Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

¹¹ Now there was an old prophet living in Bethel. His sons came and told him what the man of God had done there that day. They told their father what he had said to King Jeroboam. ¹² The father asked, “Which road did he use when he left?” So his sons showed him which road the man of God from Judah had taken. ¹³ The prophet told his sons to put a saddle on his donkey. So they saddled the donkey, and he left.

¹⁴ He went after the man of God. He found the man sitting under an oak tree. The prophet asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”

The man answered, “Yes, I am.”

¹⁵ So the prophet said, “Please come home and eat with me.”

¹⁶ But the man of God answered, “I can’t go home with you. I can’t eat or drink with you in this place. ¹⁷ The Lord said to me, ‘You must not eat or drink anything there. And you must not return on the same road by which you came.’”

¹⁸ Then the old prophet said, “But I also am a prophet like you.” Then he told a lie. He said, “An angel from the Lord came to me. He told me to bring you to my home. He said you should eat and drink with me.” ¹⁹ So the man of God went to the old prophet’s house. And he ate and drank with him there.

²⁰ While they were sitting at the table, the Lord spoke his word to the old prophet. ²¹ The old prophet cried out to the man of God from Judah. He said, “The Lord said you did not obey him! He said you did not do what the Lord your God commanded you. ²² The Lord commanded you not to eat or drink anything in this place. But you came back and ate and drank. So your body will not be buried in your family grave.”

²³ The man of God finished eating. Then the prophet put a saddle on his donkey for him. And the man left. ²⁴ As he was traveling on the road home, a lion attacked and killed him. His body lay on the road. The donkey and the lion stood near it. ²⁵ Some men were traveling on that road. They saw the body and the lion standing near it. So they went to the city where the old prophet lived. And they told what they had seen.

Your New Life in Christ

3 You were raised from death with Christ. So aim at what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. ² Think only about the things in heaven, not the things on earth. ³ Your old sinful self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. ⁴ Christ is your^[a] life. When he comes again, you will share in his glory.

⁵ So put all evil things out of your life. Get rid of sexual immorality and impure acts. Don’t let your feelings get out of control. Remove from your life all evil desires. Stop always wanting more and more. This really means living to serve a false god. ⁶ These things make God angry.^{[b] 7} In your evil life in the past, you also did these things.

⁸ But now put these things out of your life: anger, bad temper, doing or saying things to hurt others, and using evil words when you talk. ⁹ Do not lie to each other. You have left your old sinful life and the things you did before. ¹⁰ You have begun to live the new life. In your new life you are being made new. You are becoming like the One who made you. This new life brings you the true knowledge of God. ¹¹ In the new life there is no difference between Greeks and Jews. There is no difference between those who are circumcised and those who are not circumcised, or people that are foreigners, or Scythians.^[c] There is no difference between slaves and free people. But Christ is in all believers. And Christ is all that is important.