The Jerusalem Council

15 ^(A)But some men came down from Judea and were teaching ^(B)the brothers, “Unless you are ^(C)circumcised ^(D)according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

⁵ But some believers who belonged to ^(A)the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, ^(B)“It is necessary ^(C)to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

No Other Gospel

⁶ I am astonished that you are ^(A)so quickly deserting ^(B)him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to ^(C)a different gospel— ^7 (D)not that there is another one, but ^(E)there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or ^(F)an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, ^(G)let him be accursed. ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, ^(H)let him be accursed.

¹⁰ For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying ^(I)to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a ^(J)servant^[a] of Christ.

Justified by Faith

¹⁵ We ourselves are Jews by birth and not ^(A)Gentile sinners; ¹⁶ yet we know that ^(B)a person is not justified^[a] by works of the law ^(C)but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, ^(D)because by works of the law no one will be justified.

¹⁷ But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found ^(E)to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through the law I ^(F)died to the law, so that I might ^(G)live to God. ²⁰ I have been ^(H)crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives ^(I)in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, ^(J)who loved me and ^(K)gave himself for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for ^(L)if righteousness^[b] were through the law, ^(M)then Christ died for no purpose.