perserverance

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

³And not only that, but we also find glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation exercises patience,

¹Furthermore, since we also have so great a cloud of witnesses over us, let us set aside every burden and sin which may surround us, and advance, through patience, to the struggle offered to us. ²Let us gaze upon Jesus, as the Author and the completion of our faith, who, having joy laid out before him, endured the cross, disregarding the shame, and who now sits at the right hand of the throne of God.

²⁴Do you not know that, of those who run in a race, all of them, certainly, are runners, but only one achieves the prize. Similarly, you must run, so that you may achieve. ²⁵And one who competes in a contest abstains from all things. And they do this, of course, so that they may achieve a corruptible crown. But we do this, so that we may achieve what is incorruptible. ²⁶And so I run, but not with uncertainty. And so I fight, but not by flailing in the air. ²⁷Instead, I chastise my body, so as to redirect it into servitude. Otherwise, I might preach to others, but become myself an outcast.

¹³And you, brothers, do not grow weak in doing good.

¹³So may the God of hope fill you with every joy and with peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope and in the virtue of the Holy Spirit.

¹And so I make known to you, brothers, the Gospel that I preached to you, which you also received, and on which you stand. ²By the Gospel, too, you are being saved, if you hold to the understanding that I preached to you, lest you believe in vain. ³For I handed on to you, first of all, what I also received: that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures; ⁴and that he was buried; and that he rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures; ⁵and that he was seen by Cephas, and after that by the eleven. ⁶Next he was seen by more than five hundred brothers at one time, many of whom remain, even to the present time, although some have fallen asleep.

³So then, meditate upon him who endured such adversity from sinners against himself, so that you may not become weary, failing in your souls.

²³For if anyone is a listener of the Word, but not also a doer, he is comparable to a man gazing into a mirror upon the face that he was born with; ²⁴and after considering himself, he went away and promptly forgot what he had seen. ²⁵But he who gazes upon the perfect law of liberty, and who remains in it, is not a forgetful hearer, but instead a doer of the work. He shall be blessed in what he does.

⁸Charity is never torn away, even if prophecies pass away, or languages cease, or knowledge is destroyed.

¹For I want you to know the kind of solicitude that I have for you, and for those who are at Laodicea, as well as for those who have not seen my face in the flesh. ²May their hearts be consoled and instructed in charity, with all the riches of a plenitude of understanding, with knowledge of the mystery of God the Father and of Christ Jesus. ³For in him are hidden all treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴Now I say this, so that no one may deceive you with grandiose words. ⁵For though I may be absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit. And I rejoice as I gaze upon your order and its foundation, which is in Christ, your faith. ⁶Therefore, just as you have received the Lord Jesus Christ, walk in him.

⁸For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not of yourselves, for it is a gift of God. ⁹And this is not of works, so that no one may glory.