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.)

nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

(Now the promises were given to Abraham and to his seed. God did not say 'and to seeds,' as if speaking of many, but 'and to your seed,' since He spoke of only one--and this is Christ.)

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

And, since you belong to Christ, it follows that you are Abraham's offspring and, under the promise, sharers in the inheritance.

So [now], you are no longer a slave but a child, and since you are a child, you also will receive an inheritance through [the blessings of] God.

But now, since you know God, or rather have become known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and bankrupt elemental forces? Do you want to be enslaved to them all over again?

I beg you, brothers, to become like me, since I became like you. You did not do anything wrong to me.

Therefore, brethren, since we are not the children of a slave-girl, but of the free woman--

[However], I have confidence in you, since we both have a relationship with the Lord, that you will not think differently [than I do] about this matter. But whoever is causing you trouble will be rightfully judged [and punished] for it.

But, brothers, if I were still preaching [that a person had] to be circumcised, why am I being persecuted? [Note: Paul's argument seems to be "I must not be preaching circumcision since I am being persecuted by those who believe in it"]. [If I preached that a person had to be circumcised] then my preaching that Christ died on the cross would not be such an offense [to those who believe in it].

Since we live by the Spirit, by the Spirit let us also be guided.