13Because you have now received this revelation, you need to have mindsets of those who are ready for action and will be self-controlled in their way of life. You have already received grace from God, so your hope for the future is that this grace will be given to you fully when Jesus Christ returns.Be holy in all you do14You are called to be God's obedient children and not to give way to the evil desires that marked your lives when you lived in ignorance of His purposes.15He who called you is holy; so to please Him you are to be holy in all you do, living as one who knows his or her life is set apart for God's purposes and glory.16To live such a life fulfils God's written command: "Be holy, because I am holy."17You pray to God as your Father and He judges impartially what each person does. So live in fear, in reverent awe of Him, as if you are living as a stranger here on earth because you belong to His heavenly Kingdom.You were bought with a price18How did God redeem you? In what way did He pay the price for you, so that you could belong to Him eternally? It was not with the perishable things of this world, such as silver or gold. Something much greater was needed to save you from the empty way of life that many in the past have lived.19No, He redeemed you with the precious blood of Christ, God's sacrificial Lamb that was without any blemish or defect.20Even before the world was created, God in His foreknowledge knew that such a sacrifice would be needed to bring His people back into unity with Him; and this is what has now been accomplished, and all for your benefit.21It is because of Jesus Christ that you have put your trust in God, who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him in His heavenly presence. So now you look to the future with both faith and hope, secure in your personal knowledge of God.Obey the truth of the Word22You have already purified yourselves by obeying the truth of God's Word, fulfilling the command to love your brothers sincerely, deeply, from the heart.23Yes, you have been born again. But this second birth was not like the first. The seed of the natural birth perishes, but the seed planted in you at your new birth is imperishable; it is eternal. And it was planted in you because you believed the living, eternal Word of God.24-25It is written: "All people are like grass. Their glory is like the wild flowers. Grass withers, flowers die, but the Lord's Word endures forever." And it is this eternal Word that was preached to you!
Scripture quoted by permission. The passage above is taken from THE TRUTH VERSION. Copyright © 2009 by Colin Urquhart. All rights reserved worldwide. (The Truth New Testament)