From: Paul an apostle not sent from men or by a man, but by Jesus the Messiah, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead

May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!

He gave himself for our sins in order to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father.

Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be the Messiah's servant.

For you have heard about my earlier life in Judaism how I kept violently persecuting God's church and was trying to destroy it.

But when God, who set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, was pleased

(Before God, what I'm writing to you is the truth.)

So they kept glorifying God for what had happened to me.

Now those who were reputed to be important added nothing to my message. (What sort of people they were makes no difference to me, since God pays no attention to outward appearances.)

For through the Law I died to the Law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with the Messiah.

I no longer live, but the Messiah lives in me, and the life that I am now living in this body I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

I do not misapply God's grace, for if righteousness comes about by doing what the Law requires, then the Messiah died for nothing.

Does God supply you with the Spirit and work miracles among you because you do the actions of the Law or because you believe what you heard?

In the same way, Abraham "believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness."

Because the Scripture saw ahead of time that God would justify the gentiles by faith, it announced the gospel to Abraham beforehand when it said, "Through you all nations will be blessed."

Now it is obvious that no one is justified in the sight of God by the Law, because "The righteous will live by faith."

This is what I mean: The Law that came 430 years later did not cancel the covenant that God ratified previously. The promise was never nullified.

For if the inheritance comes about through the Law, it no longer comes about through the promise. But it was through a promise that God so graciously gave it to Abraham.

Now a mediator involves more than one party, but God is one.

So is the Law in conflict with the promises of God? Of course not! For if a law had been given that could give us life, then certainly righteousness would come through the Law.

For all of you are God's children through faith in the Messiah Jesus.

But when the appropriate time had come, God sent his Son, born by a woman, born under the Law,

Now because you are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to cry out, "Abba! Father!"

So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if you are a child, then you are also an heir because of what God did.

However, in the past, when you did not know God, you were slaves to things that are not really gods at all.

But now that you know God, or rather have been known by God, how can you turn back again to those powerless and bankrupt basic principles? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again?

Even though my condition put you to the test, you did not despise or reject me. On the contrary, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, or as if I were the Messiah Jesus.

These people who have been instructing you are devoted to you, but not in a good way. They want you to avoid me so that you will be devoted to them.

(Now it is always good to be devoted to a good cause, even when I am not with you.)

Those of you who are trying to be justified by the Law have been cut off from the Messiah. You have fallen away from grace.

You were running the race beautifully. Who cut in on you and stopped you from obeying the truth?

I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view of this. However, the one who is troubling you will suffer God's judgment, whoever he is.

envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Stop being deceived; God is not to be ridiculed. A person harvests whatever he plants:

Let's not get tired of doing what is good, for at the right time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

So then, whenever we have the opportunity, let's practice doing good to everyone, especially to the family of faith.

Now may peace be on all those who live by this principle, and may mercy be on the Israel of God.