When you follow the desires of your sinful nature,
the results are very clear:
sexual immorality,
impurity,
lustful pleasures,
idolatry,
sorcery,
hostility,
quarreling,
jealousy,
outbursts of anger,
selfish ambition,
dissension,
division,
envy,
drunkenness,
wild parties,
and other sins like these.
Let me tell you again,
as I have before,
that anyone living that sort of life
will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But when the right time came,
God sent his Son,
born of a woman,
subject to the law.
God sent him to buy freedom for us
who were slaves to the law,
so that he could adopt us as his very own children.
And because we are his children,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
prompting us to call out,
“Abba, Father.”
Yet we know
that a person is made right with God
by faith in Jesus Christ,
not by obeying the law.
And we have believed in Christ Jesus,
so that we might be made right
with God because of our faith in Christ,
not because we have obeyed the law.
For no one will ever be made right with God
by obeying the law.
Who will come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel?
When the LORD restores his people,
Jacob will shout with joy,
and Israel will rejoice.
I myself no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.
So I live my life in this earthly body
by trusting in the Son of God,
who loved me
and gave himself for me.
What this means is
that those who become Christians
become new persons.
They are not the same anymore,
for the old life is gone.
a new life has begun!
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them sing joyful praises forever.
Spread your protection over them,
that all who love your name may be filled with joy.
For you bless the godly, O LORD;
you surround them with your shield of love.
“Sing joyfully to the Lord,
all you lands;
serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful song…
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him;
bless his name,
for he is good.”
For our present troubles are small
and won’t last very long.
Yet they produce for us a glory
that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now;
rather, we fix our gaze on things
that cannot be seen.
For the things we see now will soon be gone,
but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
