Living by the Law or Being Free

¹² I ask you, Christian brothers, stay free from the Law as I am. Even if I am a Jew, I became free from the Law, just as you who are not Jews. You did no wrong to me. ¹³ You know I preached the Good News to you the first time because of my sickness. ¹⁴ Even though I was hard to look at because of my sickness, you did not turn away from me. You took me in as an angel from God. You took me in as you would have taken in Christ Jesus Himself. ¹⁵ What has become of the happiness you once had? You would have taken out your own eyes if you could have and given them to me. ¹⁶ Do you hate me because I have told you the truth? ¹⁷ Those false teachers are trying to turn your eyes toward them. They do not want you to follow my teaching. What they are doing is not good. ¹⁸ It is good when people help you if they do not hope to get something from it. They should help you all the time, not only when I am with you. ¹⁹ My children, I am suffering birth pain for you again. I will suffer until Christ’s life is in your life. ²⁰ I wish I could be with you now. I wish I could speak to you in a more gentle voice, but I am troubled about you.

11 Follow my way of thinking as I follow Christ.

¹⁷ Christian brothers, live your lives as I have lived mine. Watch those who live as I have taught you to live.

Learning to Get Along

¹⁹ No man has any hold on me, but I have made myself a workman owned by all. I do this so I might lead more people to Christ. ²⁰ I became as a Jew to the Jews so I might lead them to Christ. There are some who live by obeying the Jewish Law. I became as one who lives by obeying the Jewish Law so I might lead them to Christ. ²¹ There are some who live by not obeying the Jewish law. I became as one who lives by not obeying the Jewish law so I might lead them to Christ. This does not mean that I do not obey God’s Law. I obey the teachings of Christ. ²² Some are weak. I have become weak so I might lead them to Christ. I have become like every person so in every way I might lead some to Christ. ²³ Everything I do, I do to get the Good News to men. I want to have a part in this work.

⁷ We have this light from God in our human bodies. This shows that the power is from God. It is not from ourselves. ⁸ We are pressed on every side, but we still have room to move. We are often in much trouble, but we never give up. ⁹ People make it hard for us, but we are not left alone. We are knocked down, but we are not destroyed. ¹⁰ We carry marks on our bodies that show the death of Jesus. This is how Jesus makes His life seen in our bodies. ¹¹ Every day of our life we face death because of Jesus. In this way, His life is seen in our bodies. ¹² Death is working in us because we work for the Lord, but His life is working in you.