winning souls for christ

¹⁵And he said to them: “Go forth to the whole world and preach the Gospel to every creature.

¹⁹For when I was a free man to all, I made myself the servant of all, so that I might gain all the more. ²⁰And so, to the Jews, I became like a Jew, so that I might gain the Jews. ²¹To those who are under the law, I became as if I were under the law, (though I was not under the law) so that I might gain those who were under the law. To those who were without the law, I became as if I were without the law, (though I was not without the law of God, being in the law of Christ) so that I might gain those who were without the law. ²²To the weak, I became weak, so that I might gain the weak. To all, I became all, so that I might save all. ²³And I do everything for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may become its partner.

³⁰The fruit of the just one is the tree of life. And whoever receives souls is wise.

¹⁶You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. And I have appointed you, so that you may go forth and bear fruit, and so that your fruit may last. Then whatever you have asked of the Father in my name, he shall give to you.

⁸But you shall receive the power of the Holy Spirit, passing over you, and you shall be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.”

¹⁹My brothers, if anyone of you strays from the truth, and if someone converts him, ²⁰he ought to know that whoever causes a sinner to be converted from the error of his ways will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

¹Similarly also, wives should be subject to their husbands, so that, even if some do not believe the Word, they may benefit without the Word, through the behavior of these wives,

²⁰Moreover, if the just man turns aside from his justice and commits iniquity, I will place a stumbling block before him. He shall die, because you have not announced to him. He shall die in his sin, and his justices that he did shall not be remembered. Yet truly, I will attribute his blood to your hand. ²¹But if you announce to the just man, so that the just man may not sin, and he does not sin, then he shall certainly live, because you have announced to him. And you will have delivered your own soul.”

⁸But God demonstrates his love for us in that, while we were yet sinners, at the proper time,

²³Yet truly, save them, seizing them from the fire. And have mercy on others: in fear, hating even that which is of the flesh, the defiled garment.

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

¹⁷“Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel. And so, you shall listen to the word from my mouth, and you shall announce it to them from me. ¹⁸If, when I say to the impious man, ‘You shall certainly die,’ you do not announce it to him, and you do not speak so that he may turn aside from his impious way and live, then the same impious man will die in his iniquity. But I will attribute his blood to your hand. ¹⁹But if you announce it to the impious man, and he is not converted from his impiety and from his impious way, then indeed he will die in his iniquity. But you will have delivered your own soul.

²Pursue prayer. Be watchful in prayer with acts of thanksgiving. ³Pray together, for us also, so that God may open a door of speech to us, so as to speak the mystery of Christ, (because of which, even now, I am in chains) ⁴so that I may manifest it in the manner that I ought to speak. ⁵Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming this age. ⁶Let your speech be ever graceful, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to respond to each person.

¹⁹Therefore, go forth and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

²³For the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

¹⁶Whoever will have believed and been baptized will be saved. Yet truly, whoever will not have believed will be condemned.