English Standard Version

New Living Translation

By Faith, or by Works of the Law?

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.

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The Law and Faith in Christ

Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ’s death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of his death on the cross.

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Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?

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Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ.

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Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected bya the flesh?

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How foolish can you be? After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

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Did you sufferb so many things in vain — if indeed it was in vain?

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Have you experienceda so much for nothing? Surely it was not in vain, was it?

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Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith —

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I ask you again, does God give you the Holy Spirit and work miracles among you because you obey the law? Of course not! It is because you believe the message you heard about Christ.

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just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?

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In the same way, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”b

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Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.

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The real children of Abraham, then, are those who put their faith in God.

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And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justifyc the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

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What’s more, the Scriptures looked forward to this time when God would make the Gentiles right in his sight because of their faith. God proclaimed this good news to Abraham long ago when he said, “All nations will be blessed through you.”c

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So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

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So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.

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The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

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But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.”d

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Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”d

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So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.”e

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But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”

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This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”f

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Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” —

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But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”g

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so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirite through faith.

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Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promisedh Holy Spirit through faith.

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The Law and the Promise

To give a human example, brothers:f even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.

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The Law and God’s Promise

Dear brothers and sisters,i here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case.

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Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.

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God gave the promises to Abraham and his child.j And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,k” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child” — and that, of course, means Christ.

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This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.

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This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his promise.

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For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

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For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

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Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.

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Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people.

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Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

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Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.

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Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.

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Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises?l Absolutely not! If the law could give us new life, we could be made right with God by obeying it.

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But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

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But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

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Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.

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God’s Children through Faith

Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed.

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So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.

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Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith.

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But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,

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And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

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for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.

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For you are all childrenm of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

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For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

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And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.n

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There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slaveg nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

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There is no longer Jew or Gentile,o slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

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And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

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And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true childrenp of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Parallel

English Standard Version

New Living Translation

Galatians 3

Galatians 3