Letters to the Churches

Nevertheless, the woman will be delivered through childbearing, provided that she continues trusting, loving and living a holy life with modesty.

Here is a statement you can trust: anyone aspiring to be a congregation leader is seeking worthwhile work.

A congregation leader must be above reproach, he must be faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, orderly, hospitable and able to teach.

He must not drink excessively or get into fights; rather, he must be kind and gentle. He must not be a lover of money.

He must manage his own household well, having children who obey him with all proper respect;

for if a man can’t manage his own household, how will he be able to care for God’s Messianic Community?

He must not be a new believer, because he might become puffed up with pride and thus fall under the same judgment as did the Adversary.

Furthermore, he must be well regarded by outsiders, so that he won’t fall into disgrace and into the Adversary’s trap.

Likewise, the shammashim must be of good character, people whose word can be trusted. They must not give themselves to excessive drinking or be greedy for dishonest gain.

They must possess the formerly hidden truth of the faith with a clean conscience.

And first, let them be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them be appointed shammashim.

Similarly, the wives must be of good character, not gossips, but temperate, faithful in everything.

Let the shammashim each be faithful to his wife, managing his children and household well.

For those who serve well as shammashim gain good standing for themselves and much boldness in the trust that comes through Yeshua the Messiah.

I hope to visit you soon; but I am writing these things

so that if I am delayed, you may know how one should behave in the household of God, which is the Messianic Community of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.

Great beyond all question is the formerly hidden truth underlying our faith: He was manifested physically and proved righteous spiritually, seen by angels and proclaimed among the nations, trusted throughout the world and raised up in glory to heaven.

The Spirit expressly states that in the acharit-hayamim some people will apostatize from the faith by paying attention to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

Such teachings come from the hypocrisy of liars whose own consciences have been burned, as if with a red-hot branding iron.

They forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods which God created to be eaten with thanksgiving by those who have come to trust and to know the truth.

For everything created by God is good, and nothing received with thanksgiving needs to be rejected,

because the word of God and prayer make it holy.

If you present all this to the brothers, you will be serving the Messiah Yeshua well; it will show that you have digested the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have followed.

But refuse godless bubbe-meises, and exercise yourself in godliness.

For although physical exercise does have some value, godliness is valuable for everything, since it holds promise both for the present life and for the life to come.