"Ponder this carefully."
11 Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died
[
23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.]
with him,
we will also live with him;
12 if we endure,
[
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not
consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind and reaching out for the things that are ahead,]
we will also reign with him.
If we disown him,
he will also disown us;
13 if we are faithless,
he remains faithful,
[
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
.]
for he cannot disown himself.
14
Keep reminding God’s people of
these things.
Warn them before God
against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15
Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who
correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it
will become more and more ungodly. 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene.