For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;it is not from works, so that no one can boast.For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self- controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,as we wait for the happy fulfillment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.He gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, who are eager to do good.
But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages sin? Absolutely not!But if I build up again those things I once destroyed, I demonstrate that I am one who breaks God’s law.
To the Jews I became like a Jew to gain the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law( though I myself am not under the law) to gain those under the law.To those free from the law I became like one free from the law( though I am not free from God’s law but under the law of Christ) to gain those free from the law.
For certain men have secretly slipped in among you– men who long ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe– ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that could defile the body and the spirit, and thus accomplish holiness out of reverence for God.
