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.
- Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if
you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
- Again I declare to every man who lets himself
be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
- You who are trying to be justified by law
have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
- But by faith we eagerly await through the
Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.
- For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision
nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing
itself through love.
- You were running a good race. Who cut in
on you and kept you from obeying the truth ?
- That kind of persuasion does not come from
the one who calls you.
- "A little yeast works through the whole
batch of dough."
- I am confident in the Lord that you will
take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the
penalty, whoever he may be.
- Brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision,
why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has
been abolished.
- As for those agitators, I wish they would
go the whole way and emasculate themselves !
- You, my brothers, were called to be free.
But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one
another in love.
- The entire law is summed up in a single command:
"Love your neighbor as yourself."
- If you keep on biting and devouring each
other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
- So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will
not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.
- For the sinful nature desires what is contrary
to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They
are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.
- But if you are led by the Spirit, you are
not under law.
- The acts of the sinful nature are obvious:
sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
- idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
- 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.
- 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.
- Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the sinful nature with its passions and desires.
- Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep
in step with the Spirit.
- Let us not become conceited, provoking and
envying each other.
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