| For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. | So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law. |
| You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. | For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. |
| For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love. | For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. |
| For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. | For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. |
| For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” | For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” |
| Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. | So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. |
| For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. | The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. |
| Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. | When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. |
| By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. | But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! |
| If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit. | Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. |
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