⁶ If those who live there are peaceful, the blessing will stand; if they are not, the blessing will return to you.

Paul’s Final Greetings

¹⁶ Now may the Lord of peace himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.

¹⁵ Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. ¹⁶ To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?

¹⁸ And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.^[a]

⁶ Don’t be fooled by those who try to excuse these sins, for the anger of God will fall on all who disobey him.

² You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.^[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. ³ All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

¹⁷ You need to know this and figure out what to do, for there is going to be trouble for our master and his whole family. He’s so ill-tempered that no one can even talk to him!”

¹⁴ So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.