apathy

¹⁶But because you are lukewarm and are neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit you out of my mouth.

¹¹in solicitude, not lazy; in spirit, fervent; serving the Lord;

¹²And this shall be in that time: I will scrutinize Jerusalem with lamps, and I will visit upon the men who have become stuck in the dregs, who say in their hearts, “The Lord will not do good, and he will not do evil.” ¹³And their strength will be in plundering, and their houses in the desert. And they will build houses and not dwell in them, and they will plant vineyards and not drink their wine.

²Be vigilant, and confirm the things that remain, lest they soon die out. For I do not find your works to be full in the sight of my God.

³For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but instead, according to their own desires, they will gather to themselves teachers, with itching ears, ⁴and certainly, they will turn their hearing away from the truth, and they will be turned toward fables.

¹⁰Concerning the rest, brothers, be strengthened in the Lord, by the power of his virtue. ¹¹Be clothed in the armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the treachery of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the directors of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in high places.

¹⁶but like the wise: atoning for this age, because this is an evil time.

⁹Let love be without falseness: hating evil, clinging to what is good, ¹⁰loving one another with fraternal charity, surpassing one another in honor: ¹¹in solicitude, not lazy; in spirit, fervent; serving the Lord; ¹²in hope, rejoicing; in tribulation, enduring; in prayer, ever-willing; ¹³in the difficulties of the saints, sharing; in hospitality, attentive.

¹⁹The way of the slothful is like a hedge of thorns. The way of the just is without offense.

¹⁵I know your works: that you are neither cold, nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. ¹⁶But because you are lukewarm and are neither cold nor hot, I will begin to vomit you out of my mouth.

³⁹Study the Scriptures. For you think that in them you have eternal life. And yet they also offer testimony about me. ⁴⁰And you are not willing to come to me, so that you may have life.

¹⁷Therefore, he who knows that he ought to do a good thing, and does not do it, for him it is a sin.

³⁸Watch and pray, so that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” ³⁹And going away again, he prayed, saying the same words. ⁴⁰And upon returning, he found them sleeping yet again, (for their eyes were heavy) and they did not know how to respond to him. ⁴¹And he arrived for the third time, and he said to them: “Sleep now, and take rest. It is enough. The hour has arrived. Behold, the Son of man will be betrayed into the hands of sinners.

⁹And so, let us not be deficient in doing good. For in due time, we shall reap without fail.

¹⁷Whoever possesses the goods of this world, and sees his brother to be in need, and yet closes his heart to him: in what way does the love of God abide in him? ¹⁸My little sons, let us not love in words only, but in works and in truth.

¹⁰Whatever your hand is able to do, do it earnestly. For neither work, nor reason, nor wisdom, nor knowledge will exist in death, toward which you are hurrying.

¹¹Our message about him is great, and difficult to explain when speaking, because you have been made feeble when listening. ¹²For even though it is the time when you ought to be teachers, you are still lacking, so that you must be taught the things that are the basic elements of the Word of God, and so you have been made like those who are in need of milk, and not of solid food.

⁶But without faith, it is impossible to please God. For whoever approaches God must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who seek him.

¹But concerning dates and times, brothers, you do not need us to write to you. ²For you yourselves thoroughly understand that the day of the Lord shall arrive much like a thief in the night. ³For when they will say, “Peace and security!” then destruction will suddenly overwhelm them, like the labor pains of a woman with child, and they will not escape. ⁴But you, brothers, are not in darkness, so that you would be overtaken by that day as by a thief. ⁵For all of you are sons of light and sons of daytime; we are not of nighttime, nor of darkness. ⁶Therefore, let us not sleep, as the rest do. Instead, we should be vigilant and sober.