The Living Bible (360 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
Even if we believe that it makes no difference to the Lord whether we do these things, still we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves; for we must bear the “burden” of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others—of those who feel these things are wrong. Let’s please the other fellow, not ourselves, and do what is for his good and thus build him up in the Lord.
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Christ didn’t please himself. As the Psalmist said, “He came for the very purpose of suffering under the insults of those who were against the Lord.”
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These things that were written in the Scriptures so long ago are to teach us patience and to encourage us so that we will look forward expectantly to the time when God will conquer sin and death.
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May God who gives patience, steadiness, and encouragement help you to live in complete harmony with each other—each with the attitude of Christ toward the other.
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And then all of us can praise the Lord together with one voice, giving glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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So warmly welcome each other into the church, just as Christ has warmly welcomed you; then God will be glorified.
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Remember that Jesus Christ came to show that God is true to his promises and to help the Jews.
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And remember that he came also that the Gentiles might be saved and give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote: “I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.”
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And in another place, “Be glad, O you Gentiles, along with his people the Jews.”
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And yet again, “Praise the Lord, O you Gentiles; let everyone praise him.”
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And the prophet Isaiah said, “There shall be an Heir in the house of Jesse, and he will be King over the Gentiles; they will pin their hopes on him alone.”
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So I pray for you Gentiles that God who gives you hope will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. I pray that God will help you overflow with hope in him through the Holy Spirit’s power within you.
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I know that you are wise and good, my brothers, and that you know these things so well that you are able to teach others all about them.
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But even so I have been bold enough to emphasize some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder from me; for I am, by God’s grace, a special messenger from Jesus Christ to you Gentiles, bringing you the Gospel and offering you up as a fragrant sacrifice to God; for you have been made pure and pleasing to him by the Holy Spirit.
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So it is right for me to be a little proud of all Christ Jesus has done through me.
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I dare not judge how effectively he has used others, but I know this: he has used me to win the Gentiles to God.
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I have won them by my message and by the good way I have lived before them and by the miracles done through me as signs from God—all by the Holy Spirit’s power. In this way I have preached the full Gospel
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of Christ all the way from Jerusalem clear over into Illyricum.
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But all the while my ambition has been to go still farther, preaching where the name of Christ has never yet been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.
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I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures where Isaiah says that those who have never heard the name of Christ before will see and understand.
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In fact, that is the very reason I have been so long in coming to visit you.
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But now at last I am through with my work here, and I am ready to come after all these long years of waiting.
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For I am planning to take a trip to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off there in Rome; and after we have had a good time together for a little while, you can send me on my way again.
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But before I come, I must go down to Jerusalem to take a gift to the Jewish Christians there.
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For you see, the Christians in Macedonia and Achaia have taken up an offering for those in Jerusalem who are going through such hard times.
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They were very glad to do this, for they feel that they owe a real debt to the Jerusalem Christians. Why? Because the news about Christ came to these Gentiles from the church in Jerusalem. And since they received this wonderful spiritual gift of the Gospel from there, they feel that the least they can do in return is to give some material aid.
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As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain.
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And I am sure that when I come the Lord will give me a great blessing for you.
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Will you be my prayer partners? For the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake and because of your love for me—given to you by the Holy Spirit—pray much with me for my work.
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Pray that I will be protected in Jerusalem from those who are not Christians. Pray also that the Christians there will be willing to accept the money I am bringing them.
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Then I will be able to come to you with a happy heart by the will of God, and we can refresh each other.
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And now may our God, who gives peace, be with you all. Amen.
Phoebe, a dear Christian woman from the town of Cenchreae, will be coming to see you soon. She has worked hard in the church there. Receive her as your sister in the Lord, giving her a warm Christian welcome. Help her in every way you can, for she has helped many in their needs, including me.
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Tell Priscilla and Aquila hello. They have been my fellow workers in the affairs of Christ Jesus.
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In fact, they risked their lives for me, and I am not the only one who is thankful to them; so are all the Gentile churches.
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Please give my greetings to all those who meet to worship in their home. Greet my good friend Epaenetus. He was the very first person to become a Christian in Asia.
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Remember me to Mary, too, who has worked so hard to help us.
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Then there are Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who were in prison with me. They are respected by the apostles and became Christians before I did. Please give them my greetings.
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Say hello to Ampliatus, whom I love as one of God’s own children,
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and Urbanus, our fellow worker, and beloved Stachys.
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Then there is Apelles, a good man whom the Lord approves; greet him for me. And give my best regards to those working at the house of Aristobulus.
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Remember me to Herodion my relative. Remember me to the Christian slaves over at Narcissus House.
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Say hello to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, the Lord’s workers, and to dear Persis, who has worked so hard for the Lord.
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Greet Rufus for me, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own; and also his dear mother who has been such a mother to me.
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And please give my greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the other brothers who are with them.
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Give my love to Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and to Olympas, and all the Christians who are with them.
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Shake hands warmly with each other. All the churches here send you their greetings.
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And now there is one more thing to say before I end this letter. Stay away from those who cause divisions and are upsetting people’s faith, teaching things about Christ that are contrary to what you have been taught.
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Such teachers are not working for our Lord Jesus but only want gain for themselves. They are good speakers, and simple-minded people are often fooled by them.
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But everyone knows that you stand loyal and true. This makes me very happy. I want you always to remain very clear about what is right and to stay innocent of any wrong.
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The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The blessings from our Lord Jesus Christ be upon you.
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Timothy my fellow worker, and Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my relatives, send you their good wishes.
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I, Tertius, the one who is writing this letter for Paul, send my greetings too, as a Christian brother.
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Gaius says to say hello to you for him. I am his guest, and the church meets here in his home. Erastus, the city treasurer, sends you his greetings and so does Quartus, a Christian brother.
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Good-bye. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
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I commit you to God, who is able to make you strong and steady in the Lord, just as the Gospel says, and just as I have told you. This is God’s plan of salvation for you Gentiles, kept secret from the beginning of time. But now as the prophets foretold and as God commands, this message is being preached everywhere, so that people all around the world will have faith in Christ and obey him. To God, who alone is wise, be the glory forever through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sincerely, Paul
From:
Paul, chosen by God to be Jesus Christ’s missionary, and from brother Sosthenes.
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To:
The Christians in Corinth, invited by God to be his people and made acceptable to him by Christ Jesus.
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And to:
All Christians everywhere—whoever calls upon the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and theirs.
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May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you all of his blessings, and great peace of heart and mind.
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I can never stop thanking God for all the wonderful gifts he has given you, now that you are Christ’s:
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he has enriched your whole life. He has helped you speak out for him and has given you a full understanding of the truth;
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what I told you Christ could do for you has happened!
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Now you have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing his will are yours during this time of waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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And he guarantees right up to the end that you will be counted free from all sin and guilt on that day when he returns.
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God will surely do this for you, for he always does just what he says, and he is the one who invited you into this wonderful friendship with his Son, even Christ our Lord.
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But, dear brothers, I beg you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to stop arguing among yourselves. Let there be real harmony so that there won’t be splits in the church. I plead with you to be of one mind, united in thought and purpose.
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For some of those who live at Chloe’s house have told me of your arguments and quarrels, dear brothers.
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Some of you are saying, “I am a follower of Paul”; and others say that they are for Apollos or for Peter; and some that they alone are the true followers of Christ.
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And so, in effect, you have broken Christ into many pieces.
But did I, Paul, die for your sins? Were any of you baptized in my name?
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I am so thankful now that I didn’t baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius.
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For now no one can think that I have been trying to start something new, beginning a “Church of Paul.”
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Oh, yes, and I baptized the family of Stephanas. I don’t remember ever baptizing anyone else.
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For Christ didn’t send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel; and even my preaching sounds poor, for I do not fill my sermons with profound words and high-sounding ideas, for fear of diluting the mighty power there is in the simple message of the cross of Christ.
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I know very well how foolish it sounds to those who are lost,
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when they hear that Jesus died to save them. But we who are saved
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recognize this message as the very power of God.
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For God says, “I will destroy all human plans of salvation no matter how wise they seem to be, and ignore the best ideas of men, even the most brilliant of them.”
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So what about these wise men, these scholars, these brilliant debaters of this world’s great affairs? God has made them all look foolish and shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense.
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For God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never find God through human brilliance, and then he stepped in and saved all those who believed his message, which the world calls foolish and silly.
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It seems foolish to the Jews because they want a sign from heaven as proof that what is preached is true; and it is foolish to the Gentiles because they believe only what agrees with their philosophy and seems wise to them.
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So when we preach about Christ dying to save them, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.
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But God has opened the eyes of those called to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, to see that Christ is the mighty power of God to save them; Christ himself is the center of God’s wise plan for their salvation.
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This so-called “foolish” plan of God is far wiser than the wisest plan of the wisest man, and God in his weakness—Christ dying on the cross—is far stronger than any man.
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Notice among yourselves, dear brothers, that few of you who follow Christ have big names or power or wealth.
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Instead, God has deliberately chosen to use ideas the world considers foolish and of little worth in order to shame those people considered by the world as wise and great.
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He has chosen a plan despised by the world, counted as nothing at all, and used it to bring down to nothing those the world considers great,
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so that no one anywhere can ever brag in the presence of God.
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For it is from God alone that you have your life through Christ Jesus. He showed us God’s plan of salvation; he was the one who made us acceptable to God; he made us pure and holy
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and gave himself to purchase our salvation.
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As it says in the Scriptures, “If anyone is going to boast, let him boast only of what the Lord has done.”