The New Life In Christ - For God does not show favoritism. Romans 2:11.

But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. Acts 10:28.

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. Acts 13:46-48.

You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” Romans 2;23-24.

For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. Romans 2:13. Amen.

The New Life In Christ - When our hearts make us feel guilty…God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 1John 3:20.

Do not be like Cain who belonged to the Evil One and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because the things Cain did were evil, and the things his brother did were good.

(So) do not be surprised when the people of the world hate you. 1John 3:12-13.

But their lives are not good examples for you to follow. They tell you to do things, but they themselves do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. Matthew 23:3-4.

And they belong to the world, so what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them.

But we belong to God, and those who God listen to us. But those who are not from God do not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit that is true and the Spirit that is false. 1John 4:5-6.

The LORD hates both of these things: freeing the guilty and punishing the innocent. Proverbs 17:15.

It is not good to honor the wicked or to be unfair to the innocent. Proverbs 18:5. Amen.

The New Life In Christ - His God teaches him and shows him the right way. Isaiah 28:26.

People are saying that others make plans against them, but you should not believe them. Don’t be afraid of what they fear; do not dread those things. But remember that the Lord All-Powerful is holy. He is the one you should fear; he is the one you should dread. Isaiah 8:12-13.

The Lord says: “These people say they love me; they show honor to me with words, but their hearts are far from me. The honor they show me is nothing but human rules. Isaiah 29:13.

These people choose their own ways, not mine, and they love the terrible things they do. Isaiah 66:3.

These are the people I am pleased with: those who are not proud or stubborn and who fear my word. Isaiah 66:2. Amen.

The New Life In Christ - My conscience is ruled by the Holy Spirit, and it tells me I am not lying Romans 9:2.

The Seven Deadly Sins	The Virtue it Sins Against	What it is
Pride	Humility	Seeing ourselves as we are and not comparing ourselves to others is humility. Pride and vanity are competitive. If someone else's pride really bothers you, you have a lot of pride.
Greed	Generosity	This is about more than money. Generosity means letting others get the credit or praise. It is giving without having expectations of the other person. Greed wants to get its "fair share" or a bit more.
Envy	Love	"Love is patient, love is kind…" Love actively seeks the good of others for their sake. Envy resents the good others receive or even might receive. Envy is almost indistinguishable from pride at times.
Anger	Kindness	Kindness means taking the tender approach, with patience and compassion. Anger is often our first reaction to the problems of others. Impatience with the faults of others is related to this.
Lust	Self-control	Self control prevents pleasure from killing the soul by suffocation. Lust is the self-destructive drive for pleasure out of proportion to its worth. Sex, power, or image can be used well, but they tend to go out of control.
Gluttony	Temperance	Temperance accepts the natural limits of pleasures and preserves this natural balance. This does not pertain only to food, but to entertainment and other legitimate goods, and even the company of others.
Sloth	Zeal	Zeal is the energetic response of the heart to God's commands. The other sins work together to deaden the spiritual senses so we first become slow to respond to God and then drift completely into the sleep of complacency.

So now we serve God in a new way with the Spirit, and not the old way with written rules.

But the law was the only way I could learn what sin meant. I would never have known what it means to want to take something belonging to someone else if the law had not said, “You must not want to take your neighbor’s things”. Romans 7:6-7.

But I see another law working in my body, which makes war against the law that my mind accepts.

So in my mind I am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful self I am a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:23 & 7:25.

If people’s thinking is controlled by the sinful self, there is death. But if their thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace.

Those people who are ruled by their sinful selves can not please God. Romans 8:6-8.

YOUR BELIEFS ABOUT THESE THINGS SHOULD BE KEPT SECRET BETWEEN YOU AND GOD. ROMANS 14:22. Amen.

The New Life In Christ - The same thing is true of the words I speak. They will not return to me empty. Isaiah 55:11.

The Lord God gave me the ability to teach so that I know what to say to make the weak strong. Every morning he wakes me. He teaches me to listen like a student. The Lord God helps me learn, and I have not turned against him nor stopped following him… The Lord God helps me, so I will not be ashamed. I will be determined, and I know I will not be disgraced. Isaiah 50:4-7.

I (the Lord God) will give you the words I want you to say. I will cover you with my hands and protect you. Isaiah 51:16.

You have been hated and left empty with no one passing through. But I will make you great from now on; you will be a place of happiness forever and ever.

Isaiah 60:15. Amen.

The New Life In Christ - I have found that what you are doing is less than what my God wants. Revelation 3:2.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If you love the world, the love of the Father is not in you. These are the ways of the world: wanting to please our sinful selves, wanting the sinful things we see, and being too proud of what we have. (But) None of these come from the Father, but all of them come from the world. 1John 2:15-16.

“In the last times there will be people following their own evil desires which are against God. These are the people…who do not have the Spirit. Jude 1:18-19.

But they quickly forgot what he had done; they did not wait for his advice. They became greedy… So he gave them what they wanted, but he also sent a terrible disease among them. Psalm 106: 13-15. Amen.

The New Life In Christ - Have salt in yourselves. Mark 9:50.

People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking and to do things they should not do. Romans 1:28.

Let whoever is doing evil continue to do evil. Let whoever is unclean continue to be unclean… “Listen! I am coming soon! I will bring my reward with me, and I will repay each one of you for what you have done. Revelation 22: 11-12.

(So) Honor God and obey his commands, because this is all people must do. God will judge everything, even what is done in secret, the good and the evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14. Amen.