Salvation Is for Everyone (Romans 10:1-13) NT

1    My friends, how I wish with all my heart that my own people might be saved! How I pray to God for them!
2    I can assure you that they are deeply devoted to God; but their devotion is not based on true knowledge.
3    They have not known the way in which God puts people right with himself, and instead, they have tried to set up their own way; and so they did not submit themselves to God's way of putting people right. 
4    For Christ has brought the Law to an end, so that everyone who believes is put right with God.
5    Moses wrote this about being put right with God by obeying the Law: “Whoever obeys the commands of the Law will live.” 
6    But what the scripture says about being put right with God through faith is this: “You are not to ask yourself, Who will go up into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down). 
7    “Nor are you to ask, Who will go down into the world below?” (that is, to bring Christ up from death). 
8    What it says is this: “God's message is near you, on your lips and in your heart”—that is, the message of faith that we preach. 
9    If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. 
10  For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved. 
11  The scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.” 
12  This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him. 
13  As the scripture says, “Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.”

The World Hated Jesus First (John 15:18-27)NLT

18  “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. 

19  The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. 

20  Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you. 

21  They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me. 

22  They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin. 

23  Anyone who hates me also hates my Father. 

24  If I hadn’t done such miraculous signs among them that no one else could do, they would not be guilty. But as it is, they have seen everything I did, yet they still hate me and my Father. 

25  This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.’

26  “But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. 

27  And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

The Day When the Son of Man is Revealed (John 17:22-36) NLT

22  Then he said to his disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see the day when the Son of Man returns, but you won’t see it. 
23  People will tell you, ‘Look, there is the Son of Man,’ or ‘Here he is,’ but don’t go out and follow them. 
24  For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so it will be on the day when the Son of Man comes. 
25  But first the Son of Man must suffer terribly and be rejected by this generation.
26  “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day. 
27  In those days, the people enjoyed banquets and parties and weddings right up to the time Noah entered his boat and the flood came and destroyed them all.
28  “And the world will be as it was in the days of Lot. People went about their daily business—eating and drinking, buying and selling, farming and building— 
29  until the morning Lot left Sodom. Then fire and burning sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. 
30  Yes, it will be ‘business as usual’ right up to the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 
31  On that day a person out on the deck of a roof must not go down into the house to pack. A person out in the field must not return home. 
32  Remember what happened to Lot’s wife! 
33  If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it. 
34  That night two people will be asleep in one bed; one will be taken, the other left. 
35  Two women will be grinding flour together at the mill; one will be taken, the other left.”

I am the Bread of Life (John 6:35-40) NLT

35  Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 
36  But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. 
37  However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. 
38  For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. 
39  And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. 
40  For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”

The Lord Said to Job (Job 40) NLT

1    Then the Lord said to Job,

2    “Do you still want to argue with the Almighty?  You are God’s critic, but do you have the answers?”

Job Responds to the Lord

3    Then Job replied to the Lord,

4    “I am nothing—how could I ever find the answers?  I will cover my mouth with my hand.
5    I have said too much already.  I have nothing more to say.”

The Lord Challenges Job Again

6    Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

7    “Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

8    “Will you discredit my justice and condemn me just to prove you are right?
9    Are you as strong as God?  Can you thunder with a voice like his?
10  All right, put on your glory and splendor, your honor and majesty.
11  Give vent to your anger.  Let it overflow against the proud.
12  Humiliate the proud with a glance; walk on the wicked where they stand.
13  Bury them in the dust.  Imprison them in the world of the dead.
14  Then even I would praise you, for your own strength would save you.

15  “Take a look at Behemoth, which I made, just as I made you.  It eats grass like an ox.
16  See its powerful loins and the muscles of its belly.
17  Its tail is as strong as a cedar.  The sinews of its thighs are knit tightly together.
18  Its bones are tubes of bronze.  Its limbs are bars of iron.
19  It is a prime example of God’s handiwork, and only its Creator can threaten it.
20  The mountains offer it their best food, where all the wild animals play.
21  It lies under the lotus plants, hidden by the reeds in the marsh.
22  The lotus plants give it shade among the willows beside the stream.
23  It is not disturbed by the raging river, not concerned when the swelling Jordan rushes around it.
24  No one can catch it off guard or put a ring in its nose and lead it away.

The Lord’s Challenge Job Continues (Job 39)

1    “Do you know when the wild goats give birth?  Have you watched as deer are born in the wild?
2    Do you know how many months they carry their young?  Are you aware of the time of their delivery?
3    They crouch down to give birth to their young and deliver their offspring.
4    Their young grow up in the open fields, then leave home and never return.

5    “Who gives the wild donkey its freedom?  Who untied its ropes?
6    I have placed it in the wilderness;  its home is the wasteland.
7    It hates the noise of the city and has no driver to shout at it.
8    The mountains are its pastureland, where it searches for every blade of grass.

9    “Will the wild ox consent to being tamed?  Will it spend the night in your stall?
10  Can you hitch a wild ox to a plow?  Will it plow a field for you?
11  Given its strength, can you trust it?  Can you leave and trust the ox to do your work?
12  Can you rely on it to bring home your grain and deliver it to your threshing floor?

13  “The ostrich flaps her wings grandly, but they are no match for the feathers of the stork.
14  She lays her eggs on top of the earth, letting them be warmed in the dust.
15  She doesn’t worry that a foot might crush them or a wild animal might destroy them.
16  She is harsh toward her young, as if they were not her own.  She doesn’t care if they die.
17  For God has deprived her of wisdom.  He has given her no understanding.
18  But whenever she jumps up to run, she passes the swiftest horse with its rider.

19  “Have you given the horse its strength or clothed its neck with a flowing mane?
20  Did you give it the ability to leap like a locust?  Its majestic snorting is terrifying!
21  It paws the earth and rejoices in its strength when it charges out to battle.
22  It laughs at fear and is unafraid.  It does not run from the sword.
23  The arrows rattle against it, and the spear and javelin flash.
24  It paws the ground fiercely and rushes forward into battle when the ram’s horn blows.
25  It snorts at the sound of the horn.  It senses the battle in the distance.  It quivers at the captain’s commands and the noise of battle.

26  “Is it your wisdom that makes the hawk soar and spread its wings toward the south?
27  Is it at your command that the eagle rises to the heights to make its nest?
28  It lives on the cliffs, making its home on a distant, rocky crag.
29  From there it hunts its prey, keeping watch with piercing eyes.
30  Its young gulp down blood.  Where there’s a carcass, there you’ll find it.”

The Lord Challenges Job( What Would You Do If God Challenged You?) (Job 38) NLT

1    Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind:

2    “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words?
3    Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.

4    “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?  Tell me, if you know so much.
5    Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?
6    What supports its foundations, and who laid its cornerstone
7    as the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?

8    “Who kept the sea inside its boundaries as it burst from the womb,
9    and as I clothed it with clouds and wrapped it in thick darkness?
10  For I locked it behind barred gates, limiting its shores.
11  I said, ‘This far and no farther will you come.  Here your proud waves must stop!’

12  “Have you ever commanded the morning to appear and caused the dawn to rise in the east?
13  Have you made daylight spread to the ends of the earth, to bring an end to the night’s wickedness?
14  As the light approaches, the earth takes shape like clay pressed beneath a seal;  it is robed in brilliant colors.
15  The light disturbs the wicked and stops the arm that is raised in violence.

16  “Have you explored the springs from which the seas come?  Have you explored their depths?
17  Do you know where the gates of death are located?  Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?
18  Do you realize the extent of the earth?  Tell me about it if you know!

19  "Where does light come from, and where does darkness go?

20  Can you take each to its home?  Do you know how to get there?
21  But of course you know all this!  For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!

22  “Have you visited the storehouses of the snow or seen the storehouses of hail?
23  (I have reserved them as weapons for the time of trouble, for the day of battle and war.)
24  Where is the path to the source of light?  Where is the home of the east wind?

25  “Who created a channel for the torrents of rain?  Who laid out the path for the lightning?
26  Who makes the rain fall on barren land, in a desert where no one lives?
27  Who sends rain to satisfy the parched ground and make the tender grass spring up?

28  “Does the rain have a father?  Who gives birth to the dew?
29  Who is the mother of the ice?  Who gives birth to the frost from the heavens?
30  For the water turns to ice as hard as rock, and the surface of the water freezes.

31  “Can you direct the movement of the stars—binding the cluster of the Pleiades or loosening the cords of Orion?
32  Can you direct the sequence of the seasons or guide the Bear with her cubs across the heavens?
33  Do you know the laws of the universe?  Can you use them to regulate the earth?

34  “Can you shout to the clouds and make it rain?
35  Can you make lightning appear and cause it to strike as you direct?
36  Who gives intuition to the heart and instinct to the mind?
37  Who is wise enough to count all the clouds?  Who can tilt the water jars of heaven
38  when the parched ground is dry and the soil has hardened into clods?

39  “Can you stalk prey for a lioness and satisfy the young lions’ appetites
40  as they lie in their dens or crouch in the thicket?
41  Who provides food for the ravens when their young cry out to God and wander about in hunger?

Those Who Continue to do God's Will (Hebrews 10:35-39) NLT

35  So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!
36  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised.
37  “For in just a little while, the Coming One will come and not delay.
38  And my righteous ones will live by faith.  But I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.”
39  But we are not like those who turn away from God to their own destruction. We are the faithful ones, whose souls will be saved.

Paul’s Gratitude for God’s Mercy (I Timothy 1:12-17) NLT

12  I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve him, 

13  even though I used to blaspheme the name of Christ. In my insolence, I persecuted his people. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 

14  Oh, how generous and gracious our Lord was! He filled me with the faith and love that come from Christ Jesus.

15  This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. 

16  But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.

17  All honor and glory to God forever and ever! He is the eternal King, the unseen one who never dies; he alone is God. Amen.

Fear Only God (Matthew 10:24-42) NLT

24  “Students are not greater than their teacher, and slaves are not greater than their master. 
25  Students are to be like their teacher, and slaves are to be like their master. And since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!
26  “But don’t be afraid of those who threaten you. For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all. 
27  What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear!
28  “Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 
29  What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. 
30  And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 
31  So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.
32  “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 
33  But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven.
34  “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword.
35  ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36  Your enemies will be right in your own household!’
37  "If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. 
38  If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. 
39  If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.
40  “Anyone who receives you receives me, and anyone who receives me receives the Father who sent me.
41  If you receive a prophet as one who speaks for God, you will be given the same reward as a prophet. And if you receive righteous people because of their righteousness, you will be given a reward like theirs. 
42  And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.”

A Call to Persevere (Hebrews 10:19-31) NLT

19  And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heaven’s Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. 

20  By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. 

21  And since we have a great High Priest who rules over God’s house, 

22  let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water.

23  Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. 

24  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 

25  And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

26  Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. 

27  There is only the terrible expectation of God’s judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies. 

28  For anyone who refused to obey the law of Moses was put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 

29  Just think how much worse the punishment will be for those who have trampled on the Son of God, and have treated the blood of the covenant, which made us holy, as if it were common and unholy, and have insulted and disdained the Holy Spirit who brings God’s mercy to us. 

30  For we know the one who said, “I will take revenge.  I will pay them back.”  He also said, “The Lord will judge his own people.”

31  It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

The Lord Watches over You (Psalm 121) NLT

1  I look up to the mountains—does my help come from there?
2  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

3  He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.
4  Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

5  The Lord himself watches over you!  The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6  The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

7  The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.
8  The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

False Teachers (II Peter 2:22) NLT

2    Many will follow their evil teaching and shameful immorality. And because of these teachers, the way of truth will be slandered. 

3    In their greed they will make up clever lies to get hold of your money. But God condemned them long ago, and their destruction will not be delayed.

4    For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment. 

5    And God did not spare the ancient world—except for Noah and the seven others in his family. Noah warned the world of God’s righteous judgment. So God protected Noah when he destroyed the world of ungodly people with a vast flood. 

6    Later, God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and turned them into heaps of ashes. He made them an example of what will happen to ungodly people. 

7    But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. 

8    Yes, Lot was a righteous man who was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he saw and heard day after day. 

9    So you see, the Lord knows how to rescue godly people from their trials, even while keeping the wicked under punishment until the day of final judgment.

10  He is especially hard on those who follow their own twisted sexual desire, and who despise authority.

These people are proud and arrogant, daring even to scoff at supernatural beings without so much as trembling.
11  But the angels, who are far greater in power and strength, do not dare to bring from the Lord a charge of blasphemy against those supernatural beings.
12  These false teachers are like unthinking animals, creatures of instinct, born to be caught and destroyed. They scoff at things they do not understand, and like animals, they will be destroyed.
13  Their destruction is their reward for the harm they have done. They love to indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight. They are a disgrace and a stain among you. They delight in deception even as they eat with you in your fellowship meals.
14  They commit adultery with their eyes, and their desire for sin is never satisfied. They lure unstable people into sin, and they are well trained in greed. They live under God’s curse.
15  They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong.
16  But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.
17  These people are as useless as dried-up springs or as mist blown away by the wind. They are doomed to blackest darkness.
18  They brag about themselves with empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal to twisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin those who have barely escaped from a lifestyle of deception.
19  They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of sin and corruption. For you are a slave to whatever controls you.
20  And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before.
21  It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life.
22  They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”

We are Praying (Colossians 1:9-14) NLT

9    So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding.
10  Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
11  We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,
12  always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light.
13  For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,
14  who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

Teachers of False Doctrines (I Timothy 6:3-10) NLT

3    Some people may contradict our teaching, but these are the wholesome teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. These teachings promote a godly life. 

4    Anyone who teaches something different is arrogant and lacks understanding. Such a person has an unhealthy desire to quibble over the meaning of words. This stirs up arguments ending in jealousy, division, slander, and evil suspicions. 

5    These people always cause trouble. Their minds are corrupt, and they have turned their backs on the truth. To them, a show of godliness is just a way to become wealthy.

6    Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 

7    After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 

8    So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

9    But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 

10  For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

The Good Shepherd (John 10:6-18) NLT

6    Those who heard Jesus use this illustration didn’t understand what he meant,
7    so he explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 
8    All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. 
9    Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. 
10  The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
11  “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. 
12   A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. 
13  The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.
14  “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, 
15  just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. 
16  I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.
17  “The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. 
18  No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

Loving One Another (I John 4:7-21) NLT

7    Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 

8    But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9    God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 

10  This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11  Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 

12  No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

13  And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 

14  Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 

15  All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 

16  We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
17  And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
18  Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.
19  We love each other because he loved us first.
20  If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?
21  And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters.

Paul's Final Advice (Galatians 6:12-18) NLT

12  Those who are trying to force you to be circumcised want to look good to others. They don’t want to be persecuted for teaching that the cross of Christ alone can save.
13  And even those who advocate circumcision don’t keep the whole law themselves. They only want you to be circumcised so they can boast about it and claim you as their disciples.
14  As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.
15  It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.
16  May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.
17  From now on, don’t let anyone trouble me with these things. For I bear on my body the scars that show I belong to Jesus.
18  Dear brothers and sisters, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Immorality in the Church (ICorinthians 5) NLT

1   I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. 

2   You are so proud of yourselves, but you should be mourning in sorrow and shame. And you should remove this man from your fellowship.

3   Even though I am not with you in person, I am with you in the Spirit. And as though I were there, I have already passed judgment on this man
4    in the name of the Lord Jesus. You must call a meeting of the church. I will be present with you in spirit, and so will the power of our Lord Jesus.
5   Then you must throw this man out and hand him over to Satan so that his sinful nature will be destroyed and he himself will be saved on the day the Lord returns.
6   Your boasting about this is terrible. Don’t you realize that this sin is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough?
7   Get rid of the old “yeast” by removing this wicked person from among you. Then you will be like a fresh batch of dough made without yeast, which is what you really are. Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed for us.
8   So let us celebrate the festival, not with the old bread of wickedness and evil, but with the new bread of sincerity and truth.
9   When I wrote to you before, I told you not to associate with people who indulge in sexual sin.
10  But I wasn’t talking about unbelievers who indulge in sexual sin, or are greedy, or cheat people, or worship idols. You would have to leave this world to avoid people like that.
11  I meant that you are not to associate with anyone who claims to be a believer yet indulges in sexual sin, or is greedy, or worships idols, or is abusive, or is a drunkard, or cheats people. Don’t even eat with such people.
12  It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning.
13  God will judge those on the outside; but as the Scriptures say, “You must remove the evil person from among you.”