1 Boast not thyself of tomorrow; For thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.
2 Let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth; A stranger, and not thine own lips.
3 A stone is heavy, and the sand weighty; But a fool's vexation is heavier than they both.
4 Wrath is cruel, and anger is overwhelming; But who is able to stand before jealousy?
5 Better is open rebuke Than love that is hidden.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; But the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
7 The full soul loatheth a honeycomb; But to the hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet.
8 As a bird that wandereth from her nest, So is a man that wandereth from his place.
9 Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; So doth the sweetness of a man's friend that cometh of hearty counsel.
10 Thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; And go not to thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: Better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off.
11 My son, be wise, and make my heart glad, That I may answer him that reproacheth me.
12 A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the simple pass on, and suffer for it.
13 Take his garment that is surety for a stranger; And hold him in pledge that is surety for a foreign woman.
14 He that blesseth his friend with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, It shall be counted a curse to him.
15 A continual dropping in a very rainy day And a contentious woman are alike:
16 He that would restrain her restraineth the wind; And his right hand encountereth oil.
17 Iron sharpeneth iron; So a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
18 Whoso keepeth the fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof; And he that regardeth his master shall be honored.
19 As in water face answereth to face, So the heart of man to man.
20 Sheol and Abaddon are never satisfied; And the eyes of man are never satisfied.
21 The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold; And a man is tried by his praise.
22 Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with bruised grain, Yet will not his foolishness depart from him.
23 Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, And look well to thy herds:
24 For riches are not for ever: And doth the crown endure unto all generations?
25 The hay is carried, and the tender grass showeth itself, And the herbs of the mountains are gathered in.
26 The lambs are for thy clothing, And the goats are the price of the field;
27 And there will be goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, And maintenance for thy maidens.
You Must Hear the Gospel
Romans 10:17
You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12) "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17)
You Must Believe
Hebrews 11:6
You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)
You Must Repent
Acts 3:19
You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)
You Must Confess
Romans 10:9
You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)
You Must Be Baptized
Acts 2:38
Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!
You Must Be Faithful Unto Death
Revelation 2:10
Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)