dividing a church

¹⁰Avoid a man who is a heretic, after the first and second correction, ¹¹knowing that one who is like this has been subverted, and that he offends; for he has been condemned by his own judgment.

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. ¹¹For it has been indicated to me, about you, my brothers, by those who are with Chloes, that there are contentions among you. ¹²Now I say this because each of you is saying: “Certainly, I am of Paul;” “But I am of Apollo;” “Truly, I am of Cephas;” as well as: “I am of Christ.” ¹³Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴I give thanks to God that I have baptized none of you, except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵lest anyone say that you have been baptized in my name.

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,

¹But accept those who are weak in faith, without disputing about ideas. ²For one person believes that he may eat all things, but if another is weak, let him eat plants. ³He who eats should not despise him who does not eat. And he who does not eat should not judge him who eats. For God has accepted him. ⁴Who are you to judge the servant of another? He stands or falls by his own Lord. But he shall stand. For God is able to make him stand. ⁵For one person discerns one age from the next. But another discerns unto every age. Let each one increase according to his own mind. ⁶He who understands the age, understands for the Lord. And he who eats, eats for the Lord; for he gives thanks to God. And he who does not eat, does not eat for the Lord, and he gives thanks to God.

¹And so, as a prisoner in the Lord, I beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the vocation to which you have been called: ²with all humility and meekness, with patience, supporting one another in charity. ³Be anxious to preserve the unity of the Spirit within the bonds of peace. ⁴One body and one Spirit: to this you have been called by the one hope of your calling: ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us all.

³And since there is still envy and contention among you, are you not carnal, and are you not walking according to man?

²³For all have sinned and all are in need of the glory of God.

¹⁶Do you not know that you are the Temple of God, and that the Spirit of God lives within you?

¹³so that you may consider them with an abundance of charity, for the sake of their work. Be at peace with them.

¹You should not rebuke an old man, but rather plead with him, as if he were your father; with young men, like brothers; ²with old women, like mothers; with young women, in all chastity, like sisters. ³Honor those widows who are true widows. ⁴But if any widow has children or grandchildren, let her first learn to manage her own household, and to fulfill, in turn, her own obligation to her parents; for this is acceptable before God. ⁵But she who is truly a widow and is destitute, let her hope in God, and let her be urgent in supplications and prayers, night and day. ⁶For she who is living in pleasures is dead, while living.

²¹Not all who say to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does the will of my Father, who is in heaven, the same shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.