²⁴ Therefore ^(A)the law was our ^[a]tutor to bring us to Christ, ^(B)that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

Sons and Heirs Through Christ

4 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, ² but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. ³ Even so we, when we were children, ^(A)were in bondage under the elements of the world. ⁴ But ^(B)when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, ^(C)born^{[a] (D)}of a woman, ^(E)born under the law, ^5 (F)to redeem those who were under the law, ^(G)that we might receive the adoption as sons.

⁶ And because you are sons, God has sent forth ^(H)the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, ^[b]“Abba, Father!” ⁷ Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, ^(I)and if a son, then an heir ^[c]of God ^[d]through Christ.

²⁸ Now ^(A)we, brethren, as Isaac was, are ^(B)children of promise.

³¹ So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free.

Christian Liberty

5 ^(A)Stand^[a] fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a ^(B)yoke of bondage. ² Indeed I, Paul, say to you that ^(C)if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. ³ And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised ^(D)that he is ^[b]a debtor to keep the whole law. ^4 (E)You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; ^(F)you have fallen from grace. ⁵ For we through the Spirit eagerly ^(G)wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. ⁶ For ^(H)in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but ^(I)faith working through love.

¹³ For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only ^(A)do not use liberty as an ^(B)opportunity for the flesh, but ^(C)through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For ^(D)all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: ^(E)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

²⁴ And those who are Christ’s ^(A)have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

¹⁴ But God forbid that I should boast except in the ^(A)cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by ^[a]whom the world has been crucified to me, and ^(B)I to the world. ¹⁵ For ^(C)in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 What shall we say then? ^(A)Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? ² Certainly not! How shall we who ^(B)died to sin live any longer in it?

⁶ knowing this, that ^(A)our old man was crucified with Him, that ^(B)the body of sin might be ^[a]done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. ⁷ For ^(C)he who has died has been ^[b]freed from sin.