But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come.
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,
traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
This is a trustworthy saying: If anyone aspires to be an overseer, he desires a noble task.
An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,
not dependent on wine, not violent but gentle, peaceable, and free of the love of money.
An overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity.
For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God?
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
the gospel He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
regarding His Son, who was a descendant of David according to the flesh,
and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
Through Him and on behalf of His name, we received grace and apostleship to call all those among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.
. . .
For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it legitimately.
We realize that law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and profane, for killers of father or mother, for murderers,
for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the LORD, “You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
Surely He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly plague.
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day,
. . .
And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and blessed are the breasts that nursed You!”
But He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
By this we can be sure that we have come to know Him: if we keep His commandments.
If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
But if anyone keeps His word, the love of God has been truly perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him:
Whoever claims to abide in Him must walk as Jesus walked.
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
. . .
And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
“Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.
Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!
By your wisdom and understanding you have gained your wealth and amassed gold and silver for your treasuries.
By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, but your heart has grown proud because of it.
. . .
Then the LORD appeared to Abraham by the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, while he was sitting at the entrance of his tent.
And Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
“My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.
Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.
And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. After that, you may continue on your way.” “Yes,” they replied, “you may do as you have said.”
. . .
The expression on their faces testifies against them, and like Sodom they flaunt their sin; they do not conceal it. Woe to them, for they have brought disaster upon themselves.
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies.
Then the LORD said to Moses,
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them: I am the LORD your God.
You must not follow the practices of the land of Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not follow the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I am bringing you. You must not walk in their customs.
You are to practice My judgments and keep My statutes by walking in them. I am the LORD your God.
Keep My statutes and My judgments, for the man who does these things will live by them. I am the LORD.
. . .
You are to keep My statutes. You shall not crossbreed two different kinds of livestock; you shall not sow your fields with two kinds of seed; and you shall not wear clothing made of two kinds of material.
Then the LORD said to Moses,
“Tell the Israelites, ‘Any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molech must be put to death. The people of the land are to stone him.
And I will set My face against that man and cut him off from his people, because by giving his offspring to Molech, he has defiled My sanctuary and profaned My holy name.
And if the people of the land ever hide their eyes and fail to put to death the man who gives one of his children to Molech,
then I will set My face against that man and his family and cut off from among their people both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves with Molech.
. . .
And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’