18. You know that in the past the way you were living was useless. It was a way of life you learned from those who lived before you. But you were saved from that way of living. You were bought, but not with things that ruin like gold or silver.
19. You were bought with the precious blood of Christ’s death. He was a pure and perfect sacrificial Lamb.
20. Christ was chosen before the world was made, but he was shown to the world in these last times for you.
21. You believe in God through Christ. God is the one who raised him from death and gave honor to him. So your faith and your hope are in God.
22. You have made yourselves pure by obeying the truth. Now you can have true love for your brothers and sisters. So love each other deeply—with all your heart.
23. You have been born again. This new life did not come from something that dies. It came from something that cannot die. You were born again through God’s life-giving message that lasts forever.
24. The Scriptures say, “Our lives are like the grass of spring, and any glory we enjoy is like the beauty of a wildflower. The grass dries up and dies, and the flower falls to the ground.
25. But the word of the Lord lasts forever.” Isaiah 40:6-8 And that word is the Good News that was told to you.