Book of Common Prayer

¹³ So think clearly. Keep awake. When Jesus Christ comes, he will bring you blessing. Set all your hope on that.

¹⁴ Be children who obey. Do not be like what you were before you knew Christ. Then you did anything you wanted to do.

¹⁵ But be holy in all the things you do. Be holy because the one who has called you is holy.

¹⁶ God says in the holy writings, `You must be holy, because I am holy.'

¹⁷ You call God your Father. He does not think one man is better than another. He judges everyone by what he has done. So then you must fear him as you live your life here on earth.

¹⁸ You know this. You lived the way your fathers taught you to live, and it was not a good way to live. You were bought and set free from that way of life. But you were not bought with silver or gold money, which can spoil.

¹⁹ You were bought with blood that is worth much. It is like the blood of a sheep that is perfect with nothing wrong in its body. You were bought with the blood of Christ.

²⁰ Before the world was made God chose Christ to do it, and Christ came at the end of time for your sake.

²¹ It is through Christ that you believe in God. God raised Christ from death and made him great. And that is why you are able to believe and hope in God.

²² You have obeyed what is true and that has made your hearts clean. And now you really love your Christian brothers. So with your clean hearts, love each other very much.

²³ You have been made God's children. He did not make you his children by something that dies, but by something that cannot die. That is the word of God.

²⁴ The holy writings say, `People may be great. But they are like a flower on the grass. The grass dies and the flower falls off.

²⁵ But the word of the Lord cannot die!' And this word is the good news which has been told to you.

¹³ Then people brought children to Jesus. They wanted him to put his hands on them and ask God to bless them. The disciples tried to stop the people.

¹⁴ But Jesus said, `Let the children come to me. Do not try to stop them. The kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them.'

¹⁵ So he put his hands on the children. Then he went away.

¹⁶ A man came to Jesus and said, `Teacher, what good thing must I do so that I will live for ever?'

¹⁷ Jesus said, `Why do you ask me about what is good? Only God is good. If you want to live for ever, you must keep God's laws.'

¹⁸ The man said, `Which laws?' Jesus said, `Do not kill. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not tell lies.

¹⁹ Respect your father and your mother. Love your neighbour as you love yourself.'

²⁰ The young man said, `I have kept all those laws. What more must I do?'

²¹ Jesus said, `If you want to be all right, go and sell everything you have. Give the money to poor people. For this you will be rich in heaven. Then come and go with me.'

²² When the young man heard that, he was sad, because he was very rich. So he went away.