Letters to the Churches

for if I may proclaim good news, it is no glorying for me, for necessity is laid upon me, and woe is to me if I may not proclaim good news;

for if willing I do this, I have a reward; and if unwillingly--with a stewardship I have been entrusted!

What, then, is my reward? --that proclaiming good news, without charge I shall make the good news of the Christ, not to abuse my authority in the good news;

for being free from all men, to all men I made myself servant, that the more I might gain;

and I became to the Jews as a Jew, that Jews I might gain; to those under law as under law, that those under law I might gain;

to those without law, as without law--(not being without law to God, but within law to Christ) --that I might gain those without law;

I became to the infirm as infirm, that the infirm I might gain; to all men I have become all things, that by all means I may save some.

And this I do because of the good news, that a fellow-partaker of it I may become;

have ye not known that those running in a race--all indeed run, but one doth receive the prize? so run ye, that ye may obtain;

and every one who is striving, is in all things temperate; these, indeed, then, that a corruptible crown they may receive, but we an incorruptible;

I, therefore, thus run, not as uncertainly, thus I fight, as not beating air;

but I chastise my body, and bring it into servitude, lest by any means, having preached to others--I myself may become disapproved.

And I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,

and all to Moses were baptized in the cloud, and in the sea;

and all the same spiritual food did eat,

and all the same spiritual drink did drink, for they were drinking of a spiritual rock following them, and the rock was the Christ;

but in the most of them God was not well pleased, for they were strewn in the wilderness,

and those things became types of us, for our not passionately desiring evil things, as also these did desire.

Neither become ye idolaters, as certain of them, as it hath been written, `The people sat down to eat and to drink, and stood up to play;'

neither may we commit whoredom, as certain of them did commit whoredom, and there fell in one day twenty-three thousand;

neither may we tempt the Christ, as also certain of them did tempt, and by the serpents did perish;

neither murmur ye, as also some of them did murmur, and did perish by the destroyer.

And all these things as types did happen to those persons, and they were written for our admonition, to whom the end of the ages did come,

so that he who is thinking to stand--let him observe, lest he fall.

No temptation hath taken you--except human; and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able, but He will make, with the temptation, also the outlet, for your being able to bear it .