conformity

¹And so, I beg you, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, with the subservience of your mind. ²And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.

¹⁴Be like sons of obedience, not conforming to the desires of your former ignorance,

¹⁵Do not choose to love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world is the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the arrogance of a life which is not of the Father, but is of the world. ¹⁷And the world is passing away, with its desire. But whoever does the will of God abides unto eternity.

²And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.

¹Blessed is the man who has not followed the counsel of the impious, and has not remained in the way of sinners, and has not sat in the chair of pestilence. ²But his will is with the law of the Lord, and he will meditate on his law, day and night. ³And he will be like a tree that has been planted beside running waters, which will provide its fruit in its time, and its leaf will not fall away, and all things whatsoever that he does will prosper. ⁴Not so the impious, not so. For they are like the dust that the wind casts along the face of the earth. ⁵Therefore, the impious will not prevail again in judgment, nor sinners in the council of the just. ⁶For the Lord knows the way of the just. And the path of the impious will pass away.

¹Most beloved, do not be willing to believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

¹⁸If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before you. ¹⁹If you had been of the world, the world would love what is its own. Yet truly, you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world; because of this, the world hates you.

¹Let every soul be subject to higher authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those who have been ordained by God. ²And so, whoever resists authority, resists what has been ordained by God. And those who resist are acquiring damnation for themselves. ³For leaders are not a source of fear to those who work good, but to those who work evil. And would you prefer not to be afraid of authority? Then do what is good, and you shall have praise from them. ⁴For he is a minister of God for you unto good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid. For it is not without reason that he carries a sword. For he is a minister of God; an avenger to execute wrath upon whomever does evil. ⁵For this reason, it is necessary to be subject, not solely because of wrath, but also because of conscience.

²You shall not follow the crowd in doing evil. Neither shall you go astray in judgment, by agreeing with the majority opinion, apart from the truth.

⁴You adulterers! Do you not know that the friendship of this world is hostile to God? Therefore, whoever has chosen to be a friend of this world has been made into an enemy of God.

³You shall not act according to the custom of the land of Egypt, in which you have lived; nor shall you behave according to the habit of the region of Canaan, into which I will lead you; neither shall you walk in their ordinances.

¹⁵The innocent trust every word. The astute one considers his own steps. Nothing good will be for the deceitful son. But the wise servant shall act prosperously and his way will be set in order.

²⁹For those whom he foreknew, he also predestined, in conformity with the image of his Son, so that he might be the Firstborn among many brothers.

¹And so, I beg you, brothers, by the mercy of God, that you offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, with the subservience of your mind.

¹Alleluia. Blessed are the immaculate in the way, who walk in the law of the Lord. ²Blessed are those who examine his testimonies. They seek him with their whole heart. ³For those who work iniquity have not walked in his ways. ⁴You have ordered your commandments to be kept most diligently. ⁵I wish that my ways may be directed so as to keep your justifications. ⁶Then I will not be confounded, when I will look into all your commandments.