Galatians 5
”It is
for freedom that CHRIST
has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be
burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you
that if you let yourselves be circumcised, CHRIST will be of no value to you at
all.
3 Again I declare to every man who
lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
4 You who are trying to be justified
by the law have been alienated from CHRIST; you have fallen away from GRACE.
5 For through THE SPIRIT we eagerly
await by FAITH,
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS
for which we hope.
6 For in CHRIST JESUS neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is FAITH expressing
itself through LOVE.
7 You were running a good
race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying THE TRUTH?
8 That kind of persuasion does not come
from THE ONE
WHO calls you.
9 ‘A little yeast works through the
whole batch of dough.’
10 I am confident in THE LORD that you
will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into
confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.
11 Brothers and sisters, if I am
still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that
case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
12 As for those agitators, I
wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were
called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather,
serve one another humbly in LOVE.
14 For the entire law is fulfilled in
keeping this one command:
‘Love
your neighbor as yourself.’
15 If you bite and devour each other,
watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by THE SPIRIT, and
you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 For the flesh desires what is
contrary to THE SPIRIT,
and THE SPIRIT
what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so
that you are not to do whatever
you want.
18 But if you are led by THE SPIRIT, you
are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious:
sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred,
discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and
the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will
not inherit the kingdom of GOD.
22 But the fruit of THE SPIRIT is
LOVE,
JOY,
PEACE,
PATIENCE,
KINDNESS,
GOODNESS,
FAITHFULNESS,
GENTLENESS, and
SELF-CONTROL
Against such things there is no law.
24 Those who belong to CHRIST JESUS have
crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 Since we live by THE SPIRIT, let
us keep in step with THE
SPIRIT.
26 Let us not become
conceited, provoking and envying each other.”
