Book of Common Prayer

¹¹ There are signs that show a true apostle. I did all these things when I was among you. There were signs, wonderful works, and other big works which I did. You saw the power of God, even though I was being tested.

¹² In what way did you not receive as much as the other churches? Only this! I did not trouble you to pay me. Forgive me for the wrong I did you!

¹³ Now, I am ready to come to you for the third time. And I will not trouble you to pay me. I do not want what belongs to you, but I want you. The children should not save up for their parents, but the parents should do it for their children.

¹⁴ For my part, I am glad to spend what I have, and to spend myself for the sake of your souls. But it seems to me that the more I love you the less you love me!

¹⁵ All right then, I did not trouble you for any money. But some of you think that I have been mean and played a trick on you.

¹⁶ Did I send anyone to you to get something for myself? No!

¹⁷ I asked Titus to go and I sent our brother with him. Did Titus get anything for himself? No! Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not walk in the same steps?

¹⁸ Am I saying all this just to you? Are we just trying to make ourselves look right to you? No, we say this before God and in Christ. And my dear people, I have done it all to make you better Christians.

¹⁹ I want to be pleased with you when I come. But I am afraid I will not be. And I am afraid that you will not be pleased with me. I fear that I may find quarrelling, jealousy, anger, and that I will find you are enemies to each other, that you are spoiling each other's names, that you are telling stories about each other, that you are proud and do not obey rulers.

²⁰ And I am afraid that when I come my God will make me ashamed of you. I am afraid that my heart will be very sad about you. Many have been doing wrong things for a long time. Many have not turned away from their dirty ways, their wrong use of sex, and the things they should be ashamed of.

¹³ `Go in by the small gate. The gate is big and the road is wide that goes to death. Many people go that way.

¹⁴ The gate is small and the road is not wide that goes to life. Not many people find it.'

¹⁵ `Take care. There are prophets who are not true. They come to you dressed like sheep, but inside they are like wolves, bad animals that kill sheep.

¹⁶ You will know them by the things they do. People do not pick fruit like grapes from thistles. They do not pick fruit like figs from thorn trees.

¹⁷ In the same way, every good tree has good fruit. But a bad tree has bad fruit.

¹⁸ A good tree cannot have bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot have good fruit.

¹⁹ Every tree that does not have good fruit is cut down and thrown into a fire.

²⁰ So you will know them by the things they do, good or bad fruit.'

²¹ `Some people say to me, "Lord, Lord". But not all who say that will go into the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do what my Father in heaven wants, will go in.