Galatians 4-6 (Contemporary English Version)

Galatians 4

 ¹Children who are under age are no better off than slaves, even though everything their parents own will someday be theirs. ²This is because children are placed in the care of guardians and teachers until the time their parents have set. ³That is how it was with us. We were like children ruled by the powers of this world.

    ⁴But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law, ⁵so he could set us free from the Law, and we could become God's children. ⁶Now that we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. And his Spirit tells us that God is our Father. ⁷You are no longer slaves. You are God's children, and you will be given what he has promised.

   

Paul's Concern for the Galatians

 ⁸Before you knew God, you were slaves of gods that are not real. ⁹But now you know God, or better still, God knows you. How can you turn back and become the slaves of those weak and pitiful powers? ^{[a] 10}You even celebrate certain days, months, seasons, and years. ¹¹I am afraid I have wasted my time working with you. ¹²My friends, I beg you to be like me, just as I once tried to be like you. Did you mistreat me ¹³when I first preached to you? No you didn't, even though you knew I had come there because I was sick. ¹⁴My illness must have caused you some trouble, but you didn't hate me or turn me away because of it. You welcomed me as though I were one of God's angels or even Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵Where is that good feeling now? I am sure that if it had been possible, you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me. ¹⁶Am I now your enemy, just because I told you the truth?

    ¹⁷Those people may be paying you a lot of attention, but it isn't for your good. They only want to keep you away from me, so you will pay them a lot of attention. ¹⁸It is always good to give your attention to something worthwhile, even when I am not with you. ¹⁹My children, I am in terrible pain until Christ may be seen living in you. ²⁰I wish I were with you now. Then I would not have to talk this way. You really have me puzzled.

   

Hagar and Sarah

 ²¹Some of you would like to be under the rule of the Law of Moses. But do you know what the Law says? ²²In the Scriptures we learn that Abraham had two sons. The mother of one of them was a slave, while the mother of the other one had always been free. ²³The son of the slave woman was born in the usual way. But the son of the free woman was born because of God's promise.

    ²⁴All of this has another meaning as well. Each of the two women stands for one of the agreements God made with his people. Hagar, the slave woman, stands for the agreement that was made at Mount Sinai. Everyone born into her family is a slave. ²⁵Hagar also stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia ^[b] and for the present city of Jerusalem. She ^[c] and her children are slaves. ²⁶But our mother is the city of Jerusalem in heaven above, and she isn't a slave. ²⁷The Scriptures say about her,

   "You have never had children,

   but now you can be glad.

   You have never given birth,

   but now you can shout.

   Once you had no children,

   but now you will have

   more children

   than a woman

   who has been married

   for a long time."

    ²⁸My friends, you were born because of this promise, just as Isaac was. ²⁹But the child who was born in the natural way made trouble for the child who was born because of the Spirit. The same thing is happening today. ³⁰The Scriptures say, "Get rid of the slave woman and her son! He won't be given anything. The son of the free woman will receive everything." ³¹My friends, we are children of the free woman and not of the slave.

   

Galatians 5

Christ Gives Freedom

 ¹Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don't ever become slaves of the Law again.

    ²I, Paul, promise you that Christ won't do you any good if you get circumcised. ³If you do, you must obey the whole Law. ⁴And if you try to please God by obeying the Law, you have cut yourself off from Christ and his wonderful kindness. ⁵But the Spirit makes us sure that God will accept us because of our faith in Christ. ⁶If you are a follower of Christ Jesus, it makes no difference whether you are circumcised or not. All that matters is your faith that makes you love others.

    ⁷You were doing so well until someone made you turn from the truth. ⁸And that person was certainly not sent by the one who chose you. ⁹A little yeast can change a whole batch of dough, ¹⁰but you belong to the Lord. That makes me certain that you will do what I say, instead of what someone else tells you to do. Whoever is causing trouble for you will be punished.

    ¹¹My friends, if I still preach that people need to be circumcised, why am I in so much trouble? The message about the cross would no longer be a problem, if I told people to be circumcised. ¹²I wish that everyone who is upsetting you would not only get circumcised, but would cut off much more!

    ¹³My friends, you were chosen to be free. So don't use your freedom as an excuse to do anything you want. Use it as an opportunity to serve each other with love. ¹⁴All that the Law says can be summed up in the command to love others as much as you love yourself. ¹⁵But if you keep attacking each other like wild animals, you had better watch out or you will destroy yourselves.

   

God's Spirit and Our Own Desires

 ¹⁶If you are guided by the Spirit, you won't obey your selfish desires. ¹⁷The Spirit and your desires are enemies of each other. They are always fighting each other and keeping you from doing what you feel you should. ¹⁸But if you obey the Spirit, the Law of Moses has no control over you.

    ¹⁹People's desires make them give in to immoral ways, filthy thoughts, and shameful deeds. ²⁰They worship idols, practice witchcraft, hate others, and are hard to get along with. People become jealous, angry, and selfish. They not only argue and cause trouble, but they are ²¹envious. They get drunk, carry on at wild parties, and do other evil things as well. I told you before, and I am telling you again: No one who does these things will share in the blessings of God's kingdom.

    ²²God's Spirit makes us loving, happy, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, ²³gentle, and self-controlled. There is no law against behaving in any of these ways. ²⁴And because we belong to Christ Jesus, we have killed our selfish feelings and desires. ²⁵God's Spirit has given us life, and so we should follow the Spirit. ²⁶But don't be conceited or make others jealous by claiming to be better than they are.

   

Galatians 6

Help Each Other

 ¹My friends, you are spiritual. So if someone is trapped in sin, you should gently lead that person back to the right path. But watch out, and don't be tempted yourself. ²You obey the law of Christ when you offer each other a helping hand.

    ³If you think you are better than others, when you really aren't, you are wrong. ⁴Do your own work well, and then you will have something to be proud of. But don't compare yourself with others. ⁵We each must carry our own load.

    ⁶Share every good thing you have with anyone who teaches you what God has said.

    ⁷You cannot fool God, so don't make a fool of yourself! You will harvest what you plant. ⁸If you follow your selfish desires, you will harvest destruction, but if you follow the Spirit, you will harvest eternal life. ⁹Don't get tired of helping others. You will be rewarded when the time is right, if you don't give up. ¹⁰We should help people whenever we can, especially if they are followers of the Lord.

   

Final Warnings

 ¹¹You can see what big letters I make when I write with my own hand.

    ¹²Those people who are telling you to get circumcised are only trying to show how important they are. And they don't want to get into trouble for preaching about the cross of Christ. ¹³They are circumcised, but they don't obey the Law of Moses. All they want is to brag about having you circumcised. ¹⁴But I will never brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his cross, the world is dead as far as I am concerned, and I am dead as far as the world is concerned.

    ¹⁵It doesn't matter if you are circumcised or not. All that matters is that you are a new person.

    ¹⁶If you follow this rule, you will belong to God's true people. God will treat you with undeserved kindness and will bless you with peace.

    ¹⁷On my own body are scars that prove I belong to Christ Jesus. So I don't want anyone to bother me anymore.

    ¹⁸My friends, I pray that the Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you! Amen.