When that day comes, they will throw away the gold and silver idols they have made, and abandon them to the moles and the bats.

You will take your idols plated with silver and your idols covered with gold, and will throw them away like filth, shouting, "Out of my sight!"

Give up all the evil you have been doing, and get yourselves new minds and hearts. Why do you Israelites want to die?

The night is nearly over, day is almost here. Let us stop doing the things that belong to the dark, and let us take up weapons for fighting in the light.

Let us conduct ourselves properly, as people who live in the light of day---no orgies or drunkenness, no immorality or indecency, no fighting or jealousy.

So get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to---the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires.

You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry).

At one time you yourselves used to live according to such desires, when your life was dominated by them.

As for us, we have this large crowd of witnesses around us. So then, let us rid ourselves of everything that gets in the way, and of the sin which holds on to us so tightly, and let us run with determination the race that lies before us.

Rid yourselves, then, of all evil; no more lying or hypocrisy or jealousy or insulting language.

I appeal to you, my friends, as strangers and refugees in this world! Do not give in to bodily passions, which are always at war against the soul.

Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites!

I will sprinkle clean water on you and make you clean from all your idols and everything else that has defiled you.

All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy by living in awe of God.

Nor is it fitting for you to use language which is obscene, profane, or vulgar. Rather you should give thanks to God.

He leads the humble in the right way and teaches them his will.

Poor and humble people will once again find the happiness which the LORD, the holy God of Israel, gives.

The Sovereign LORD has filled me with his Spirit. He has chosen me and sent me To bring good news to the poor, To heal the broken-hearted, To announce release to captives And freedom to those in prison.

Turn to the LORD, all you humble people of the land, who obey his commands. Do what is right, and humble yourselves before the LORD. Perhaps you will escape punishment on the day when the LORD shows his anger.

"Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised!

And so I sent for you at once, and you have been good enough to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God, waiting to hear anything that the Lord has instructed you to say."

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.

What gives life is God's Spirit; human power is of no use at all. The words I have spoken to you bring God's life-giving Spirit.

Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.

But thanks be to God! For though at one time you were slaves to sin, you have obeyed with all your heart the truths found in the teaching you received.

Some of the branches of the cultivated olive tree have been broken off, and a branch of a wild olive tree has been joined to it. You Gentiles are like that wild olive tree, and now you share the strong spiritual life of the Jews.

For we have heard the Good News, just as they did. They heard the message, but it did them no good, because when they heard it, they did not accept it with faith.

"My fellow Israelites, descendants of Abraham, and all Gentiles here who worship God: it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent!

I have complete confidence in the gospel; it is God's power to save all who believe, first the Jews and also the Gentiles.

That is the gospel, the message that I preached to you. You are saved by the gospel if you hold firmly to it---unless it was for nothing that you believed.

And you also became God's people when you heard the true message, the Good News that brought you salvation. You believed in Christ, and God put his stamp of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit he had promised.

and you remember that ever since you were a child, you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed.

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

How, then, shall we escape if we pay no attention to such a great salvation? The Lord himself first announced this salvation, and those who heard him proved to us that it is true.

because you are receiving the salvation of your souls, which is the purpose of your faith in him.