1 C hrist made us free. Stay that way. Do not get chained all over again in the Law and its kind of religious worship.

In freedom Christ has made us free; stand fast then, and do not be hampered and held ensnared and submit again to a yoke of slavery.

2 L isten to me! I, Paul, tell you that if you have the religious act of becoming a Jew done on you, Christ will be of no use to you at all.

Notice, it is I, Paul, who tells you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no profit (advantage, avail) to you '> for if you distrust Him, you can gain nothing from Him].

3 I say it again. Every man who has the religious act of becoming a Jew done on him must obey every Law.

I once more protest and testify to every man who receives circumcision that he is under obligation and bound to practice the whole of the Law and its ordinances.

4 I f you expect to be made right with God by obeying the Law, then you have turned away from Christ and His loving-favor.

If you seek to be justified and declared righteous and to be given a right standing with God through the Law, you are brought to nothing and so separated (severed) from Christ. You have fallen away from grace (from God’s gracious favor and unmerited blessing).

5 W e are waiting for the hope of being made right with God. This will come through the Holy Spirit and by faith.

For we, through the Spirit’s, by faith anticipate and wait for the blessing and good for which our righteousness and right standing with God '> conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action, causes us] to hope.

6 I f we belong to Jesus Christ, it means nothing to have or not to have gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew. But faith working through love is important.

For in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith activated and energized and expressed and working through love.

7 Y ou were doing well. Who stopped you from obeying the truth?

You were running the race nobly. Who has interfered in (hindered and stopped you from) your heeding and following the Truth?

8 W hatever he used did not come from the One Who chose you to have life.

This persuasion is not from Him Who called you.

9 I t only takes a little yeast to make the whole loaf of bread rise.

A little leaven (a slight inclination to error, or a few false teachers) leavens the whole lump.

10 I feel I can trust you because of what the Lord has done in your life. I believe you will not follow another way. Whoever is trying to lead you in the wrong way will suffer for it.

I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no contrary view of the matter but will come to think with me. But he who is unsettling you, whoever he is, will have to bear the penalty.

11 C hristian brothers, if I would still preach that people must go through the religious act of becoming a Jew to be a Christian, I would not be suffering from those who are making it hard for me. If I preached like that, the Jews would have no reason to be against the cross of Christ.

But, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still suffering persecution? In that case the cross has ceased to be a stumbling block and is made meaningless (done away).

12 I wish those who are so willing to cut your bodies would complete the job by cutting themselves off from you.

I wish those who unsettle and confuse you would '> go all the way and] cut themselves off!

13 C hristian brother, you were chosen to be free. Be careful that you do not please your old selves by sinning because you are free. Live this free life by loving and helping others.

For you, brethren, were called to freedom; only freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse '> selfishness], but through love you should serve one another.

14 Y ou obey the whole Law when you do this one thing, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

For the whole Law is complied with in the one precept, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

15 B ut if you hurt and make it hard for each other, watch out or you may be destroyed by each other.

But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not consumed by one another.

16 I say this to you: Let the Holy Spirit lead you in each step. Then you will not please your sinful old selves.

But I say, walk and live in the Spirit; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God).

17 T he things our old selves want to do are against what the Holy Spirit wants. The Holy Spirit does not agree with what our sinful old selves want. These two are against each other. So you cannot do what you want to do.

For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit are opposed to the flesh (godless human nature); for these are antagonistic to each other, so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do.

18 I f you let the Holy Spirit lead you, the Law no longer has power over you.

But if you are guided (led) by the Spirit, you are not subject to the Law.

19 T he things your sinful old self wants to do are: sex sins, sinful desires, wild living,

Now the doings (practices) of the flesh are clear (obvious): they are immorality, impurity, indecency,

20 w orshiping false gods, witchcraft, hating, fighting, being jealous, being angry, arguing, dividing into little groups and thinking the other groups are wrong, false teaching,

Idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger (ill temper), selfishness, divisions (dissensions), party spirit (factions, sects with peculiar opinions, heresies),

21 w anting something someone else has, killing other people, using strong drink, wild parties, and all things like these. I told you before and I am telling you again that those who do these things will have no place in the holy nation of God.

Envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you beforehand, just as I did previously, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 B ut the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith,

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness,

23 b eing gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.

Gentleness (meekness, humility), self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law '> that can bring a charge].

24 T hose of us who belong to Christ have nailed our sinful old selves on His cross. Our sinful desires are now dead.

And those who belong to Christ Jesus (the Messiah) have crucified the flesh (the godless human nature) with its passions and appetites and desires.

25 I f the Holy Spirit is living in us, let us be led by Him in all things.

If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. '> we have our life in God, let us go forward walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit.]

26 L et us not become proud in ways in which we should not. We must not make hard feelings among ourselves as Christians or make anyone jealous.

Let us not become vainglorious and self-conceited, competitive and challenging and provoking and irritating to one another, envying and being jealous of one another.