¹¹ Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?^(A) In that case the offense^(B) of the cross has been abolished.

⁶ The mind governed by the flesh is death,^(A) but the mind governed by the Spirit is life^(B) and peace. ⁷ The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God;^(C) it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.

A Call to Persevere

¹⁷ But, dear friends, remember what the apostles^(A) of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold.^{(B) 18} They said to you, “In the last times^(C) there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires.”^{(D) 19} These are the people who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.^(E)