instead of worshiping the immortal God, they worship images made to look like mortals or birds or animals or reptiles.

They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever! Amen.

Even if there are so-called "gods," whether in heaven or on earth, and even though there are many of these "gods" and "lords,"

He will oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all. He will even go in and sit down in God's Temple and claim to be God.

He has not done this for other nations; they do not know his laws. Praise the LORD!

And eternal life means to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, whom you sent.

Righteous Father! The world does not know you, but I know you, and these know that you sent me.

Ever since God created the world, his invisible qualities, both his eternal power and his divine nature, have been clearly seen; they are perceived in the things that God has made. So those people have no excuse at all!

They say they are wise, but they are fools;

For God in his wisdom made it impossible for people to know him by means of their own wisdom. Instead, by means of the so-called "foolish" message we preach, God decided to save those who believe.

They do not believe, because their minds have been kept in the dark by the evil god of this world. He keeps them from seeing the light shining on them, the light that comes from the Good News about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

The God who said, "Out of darkness the light shall shine!" is the same God who made his light shine in our hearts, to bring us the knowledge of God's glory shining in the face of Christ.

In the past you did not know God, and so you were slaves of beings who are not gods.

But now that you know God---or, I should say, now that God knows you---how is it that you want to turn back to those weak and pitiful ruling spirits? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?

At that time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God's chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God's promises to his people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God.

To the eternal King, immortal and invisible, the only God---to him be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen.

We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we know the true God. We live in union with the true God---in union with his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and this is eternal life.

God has overlooked the times when people did not know him, but now he commands all of them everywhere to turn away from their evil ways.

You have done all this, and I have said nothing, so you thought that I am like you. But now I reprimand you and make the matter plain to you.

It is no use for them to worship me, because they teach human rules as though they were my laws!' "

You Samaritans do not really know whom you worship; but we Jews know whom we worship, because it is from the Jews that salvation comes.

Jesus answered, "If I were to honor myself, that honor would be worth nothing. The one who honors me is my Father---the very one you say is your God.