Scriptures

New Living Translation (NLT)

1 Thessalonians 4
⁵ not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.
⁶ Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before.
⁷ God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives.
⁸ Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.
⁹ But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another.
¹⁰ Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more.
¹¹ Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.
¹² Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.
¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope.
¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.
¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.