Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
5 Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple. 6 The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do all this! May the Lord make your prophecy come true! May he bring back to this place from Babylon all the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple and the people who were carried into exile. 7 But listen to what I say to you and to all these people.[a] 8 From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably[b] prophesied war, disaster,[c] and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 So if a prophet prophesied[d] peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true.”
Psalm 89[a]
A well-written song[b] by Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will sing continually[c] about the Lord’s faithful deeds;
to future generations I will proclaim your faithfulness.[d]
2 For I say, “Loyal love is permanently established;[e]
in the skies you set up your faithfulness.”[f]
3 The Lord said,[g]
“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have made a promise on oath to David, my servant:
4 ‘I will give you an eternal dynasty[h]
and establish your throne throughout future generations.’”[i] (Selah)
15 How blessed are the people who worship you![a]
O Lord, they experience your favor.[b]
16 They rejoice in your name all day long,
and are vindicated[c] by your justice.
17 For you give them splendor and strength.[d]
By your favor we are victorious.[e]
18 For our shield[f] belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.[g]
12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires, 13 and do not present your members to sin as instruments[a] to be used for unrighteousness,[b] but present yourselves to God as those who are alive from the dead and your members to God as instruments[c] to be used for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no mastery over you, because you are not under law but under grace.
The Believer’s Enslavement to God’s Righteousness
15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Absolutely not! 16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves[d] as obedient slaves,[e] you are slaves of the one you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or obedience resulting in righteousness?[f] 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves to sin, you obeyed[g] from the heart that pattern[h] of teaching you were entrusted to, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became enslaved to righteousness. 19 (I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh.)[i] For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. 20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with regard to righteousness.
21 So what benefit[j] did you then reap[k] from those things that you are now ashamed of? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now, freed[l] from sin and enslaved to God, you have your benefit[m] leading to sanctification, and the end is eternal life. 23 For the payoff[n] of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rewards
40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.[a] 41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever[b] receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. 42 And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones[c] in the name of a disciple, I tell you the truth,[d] he will never lose his reward.”
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.