1 S tand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.

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

2 B ehold, I, Paul, tell you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing.

Listen 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.

3 Y es, I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.

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

4 Y ou are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace.

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

5 F or we, through the Spirit, by faith wait for the hope of righteousness.

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

6 F or in Christ Jesus neither circumcision amounts to anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith working through love.

If 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.

7 Y ou were running well! Who interfered with you that you should not obey the truth?

You were doing well. Who stopped you from obeying the truth?

8 T his persuasion is not from him who calls you.

Whatever he used did not come from the One Who chose you to have life.

9 A little yeast grows through the whole lump.

It only takes a little yeast to make the whole loaf of bread rise.

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 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.

11 B ut I, brothers, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? Then the stumbling block of the cross has been removed.

Christian 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.

12 I wish that those who disturb you would cut themselves off.

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

13 F or you, brothers, were called for freedom. Only don’t use your freedom for gain to the flesh, but through love be servants to one another.

Christian 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.

14 F or the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

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

15 B ut if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you don’t consume one another.

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

16 B ut I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh.

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

17 F or 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.

The 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.

18 B ut if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

If you let the Holy Spirit lead you, the Law no longer has power over you.

19 N ow the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness,

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

20 i dolatry, sorcery, hatred, strife, jealousies, outbursts of anger, rivalries, divisions, heresies,

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

21 e nvy, 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.

wanting 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.

22 B ut the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith,

But 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,

23 g entleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

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

24 T hose who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.

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

25 I f we live by the Spirit, let’s also walk by the Spirit.

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

26 L et’s not become conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another.

Let 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.