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

and to the governors, who have been appointed by him to punish the evildoers and to praise those who do good.

That is how it is with you, my friends. As far as the Law is concerned, you also have died because you are part of the body of Christ; and now you belong to him who was raised from death in order that we might be useful in the service of God.

We do not live for ourselves only, and we do not die for ourselves only.

In the Lord's name, then, I warn you: do not continue to live like the heathen, whose thoughts are worthless

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.

and you must put on the new self, which is created in God's likeness and reveals itself in the true life that is upright and holy.

So have nothing at all to do with such people.

You yourselves used to be in the darkness, but since you have become the Lord's people, you are in the light. So you must live like people who belong to the light,

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

But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips.

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, and wrong. We were slaves to passions and pleasures of all kinds. We spent our lives in malice and envy; others hated us and we hated them.

he saved us. It was not because of any good deeds that we ourselves had done, but because of his own mercy that he saved us, through the Holy Spirit, who gives us new birth and new life by washing us.

so that by his grace we might be put right with God and come into possession of the eternal life we hope for.

"But as soon as they entered the land at Adam, they broke the covenant I had made with them.

For from the inside, from your heart, come the evil ideas which lead you to do immoral things, to rob, kill,

Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger.

For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do.

You are my God; teach me to do your will. Be good to me, and guide me on a safe path.

"Not everyone who calls me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only those who do what my Father in heaven wants them to do.

Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother, my sister, and my mother."

Which one of the two did what his father wanted?" "The older one," they answered. So Jesus said to them, "I tell you: the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the Kingdom of God ahead of you.

Whoever does what God wants is my brother, my sister, my mother."

They did not become God's children by natural means, that is, by being born as the children of a human father; God himself was their Father.

Whoever is willing to do what God wants will know whether what I teach comes from God or whether I speak on my own authority.

In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.

Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God---what is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.

He died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but only for him who died and was raised to life for their sake.

So far as the Law is concerned, however, I am dead---killed by the Law itself---in order that I might live for God. I have been put to death with Christ on his cross,

so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. This life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave his life for me.

Don't be fools, then, but try to find out what the Lord wants you to do.

Do this not only when they are watching you, because you want to gain their approval; but with all your heart do what God wants, as slaves of Christ.

For this reason we have always prayed for you, ever since we heard about you. We ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will, with all the wisdom and understanding that his Spirit gives.

Greetings from Epaphras, another member of your group and a servant of Christ Jesus. He always prays fervently for you, asking God to make you stand firm, as mature and fully convinced Christians, in complete obedience to God's will.

be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus.

(SEE 13:20)

By his own will he brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all his creatures.

The world and everything in it that people desire is passing away; but those who do the will of God live forever.