cliques

¹⁰And so, I beg you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that every one of you speak in the same way, and that there be no schisms among you. So may you become perfect, with the same mind and with the same judgment.

¹My brothers, within the glorious faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, do not choose to show favoritism toward persons. ²For if a man has entered your assembly having a gold ring and splendid apparel, and if a poor man has also entered, in dirty clothing, ³and if you are then attentive to the one who is clothed in excellent apparel, so that you say to him, “You may sit in this good place,” but you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit below my footstool,” ⁴are you not judging within yourselves, and have you not become judges with unjust thoughts? ⁵My most beloved brothers, listen. Has not God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that God has promised to those who love him? ⁶But you have dishonored the poor. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you through power? And are not they the ones who drag you to judgment?

¹Then Jesus spoke to the crowds, and to his disciples, ²saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have sat down in the chair of Moses. ³Therefore, all things whatsoever that they shall say to you, observe and do. Yet truly, do not choose to act according to their works. For they say, but they do not do. ⁴For they bind up heavy and unbearable burdens, and they impose them on men’s shoulders. But they are not willing to move them with even a finger of their own. ⁵Truly, they do all their works so that they may be seen by men. For they enlarge their phylacteries and glorify their hems. ⁶And they love the first places at feasts, and the first chairs in the synagogues,

¹⁶Be of the same mind toward one another: not savoring what is exalted, but consenting in humility. Do not choose to seem wise to yourself.

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,

¹You should not speak anything rashly, nor should your heart be hasty to present a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth. For this reason, let your words be few. ²Dreams follow many worries, and in many words foolishness will be found. ³If you have vowed anything to God, you should not delay to repay it. And whatever you have vowed, render it. But an unfaithful and foolish promise displeases him. ⁴And it is much better not to make a vow, than, after a vow, not to fulfill what was promised. ⁵You should not use your mouth so as to cause your flesh to sin. And you should not say, in the sight of an Angel, “There is no Providence.” For God, being angry at your words, may scatter all the works of your hands. ⁶Where there are many dreams, there are many vanities and innumerable words. Yet truly, you must fear God.

⁵So may the God of patience and solace grant you to be of one mind toward one another, in accord with Jesus Christ, ⁶so that, together with one mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁷For this reason, accept one another, just as Christ also has accepted you, in the honor of God.

¹Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who are not walking according to the flesh. ²For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed me from the law of sin and death. ³For though this was impossible under the law, because it was weakened by the flesh, God sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and because of sin, in order to condemn sin in the flesh, ⁴so that the justification of the law might be fulfilled in us. For we are not walking according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. ⁵For those who are in agreement with the flesh are mindful of the things of the flesh. But those who are in agreement with the spirit are mindful of the things of the spirit. ⁶For the prudence of the flesh is death. But the prudence of the spirit is life and peace.

⁸But you must not be called Master. For One is your Master, and you are all brothers.

¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are manifest; they are: fornication, lust, homosexuality, self-indulgence, ²⁰the serving of idols, drug use, hostility, contentiousness, jealousy, wrath, quarrels, dissensions, divisions,