John the Baptist Prepares the Way^(A)

3 In those days ^(B)John the Baptist came preaching ^(C)in the wilderness of Judea, ² and saying, “Repent, for ^(D)the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ³ For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying:

⁴ Now ^(G)John himself was clothed in camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was ^(H)locusts and ^(I)wild honey. ^5 (J)Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him ^6 (K)and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, ^(L)“Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from ^(M)the wrath to come? ⁸ Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, ⁹ and do not think to say to yourselves, ^(N)‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰ And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. ^(O)Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ^11 (P)I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. ^(Q)He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit ^[a]and fire. ^12 (R)His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will ^(S)burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

John Baptizes Jesus^(T)

^13 (U)Then Jesus came ^(V)from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. ¹⁴ And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”

¹⁵ But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.

^16 (W)When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and ^[b]He saw ^(X)the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. ^17 (Y)And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, ^(Z)“This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

The Lord Considers the Heart

Immorality Defiles the Church

5 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even ^[a]named among the Gentiles—that a man has his father’s ^(A)wife! ^2 (B)And you are ^[b]puffed up, and have not rather ^(C)mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you. ^3 (D)For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed. ⁴ In the ^(E)name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, ^(F)with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, ^5 (G)deliver such a one to ^(H)Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord ^[c]Jesus.

^6 (I)Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that ^(J)a little leaven leavens the whole lump? ⁷ Therefore ^[d]purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed ^(K)Christ, our ^(L)Passover, was sacrificed ^[e]for us. ⁸ Therefore ^(M)let us keep the feast, ^(N)not with old leaven, nor ^(O)with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Immorality Must Be Judged

⁹ I wrote to you in my epistle ^(P)not to ^[f]keep company with sexually immoral people. ¹⁰ Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go ^(Q)out of the world. ¹¹ But now I have written to you not to keep company ^(R)with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—^(S)not even to eat with such a person.

¹² For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? ¹³ But those who are outside God judges. Therefore ^(T)“put away from yourselves the evil person.”

Graces of the Heirs of Grace

3 Remind them ^(A)to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, ^(B)to be ready for every good work, ² to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. ³ For ^(C)we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. ⁴ But when ^(D)the kindness and the love of ^(E)God our Savior toward man appeared, ^5 (F)not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through ^(G)the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ^6 (H)whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, ⁷ that having been justified by His grace ^(I)we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

^8 (J)This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men.

Avoid Dissension

⁹ But ^(K)avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. ^10 (L)Reject a divisive man after the first and second ^[a]admonition, ¹¹ knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.

Final Messages

¹² When I send Artemas to you, or ^(M)Tychicus, be diligent to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. ¹³ Send Zenas the lawyer and ^(N)Apollos on their journey with haste, that they may lack nothing. ¹⁴ And let our people also learn to maintain good works, to meet urgent needs, that they may not be unfruitful.

Farewell

¹⁵ All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all. Amen.