¹⁸ For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.

²⁰ for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.

²³ God paid a high price for you, so don’t be enslaved by the world.^[a]

¹⁴ He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds.

⁴ Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.

Living as Children of Light

¹⁷ With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused.

²¹ Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

³ You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.

⁷ These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.