CONTINUE TO LOVE each other with true brotherly love. Don't forget to be kind to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Don't forget about those in jail. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, for you know what they are going through.
Honor your marriage and its vows, and be pure; for God will surely punish all those who are immoral or commit adultery.
Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
"I will never, never fail you nor forsake you."
That is why we can say without any doubt or fear, "The Lord is my Helper and I am not afraid of anything that mere man can do to me."
Remember your leaders who have taught you the Word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and try to trust the Lord as they do.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas. Your spiritual strength comes as a gift from God, not from ceremonial rules about eating certain foods - a method which, by the way, hasn't helped those who have tried it!
We have an altar - the cross where Christ was sacrificed - where those who continue to seek salvation by obeying Jewish laws can never be helped. Under the system of Jewish laws the high priest brought the blood of the slain animals into the sanctuary as a sacrifice for sin, and then the bodies of the animals were burned outside the city. That is why Jesus suffered and died outside the city, where his blood washed our sins away.
So let us go out to him beyond the city walls [that is, outside the interests of this world, being willing to be despised] to suffer with him there, bearing his shame. For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.
|
|
|
|
