"What shall we do with these men?" they asked. "Everyone in Jerusalem knows that this extraordinary miracle has been performed by them, and we cannot deny it.

God has overlooked the times when people did not know him, but now he commands all of them everywhere to turn away from their evil ways.

For he has fixed a day in which he will judge the whole world with justice by means of a man he has chosen. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising that man from death!"

But how can they call to him for help if they have not believed? And how can they believe if they have not heard the message? And how can they hear if the message is not proclaimed?

But not all have accepted the Good News. Isaiah himself said, "Lord, who believed our message?"

Let us give glory to God! He is able to make you stand firm in your faith, according to the Good News I preach about Jesus Christ and according to the revelation of the secret truth which was hidden for long ages in the past.

You Gentiles by birth---called "the uncircumcised" by the Jews, who call themselves the circumcised (which refers to what men do to their bodies)---remember what you were in the past.

At that time you were apart from Christ. You were foreigners and did not belong to God's chosen people. You had no part in the covenants, which were based on God's promises to his people, and you lived in this world without hope and without God.

In past times human beings were not told this secret, but God has revealed it now by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets.

The secret is that by means of the gospel the Gentiles have a part with the Jews in God's blessings; they are members of the same body and share in the promise that God made through Christ Jesus.

which is the secret he hid through all past ages from all human beings but has now revealed to his people.

Now go to the main streets and invite to the feast as many people as you find.'

So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, good and bad alike; and the wedding hall was filled with people.

Work hard at whatever you do, because there will be no action, no thought, no knowledge, no wisdom in the world of the dead---and that is where you are going.

The servant went back and told all this to his master. The master was furious and said to his servant, 'Hurry out to the streets and alleys of the town, and bring back the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.'

So the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the country roads and lanes and make people come in, so that my house will be full.

As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me; night is coming when no one can work.

Remember that the Lord will reward each of us, whether slave or free, for the good work we do.

God is not unfair. He will not forget the work you did or the love you showed for him in the help you gave and are still giving to other Christians.