"THE SIMPLICITY... IN CHRIST" 2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)

Right Standing With God
John 5:24Living Bible (TLB)
24 “I say emphatically that anyone who listens to my message and believes in God who sent me has eternal life, and will never be damned for his sins, but has already passed out of death into life.
Romans 4:14-16Living Bible (TLB)

14 So if you still claim that God’s blessings go to those who are “good enough,” then you are saying that God’s promises to those who have faith are meaningless, and faith is foolish. 15 But the fact of the matter is this: when we try to gain God’s blessing and salvation by keeping his laws we always end up under his anger, for we always fail to keep them. The only way we can keep from breaking laws is not to have any to break!
16 So God’s blessings are given to us by faith, as a free gift; we are certain to get them whether or not we follow Jewish customs if we have faith like Abraham’s, for Abraham is the father of us all when it comes to these matters of faith.
Romans 3:26-28Living Bible (TLB)
26 ...But isn’t this unfair for God to let criminals go free, and say that they are innocent? No, for he does it on the basis of their trust in Jesus who took away their sins.
27 Then what can we boast about doing to earn our salvation? Nothing at all. Why? Because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds; it is based on what Christ has done and our faith in him. 28 So it is that we are saved[a] by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do.
Romans 7:5-8Living Bible (TLB)
5 When your old nature was still active, sinful desires were at work within you, making you want to do whatever God said not to and producing sinful deeds, the rotting fruit of death. 6 But now you need no longer worry about the Jewish laws and customs[a] because you “died” while in their captivity, and now you can really serve God; not in the old way, mechanically obeying a set of rules, but in the new way, with all of your hearts and minds.*
7 Well then, am I suggesting that these laws of God are evil? Of course not! No, the law is not sinful, but it was the law that showed me my sin. I would never have known the sin in my heart—the evil desires that are hidden there—if the law had not said, “You must not have evil desires in your heart.” 8 But sin used this law against evil desires by reminding me that such desires are wrong, and arousing all kinds of forbidden desires within me! Only if there were no laws to break would there be no sinning.
Galatians 1:8-10Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
8 We told you the true Good News message. So anyone who tells you a different message should be condemned—even if it’s one of us or even an angel from heaven! 9 I said this before. Now I say it again: You have already accepted the Good News. Anyone who tells you another way to be saved should be condemned!
10 Now do you think I am trying to make people accept me? No, God is the one I am trying to please. Am I trying to please people? If I wanted to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 2:16Easy-to-Read Version (ERV)
16 But we know that no one is made right with God by following the law. It is trusting in[a] Jesus Christ that makes a person right with God. So we have put our faith in Christ Jesus, because we wanted to be made right with God. And we are right with him because we trusted in[b] Christ—not because we followed the law. I can say this because no one can be made right with God by following the law.
Acts 13:38-41Living Bible (TLB)

38 “Brothers! Listen! In this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins! 39 Everyone who trusts in him is freed from all guilt and declared righteous—something the Jewish law could never do. 40 Oh, be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said, 41 ‘Look and perish, you despisers of the truth,[a] for I am doing something in your day—something that you won’t believe when you hear it announced.’”

PRUDENCE 4: SPEECH, PEOPLE And SITUATIONS

Proverbs 1:1-9New King James Version (NKJV)

The Beginning of Knowledge

1 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel:

2 To know wisdom and instruction,
To perceive the words of understanding,
3 To receive the instruction of wisdom,
Justice, judgment, and equity;
4 To give prudence to the simple,
To the young man knowledge and discretion—
5 A wise man will hear and increase learning,
And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel,
6 To understand a proverb and an enigma,
The words of the wise and their riddles.
7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,
But fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Shun Evil Counsel

8 My son, hear the instruction of your father,
And do not forsake the law of your mother;
9 For they will be a graceful ornament on your head,
And chains about your neck.

Proverbs 1:10-19New Living Translation (NLT)

10 My child, if sinners entice you,
    turn your back on them!
11 They may say, “Come and join us.
    Let’s hide and kill someone!
    Just for fun, let’s ambush the innocent!
12 Let’s swallow them alive, like the grave[a];
    let’s swallow them whole, like those who go down to the pit of death.
13 Think of the great things we’ll get!
    We’ll fill our houses with all the stuff we take.
14 Come, throw in your lot with us;
    we’ll all share the loot.”

15 My child, don’t go along with them!
    Stay far away from their paths.
16 They rush to commit evil deeds.
    They hurry to commit murder.
17 If a bird sees a trap being set,
    it knows to stay away.
18 But these people set an ambush for themselves;
    they are trying to get themselves killed.
19 Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money;
    it robs them of life.

Proverbs 1:20-33New King James Version (NKJV)

The Call of Wisdom

20 Wisdom calls aloud outside;
She raises her voice in the open squares.
21 She cries out in the chief concourses,[a]
At the openings of the gates in the city
She speaks her words:
22 “How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning,
And fools hate knowledge.
23 Turn at my rebuke;
Surely I will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused,
I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
25 Because you disdained all my counsel,
And would have none of my rebuke,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when your terror comes,
27 When your terror comes like a storm,
And your destruction comes like a whirlwind,
When distress and anguish come upon you.

28 “Then they will call on me, but I will not answer;
They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge
And did not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 They would have none of my counsel
And despised my every rebuke.
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way,
And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them,
And the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely,
And will be secure, without fear of evil.”

PRUDENCE 3: SPEECH, People And SITUATIONS

Colossians 4:6New International Version (NIV)

6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Matthew 12:34-37Amplified Bible (AMP)

34 You brood of vipers, how can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 The good man, from his [inner] good treasure, brings out good things; and the evil man, from his [inner] evil treasure, brings out evil things. 36 But I tell you, on the day of judgment people will have to give an accounting for every careless or useless word they speak. 37 For by your words [reflecting your spiritual condition] you will be justified and acquitted of the guilt of sin; and by your words [rejecting Me] you will be condemned and sentenced.”

Romans 13:8Amplified Bible (AMP)

8 [a]Owe nothing to anyone except to [b]love and seek the best for one another; for he who [unselfishly] loves his neighbor has fulfilled the [essence of the] law [relating to one’s fellowman].

1 Peter4:8GNT

8 Above everything, love one another earnestly, because love covers over many sins. 1 Peter 4:8 GNT

1 Corinthians 13New King James Version (NKJV)

The Greatest Gift

13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, it profits me nothing.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

God’s Love and Ours

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 

8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 1 John 4: 7-8 NIV.

PRUDENCE 2: Speech, People And SITUATIONS

Matthew

7:1-6GNB

Matthew 8

1 “Do not judge others, so that God will not judge you, 2for God will judge you in the same way as you judge others, and he will apply to you the same rules you apply to others.3Why, then, do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, and pay no attention to the log in your own eye? 4How dare you say to your brother, ‘Please, let me take that speck out of your eye,’ when you have a log in your own eye? 5You hypocrite! First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will be able to see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. 6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs — they will only turn and attack you. Do not throw your pearls in front of pigs — they will only trample them underfoot.

Ecclesiastes 7:15-18New International Version (NIV)

15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these:

the righteous perishing in their righteousness,
    and the wicked living long in their wickedness.
16 Do not be overrighteous,
    neither be overwise—
    why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked,
    and do not be a fool—
    why die before your time?
18 It is good to grasp the one
    and not let go of the other.
    Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.

Psalm 37:23-24New International Version (NIV)

23 The Lord makes firm the steps
    of the one who delights in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,
    for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

30 "The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just. 

31The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip. 

32The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, intent on putting them to death; 

33 but the LORD will not leave them in the power of the wicked or let them be condemned when brought to trial. 

34 Hope in the LORDand keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it. 

35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree, 

36 but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found. 

37 Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace. 

38 But all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked. 

39 The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. 

40The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him" Psalm 37: 30-40 NIV. 

Psalms 120

 9Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalm 119: 9-11 KJV.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Psalm 119: 105 NIV.

Psalm 119:130New King James Version (NKJV)

130 The entrance of Your words gives light;

It gives understanding to the simple.

Psalm 32:1-2New King James Version (NKJV)

The Joy of Forgiveness

A Psalm of David. A Contemplation.[a]

32 Blessed is he whosetransgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

2 Blessed is the man to whom theLord does not impute iniquity,

And in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Romans 4: 4-10 GNT (GNB).

4 A person who works is paid wages, but they are not regarded as a gift; they are something that has been earned. 5 But those who depend on faith, not on deeds, and who believe in the God who declares the guilty to be innocent, it is this faith that God takes into account in order to put them right with himself. 6 This is what David meant when he spoke of the happiness of the person whom God accepts as righteous, apart from anything that person does:

7 “Happy are those whose wrongs are forgiven,
    whose sins are pardoned!
8 Happy is the person whose sins the Lord will not keep account of!”

9 Does this happiness that David spoke of belong only to those who are circumcised? No indeed! It belongs also to those who are not circumcised. For we have quoted the scripture, “Abraham believed God, and because of his faith God accepted him as righteous.” 10 When did this take place? Was it before or after Abraham was circumcised? It was before, not after.

1 John 4:15New Living Translation (NLT)

15 All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.

1 Corinthians 12:3New International Version (NIV)

3 Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 10:10-11New International Version (NIV)

10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. 11 As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

1 Peter 2:6New International Version (NIV)

6 For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

2 Corinthians 13:12-14New American Standard Bible (NASB)

12 Greet one another with a holy kiss.13 All the [a]saints greet you.

14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.