Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks
Salutation
1 From Paul,[a] an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead) 2 and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia. 3 Grace and peace to you[b] from God the Father and our[c] Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.
Occasion of the Letter
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one[d] who called you by the grace of Christ[e] and are following[f] a different[g] gospel— 7 not that there really is another gospel,[h] but[i] there are some who are disturbing you and wanting[j] to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach[k] a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you,[l] let him be condemned to hell![m] 9 As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell![n] 10 Am I now trying to gain the approval of people,[o] or of God? Or am I trying to please people?[p] If I were still trying to please[q] people,[r] I would not be a slave[s] of Christ!
Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship
11 Now[t] I want you to know, brothers and sisters,[u] that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.[v] 12 For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source;[w] instead I received it[x] by a revelation of Jesus Christ.[y]
13 For you have heard of my former way of life[z] in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it. 14 I[aa] was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation,[ab] and was[ac] extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.[ad] 15 But when the one[ae] who set me apart from birth[af] and called me by his grace was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in[ag] me so that I could preach him[ah] among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from[ai] any human being,[aj] 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia,[ak] and then returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas[al] and get information from him,[am] and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles[an] except James the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you[ao] that, before God, I am not lying about what I am writing to you![ap] 21 Afterward I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 But I was personally[aq] unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news[ar] of the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 So[as] they glorified God because of me.[at]
Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too. 2 I went there[au] because of[av] a revelation and presented[aw] to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so[ax] only in a private meeting with the influential people,[ay] to make sure that I was not running—or had not run[az]—in vain. 3 Yet[ba] not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek. 4 Now this matter arose[bb] because of the false brothers with false pretenses[bc] who slipped in unnoticed to spy on[bd] our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves.[be] 5 But[bf] we did not surrender to them[bg] even for a moment,[bh] in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.[bi]
6 But from those who were influential[bj] (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people[bk])—those influential leaders[bl] added[bm] nothing to my message.[bn] 7 On the contrary, when they saw[bo] that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised[bp] just as Peter was entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised[bq] 8 (for he who empowered[br] Peter for his apostleship[bs] to the circumcised[bt] also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles)[bu] 9 and when James, Cephas,[bv] and John, who had a reputation as[bw] pillars,[bx] recognized[by] the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me[bz] the right hand of fellowship, agreeing[ca] that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.[cb] 10 They requested[cc] only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.
Paul Rebukes Peter
11 But when Cephas[cd] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong.[ce] 12 Until[cf] certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this[cg] and separated himself[ch] because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision.[ci] 13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them[cj] by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force[ck] the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
The Justification of Jews and Gentiles
15 We are Jews by birth[cl] and not Gentile sinners,[cm] 16 yet we know[cn] that no one[co] is justified by the works of the law[cp] but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.[cq] And[cr] we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ[cs] and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one[ct] will be justified. 17 But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages[cu] sin? Absolutely not! 18 But if I build up again those things I once destroyed,[cv] I demonstrate that I am one who breaks God’s law.[cw] 19 For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ,[cx] and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So[cy] the life I now live in the body,[cz] I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God,[da] who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside[db] God’s grace, because if righteousness[dc] could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing![dd]
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