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

Peace to the brothers and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel.

And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.

Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who walk according to the pattern we set for you.

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think on these things.

Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send you greetings.

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Greet the brothers in Laodicea, as well as Nympha and the church that meets at her house.

Brothers who are beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you,

You yourselves know, brothers, that our visit to you was not in vain.

Surely you recall, brothers, our labor and toil. We worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to anyone while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.

For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Judea that are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the very things they suffered from the Jews,

Brothers, although we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in heart), our desire to see you face to face was even more intense.

For this reason, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we have been reassured about you, because of your faith.

Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.

And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more

And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more

Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you will not grieve like the rest, who are without hope.

Now about the times and seasons, brothers, we do not need to write to you.

But you, brothers, are not in the darkness so that this day should overtake you like a thief.

But we ask you, brothers, to acknowledge those who work diligently among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.

And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

Brothers, pray for us as well.

Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss.

I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers.

We are obligated to thank God for you all the time, brothers, as is fitting, because your faith is growing more and more, and your love for one another is increasing.

Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to Him, we ask you, brothers,

But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by faith in the truth.

Therefore, brothers, stand firm and cling to the traditions we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.

Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you.

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.

But as for you, brothers, do not grow weary in well-doing.

By pointing out these things to the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished by the words of faith and sound instruction that you have followed.

Do not rebuke an older man, but appeal to him as to a father. Treat younger men as brothers,

Those who have believing masters should not show disrespect because they are brothers, but should serve them all the more, since those receiving their good service are beloved believers. Teach and encourage these principles.

Make every effort to come to me before winter. Eubulus sends you greetings, as do Pudens, Linus, Claudia, and all the brothers.

For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

He says: “I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing Your praises in the assembly.”

For this reason He had to be made like His brothers in every way, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people.

Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

See to it, brothers, that none of you has a wicked heart of unbelief that turns away from the living God.

Now the law commands the sons of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their brothers—though they too are descended from Abraham.

Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus,

I urge you, brothers, to bear with my word of exhortation, for I have only written to you briefly.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

My beloved brothers, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger,

My brothers, as you hold out your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, do not show favoritism.

Listen, my beloved brothers: Has not God chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

What good is it, my brothers, if someone claims to have faith, but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be!

My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

Brothers, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against his brother or judges him speaks against the law and judges it. And if you judge the law, you are not a practitioner of the law, but a judge of it.

Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer awaits the precious fruit of the soil—how patient he is for the fall and spring rains.

Do not complain about one another, brothers, so that you will not be judged. Look, the Judge is standing at the door!

Brothers, as an example of patience in affliction, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

Above all, my brothers, do not swear, not by heaven or earth or by any other oath. Simply let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, so that you will not fall under judgment.

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back,

Since you have purified your souls by obedience to the truth so that you have a genuine love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from a pure heart.

Finally, all of you, be like-minded and sympathetic, love as brothers, be tenderhearted and humble.

Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

Therefore, brothers, strive to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble,

So do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you.

We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.

By this we know what love is: Jesus laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

For I was overjoyed when the brothers came and testified about your devotion to the truth, in which you continue to walk.

Beloved, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers, and especially since they are strangers to you.

So if I come, I will call attention to his malicious slander against us. And unsatisfied with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers and forbids those who want to do so, even putting them out of the church.

Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.

And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God.

So I fell at his feet to worship him. But he told me, “Do not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who rely on the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

But he said to me, “Do 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!”