Book of Common Prayer

He exhorts them to love. He warns them to beware of uncleanness, covetousness, foolish talking, and false counsel; to be circumspect, to avoid drunkenness, to rejoice and to be thankful to God, and to submit themselves one to another. He teaches how women should obey their husbands, and how lovingly men ought to treat their wives.

5 Be followers of God as dear children, ² and walk in love, even as Christ loved us and gave himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice of a sweet savour to God.

³ As for fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let them not be once named among you, as it becomes saints. ⁴ Nor should there be coarseness, or foolish talking, or jestings which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. ⁵ For this you know, that no whoremonger or unclean person, or covetous person (who is an idolater), has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.

⁶ Let no person deceive you with vain words. For through such things comes the wrath of God upon the children of unbelief. ⁷ Therefore do not be companions with them. ⁸ You were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. ⁹ For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth.  ¹⁰ Accept that which is pleasing to the Lord, ¹¹ and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather rebuke them. ¹² For it is shameful even to name those things that are done by them in secret. ¹³ But all things, when they are rebuked by the light, are manifest. For whatsoever is manifest, that same is light. ¹⁴ Therefore he says, Awake, you who sleep, and stand up from death, and Christ will give you light.

¹⁵ Take heed therefore that you walk circumspectly – not as fools, but as wise, ¹⁶ redeeming the time. For the days are evil. ¹⁷ Therefore be not unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. ¹⁸ And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be fulfilled with the Spirit, ¹⁹ speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, ²⁰ giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

⁹ And as Jesus passed onwards from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at receipt of custom, and said to him, Follow me. And he arose and followed him.

¹⁰ And it came to pass, as he sat at food in Matthew’s house, that many publicans and sinners came and sat down also with Jesus and his disciples. ¹¹ When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, Why does your teacher eat with publicans and sinners?

¹² When Jesus heard this, he said to them, The whole do not need the physician, but they that are sick. ¹³ Go and learn what this means: I have pleasure in mercy, and not in offering. For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.

¹⁴ Then John’s disciples came to him, asking, Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast? ¹⁵ And Jesus said to them, Can the wedding children mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then they will fast. ¹⁶ No one patches an old garment with a piece of new cloth. For then the new piece pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made greater. ¹⁷ Neither do men put new wine into old wineskins, for then the skins burst, the wine runs out, and the vessels are destroyed. But they pour new wine into new wineskins, and so both are preserved together.