Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel --

But when the one who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace was pleased

and when James, Cephas, and John, who had a reputation as pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

I do not set aside God's grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!

You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace!

Now, brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed.

Those who want to make a good showing in external matters are trying to force you to be circumcised. They do so only to avoid being persecuted for the cross of Christ.

But may I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.