Freedom in Christ 2 UDB Consider very carefully what I, Paul an apostle, now tell you. If you let anyone circumcise you, what Christ has done for you will not help you at all! BSB BSB: Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
3 UDB Once again I solemnly declare to every man whom they have circumcised: All of them must obey the law perfectly for God to declare them good in his sight. BSB BSB: Again I testify to every man who gets himself circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
4 UDB If you expect God to declare you good in his sight because you try to keep the law, you have separated yourself from Christ; God will no longer act kindly toward you. BSB BSB: You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
5 UDB We whom God's Spirit enables to trust in Christ are confidently waiting for the time when God will declare us good in His sight. BSB BSB: But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the hope of righteousness.
7 UDB You were following Christ so well! Who stopped you from obeying his true message? BSB BSB: You were running so well. Who has obstructed you from obeying the truth?
8 UDB God, the one who chose you, is not the one who is persuading you to think like this! BSB BSB: Such persuasion does not come from the One who calls you.
9 UDB This false teaching that someone is teaching you is in danger of spreading to all of you, just like a little yeast in the dough causes it all to swell up. BSB BSB: A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough.
10 UDB I am certain that the Lord Jesus will keep you from believing in anything other than his true good news. God will certainly punish anyone who is trying to confuse you by teaching you this false message. BSB BSB: I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever he may be.
11 UDB But, my fellow believers, maybe someone is saying that I still teach that you must let them circumcise you. I certainly taught that before I followed Christ, but I am not teaching that any longer. But what they are saying cannot be true; otherwise, no one would be persecuting me now. No, I tell you that if people think they have to be circumcised to follow Christ, then the fact that Christ died on the cross no longer makes any difference to them. BSB BSB: Now, brothers, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
12 UDB I wish that those who are confusing you would go all the way and castrate themselves! BSB BSB: As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!
13 UDB My fellow believers, God has called you to set you free. But do not think he set you free so you could sin. Instead, love and serve each other because you are now free to do that! BSB BSB: For you, brothers, were called to freedom; but do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. Rather, serve one another in love.
14 UDB Remember something that Jesus said. He said all the law means this: "Love each person in the same way that you love yourself." BSB BSB: The entire law is fulfilled in a single decree: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
15 UDB So if you attack and harm each other like wild animals, you might completely destroy each other. BSB BSB: But if you keep on biting and devouring one another, watch out, or you will be consumed by one another.
Walking by the Spirit (Ezekiel 36:16–38; Romans 8:9–11)
16 UDB So I tell you this: Always let God's Spirit lead you. If you do that, you will not do the sinful things you might want to do. BSB BSB: So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
17 UDB When you want to sin, you go against God's Spirit. And God's Spirit goes against your desire to sin. These two are always fighting against each other. The result is that you do not always do the good things that you truly desire to do. BSB BSB: For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.
18 UDB But when God's Spirit leads you, the law does not control you. BSB BSB: But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 UDB What sinful people do can be seen by anyone: immoral, offensive, and indecent actions. BSB BSB: The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery;
20 UDB They also worship false gods and things that represent those gods. They try to get evil spirits to act for them. People are hostile to others. People quarrel with each other. People are jealous. People behave angrily. People try to get others to think highly of them and do not consider what others want. People do not associate with others. People associate only with those who agree with them. BSB BSB: idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions,
21 UDB People want what others have. People get drunk. People get drunk and riot. And they do other things like these. I warn you now, just like I warned you previously, that the ones who constantly act and think like this will not receive what God has for his own people when he reveals himself to everyone as king. BSB BSB: and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 UDB But as we grow in trusting Christ, God's Spirit starts causing us to love others. We are joyful. We are peaceful. We are patient. We are kind. We are good. We are ones whom others can trust. BSB BSB: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 UDB We are gentle. We control our behavior. There is no law that says people should not think and act in such ways. BSB BSB: gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24 UDB Furthermore, we who belong to Christ Jesus have stopped allowing ourselves to do the evil things that we did in the past. It is as though we had nailed them to a cross and killed these evil things! BSB BSB: Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 UDB Since God's Spirit has enabled us to live in a new way, we should behave as the Spirit leads us. BSB BSB: Since we live by the Spirit, let us walk in step with the Spirit.
26 UDB We should not be proud about ourselves. We should not make each other angry. We should not envy each other. BSB BSB: Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.