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It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill.

But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

…without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God.

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him,

For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

But I thought it necessary to send back to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my needs.

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.

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.

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—

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,

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Now I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

…that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.

…that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood the grace of God.

You learned it from Epaphras, our beloved fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,

See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.

…having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

…having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ.

He has lost connection to the head, from whom the whole body, supported and knit together by its joints and ligaments, grows as God causes it to grow.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Whatever you do, work at it with your whole being, as for the Lord and not for men,

…because you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as your reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Pray that I may declare it clearly, as I should.

After this letter has been read among you, make sure that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans, and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.

Tell Archippus: “See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord.”

Nor did we seek praise from you or from anyone else, although as apostles of Christ we had authority to demand it.

And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.

And we continually thank God because, when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God, which is also now at work in you who believe.

After all, who is our hope, our joy, our crown of boasting, if it is not you yourselves in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?

So when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left on our own in Athens.

Indeed, when we were with you, we kept warning you that we would suffer persecution; and as you know, it has come to pass.

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain.

For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;

The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.

After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you,

Let no one deceive you in any way, for it will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness—the son of destruction—is revealed.

For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but the one who now restrains it will continue until he is taken out of the way.

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.

…nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. Instead, in labor and toil, we worked night and day so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

This greeting is in my own hand—Paul. This is my mark in every letter; it is the way I write.

Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately.

And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.

…because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.

If any believing woman has dependent widows, she must assist them and not allow the church to be burdened, so that it can help the widows who are truly in need.

For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his wages.”

For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.

At my first defense, no one stood with me, but everyone deserted me. May it not be charged against them.

But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message would be fully proclaimed, and all the Gentiles would hear it. So I was delivered from the mouth of the lion.

He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

He must hold firmly to the faithful word as it was taught, so that he can encourage others by sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,

But if he has wronged you in any way or owes you anything, charge it to my account.

I, Paul, write this with my own hand. I will repay it—not to mention that you owe me your very self.

For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.

But somewhere it is testified in these words: “What is man that You are mindful of him, or the son of man that You care for him?

In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

For surely it is not the angels He helps, but the descendants of Abraham.

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

But exhort one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

As it has been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion.”

And with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?

And to whom did He swear that they would never enter His rest? Was it not to those who disobeyed?

So we see that it was because of their unbelief that they were unable to enter.

Therefore, while the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be deemed to have fallen short of it.

For we also received the good news just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, since they did not share the faith of those who comprehended it.

Now we who have believed enter that rest. As for the others, it is just as God has said: “So I swore on oath in My anger, ‘They shall never enter My rest.’” And yet His works have been finished since the foundation of the world.

Since, then, it remains for some to enter His rest, and since those who formerly heard the good news did not enter because of their disobedience,

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain, because you are dull of hearing.

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God.

For land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is tended receives the blessing of God.

But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.

So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.

Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,

In the case of the Levites, mortal men collect the tenth; but in the case of Melchizedek, it is affirmed that he lives on.

For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, a tribe as to which Moses said nothing about priests.

For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless

And since every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices, it was necessary for this One also to have something to offer.

The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide by My covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the Lord.

It is an illustration for the present time, because the gifts and sacrifices being offered were unable to cleanse the conscience of the worshiper.

In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it,

In the case of a will, it is necessary to establish the death of the one who made it,

…because a will does not take effect until the one who made it has died; it cannot be executed while he is still alive.

…because a will does not take effect until the one who made it has died; it cannot be executed while he is still alive.

So it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.

For the law is only a shadow of the good things to come, not the realities themselves. It can never, by the same sacrifices offered year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship.

If it could, would not the offerings have ceased? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt the guilt of their sins.

…because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Then I said, ‘Here I am, it is written about Me in the scroll: I have come to do Your will, O God.’”

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

So do not throw away your confidence; it holds a great reward.