Fluent Translation · Read & Reflect
Galatians 5
Stand Firm in Freedom
For freedom Christ set us free. Therefore stand firm and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look—I, Paul, tell you that if you are circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. Again I testify to every man who is circumcised that he is obligated to keep the whole Law. You who seek to be set right by the Law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by trust, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. In Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any power, but trust working through love.
Do Not Let Freedom Become an Opportunity for the Flesh
You were running well. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. I am confident about you in the Lord that you will think no differently. But the one troubling you will bear the judgment, whoever that person may be. Brothers and sisters, if I still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who are unsettling you would go all the way and mutilate themselves! For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters. Only do not use freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; instead, through love serve one another as slaves. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one statement: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out or you will be consumed by one another.
Walk by the Spirit
But I say: walk by the Spirit, and you will certainly not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh desires against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. These oppose each other so that you do not simply do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, factions, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s kingdom. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another and envying one another.