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16 “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.

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Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.

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15 so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people.

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20 Dear brothers and sisters, don’t be childish in your understanding of these things. Be innocent as babies when it comes to evil, but be mature in understanding matters of this kind.

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Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity.

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Living by the Spirit’s Power

15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

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18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people. 19 But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be wise in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong.

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29 I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock.

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15 for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!

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But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.

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14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

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The Man and Woman Sin

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

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10 You yourselves are our witnesses—and so is God—that we were devout and honest and faultless toward all of you believers.

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So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.

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Paul’s Change of Plans

12 We can say with confidence and a clear conscience that we have lived with a God-given holiness[a] and sincerity in all our dealings. We have depended on God’s grace, not on our own human wisdom. That is how we have conducted ourselves before the world, and especially toward you.

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Footnotes

  1. 1:12 Some manuscripts read honesty.

13 Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

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20 We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift.

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