Study Desk

At one time you were not God's people, but now you are his people; at one time you did not know God's mercy, but now you have received his mercy.

Your conduct among the heathen should be so good that when they accuse you of being evildoers, they will have to recognize your good deeds and so praise God on the Day of his coming.

God will bless you for this, if you endure the pain of undeserved suffering because you are conscious of his will.

It was to this that God called you, for Christ himself suffered for you and left you an example, so that you would follow in his steps.

He committed no sin, and no one ever heard a lie come from his lips.

When he was insulted, he did not answer back with an insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but placed his hopes in God, the righteous Judge.

Christ himself carried our sins in his body to the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. It is by his wounds that you have been healed.

and in his spiritual existence he went and preached to the imprisoned spirits.

These were the spirits of those who had not obeyed God when he waited patiently during the days that Noah was building his boat. The few people in the boat—eight in all—were saved by the water,

Rather be glad that you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may be full of joy when his glory is revealed.

So then, those who suffer because it is God's will for them, should by their good actions trust themselves completely to their Creator, who always keeps his promise.

Humble yourselves, then, under God's mighty hand, so that he will lift you up in his own good time.

But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation.

God's divine power has given us everything we need to live a truly religious life through our knowledge of the one who called us to share in his own glory and goodness.

So then, my friends, try even harder to make God's call and his choice of you a permanent experience; if you do so, you will never abandon your faith.

We have not depended on made-up stories in making known to you the mighty coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. With our own eyes we saw his greatness.

and was rebuked for his sin. His donkey spoke with a human voice and stopped the prophet's insane action.

This is what he says in all his letters when he writes on the subject. There are some difficult things in his letters which ignorant and unstable people explain falsely, as they do with other passages of the Scriptures. So they bring on their own destruction.

What we have seen and heard we announce to you also, so that you will join with us in the fellowship that we have with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

Now the message that we have heard from his Son and announce is this: God is light, and there is no darkness at all in him.