Book of Common Prayer

True teaching about the truth

1 Paul, an apostle of Messiah Jesus according to the command of God our savior and Messiah Jesus our hope, ² to Timothy, my true child in faith: grace, mercy and peace from God the father and Messiah Jesus our Lord.

³ This is my charge to you, just as it was when I went to Macedonia: stay in Ephesus, so that you can tell the relevant people not to teach anything different, ⁴ or to cling on to myths and endless genealogies. That sort of thing breeds disputes rather than the instruction in faith that comes from God. ⁵ The goal of such instruction is love—the love that comes from a pure heart, a good conscience and sincere faith. ⁶ Some people have wandered off from these things and turned aside to foolish talk. ⁷ They want to be teachers of the law; but they don’t understand either what they’re talking about or the things about which they pronounce so confidently.

The purpose of the law

⁸ We know, after all, that the law is good—if someone uses it lawfully! ⁹ We recognize that the law is not laid down for people who are in the right, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the godless and sinners, the unholy and worldly, for people who kill their father or mother, for murderers, ¹⁰ fornicators, practicing homosexuals, slave traders, liars, perjurers, and those who practice any other behavior contrary to healthy teaching, ¹¹ in accordance with the gospel of the glory of God the blessed one that was entrusted to me.

Paul as an example of God’s saving grace

¹² I thank Messiah Jesus our Lord, who gave me strength. He regarded me as trustworthy by appointing me to his service— ¹³ even though I used to say blasphemous things against him, and persecuted his people violently! But I received mercy, because in my unbelief I didn’t know what I was doing. ¹⁴ And the grace of our Lord was more than enough for me, with the faith and love that are in Messiah Jesus. ¹⁵ Here is a word you can trust, which deserves total approval: “Messiah Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I’m the worst of them! ¹⁶ But this was why I received mercy: so that in me, precisely as the worst, Messiah Jesus could demonstrate the full scale of his patience, and make me a pattern for those who were going to believe in him and so attain the life of the age to come. ¹⁷ To the King of the ages, the one and only God, immortal and invisible, be honor and glory to the ages of ages, Amen!

The parable of the fig tree

13 At that moment some people came up and told them the news. Some Galileans had been in the Temple, and Pilate had mixed their blood with that of the sacrifices.

² Jesus’ response was this. “Do you suppose,” he said, “that those Galileans suffered such things because they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? ³ No, let me tell you! Unless you repent, you will all be destroyed in the same way.

⁴ “And what about those eighteen who were killed when the tower in Siloam collapsed on top of them? Do you imagine they were more blameworthy than everyone else who lives in Jerusalem? ⁵ No, let me tell you! Unless you repent, you will all be destroyed in the same way.”

⁶ He told them this parable. “Once upon a time there was a man who had a fig tree in his vineyard. He came to it looking for fruit, and didn’t find any. ⁷ So he said to the gardener, ‘Look here! I’ve been coming to this fig tree for three years hoping to find some fruit, and I haven’t found any! Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

⁸ “ ‘I tell you what, Master,’ replied the gardener; ‘let it alone for just this one year more. I’ll dig all round it and put on some manure. ⁹ Then, if it fruits next year, well and good; and if not, you can cut it down.’ ”