A Life Pleasing to God

¹Finally, then, brothers,1 we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you dreceived from us ehow you ought to walk and fto please God, just as you are doing, that you gdo so more and more. ²For hyou know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. ³For this is the will of God, iyour sanctification:2 jthat you abstain from sexual immorality; ⁴that each one of you know how to control his own kbody3 in holiness and lhonor, ⁵not in mthe passion of lust nlike the Gentiles owho do not know God; ⁶that no one transgress and pwrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is qan avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. ⁷For rGod has not called us for simpurity, but in holiness. ⁸Therefore twhoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, uwho gives his Holy Spirit to you.

⁹Now concerning vbrotherly love wyou have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been xtaught by God yto love one another, ¹⁰for that indeed is what zyou are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to ado this more and more, ¹¹and to aspire bto live quietly, and cto mind your own affairs, and dto work with your hands, as we instructed you, ¹²so that you may ewalk properly before foutsiders and be dependent on no one.

The Coming of the Lord

¹³But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, gthat you may not grieve as others do hwho have no hope. ¹⁴For isince we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him jthose who have fallen asleep. ¹⁵For this we declare to you kby a word from the Lord,4 that lwe who are alive, who are left until mthe coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶For nthe Lord himself will descend ofrom heaven pwith a cry of command, with the voice of qan archangel, and rwith the sound of the trumpet of God. And sthe dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷Then we who are alive, who are left, will be tcaught up together with them uin the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so vwe will always be with the Lord. ¹⁸Therefore encourage one another with these words.

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The Day of the Lord

¹Now concerning wthe times and the seasons, brothers,1 xyou have no need to have anything written to you. ²For you yourselves are fully aware that ythe day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. ³While people are saying, “There is peace and security,” then zsudden destruction will come upon them aas labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. ⁴But you bare not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. ⁵For you are all cchildren2 of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. ⁶So then dlet us not sleep, as others do, but let us ekeep awake and fbe sober. ⁷For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, gare drunk at night. ⁸But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, hhaving put on the breastplate of ifaith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹For God has not destined us for jwrath, but kto obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰lwho died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. ¹¹Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

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