"Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock.

"Go in through the narrow gate, because the gate to hell is wide and the road that leads to it is easy, and there are many who travel it.

But the gate to life is narrow and the way that leads to it is hard, and there are few people who find it.

"Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor; the Kingdom of heaven belongs to them!

"Happy are those who are humble; they will receive what God has promised!

"Happy are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them!

"Happy are those who work for peace; God will call them his children!

"Happy are you when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of evil lies against you because you are my followers.

But now I tell you: anyone who looks at a woman and wants to possess her is guilty of committing adultery with her in his heart.

If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away! It is much better for you to lose one of your limbs than to have your whole body go off to hell.

But now I tell you: if a man divorces his wife for any cause other than her unfaithfulness, then he is guilty of making her commit adultery if she marries again; and the man who marries her commits adultery also.

"If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your Father in heaven will also forgive you.

But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.

"Do not store up riches for yourselves here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and robbers break in and steal.

For your heart will always be where your riches are.

Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother, my sister, and my mother."

Anyone who comes to me and listens to my words and obeys them---I will show you what he is like.

But anyone who hears my words and does not obey them is like a man who built his house without laying a foundation; when the flood hit that house it fell at once---and what a terrible crash that was!"

But Jesus answered, "Rather, how happy are those who hear the word of God and obey it!"

Now that you know this truth, how happy you will be if you put it into practice!

"If you love me, you will obey my commandments.

Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, "Lord, how can it be that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?"

Those who do not love me do not obey my teaching. And the teaching you have heard is not mine, but comes from the Father, who sent me.

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love.

And you are my friends if you do what I command you.

For God will reward each of us according to what we have done.

Other people are selfish and reject what is right, in order to follow what is wrong; on them God will pour out his anger and fury.

For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.

You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you?

Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. You will reap exactly what you plant.

If you plant in the field of your natural desires, from it you will gather the harvest of death; if you plant in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit you will gather the harvest of eternal life.

So get rid of every filthy habit and all wicked conduct. Submit to God and accept the word that he plants in your hearts, which is able to save you.

If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are.

But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice---you will be blessed by God in what you do.

What God the Father considers to be pure and genuine religion is this: to take care of orphans and widows in their suffering and to keep oneself from being corrupted by the world.

So it is with faith: if it is alone and includes no actions, then it is dead.

Do you believe that there is only one God? Good! The demons also believe---and tremble with fear.

How was our ancestor Abraham put right with God? It was through his actions, when he offered his son Isaac on the altar.

And the scripture came true that said, "Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous." And so Abraham was called God's friend.

It was the same with the prostitute Rahab. She was put right with God through her actions, by welcoming the Israelite spies and helping them to escape by a different road.

If we obey God's commands, then we are sure that we know him.

We receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him.

Those who obey God's commands live in union with God and God lives in union with them. And because of the Spirit that God has given us we know that God lives in union with us.

For our love for God means that we obey his commands. And his commands are not too hard for us,

Who can defeat the world? Only the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

Happy are those who wash their robes clean and so have the right to eat the fruit from the tree of life and to go through the gates into the city.

But outside the city are the perverts and those who practice magic, the immoral and the murderers, those who worship idols and those who are liars both in words and deeds.

God said to us humans, "To be wise, you must have reverence for the Lord. To understand, you must turn from evil."

The way to become wise is to honor the LORD; he gives sound judgment to all who obey his commands. He is to be praised forever.

I understand more than all my teachers, because I meditate on your instructions.

The explanation of your teachings gives light and brings wisdom to the ignorant.

Sensible people accept good advice. People who talk foolishly will come to ruin.

Why is a clever person wise? Because he knows what to do. Why is a stupid person foolish? Because he only thinks he knows.

Are there any of you who are wise and understanding? You are to prove it by your good life, by your good deeds performed with humility and wisdom.

Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world, it is unspiritual and demonic.

But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle, and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy.

Using the gift that God gave me, I did the work of an expert builder and laid the foundation, and someone else is building on it. But each of you must be careful how you build.

For God has already placed Jesus Christ as the one and only foundation, and no other foundation can be laid.