A Living Sacrifice

12 Therefore, I urge you,^(A) brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,^(B) holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform^(C) to the pattern of this world,^(D) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.^(E) Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is^(F)—his good, pleasing^(G) and perfect will.

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love^(A) may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,^{(B) 10} so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,^{(C) 11} filled with the fruit of righteousness^(D) that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

²² reject every kind of evil.

Final Charge to Timothy

¹¹ But you, man of God,^(A) flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness,^(B) faith, love,^(C) endurance and gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight^(D) of the faith. Take hold of^(E) the eternal life^(F) to which you were called when you made your good confession^(G) in the presence of many witnesses.

¹⁵ To the pure, all things are pure,^(A) but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.^(B) In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupted.^(C)

¹⁴ As obedient^(A) children, do not conform^(B) to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.^{(C) 15} But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;^{(D) 16} for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”^[a](E)

⁴ Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises,^(A) so that through them you may participate in the divine nature,^(B) having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.^(C)

⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;^{(D) 6} and to knowledge, self-control;^(E) and to self-control, perseverance;^(F) and to perseverance, godliness;^{(G) 7} and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.^{(H) 8} For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive^(I) in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.^(J)

⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness,^(A) we lie and do not live out the truth.^{(B) 7} But if we walk in the light,^(C) as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^[a] sin.^(D)

² Dear friends,^(A) now we are children of God,^(B) and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears,^[a](C) we shall be like him,^(D) for we shall see him as he is.^{(E) 3} All who have this hope in him purify themselves,^(F) just as he is pure.^(G)