Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹⁴ So, my dear family, as you wait for these things, be eager to be found without spot or blemish before him, in peace. ¹⁵ And when our Lord waits patiently to act, see that for what it is—salvation! Our beloved brother Paul has written to you about all this, according to the wisdom that has been given him, ¹⁶ speaking about these things as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them which are difficult to understand. Untaught and unstable people twist his words to their own destruction, as they do with the other scriptures.

¹⁷ But as for you, my dear family, be on your guard, since you have been warned in advance. That way you won’t be led astray through the error of lawless people and fall away from your own solid grounding. ¹⁸ Instead, grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and savior Jesus the Messiah. To him be glory both now and in the day when God’s new age dawns. Amen.