" 'God's curse on anyone who does not obey all of God's laws and teachings.' "And all the people will answer, 'Amen!'

If I pay attention to all your commands, then I will not be put to shame.

And so I follow all your instructions; I hate all wrong ways.

Those who depend on obeying the Law live under a curse. For the scripture says, "Whoever does not always obey everything that is written in the book of the Law is under God's curse!"

But the Law has nothing to do with faith. Instead, as the scripture says, "Whoever does everything the Law requires will live."

Whoever breaks one commandment is guilty of breaking them all.

For the same one who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not commit murder." Even if you do not commit adultery, you have become a lawbreaker if you commit murder.

"How terrible for you, teachers of the Law and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You give to God one tenth even of the seasoning herbs, such as mint, dill, and cumin, but you neglect to obey the really important teachings of the Law, such as justice and mercy and honesty. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.

"Do everything that I have commanded you; do not add anything to it or take anything from it.

"How terrible for you Pharisees! You give to God one tenth of the seasoning herbs, such as mint and rue and all the other herbs, but you neglect justice and love for God. These you should practice, without neglecting the others.

Jesus answered, "And why do you disobey God's command and follow your own teaching?

But you teach that if people have something they could use to help their father or mother, but say, 'This belongs to God,'

"How terrible for you, blind guides! You teach, 'If someone swears by the Temple, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gold in the Temple, he is bound.'

You also teach, 'If someone swears by the altar, he isn't bound by his vow; but if he swears by the gift on the altar, he is bound.'

So then, when a person swears by the altar, he is swearing by it and by all the gifts on it;

and when someone swears by heaven, he is swearing by God's throne and by him who sits on it.

"But now you priests have turned away from the right path. Your teaching has led many to do wrong. You have broken the covenant I made with you.

So I, in turn, will make the people of Israel despise you because you do not obey my will, and when you teach my people, you do not treat everyone alike."

Why not say, then, "Let us do evil so that good may come"? Some people, indeed, have insulted me by accusing me of saying this very thing! They will be condemned, as they should be.

What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God's grace will increase?

What, then? Shall we sin, because we are not under law but under God's grace? By no means!

Whoever teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the true words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the teaching of our religion

is swollen with pride and knows nothing. He has an unhealthy desire to argue and quarrel about words, and this brings on jealousy, disputes, insults, evil suspicions,

But there are a few things I have against you: there are some among you who follow the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak how to lead the people of Israel into sin by persuading them to eat food that had been offered to idols and to practice sexual immorality.

In the same way you have people among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.

But this is what I have against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a messenger of God. By her teaching she misleads my servants into practicing sexual immorality and eating food that has been offered to idols.

I assure you that John the Baptist is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than John.

I, the LORD God of Israel, promised in the past that your family and your clan would serve me as priests for all time. But now I say that I won't have it any longer! Instead, I will honor those who honor me, and I will treat with contempt those who despise me.

and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age."

Dear Theophilus: In my first book I wrote about all the things that Jesus did and taught from the time he began his work

Be under obligation to no one---the only obligation you have is to love one another. Whoever does this has obeyed the Law.

If you love others, you will never do them wrong; to love, then, is to obey the whole Law.

For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."

What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature.

If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law.

in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups;

But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires.

Keep on imitating me, my friends. Pay attention to those who follow the right example that we have set for you.

I have told you this many times before, and now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives make them enemies of Christ's death on the cross.

In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honorable.

Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.

You are our witnesses, and so is God, that our conduct toward you who believe was pure, right, and without fault.

We encouraged you, we comforted you, and we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God, who calls you to share in his own Kingdom and glory.

Finally, our friends, you learned from us how you should live in order to please God. This is, of course, the way you have been living. And now we beg and urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to do even more.

God wants you to be holy and completely free from sexual immorality.

not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God.

God did not call us to live in immorality, but in holiness.

Give them these instructions and these teachings.

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, faith, and purity.

But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.

Use sound words that cannot be criticized, so that your enemies may be put to shame by not having anything bad to say about us.

or steal from them. Instead, they must show that they are always good and faithful, so as to bring credit to the teaching about God our Savior in all they do.

This is a true saying. I want you to give special emphasis to these matters, so that those who believe in God may be concerned with giving their time to doing good deeds, which are good and useful for everyone.

Jesus said to them, "You can be sure that when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne in the New Age, then you twelve followers of mine will also sit on thrones, to rule the twelve tribes of Israel.

This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest;

The wise leaders will shine with all the brightness of the sky. And those who have taught many people to do what is right will shine like the stars forever."

John will be great in the Lord's sight. He must not drink any wine or strong drink. From his very birth he will be filled with the Holy Spirit,

and said to them, "Whoever welcomes this child in my name, welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me, also welcomes the one who sent me. For the one who is least among you all is the greatest."

An argument broke out among the disciples as to which one of them should be thought of as the greatest.

But this is not the way it is with you; rather, the greatest one among you must be like the youngest, and the leader must be like the servant.

And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the glorious crown which will never lose its brightness.