Book of Common Prayer

10 My brothers, with all my heart I want the Jews to be saved. And I ask God to save them.

² I can say this about them, they want very much to obey God. But they do not know the right way.

³ They did not know the way God makes people right with him. They tried to make themselves good people. So they did not obey God's way to become right with him.

⁴ Christ has made an end to the law as a way of getting right with God. Everyone who believes in him is put right with God.

⁵ Moses wrote this: `A man who obeys the law will live by it.'

⁶ But the holy writings also speak about those who are put right by believing: `Do not say in your heart, "Who will go up into heaven?" ' (That means, `Who will go up to heaven to bring Christ down?')

⁷ `Do not say, "Who will go down into the hole that has no bottom?" ' (That means, `Who will go down to bring Christ up from the dead people?')

⁸ But what do the holy writings say? They say, `The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.' That means, the word to believe which we tell people.

⁹ If you say with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and if you believe in your heart that God has raised Christ from death, you will be saved.

¹⁰ A person believes with his heart, and he is made right with God. He speaks with his mouth and so is saved from his wrong ways.

¹¹ The holy writings say, `Anyone who believes in him will not be let down.'

¹² The Jews and other people are alike. The same Lord is Lord of all people. He richly blesses all who call out to him.

¹³ The holy writings say, `Everyone who calls out to the Lord will be saved.'

¹⁴ But how can people call someone if they have not believed in him? And how can they believe in him if they have not heard about him? And how can they hear about him if no one tells them about him?

¹⁵ And how can people tell about him if no one sends them? The holy writings say, `How good are the feet of those who bring the good news of peace and happiness.'

⁴⁴ `The kingdom of heaven is like this. Something worth a lot of money is buried in a field. A man found it and covered it again. He was so glad that he went and sold everything he had. Then he bought that field.'

⁴⁵ `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A trader was looking for fine stones called pearls.

⁴⁶ He found a pearl that was worth a lot of money. Then he went and sold everything he had and bought it.'

⁴⁷ `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A fish net was thrown into the sea. It caught all kinds of fish.

⁴⁸ When it was full, the men pulled it to the land. They sat down and picked out the good fish into baskets. But they threw the bad fish away.

⁴⁹ That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and take the bad people away from the good people.

⁵⁰ They will put the bad people into the never-ending hell fire. There they will cry and make a noise with their teeth.'

⁵¹ Jesus asked, `Have you understood all these stories?' The disciples said, `Yes.'

⁵² Then Jesus said to them, `So anyone who knows the law and has learned about the kingdom of heaven, is like the headman of a house. He can bring both new things and old things out of what he has stored up.'