I repeat what I have already said: If any person preaches to you a "gospel" other than what you have already received [from us apostles], he should be cut off from God's [salvation].

But then it was the good pleasure of God, who set me apart [for this purpose] before I was born, to call me [to this ministry] through His unearned favor.

They had only heard it said about me, "This person, who had once persecuted us [Christians], is now preaching the faith he once made havoc of."

But, when I saw that they did not act in harmony with [the principles of] the truth of the Gospel [message], I said to Cephas in front of everyone, "If you, being a Jew, act like a Gentile [by showing such discrimination], how do you expect to persuade Gentiles to live like Jews [i.e., like Christian Jews who are taught to love all people]?"

Now [specific] promises were made to Abraham and to his seed [i.e., descendants]. [God] did not say "seeds" [plural] as though He were referring to many persons but "seed" [singular] showing that He meant one [descendant]; [Gen. 13:15 says] "And to your seed," referring to Christ.

What then is [the benefit of] the law of Moses? It was introduced [as part of God's revelation] in order to define what sin was, until the seed [i.e., Jesus] would come, to whom the promise [of never ending life] was made. The law of Moses was ordained through [the medium of] angels and [delivered] through the hand of an intermediary [i.e., Moses].

And if you belong to Christ, then you are [truly] Abraham's seed [i.e., his spiritual descendants] and thereby [you will] inherit what was promised to him [i.e., God's blessings].

Now where are those good feelings you had for me? For I can [honestly] testify that [at one time] you would have even gouged out your eyes and given them to me [for sight] if that had been possible.

This set of circumstances contains an illustration; for these two women [Hagar and Sarah] represent the two Agreements [between God and mankind]. The one [Agreement], given at Mount Sinai, represents Hagar, whose children became [the Israelites], enslaved under bondage [to the requirements of the law of Moses].

Christ set us free [from condemnation under the law of Moses], so we could stay free! Remain where you are then, and do not get tangled up again in the enslaving harness [of the law of Moses].