Verses 1-3
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Stop all sin, and desire God's Word instead. You need to read the Word in order to grow spiritually.
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Depriving yourself of the Word is like depriving a newborn of milk. It will kill your faith to be starved of the Word.
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Verses 4-10
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The world is against Christ, offended by Him, and the world rejects Him. In the same way, we are offensive and rejected. But God accepts us, we are special to Him, and we have His favor. That should be our focus. Being right with God is what matters.
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As believers, our task is to be built up in the faith—to mature—so that we can serve God well.
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In everything we do, we are really serving God, and the purpose is to please God (2 Corinthians 5:9). Be mindful of this in everything. If God is pleased with your actions, that's what matters.
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See commentary on Hebrews 13 for details about serving and pleasing God.
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Verses 11-12
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You're only passing through this world, so don't love or desire the sinful things in it (1 John 2:15).
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If you practice sin, it will create turmoil in your mind and cause you to suffer. Repent!
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Be examples of godly conduct in the world.
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Unbelievers may speak bad about you and your faith now, but if you are consistent in doing what is good, you will help them to change their minds and be saved.
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Your conduct is a critical part of spreading the gospel!
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Verses 13-17
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Having godly conduct includes obeying government laws and leaders in every way possible.
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Doing this will prevent you from being accused of evil. Because you fear the Lord, also honor and respect the authorities He's placed in the world (Romans 13:1).
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Verses 18-25
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Also obey your other human authorities, and even when they mistreat you. Christ did the same by doing good and submitting to authorities even when they crucified Him. You do the same.
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How can you take suffering patiently? Like Jesus, do not revile, insult, or threaten those who hurt you. In addition, do not threaten unjust authorities with God's judgment either. That's just using God's judgment for them as an excuse to revile them, but this is unwise and disobedient to God. See Acts 23:2-5 as an example of the wrongfulness of threatening with God's judgment.
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Christ died to heal you of sin, so that you could live righteously. Act accordingly!
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