Galatians 5

Freedom in Christ

1 Christ set us free so we could stay free. So do not let anybody put you back in chains of rules and laws.

2 Listen up! I, Paul, am telling you, if you are counting on circumcision (following old-school rules) to make you right with God, then Christ will not help you.

3 I will say it again: if you think circumcision is the way, you are obligated to follow every single rule in the law.

4 If you are trying to be made right with God by keeping the law, you are cutting yourself off from Christ. You are leaving grace behind.

5 But by faith, with the Spirit’s help, we eagerly wait for that right relationship with God.

6 In Christ, it does not matter if you are circumcised or not. What matters is faith expressing itself through love.

7 You all were running a good race. Who messed you up and stopped you from obeying the truth,

8 That kind of influence did not come from the One who calls you.

9 Just a little bit of bad influence can mess up the whole group.

10 I trust the Lord will keep you on the right path. But whoever is messing with you, they are going to have to answer for it.

11 Brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching circumcision, why would I still be persecuted? The message of the cross would not be offensive if I were.

12 Honestly, I wish those troublemakers would just go all the way and cut themselves off completely!

Walk by the Spirit

13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom as an excuse to do wrong. Instead, serve one another humbly in love.

14 The whole law is summed up in one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

15 But if you all keep biting and fighting each other, watch out, because you will end up destroying each other.

16 So I am telling you, walk by the Spirit, and you will not be doing what your sinful nature wants.

17 The flesh wants what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit wants what is against the flesh. They are always fighting each other, so you cannot just 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, wild living,

20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, jealousy, anger, selfishness, causing drama, and divisive behavior,

21 Envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these. I warn you like I warned you before: those who live like this will not inherit God’s kingdom.

The Fruit of the Spirit

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 Gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things.

24 Those who belong to Christ have nailed the flesh and its desires to the cross.

25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

26 Let us not be conceited, provoking each other, or envying each other.