A Vital Church Grows

⁴⁰ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this ^[a]perverse generation.”

¹⁵ that you may become blameless and ^[a]harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as ^(A)lights in the world,

¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, “O ^[a]faithless and ^(A)perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.”

¹² Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; ¹³ but ^[a]exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

^8 (A)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. ^(B)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and ^(C)purify your hearts, you double-minded. ^9 (D)Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ^10 (E)Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

The New Man

¹⁷ This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should ^(A)no longer walk as ^[a]the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,

²⁰ Now then, we are ^(A)ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Farewell and Peace

¹² By ^(A)Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying ^(B)that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.