In this sermon, the speaker urges the listeners to serve God with fear and truth, while forsaking empty talking and the errors of the world. The speaker emphasizes the belief in God's power to raise Jesus Christ from the dead and exalt him to a position of glory and authority. The sermon encourages the audience to follow God's will, obey his commandments, and love what he loves, while abstaining from unrighteousness and sinful behaviors. The speaker also warns against covetousness and impurity, reminding the listeners that those who cannot govern themselves in these areas will be judged. The sermon concludes with a call to be blameless in their conduct among the Gentiles, so that their good works may bring praise to God and prevent his name from being blasphemed.

The Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians Translated by J.B. Lightfoot Polycarp and the presbyters that are with him unto the church of God which sojourneth at Philippi Mercy unto you and peace from God Almighty and Jesus Christ our Savior be multiplied. I rejoiced with you greatly in our Lord Jesus Christ For that you received the followers of the true love and escorted them on their way as befitted you Those men encircled in saintly bonds, which are the diadems of them that be truly chosen of God and of our Lord And that the steadfast root of your faith, which was famed from primitive times Abideth until now and beareth fruit unto our Lord Jesus Christ who endured to face even death for our sins Whom God raised having loosed the pangs of Hades On whom though you saw him not you believe with joy unutterable and full of glory Unto which joy many desire to enter in For as much as you know that it is by grace you are saved not of works, but by the will of God through Jesus Christ Wherefore Gird up your loins and serve God in fear and truth Forsaking the vain and empty talking and the error of the many for that you have believed on in him that raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and gave unto him glory and a throne on his right hand Unto whom all things were made subject that are in heaven and that are on the earth To whom every creature that hath breath doth service To who cometh as the judge of the quick and the dead Whose blood God will require them that are disobedient unto him Now he that raised him from the dead will raise us also If we do his will and walk in his commandments and love the things which he loved abstaining from all unrighteousness covetousness love of money evil speaking false witness Not rendering evil for evil or railing for railing or blow for blow or cursing for cursing But remembering the words which the Lord spoke as he taught Judge not that you be not judged Forgive and it shall be forgiven to you Have mercy that you may receive mercy with what measure you meet it shall be measured unto you again and again Blessed are the poor and they that are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the kingdom of God These things brethren I write unto you concerning righteousness Not because I laid this charge upon myself But because ye invited me For neither am I nor is any other like unto me able to follow the wisdom of the blessed and glorious Paul Who when he came among you taught face to face with the men of that day the word which concerneth truth carefully and surely Who also when he was absent wrote a letter to you into which if you look diligently You shall be able to be builded up unto the faith given to you Which is the mother of us all While hope followeth after and love goeth before Love towards God in Christ and towards our neighbor For if any man be occupied with these He hath fulfilled the commandment of righteousness For he that hath love is far from all sin But the love of money is the beginning of all troubles Knowing therefore that we brought nothing into the world. Neither. Can we carry anything out? Let us arm ourselves with the armor of righteousness and let us teach ourselves first to walk in the commandment of the Lord and Then our wives also to walk in the faith that hath been given unto them and in love and purity Cherishing their own husbands in all truth and loving all men equally in all chastity And to train their children in the training of the fear of God Our widows must be sober minded as touching the faith of the Lord making intercession without ceasing for all men abstaining from all calumny Evil speaking false witness love of money and every evil thing knowing that they are God's altar and that all sacrifices are carefully inspected and Nothing escapes him either of their thoughts or intents or any of the secret things of the heart Knowing then that God is not mocked. We ought to walk worthily of his commandment and his glory in like manner deacons should be blameless in the presence of his righteousness as deacons of God and Christ and not of men Not calumniators not double-tongued not lovers of money temperate in all things compassionate diligent Walking according to the truth of the Lord who became a minister deacon of all For if we be well pleasing unto him in this present world We shall receive the future world also According as he promised us to raise us from the dead and That if we conduct ourselves worthily of him, we shall also reign with him if indeed we have faith in like manner Also, the younger men must be blameless in all things caring for purity above everything and curbing themselves from every evil For it is a good thing to refrain from lusts in the world for every lust warth against the spirit and Neither whoremongers nor effeminate persons nor defilers of themselves with men shall inherit the kingdom of God Neither they that do untoward things Wherefore it is right to abstain from all these things Submitting yourselves to the presbyters and deacons as to God in Christ The virgins must walk in a blameless and pure conscience And the presbyters also must be compassionate Merciful towards all men Turning back the sheep that are gone astray Visiting all the infirm not neglecting a widow or an orphan or a poor man But providing always for that which is honorable in the sight of God and of men Abstaining from all anger respect of persons Unrighteous judgment being far from all love of money Not quick to believe anything against any man not hasty in judgment Knowing that we all are debtors of sin If then we entreat the Lord that he would forgive us we also ought to forgive For we are before the eyes of our Lord and God and we must all stand at the judgment seat of Christ and Each man must give an account of himself Let us therefore so serve him with fear and all reverence as he himself gave commandment and the apostles who preached the gospel to us and the prophets who Proclaimed beforehand the coming of our Lord Being zealous as touching that which is good Abstaining from offenses and from the false brethren and from them that bear the name of the Lord in hypocrisy Who lead foolish men astray? For everyone who shall not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is Antichrist and who shall ever shall not confess the testimony of the cross is of the devil and Whosoever shall pervert the oracles of the Lord to his own lusts and say that there is neither resurrection nor judgment That man is the firstborn of Satan Wherefore let us forsake the vain doing of the many and their false teachings and Turn unto the word which was delivered unto us from the beginning Being sober unto prayer and constant in fastings Entreating the all-seeing God with supplications that he bring us not into temptation according as the Lord said The spirit is indeed willing but the flesh is weak Let us therefore without ceasing Hold fast by our hope and by the earnest of our righteousness Which is Jesus Christ who took up his our sins in his own body upon the tree Who did no sin neither was guile found in his mouth? But for our sakes he endured all things that we might live in him Let us therefore become imitators of his endurance and if we should suffer for his name's sake Let us glorify him For he gave this example to us in his own person and we believed this. I Exhort you all therefore to be obedient unto the word of righteousness and to practice all endurance Which also ye saw with your own eyes in the blessed Ignatius and Zosimas and Rufus Yeah, and in others also who came from among yourselves as well as in Paul himself and the rest of the Apostles being persuaded that all these ran not in vain, but in faith and righteousness and That they are in their due place in the presence of the Lord with whom also they suffered For they love not the present world, but him that died for our sakes and was raised by God for us Stand fast therefore in these things and follow the example of the Lord Being firm in the faith and immovable in love of the brotherhood kindly affectioned one to another partners with the truth For stalling one another in the gentleness of the Lord despising no man When you are able to do good defer it not For pitifulness deliver it from death Be all subject one to another Having your conversation unblameable among the Gentiles that your good works you might both receive praise and The Lord may not be blasphemed in you But woe to him through whom the name of the Lord be blasphemed Therefore teach all men soberness in which ye yourselves also walk I Was exceedingly grieved for valence who a for time was a presbyter among you Because he is so ignorant of the office, which was given unto him. I Warn you therefore that you refrain from covetousness and that you be pure and truthful refrain from all evil But he who cannot govern himself in these things How does he enjoin this upon another if a man refrain not from covetousness? He shall be defiled by idolatry and shall be judged as one of the Gentiles who know not the judgment of the Lord Nay, no, we not that the Saints shall judge the world as Paul teacheth But I have not found any such thing in you Neither have heard thereof among whom the blessed Paul labored who were his letters in the beginning For he boasteth of you in all those churches which alone at the time knew God For we knew him not as yet Therefore I am exceedingly grieved for him and for his wife Unto whom may the Lord grant true repentance Be ye therefore that yourselves also sober herein and hold not such as enemies But restore them as frail and erring members That ye may save the whole body of you For so doing you do edify one another For I am persuaded that ye are well trained in the sacred writings and nothing is hidden from you But to myself this is not granted Only as it is said in these scriptures be he angry and sin not and Let not the Sun set on your wrath Blessed is he that remembereth this and I trust that this is in you Now the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the eternal high priest himself The Son of God Jesus Christ Build you up in faith and truth and in all gentleness and in all avoidance of wrath and in forbearance and long suffering and in patient endurance and in purity and may he grant unto you a lot and portion among his saints and to us with you and To all that are under heaven Who shall believe in our Lord and God Jesus Christ? And on his father that raised him from the dead Pray for all the Saints Pray also for kings and powers and princess and them that persecute and hate you and for the enemies of the cross But your fruit may be manifest among all men that ye may be perfect in him You wrote to me both ye yourselves and Ignatius Asking that if anyone should go to Syria, he might carry thither the letters from you and This I will do if I get a fit opportunity Either I myself or he whom I shall send to be ambassador on your behalf also The letters of Ignatius which were sent to us by him and others as many as we had by us We send unto you according as you gave charge The which are subjoined to this letter From which you will be able to gain great advantage For they comprise faith and endurance and every kind of edification which pertains unto our Lord Moreover concerning Ignatius himself and those that were with him if you have any sure news tell us I Write these things to you by Crescent's whom I commended to you recently and now commend unto you For he hath walked blamelessly with us and I believe also with you in like manner But ye shall have his sister commended when she shall come to you Very well in the Lord Jesus Christ in grace ye and all yours Amen and of the polycarps epistle to the Philippians