¹¹ Do not lag in zeal; be ardent in spirit; serve the Lord.

²⁵ He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord, and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.^(A)

¹⁰ For God is not unjust; he will not overlook your work and the^[a] love that you showed for his sake^[b] in serving the saints, as you still do.^{(A) 11} And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end,^(B)

¹⁵ “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

⁸ Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.^(A)

²⁸ Those who steal must give up stealing; rather, let them labor, doing good work with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.

²² Now that you have purified your souls^[a] by your obedience to the truth^[b] so that you have genuine mutual affection, love one another deeply from the heart.^[c](A)

²⁸ Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe,

Warning against Idleness

⁶ Now we command you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother or sister living irresponsibly and not according to the tradition that they^[a] received from us.^{(A) 7} For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not irresponsible when we were with you,^{(B) 8} and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day so that we might not burden any of you.^{(C) 9} This was not because we do not have that right but in order to give you an example to imitate.^{(D) 10} For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: anyone unwilling to work should not eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some of you are living irresponsibly, mere busybodies, not doing any work.^{(E) 12} Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.^(F)