Moral Rules 1 part 5/7

And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith? ACTS

Then the high priest rose up, and all who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees), and they were filled with jealousy;

and they laid hands on the apostles and put them in the public prison.

But an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the prison during the night, and leading them out, said,

Go, and standing in the temple, speak to the people all the words of this life.

And when they heard this, they entered the temple at daybreak and began to teach.

For we do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning our affliction that came upon us in Asia,

who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us;

in whom we have hoped that he will yet deliver us.

That one must rejoice in suffering anything whatsoever, even unto death, for the sake of the name of the Lord and of his commandments.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they revile you, and persecute you, and say every evil word against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in the heavens.

Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man.

Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy;

for behold, your reward is great in heaven.

And having called the apostles to them, they beat them and commanded them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

So they went away rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they had been counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of the Lord.

and they did not cease teaching and proclaiming the good news of Christ Jesus.

of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking of the afflictions of Christ, on behalf of his body, which is the church.

That one must pray what is fitting even at the very departure from life.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying:

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is,

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? And Jesus, crying out again with a loud voice, said:

Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.

And having said this, he breathed his last.

And they were stoning Stephen, as he called out and said:

Lord, do not hold this sin against them.

And having said this, he fell asleep.

That one must not abandon those who contend for piety.

Jesus answered them:

Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, and now has come, that you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone.

You know this, that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.

because he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chains;

but when he was in Rome, he sought me out diligently, and found me.

And how many services he rendered at Ephesus, you know very well.

At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me;

That one must pray for those who are being tried in temptations.

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you like wheat;

but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.

So Peter was kept in prison;

but earnest prayer was made to God for him by the church.

That for those who have full assurance of the resurrection from the dead, it is foreign to their character to grieve over those who have fallen asleep.

And a great multitude of the people followed him, and of women who were beating their breasts and lamenting for him.

But turning to them, he said:

Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me.

But concerning those who are asleep, we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, so that you may not grieve as do the rest, who have no hope.

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,

even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

That one must not expect the properties of this age even after the resurrection, but must know that there will be an angelic and needless life in the age to come.

And Jesus answered and said to them:

The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage;

but those who are counted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage;

for neither can they die anymore;

for they are equal to angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

...do they come? Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it first dies.

And what you sow, you do not sow the body that shall be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat, or of some of the rest.

But God gives it a body as he has willed,

So also is the resurrection of the dead.

It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption;

it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory;

it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;

it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

That one must not expect the coming of the Lord to be local or fleshly, but must expect it suddenly, in the glory of the Father, throughout the whole world.

Behold, here is the Christ, or there — do not believe it.

For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Behold, I have told you all things beforehand.

But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars of heaven will be falling, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.

And then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.

For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep;

because the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

That whatever things are forbidden by implication also incur a sentence of threatened judgment.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

These are the things that defile a man.

Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

For I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat;

I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink;

I was a stranger, and you did not take me in;

naked, and you did not clothe me;

sick and in prison, and you did not visit me.

But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.

Woe to you who are full, for you shall hunger.

Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep.

Woe to you, when all men speak well of you.

But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly.

And even as they did not see fit to have God in full knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things that are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, covetousness, malice, and so forth.

For this, 'You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, and so forth.

neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor those who lie with men, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, not revilers, not extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Lest there be strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, backbitings, whisperings, arrogances, disorders.

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, as I have also forewarned you, that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another, envying one another.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and blasphemy be put away from you, together with all malice.

But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints.

nor filthiness, nor foolish talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting.

Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth:

passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

for which things' sake the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

But now you also must put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.

but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike father or mother, for murderers, for fornicators, for those who lie with men, for enslavers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is anything else contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was entrusted to me.

In later times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of liars, whose own conscience has been seared, forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.

If anyone teaches otherwise, and does not consent to the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the teaching that is according to godliness, he is puffed up, knowing nothing, but is sick with disputes and controversies of words, from which come envy, strife, blasphemies, evil suspicions, constant frictions among men corrupted in mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain.

Withdraw from such men.

In the last days perilous times will come.

For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, without natural affection, implacable, slanderers, without self-control, savage, haters of good, traitors, headstrong, puffed up, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but having denied its power.

For we ourselves also were once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

As many things as are commended by their connection with one another, or also carry with them a promise of blessing:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when men reproach you, and persecute you, and say every kind of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.

For I was hungry, and you gave me food;

I was thirsty, and you gave me drink;

I was a stranger, and you took me in;

naked, and you clothed me;

I was sick, and you visited me;

I was in prison, and you came to me.

Whether it is he who serves, let him serve; or he who teaches, let him teach; he who exhorts, let him exhort; he who gives, let him give with simplicity;

he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy;

abhorring what is evil, clinging to what is good;

be affectionate to one another with brotherly love;

in honor giving preference to one another;

continuing steadfastly in prayer;

sharing in the needs of the saints;

Bless those who persecute you;

bless, and do not curse.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

Being of the same mind toward one another;

not minding high things, but associating with the lowly.

Repaying no one evil for evil;

taking thought for what is honorable in the sight of all men.

If it is possible, as much as depends on you, being at peace with all men;

not avenging yourselves, beloved, but give place to wrath; for it is written:

Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.

But if your enemy is hungry, feed him;

if he is thirsty, give him drink.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry may not be blamed;

but in everything commending ourselves as ministers of God: in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God, by the weapons of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, through glory and dishonor, through evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;

as unknown, and yet well known;

as dying, and behold we live;

as being chastened, and not put to death;

as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing;

as poor, yet making many rich;

as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

Finally, brethren, rejoice, be perfected, be comforted, be of the same mind, live in peace;

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control, purity.

I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, entreat you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, being eager to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

One body and one Spirit, even as also you were called in one hope of your calling;

Be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God also in Christ forgave you.

Be therefore imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, even as Christ also loved us and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor.

If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any tender affections and compassions, fulfill my joy, that you be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through faction or vainglory.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think on these things.

The things which you both learned and received and heard

and saw in me, these things do.

If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God;

set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.

For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Put on therefore, as God's elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, gentleness, patience;

Admonish the disorderly, comfort the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all.

See that no one renders to any one evil for evil, but always pursue that which is good, both toward one another and toward all.

Rejoice always; pray without ceasing;

for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus toward you.

Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophecies;

but test all things; hold fast that which is good;

abstain from every form of evil.

That aged men be sober, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, in patience.

...the word of God be blasphemed.

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all meekness toward all men.

Let brotherly love continue; do not forget to show hospitality to strangers;

for by this some have unwittingly entertained angels.

Remember those who are in bonds, as bound with them; those who are ill-treated, as being yourselves also in the body.

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled;

but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.

That those entrusted with the preaching of the Gospel must be appointed with supplication and prayer, whether deacons or presbyters, blameless and proven as to their former life.

Then he says to his disciples,

The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

And when it was day, he called his disciples, and from them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he also named Peter, and Andrew his brother, and James, and John, Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot, and Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also became a traitor.

After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before his face into every city and place where he himself was about to come.

The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.

The first account I made, O Theophilus, concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day on which, having given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen, he was taken up.

And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen, to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas fell away, to go to his own place.

And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

If anyone aspires to the office of bishop, he desires a good work.

but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, one who manages his own household well, having his children in submission with all dignity;

(but if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how shall he take care of the church of God?) not a novice, lest being puffed up he fall into condemnation and the snare of the devil.

And let these also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons, if they are found blameless.

For this cause I left you in Crete, that you should set in order the things that were lacking, and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you,

if anyone is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of dissipation or unruliness.

hospitable, a lover of good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word which is according to the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict.

That one must not be lightly disposed toward ordinations, nor come to them without due consideration;

for that which is untested is not without danger;

but the one who is caught in some fault must be made known, that neither he himself may share in the sin, nor the rest stumble, but rather learn to fear.

Lay hands hastily on no one, neither be a partaker in the sins of others.

Do not receive an accusation against an elder, except at the testimony of two or three witnesses.

But those who sin, rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may have fear.

That the one who is chosen must not present himself of his own accord to the preaching, but must await the time of God's good pleasure, and begin the preaching when he is permitted, and preach to those to whom he is sent.

These twelve Jesus sent forth, charging them, saying,

Do not go into the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter into any city of the Samaritans;

but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

And behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried out, saying to him,

My daughter is grievously possessed by a demon.

But he did not answer her a word.

And his disciples came and asked him, saying,

Send her away, for she cries out after us.

I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

For I came forth from God and have come;

for I have not come of myself, but he sent me.

Now those who were scattered abroad by the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews only.

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,

And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, unless they are sent? (To Timothy)

Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior, and of Christ Jesus our hope,

That the one called to the preaching of the Gospel must obey at once, and not delay.

Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.

Leave the dead to bury their own dead;

but you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.

But when it pleased God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles—

immediately I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me;

That one must not teach a different doctrine

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, that one is a thief and a robber

But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep

I am the door of the sheep

All who came are thieves and robbers;

but the sheep did not listen to them

But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we preached to you, let him be accursed

As we have said before, so now I say again:

If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be accursed

If anyone teaches a different doctrine, and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up, knowing nothing, and so forth

That one must teach those who have been entrusted with the faith all the things commanded by the Lord in the Gospel and through the apostles, and whatever follows from these

baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you

And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them for their keeping the decrees that had been determined by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem

These things teach and exhort

But as for you, speak the things that befit sound teaching

That he who has been entrusted with the word of the Lord's teaching, if he keeps silent concerning anything necessary for well-pleasing God, is guilty of the blood of those who are endangered, whether through the doing of forbidden things, or through the omission of things that ought to have been rightly accomplished

Woe to you, lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge;

you yourselves did not enter, and those who were entering you hindered

Now when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the word, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ

And when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garment and said to them:

Your blood be upon your own heads;

from now on I will go to the Gentiles

For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God

That one must, even in matters not fixed by explicit command of Scripture, exhort each person toward what is better

There are eunuchs who were born thus from their mother's womb;

and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men;

and there are eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven

He who is able to receive this, let him receive it

Now concerning virgins I have no commandment from the Lord;

but I give my judgment, as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy

I think then that this is good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is

Are you loosed from a wife? Do not seek a wife. And so forth

That it is not lawful to impose upon others a necessity which one has not himself accomplished

Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers

That he who is set over the word must set himself before others as a pattern of every good thing, himself first accomplishing what he teaches

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart

So when he had washed his disciples' feet, and taken his garments, he sat down again and said to them:

For I have given you an example, that just as I have done to you, you also should do to one another

I have shown you all things, that by laboring thus you must help the weak

Be imitators of me, as I also am of Christ

Let no one despise your youth;

but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, and so forth

That he who is set over the word must not be anxious only for his own attainments, but must know that the particular and special work of the charge entrusted to him is the improvement of those who have been entrusted to him

You are the salt of the earth

But if the salt loses its savor, with what shall it be salted? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and him who comes to me I will by no means cast out

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me

that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in him may have eternal life

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you, before our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? For you are our glory and joy

That he who is set over the word must go about all the villages and cities entrusted to him

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness

And he himself went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God;

That all must be called to obedience of the Gospel, and the word must be proclaimed with all boldness, and testimony borne to the truth, even if some should hinder and persecute in whatever manner, even unto death

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the light;

and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim upon the housetops

And do not fear those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul

The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy

Go therefore to the crossroads of the highways, and as many as you find, invite to the wedding

I have spoken openly to the world;

I always taught in the synagogue and in the temple, where all the Jews come together, and I said nothing in secret

And when they had brought them, they set them before the council, and the high priest questioned them, saying:

Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? Yet behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man's blood upon us