And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.
having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.
as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.
I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?”
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.
Moreover, I will make you a desolation and an object of reproach among the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by.
Yet they seek me daily and delight to know my ways, as if they were a nation that did righteousness and did not forsake the judgment of their God; they ask of me righteous judgments; they delight to draw near to God.
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.