10 And then many will fall away¹ and ⁿbetray one another and hate one another. 11 And many ^ofalse prophets will arise ^pand lead many astray.

Temptations to Sin

42 ^k“Whoever causes one of ^lthese little ones who believe in me to sin,^{1 m}it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.

5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. ^vTest yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that ^wJesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

21 but ^atest everything; hold fast what is good.

16 ^yKeep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save ^zboth yourself and ^ayour hearers.

3 If anyone ^steaches a different doctrine and does not agree with ^tthe sound¹ words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching ^uthat accords with godliness, 4 ^vhe is puffed up with conceit and ^wunderstands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for ^xcontroversy and for ^yquarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions,

7 For an overseer,^{1 s}as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not ^tbe arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent ^uor greedy for gain, 8 but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, ^vand disciplined. 9 He must ^whold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in ^xsound² doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

Teach Sound Doctrine

1 But as for you, teach what accords with ^psound¹ doctrine.

7 Show yourself in all respects to be ^ya model of good works, and in your teaching ^zshow integrity, ^adignity, 8 and ^bsound speech that cannot be condemned, ^cso that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.

Test the Spirits

1 Beloved, ^tdo not believe every spirit, but ^utest the spirits to see whether they are from God, for ^vmany ^wfalse prophets ^xhave gone out into the world.

17 You therefore, beloved, ^qknowing this beforehand, ^rtake care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.