Living to Please God 1 UDB Now, my fellow believers, I want to write about some other matters. I urge you—and when I urge you, it is the same as the Lord Jesus himself urging you—to conduct your lives in a way that pleases God. We taught you to do that because of what the Lord Jesus had told us to say. We know that you are conducting your lives that way, but we strongly urge that you do that even more. BSB BSB: Finally, brothers, we ask and encourage you in the Lord Jesus to live in a way that is pleasing to God, just as you have received from us. This is how you already live, so you should do so all the more.
3 UDB God wants you to set yourselves apart to God in everything you do. He commands you to keep away from all immoral sexual acts. BSB BSB: For it is God’s will that you should be holy: You must abstain from sexual immorality;
4 UDB He wants all of you to control your own bodies in a way that sets you apart from the world and honors God. BSB BSB: each of you must know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,
5 UDB You must not become a slave of your lustful desires (like the Gentiles who do not know God). BSB BSB: not in lustful passion like the Gentiles who do not know God;
6 UDB God wants each one of you to control your sexual desires, in order that no one of you sin against your fellow believer and take advantage of him or her by doing things like that. Remember that we strongly warned you previously that the Lord Jesus will punish all people who commit immoral sexual acts. BSB BSB: and no one should ever violate or exploit his brother in this regard, because the Lord will avenge all such acts, as we have already told you and solemnly warned you.
7 UDB When God chose us believers, he did not want us to be people who behave in a sexually immoral way. On the contrary, he wants us to be people who do not sin. BSB BSB: For God has not called us to impurity, but to holiness.
8 UDB So I warn you that those who disregard this teaching of mine are not just disregarding me, a human being. On the contrary, they are disregarding God, because God commanded it. Remember that God sent his Spirit, who does not sin, to live in you! BSB BSB: Anyone, then, who rejects this command does not reject man but God, the very One who gives you His Holy Spirit.
9 UDB I want to urge you again that you should love your fellow believers. You do not really need that anyone write to you about that, because God has already taught you how to love each other, BSB BSB: Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
10 UDB and because you already are showing that you love your fellow believers who live in other places in your province of Macedonia. Nevertheless, my fellow believers, we urge you to love each other more and more. BSB BSB: And you are indeed showing this love to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to excel more and more
11 UDB We urge you also to try hard to attend to your own affairs and to not meddle with the affairs of others. We urge you also to work at your own occupations to earn what you need to live. Remember that we taught you previously to live like that. BSB BSB: and to aspire to live quietly, to attend to your own matters, and to work with your own hands, as we instructed you.
12 UDB If you do these things, unbelievers will acknowledge that you behave decently, and you will not have to depend on others to supply what you need. BSB BSB: Then you will behave properly toward outsiders, without being dependent on anyone.
The Return of the Lord 14 UDB We believers know that Jesus died and that he rose to live again. So we also know well that God will cause those joined to Jesus to live again and that he will bring them back with Jesus. BSB BSB: For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.
15 UDB I write this because the Lord Jesus revealed to me what I am now telling you. Some of you may think that when the Lord Jesus comes back, we believers who are still living will meet Jesus sooner than those who have already died. That is certainly not true! BSB BSB: By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep.
17 UDB After that, God will take up into the clouds all of us believers who are still living on this earth. He will take us and those other believers who have died, in order that we all might together meet the Lord Jesus in the sky. As a result of that, we all will be with him forever. BSB BSB: After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
18 UDB Because all this is true, encourage each other by sharing this teaching with each other. BSB BSB: Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.