Read the New Testament in 24 Weeks

Greetings and Grace

1 Paul, ^(A)an apostle—^(B)not sent from men nor through man, but ^(C)through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who ^(D)raised Him from the dead— ² and all ^(E)the brothers who are with me,

To ^(F)the churches of Galatia:

^3 (G)Grace to you and peace from ^[a]God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who ^(H)gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from ^(I)this present evil ^[b]age, according to the will of ^(J)our God and Father, ^5 (K)to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Distorting the Gospel

⁶ I marvel that you are so quickly deserting ^(L)Him who called you ^[c]by the grace of Christ for a ^(M)different gospel, ⁷ which is really not another, only there are some who are ^(N)disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we, or ^(O)an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel ^[d]contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be ^[e](P)accursed! ⁹ As we ^(Q)have said before, so I say again now, ^(R)if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel ^[f]contrary to what you received, let him be ^[g](S)accursed!

¹⁰ For am I now ^(T)seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a ^(U)slave of Christ.

Paul Called by God

¹¹ For ^(V)I make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is ^(W)not according to man. ¹² For ^(X)I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a ^(Y)revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For you have heard of ^(Z)my former conduct in Judaism, how I ^(AA)used to persecute ^(AB)the church of God beyond measure and ^(AC)tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I ^(AD)was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being far more zealous for the traditions of my ^(AE)fathers. ¹⁵ But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and ^(AF)called me through His grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me so that I might ^(AG)proclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles, ^(AH)I did not immediately consult with ^[h](AI)flesh and blood, ^17 (AJ)nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to ^(AK)Damascus.

¹⁸ Then ^(AL)three years later I went up ^(AM)to Jerusalem to ^[i]become acquainted with ^(AN)Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I did not see any other of the apostles except ^[j](AO)James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ (Now in what I am writing to you, ^[k]I assure you ^(AP)before God that I am not lying!) ²¹ Then ^(AQ)I went into the regions of ^(AR)Syria and ^(AS)Cilicia. ²² And I was still unknown by ^[l]sight to ^(AT)the churches of Judea which are ^(AU)in Christ; ²³ but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of ^(AV)the faith which he once ^(AW)tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they ^(AX)were glorifying God ^[m]because of me.

Paul Accepted by the Apostles

2 Then after fourteen years I ^(AY)went up again to Jerusalem with ^(AZ)Barnabas, taking ^(BA)Titus along also. ² And I went up ^[n]because of a ^(BB)revelation, and I laid out to them the ^(BC)gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, lest somehow I might be ^(BD)running, or had run, in vain. ³ But not even ^(BE)Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was ^(BF)compelled to be circumcised. ⁴ But this was because of the ^(BG)false brothers secretly brought in, who ^(BH)had sneaked in to spy out our ^(BI)freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to ^(BJ)enslave us. ⁵ But we did not yield in subjection to them for even ^[o]a moment, so that ^(BK)the truth of the gospel would remain with you. ⁶ But from those who ^[p]were of high ^(BL)reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; ^(BM)God ^[q]shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. ⁷ But on the contrary, seeing that I had been ^(BN)entrusted with the ^(BO)gospel ^[r]to the uncircumcised, just as ^(BP)Peter had been ^[s]to the circumcised ⁸ (for He who worked in Peter unto his ^(BQ)apostleship ^[t]to the circumcised worked in me also unto the Gentiles), ⁹ and recognizing ^(BR)the grace that had been given to me, ^(BS)James and ^(BT)Cephas and ^[u]John, who were ^(BU)reputed to be ^(BV)pillars, gave to me and ^(BW)Barnabas the ^(BX)right ^[v]hand of fellowship, so that we might ^(BY)go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ¹⁰ Only they asked us to remember the poor—^(BZ)the very thing I also was eager to do.

Paul Opposes Peter (Cephas)

¹¹ But when ^(CA)Cephas came to ^(CB)Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he ^[w]stood condemned. ¹² For prior to the coming of certain men from ^(CC)James, he used to ^(CD)eat with the Gentiles, but when they came, he began to shrink back and separate himself, ^(CE)fearing ^[x]the party of the circumcision. ¹³ And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even ^(CF)Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they ^(CG)were not ^[y]straightforward about ^(CH)the truth of the gospel, I said to ^(CI)Cephas before everyone, “If you, being a Jew, ^(CJ)live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?^[z]

¹⁵ “We are ^(CK)Jews by nature and not ^(CL)sinners from among the Gentiles; ¹⁶ nevertheless ^[aa]knowing that ^(CM)a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by ^(CN)faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since ^(CO)by the works of ^[ab]the Law no ^[ac]flesh will be justified. ¹⁷ But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found ^(CP)sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? ^(CQ)May it never be! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I ^(CR)prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through ^[ad]the Law I ^(CS)died to ^[ae]the Law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been ^(CT)crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but ^(CU)Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in ^(CV)the Son of God, who ^(CW)loved me and ^(CX)gave Himself up for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for ^(CY)if righteousness comes through ^[af]the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”