for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!
It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.
proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,
and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—
But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth.
Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.
Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you,
I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—
For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.
or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good.
May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains,
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Unless otherwise indicated, all content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com.