Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

⁸ And now this word to all of you: You should be like one big happy family, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. ⁹ Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t snap back at those who say unkind things about you. Instead, pray for God’s help for them, for we are to be kind to others, and God will bless us for it.

¹⁰ If you want a happy, good life, keep control of your tongue, and guard your lips from telling lies. ¹¹ Turn away from evil and do good. Try to live in peace even if you must run after it to catch and hold it! ¹² For the Lord is watching his children, listening to their prayers; but the Lord’s face is hard against those who do evil.

¹³ Usually no one will hurt you for wanting to do good. ¹⁴ But even if they should, you are to be envied, for God will reward you for it. ¹⁵ Quietly trust yourself to Christ your Lord, and if anybody asks why you believe as you do, be ready to tell him, and do it in a gentle and respectful way.

¹⁶ Do what is right; then if men speak against you, calling you evil names, they will become ashamed of themselves for falsely accusing you when you have only done what is good. ¹⁷ Remember, if God wants you to suffer, it is better to suffer for doing good than for doing wrong!

¹⁸ Christ also suffered. He died once for the sins of all us guilty sinners although he himself was innocent of any sin at any time, that he might bring us safely home to God. But though his body died, his spirit lived on, ¹⁹ and it was in the spirit that he visited the spirits in prison and preached to them— ²⁰ spirits of those who, long before in the days of Noah, had refused to listen to God, though he waited patiently for them while Noah was building the ark. Yet only eight persons were saved from drowning in that terrible flood. ²¹ (That, by the way, is what baptism pictures for us: In baptism we show that we have been saved from death and doom by the resurrection of Christ;^[a] not because our bodies are washed clean by the water but because in being baptized we are turning to God and asking him to cleanse our hearts from sin.) ²² And now Christ is in heaven, sitting in the place of honor next to God the Father, with all the angels and powers of heaven bowing before him and obeying him.

4 Since Christ suffered and underwent pain, you must have the same attitude he did; you must be ready to suffer, too. For remember, when your body suffers, sin loses its power, ² and you won’t be spending the rest of your life chasing after evil desires but will be anxious to do the will of God. ³ You have had enough in the past of the evil things the godless enjoy—sex sin, lust, getting drunk, wild parties, drinking bouts, and the worship of idols, and other terrible sins.^[b]

⁴ Of course, your former friends will be very surprised when you don’t eagerly join them anymore in the wicked things they do, and they will laugh at you in contempt and scorn. ⁵ But just remember that they must face the Judge of all, living and dead; they will be punished for the way they have lived. ⁶ That is why the Good News was preached even to those who were dead—killed by the flood^[c]—so that although their bodies were punished with death, they could still live in their spirits as God lives.

⁷ The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore be earnest, thoughtful men of prayer. ⁸ Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love makes up for many of your faults.^{[d] 9} Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay for the night.

¹⁰ God has given each of you some special abilities; be sure to use them to help each other, passing on to others God’s many kinds of blessings. ¹¹ Are you called to preach? Then preach as though God himself were speaking through you. Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies so that God will be glorified through Jesus Christ—to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

¹² Dear friends, don’t be bewildered or surprised when you go through the fiery trials ahead, for this is no strange, unusual thing that is going to happen to you. ¹³ Instead, be really glad—because these trials will make you partners with Christ in his suffering, and afterwards you will have the wonderful joy of sharing his glory in that coming day when it will be displayed.

¹⁴ Be happy if you are cursed and insulted for being a Christian, for when that happens the Spirit of God will come upon you with great glory.^{[e] 15} Don’t let me hear of your suffering for murdering or stealing or making trouble or being a busybody and prying into other people’s affairs. ¹⁶ But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being in Christ’s family and being called by his wonderful name! ¹⁷ For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin first among God’s own children. And if even we who are Christians must be judged, what terrible fate awaits those who have never believed in the Lord? ¹⁸ If the righteous are barely saved, what chance will the godless have?

¹⁹ So if you are suffering according to God’s will, keep on doing what is right and trust yourself to the God who made you, for he will never fail you.

5 And now, a word to you elders of the church. I, too, am an elder; with my own eyes I saw Christ dying on the cross; and I, too, will share his glory and his honor when he returns. Fellow elders, this is my plea to you: ² Feed the flock of God; care for it willingly, not grudgingly; not for what you will get out of it but because you are eager to serve the Lord. ³ Don’t be tyrants, but lead them by your good example, ⁴ and when the Head Shepherd comes, your reward will be a never-ending share in his glory and honor.

⁵ You younger men, follow the leadership of those who are older. And all of you serve each other with humble spirits, for God gives special blessings to those who are humble, but sets himself against those who are proud. ⁶ If you will humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, in his good time he will lift you up.

⁷ Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.

⁸ Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart. ⁹ Stand firm when he attacks. Trust the Lord; and remember that other Christians all around the world are going through these sufferings too.

¹⁰ After you have suffered a little while, our God, who is full of kindness through Christ, will give you his eternal glory. He personally will come and pick you up, and set you firmly in place, and make you stronger than ever. ¹¹ To him be all power over all things, forever and ever. Amen.

¹² I am sending this note to you through the courtesy of Silvanus who is, in my opinion, a very faithful brother. I hope I have encouraged you by this letter, for I have given you a true statement of the way God blesses. What I have told you here should help you to stand firmly in his love.

¹³ The church here in Rome^[f]—she is your sister in the Lord—sends you her greetings; so does my son Mark. ¹⁴ Give each other the handshake of Christian love. Peace be to all of you who are in Christ.

Peter