Read the Bible

Rank in the Kingdom

^1 (C1)At that ^(F1)time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "^(C2)Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"² And He called a child to Himself and set him ^(F1)before them,³ and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you ^(F1)are converted and ^(C1)become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.⁴ "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.⁵ "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;⁶ but ^(C1)whoever ^(C2)causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it ^(F1)would be better for him to have a ^(F2)heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

⁷ "Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For ^(C1)it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸ "^(C1)If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than ^(F1)to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.⁹ "^(C1)If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than ^(F1)to have two eyes and be cast into the ^(F2)(C2)fiery hell.

¹⁰ "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that ^(C1)their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.¹¹ ["^(F1)(C1)For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Ninety-nine Plus One

¹² "What do you think? ^(C1)If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?¹³ "If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray.¹⁴ "So it is not the will ^(F1)of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Discipline and Prayer

¹⁵ "^(C1)If your brother sins^(F1), go and ^(F2)show him his fault ^(F3)in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.¹⁶ "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that ^(C1)BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY ^(F1)FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED.¹⁷ "If he refuses to listen to them, ^(C1)tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, ^(C2)let him be to you as ^(F1)a Gentile and ^(F1)a tax collector.¹⁸ "Truly I say to you, ^(C1)whatever you ^(F1)bind on earth ^(F2)shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you ^(F3)loose on earth ^(F2)shall have been loosed in heaven.

¹⁹ "Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, ^(C1)it shall be done for them ^(F1)by My Father who is in heaven.²⁰ "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, ^(C1)I am there in their midst."

Forgiveness

²¹ Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, ^(C1)how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to ^(C2)seven times?"²² Jesus ^(*)said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to ^(C1)seventy times seven.

²³ "For this reason ^(C1)the kingdom of heaven ^(F1)may be compared to a king who wished to ^(C2)settle accounts with his slaves.²⁴ "When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ^(F1)ten thousand talents was brought to him.²⁵ "But since he ^(F1)(C1)did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him ^(C2)to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.²⁶ "So the slave fell to the ground and ^(C1)prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.'²⁷ "And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and ^(C1)forgave him the ^(F1)debt.²⁸ "But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred ^(F1)denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.'²⁹ "So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.'³⁰ "But he was unwilling ^(F1)and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.³¹ "So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.³² "Then summoning him, his lord ^(*)said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.³³ '^(C1)Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?'³⁴ "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.³⁵ "^(C1)My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from ^(F1)your heart."