Conduct of Christian slaves

6 Those who are under the bondage of slavery should consider their own masters as worthy of full respect so that God’s name and our teaching won’t get a bad reputation. ² And those who have masters who are believers shouldn’t look down on them because they are brothers. Instead, they should serve them more faithfully, because the people who benefit from your good service are believers who are loved. Teach and encourage these things.

Warning about false teachers

³ If anyone teaches anything different and doesn’t agree with sound teaching about our Lord Jesus Christ and teaching that is consistent with godliness, ⁴ that person is conceited. They don’t understand anything but have a sick obsession with debates and arguments. This creates jealousy, conflict, verbal abuse, and evil suspicions. ⁵ There is constant bickering between people whose minds are ruined and who have been robbed of the truth. They think that godliness is a way to make money! ⁶ Actually, godliness is a great source of profit when it is combined with being happy with what you already have. ⁷ We didn’t bring anything into the world and so we can’t take anything out of it: ⁸ we’ll be happy with food and clothing. ⁹ But people who are trying to get rich fall into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful passions that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal.

¹¹ But as for you, man of God, run away from all these things. Instead, pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. ¹² Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life—you were called to it, and you made a good confession of it in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I command you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and Christ Jesus, who made the good confession when testifying before Pontius Pilate. ¹⁴ Obey this order without fault or failure until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵ The timing of this appearance is revealed by God alone, who is the blessed and only master, the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¹⁶ He alone has immortality and lives in light that no one can come near. No human being has ever seen or is able to see him. Honor and eternal power belong to him. Amen.

Psalm 100

A psalm of thanks.

Parable of the soils

⁴ When a great crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from one city after another, he spoke to them in a parable: ⁵ “A farmer went out to scatter his seed. As he was scattering it, some fell on the path where it was crushed, and the birds in the sky came and ate it. ⁶ Other seed fell on rock. As it grew, it dried up because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorns grew with the plants and choked them. ⁸ Still other seed landed on good soil. When it grew, it produced one hundred times more grain than was scattered.” As he said this, he called out, “Everyone who has ears should pay attention.”

⁹ His disciples asked him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ He said, “You have been given the mysteries of God’s kingdom, but these mysteries come to everyone else in parables so that when they see, they can’t see, and when they hear, they can’t understand.^[a]

¹¹ “The parable means this: The seed is God’s word. ¹² The seed on the path are those who hear, but then the devil comes and steals the word from their hearts so that they won’t believe and be saved. ¹³ The seed on the rock are those who receive the word joyfully when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while but fall away when they are tempted. ¹⁴ As for the seed that fell among thorny plants, these are the ones who, as they go about their lives, are choked by the concerns, riches, and pleasures of life, and their fruit never matures. ¹⁵ The seed that fell on good soil are those who hear the word and commit themselves to it with a good and upright heart. Through their resolve, they bear fruit.