Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

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.

2 So stop all the wrong things you do. Stop all the ways you cheat people. Stop fooling people. Stop being jealous. Stop saying wrong things about people.