But Saul tried to destroy the church; going from house to house, he dragged out the believers, both men and women, and threw them into jail.

In the meantime Saul kept up his violent threats of murder against the followers of the Lord. He went to the High Priest

"Who are you, Lord?" he asked. "I am Jesus, whom you persecute," the voice said.

Ananias answered, "Lord, many people have told me about this man and about all the terrible things he has done to your people in Jerusalem.

I persecuted to the death the people who followed this Way. I arrested men and women and threw them into prison.

"I myself thought that I should do everything I could against the cause of Jesus of Nazareth.

Many times I had them punished in the synagogues and tried to make them deny their faith. I was so furious with them that I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.

For I am the least of all the apostles---I do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted God's church.

You have been told how I used to live when I was devoted to the Jewish religion, how I persecuted without mercy the church of God and did my best to destroy it.

and I was so zealous that I persecuted the church. As far as a person can be righteous by obeying the commands of the Law, I was without fault.

but God was merciful to me in order that Christ Jesus might show his full patience in dealing with me, the worst of sinners, as an example for all those who would later believe in him and receive eternal life.

I will establish my people in the land and make them prosper. I will show love to those who were called "Unloved," and to those who were called "Not-My-People" I will say, "You are my people," and they will answer, "You are our God."

Law was introduced in order to increase wrongdoing; but where sin increased, God's grace increased much more.

So then, just as sin ruled by means of death, so also God's grace rules by means of righteousness, leading us to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

As for you Gentiles, you disobeyed God in the past; but now you have received God's mercy because the Jews were disobedient.

In the same way, because of the mercy that you have received, the Jews now disobey God, in order that they also may now receive God's mercy.

Let us have confidence, then, and approach God's throne, where there is grace. There we will receive mercy and find grace to help us just when we need it.

At one time you were not God's people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.

But any who sin deliberately, whether they are natives or foreigners, are guilty of treating the LORD with contempt, and they shall be put to death,

"The servant who knows what his master wants him to do, but does not get himself ready and do it, will be punished with a heavy whipping.

Jesus said, "Forgive them, Father! They don't know what they are doing." They divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice.

Jesus said, "I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind."

Jesus answered, "If you were blind, then you would not be guilty; but since you claim that you can see, this means that you are still guilty."

"And now, my friends, I know that what you and your leaders did to Jesus was due to your ignorance.

"I myself thought that I should do everything I could against the cause of Jesus of Nazareth.

For how can those who abandon their faith be brought back to repent again? They were once in God's light; they tasted heaven's gift and received their share of the Holy Spirit;

And then they abandoned their faith! It is impossible to bring them back to repent again, because they are again crucifying the Son of God and exposing him to public shame.

But if it grows thorns and weeds, it is worth nothing; it is in danger of being cursed by God and will be destroyed by fire.

For there is no longer any sacrifice that will take away sins if we purposely go on sinning after the truth has been made known to us.

Anyone who disobeys the Law of Moses is put to death without any mercy when judged guilty from the evidence of two or more witnesses.

It would have been much better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than to know it and then turn away from the sacred command that was given them.

What happened to them shows that the proverbs are true: "A dog goes back to what it has vomited" and "A pig that has been washed goes back to roll in the mud."