You must, of course, continue faithful on a firm and sure foundation, and must not allow yourselves to be shaken from the hope you gained when you heard the gospel. It is of this gospel that I, Paul, became a servant---this gospel which has been preached to everybody in the world.

He kept his promise to the people of Israel with loyalty and constant love for them. All people everywhere have seen the victory of our God.

And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all people; and then the end will come.

Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

He said to them, "Go throughout the whole world and preach the gospel to all people.

But I ask: Is it true that they did not hear the message? Of course they did---for as the scripture says: "The sound of their voice went out to all the world; their words reached the ends of the earth."

by the power of miracles and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. And so, in traveling all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have proclaimed fully the Good News about Christ.

Now, however, that truth has been brought out into the open through the writings of the prophets; and by the command of the eternal God it is made known to all nations, so that all may believe and obey.

And since you are within those limits, we were not going beyond them when we came to you, bringing the Good News about Christ.

Then you will be able to live as the Lord wants and will always do what pleases him. Your lives will produce all kinds of good deeds, and you will grow in your knowledge of God.

But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred."

Jesus went on to say, "The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field.

The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain.

You did not choose me; I chose you and appointed you to go and bear much fruit, the kind of fruit that endures. And so the Father will give you whatever you ask of him in my name.

Meanwhile the word of God continued to spread and grow.

You must remember, my friends, that many times I have planned to visit you, but something has always kept me from doing so. I want to win converts among you also, as I have among other Gentiles.

When I have finished this task and have turned over to them all the money that has been raised for them, I shall leave for Spain and visit you on my way there.

for it is the light that brings a rich harvest of every kind of goodness, righteousness, and truth.

Your lives will be filled with the truly good qualities which only Jesus Christ can produce, for the glory and praise of God.

It is not that I just want to receive gifts; rather, I want to see profit added to your account.

So then, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message comes through preaching Christ.

On the day you fight your enemies, your people will volunteer. Like the dew of early morning your young men will come to you on the sacred hills.

When they heard this, they stopped their criticism and praised God, saying, "Then God has given to the Gentiles also the opportunity to repent and live!"

One of those who heard us was Lydia from Thyatira, who was a dealer in purple cloth. She was a woman who worshiped God, and the Lord opened her mind to pay attention to what Paul was saying.

You are to open their eyes and turn them from the darkness to the light and from the power of Satan to God, so that through their faith in me they will have their sins forgiven and receive their place among God's chosen people.'

But by God's grace I am what I am, and the grace that he gave me was not without effect. On the contrary, I have worked harder than any of the other apostles, although it was not really my own doing, but God's grace working with me.

So then, whether it came from me or from them, this is what we all preach, and this is what you believe.

In our work together with God, then, we beg you who have received God's grace not to let it be wasted.

Surely you have heard that God in his grace has given me this work to do for your good.

Your hearts and minds must be made completely new,

For we brought the Good News to you, not with words only, but also with power and the Holy Spirit, and with complete conviction of its truth. You know how we lived when we were with you; it was for your own good.

And there is another reason why we always give thanks to God. When we brought you God's message, you heard it and accepted it, not as a message from human beings but as God's message, which indeed it is. For God is at work in you who believe.

We must thank God at all times for you, friends, you whom the Lord loves. For God chose you as the first to be saved by the Spirit's power to make you his holy people and by your faith in the truth.

For God has revealed his grace for the salvation of all people.

That grace instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this world,

You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood. May grace and peace be yours in full measure.

Let us give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Because of his great mercy he gave us new life by raising Jesus Christ from death. This fills us with a living hope,

I write you this brief letter with the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful Christian. I want to encourage you and give my testimony that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.

But the time is coming and is already here, when by the power of God's Spirit people will worship the Father as he really is, offering him the true worship that he wants.