Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Faith or Obeying the Law

3 You foolish people of Galatia! Who has put you under an evil spell? When I preached, I clearly showed you that Jesus Christ had been nailed to the cross. ² I would like to learn just one thing from you. Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law? Or did you receive the Spirit by believing what you heard? ³ Are you so foolish? You began by the Holy Spirit. Are you now trying to finish God’s work in you by your own strength? ⁴ Have you experienced so much for nothing? And was it really for nothing? ⁵ So I ask you again, how does God give you his Spirit? How does he work miracles among you? Is it by doing what the law says? Or is it by believing what you have heard? ⁶ In the same way, Abraham “believed God. God was pleased with Abraham because he believed. So his faith made him right with God.” (Genesis 15:6)

⁷ So you see, those who have faith are children of Abraham. ⁸ Long ago, Scripture knew that God would make the Gentiles right with himself. He would do this by their faith in him. He announced the good news ahead of time to Abraham. God said, “All nations will be blessed because of you.” (Genesis 12:3; 18:18; 22:18) ⁹ So those who depend on faith are blessed along with Abraham. He was the man of faith.

¹⁰ All who depend on obeying the law are under a curse. It is written, “May everyone who doesn’t continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law be under God’s curse.” (Deuteronomy 27:26) ¹¹ We know that no one who depends on the law is made right with God. This is because “the one who is right with God will live by faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4) ¹² The law is not based on faith. In fact, it is just the opposite. It teaches that “the person who does these things will live by them.” (Leviticus 18:5) ¹³ Christ set us free from the curse of the law. He did it by becoming a curse for us. It is written, “Everyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse.” (Deuteronomy 21:23) ¹⁴ Christ Jesus set us free so that the blessing given to Abraham would come to the Gentiles through Christ. He did it so that we might receive the promise of the Holy Spirit. The promised Spirit comes by believing in Christ.

The Law and the Promise

¹⁵ Brothers and sisters, let me give you an example from everyday life. No one can get rid of an official agreement between people. No one can add to it. It can’t be changed after it has been made. It is the same with God’s covenant agreement. ¹⁶ The promises were given to Abraham. They were also given to his seed. Scripture does not say, “and to seeds.” That means many people. It says, “and to your seed.” (Genesis 12:7; 13:15; 24:7) That means one person. And that one person is Christ. ¹⁷ Here is what I mean. The law came 430 years after the promise. But the law does not get rid of God’s covenant and promise. The covenant had already been made by God. So the law does not do away with the promise. ¹⁸ The great gift that God has for us does not depend on the law. If it did, it would no longer depend on the promise. But God gave it to Abraham as a free gift through a promise.

¹⁹ Then why was the law given at all? It was added because of human sin. And it was supposed to control us until the promised Seed had come. The law was given through angels, and a go-between was put in charge of it. ²⁰ A go-between means that there is more than one side to an agreement. But God didn’t use a go-between when he made his promise to Abraham.

²¹ So is the law opposed to God’s promises? Certainly not! What if a law had been given that could give life? Then people could become right with God by obeying the law. ²² But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin. It does so in order that what was promised might be given to those who believe. The promise comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

Children of God

²³ Before faith in Christ came, we were guarded by the law. We were locked up until this faith was made known. ²⁴ So the law was put in charge of us until Christ came. He came so that we might be made right with God by believing in Christ. ²⁵ But now faith in Christ has come. So the law is no longer in charge of us.

²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God by believing in Christ. ²⁷ This is because all of you who were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. You have put him on as if he were your clothes. ²⁸ There is no Jew or Gentile. There is no slave or free person. There is no male or female. That’s because you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ You who belong to Christ are Abraham’s seed. So you will receive what God has promised.

4 Here is what I have been saying. As long as your own children are young, they are no different from slaves in your house. They are no different, even though they will own all the property. ² People are in charge of the property. And other people are in charge of the children. The children remain under their care until they become adults. At that time their fathers give them the property. ³ It is the same with us. When we were children, we were slaves to the basic spiritual powers of the world. ⁴ But then the chosen time came. God sent his Son. A woman gave birth to him. He was born under the authority of the law. ⁵ He came to set free those who were under the authority of the law. He wanted us to be adopted as children with all the rights children have. ⁶ Because you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. He is the Holy Spirit. By his power we call God Abba. Abba means Father. ⁷ So you aren’t a slave any longer. You are God’s child. Because you are his child, God gives you the rights of those who are his children.

Paul’s Concern for the Believers in Galatia

⁸ At one time you didn’t know God. You were slaves to gods that are really not gods at all. ⁹ But now you know God. Even better, God knows you. So why are you turning back to those weak and worthless powers? Do you want to be slaves to them all over again? ¹⁰ You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! ¹¹ I am afraid for you. I am afraid that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.

¹² I make my appeal to you, brothers and sisters. I’m asking you to become like me. After all, I became like you. You didn’t do anything wrong to me. ¹³ Remember when I first preached the good news to you? Remember I did that because I was sick. ¹⁴ And my sickness was hard on you. But you weren’t mean to me. You didn’t make fun of me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God. You welcomed me as if I were Christ Jesus himself. ¹⁵ So why aren’t you treating me the same way now? Suppose you could have torn out your own eyes and given them to me. Then you would have done it. I am a witness to this. ¹⁶ Have I become your enemy now by telling you the truth?

¹⁷ Those people are trying hard to win you over. But it is not for your good. They want to take you away from us. They want you to commit yourselves to them. ¹⁸ It is fine to be committed to something, if the purpose is good. And you shouldn’t be committed only when I am with you. You should always be committed. ¹⁹ My dear children, I am in pain for you like I was when we first met. I have pain like a woman giving birth. And my pain will continue until Christ makes you like himself. ²⁰ I wish I could be with you now. I wish I could change my tone of voice. As it is, I don’t understand you.

Hagar and Sarah

²¹ You who want to be under the authority of the law, tell me something. Don’t you know what the law says? ²² It is written that Abraham had two sons. The slave woman gave birth to one of them. The free woman gave birth to the other one. ²³ Abraham’s son by the slave woman was born in the usual way. But his son by the free woman was born because of God’s promise.

²⁴ These things are examples. The two women stand for two covenants. One covenant comes from Mount Sinai. It gives birth to children who are going to be slaves. It is Hagar. ²⁵ Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia. She stands for the present city of Jerusalem. That’s because she and her children are slaves. ²⁶ But the Jerusalem that is above is free. She is our mother. ²⁷ It is written,

²⁸ Brothers and sisters, you are children because of God’s promise just as Isaac was. ²⁹ At that time, the son born in the usual way tried to hurt the other son. The other son was born by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the same now. ³⁰ But what does Scripture say? “Get rid of the slave woman. Get rid of her son. The slave woman’s son will never have a share of the family’s property. He’ll never share it with the free woman’s son.” (Genesis 21:10) ³¹ Brothers and sisters, we are not the slave woman’s children. We are the free woman’s children.