< Galatians 5 >

1 Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
It is for freedom that Christ set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not again be held under the yoke of slavery.
2 Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.
Understand that I, Paul, myself tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, Christ will avail you nothing.
3 Yes, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is a debtor to do the whole law.
I again declare to every one who receives circumcision, that he binds himself to obey the whole Law.
4 You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace.
You have severed yourselves from Christ — you who are seeking to be pronounced righteous through Law; you have fallen away from love.
5 For we through the Spirit, by faith wait for the hope of righteousness.
For we, by the help of the Spirit, are eagerly waiting for the fulfilment of our hope — that we may be pronounced righteous as the result of faith.
6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision amounts to anything, but faith working through love.
If a man is in union with Christ Jesus, neither is circumcision nor the omission of it anything, but faith, working through love, is everything.
7 You were running well! Who interfered with you that you should not obey the truth?
You were once making good progress! Who has hindered you from obeying the Truth?
8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you.
The persuasion brought to bear on you does not come from him who calls you.
9 A little yeast grows through the whole lump.
A little leaven leavens all the dough.
10 I have confidence toward you in the Lord that you will think no other way. But he who troubles you will bear his judgment, whoever he is.
I, through my union with the Lord, am persuaded that you will learn to think with me. But the man who is disturbing your minds will have to bear his punishment, whoever he may be.
11 But I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been removed.
If I, Brothers, am still proclaiming circumcision, why am I still persecuted? It seems that the Cross has ceased to be an obstacle!
12 I wish that those who disturb you would cut themselves off.
I could even wish that the people who are unsettling you would go further still and mutilate themselves.
13 For you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.
Remember, Brothers, to you the Call came to give you freedom. Only do not make your freedom an opportunity for self-indulgence, but serve one another in a loving spirit.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Indeed, the whole Law has been summed up in this one precept — ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thou dost thyself.’
15 But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another.
But, if you are continually wounding and preying upon one another, take care that you are not destroyed by one another.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.
This is what I have to say — Let your steps be guided by the Spirit, and then you will never gratify the cravings of your earthly nature.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.
For these cravings of our earthly nature conflict with the Spirit, and the Spirit with our earthly nature — they are two contrary principles — so that you cannot do what you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
But, if you follow the guidance of the Spirit, you are not subject to Law.
19 Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness,
The sins of our earthly nature are unmistakable. They are sins like these — unchastity, impurity, indecency,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies,
idolatry, sorcery, quarrels, strife, jealousy, outbursts of passion, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these; of which I forewarn you, even as I also forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s Kingdom.
feelings of envy, drunkenness, revelry, and the like. And I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who indulge in such things will have no place in the Kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,
But the fruit produced by the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindliness, generosity, trustfulness, gentleness, self-control.
23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Against such things there is no law!
24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
And those who belong to Jesus, the Christ, have already crucified their earthly nature, with its passions and its cravings.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.
Since our Life is due to the Spirit, let us rule our conduct also by the Spirit.
26 Let’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another.
Do not let us grow vain, and provoke or envy one another.

< Galatians 5 >