For though you should in fact be teachers by this time,<n id="1" /> you need someone to teach you the beginning elements of God&#8217;s utterances.<n id="2" /> You have gone back to needing<n id="3" /> milk, not<n id="4" /> solid food.

<p class="bodytext">Therefore we must progress beyond<n id="1" /> the elementary<n id="2" /> instructions about Christ<n id="3" /> and move on<n id="4" /> to maturity, not laying this foundation again: repentance from dead works and faith in God,

For the ground that has soaked up the rain that frequently falls on<n id="1" /> it and yields useful vegetation for those who tend it receives a blessing from God.

How much greater punishment do you think that person deserves who has contempt for<n id="1" /> the Son of God, and profanes<n id="2" /> the blood of the covenant that made him holy,<n id="3" /> and insults the Spirit of grace?

By faith Noah, when he was warned about things not yet seen, with reverent regard<n id="1" /> constructed an ark for the deliverance of his family. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,<n id="1" /> we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,

keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and <i>has taken his seat at the right hand of the thronei> of God.<n id="1" />

For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever.<n id="1" /> So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away.

But the one who peers into the perfect law of liberty and fixes his attention there,<n id="1" /> and does not become a forgetful listener but one who lives it out &#8211; he<n id="2" /> will be blessed in what he does.<n id="3" />

do you pay attention to the one who is finely dressed and say,<n id="1" /> &#8220;You sit here in a good place,&#8221;<n id="2" /> and to the poor person, &#8220;You stand over there,&#8221; or &#8220;Sit on the floor&#8221;?<n id="3" />

And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents<n id="1" /> the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It<n id="2" /> pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence &#8211; and is set on fire by hell.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="bodytext">Do not speak against one another, brothers and sisters.<n id="1" /> He who speaks against a fellow believer<n id="2" /> or judges a fellow believer speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but its judge.<n id="3" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">So be patient, brothers and sisters,<n id="1" /> until the Lord&#8217;s return.<n id="2" /> Think of how the farmer waits<n id="3" /> for the precious fruit of the ground and is patient<n id="4" /> for it until it receives the early and late rains.

And above all, my brothers and sisters,<n id="1" /> do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath. But let your &#8220;Yes&#8221; be yes and your &#8220;No&#8221; be no, so that you may not fall into judgment.p>

and maintain good conduct<n id="1" /> among the non-Christians,<n id="2" /> so that though<n id="3" /> they now malign you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God when he appears.<n id="4" />p>

But set Christ<n id="1" /> apart<n id="2" /> as Lord in your hearts and always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope you possess.<n id="3" />

Moreover,<n id="1" /> we<n id="2" /> possess the prophetic word as an altogether reliable thing.<n id="3" /> You do well if you pay attention<n id="4" /> to this<n id="5" /> as you would<n id="6" /> to a light shining in a murky place, until the day dawns and the morning star<n id="7" /> rises in your hearts.<n id="8" />

<t /><p class="bodytext">But false prophets arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you.<n id="1" /> These false teachers<n id="2" /> will<n id="3" /> infiltrate your midst<n id="4" /> with destructive heresies,<n id="5" /> even to the point of<n id="6" /> denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring<n id="7" /> swift destruction on themselves.

and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and announce<n id="1" /> to you the eternal life that was with the Father and was revealed to us).<n id="2" />

But the one who hates his fellow Christian<n id="1" /> is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.<n id="2" />p>