65 Bible Verses about Exclusiveness

"You shall have no other gods before me.

You must not have any other gods besides me.

For you must not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God.

You must not go after other gods, those of the surrounding peoples, for the Lord your God, who is present among you, is a jealous God and his anger will erupt against you and remove you from the land.

The Lord made an agreement with them and instructed them, "You must not worship other gods. Do not bow down to them, serve them, or offer sacrifices to them. Instead you must worship the Lord, who brought you up from the land of Egypt by his great power and military ability; bow down to him and offer sacrifices to him. You must carefully obey at all times the rules, regulations, law, and commandments he wrote down for you. You must not worship other gods.read more.
You must never forget the agreement I made with you, and you must not worship other gods. Instead you must worship the Lord your God; then he will rescue you from the power of all your enemies."

I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols.

You must be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the other peoples to be mine.

"'Thus you are to set the Israelites apart from their impurity so that they do not die in their impurity by defiling my tabernacle which is in their midst.

You must not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am about to drive out before you, because they have done all these things and I am filled with disgust against them. So I have said to you: You yourselves will possess their land and I myself will give it to you for a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the Lord your God who has set you apart from the other peoples.

When the Lord your God brings you to the land that you are going to occupy and forces out many nations before you -- Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, seven nations more numerous and powerful than you -- and he delivers them over to you and you attack them, you must utterly annihilate them. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy! You must not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons,read more.
for they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you and he will quickly destroy you. Instead, this is what you must do to them: You must tear down their altars, shatter their sacred pillars, cut down their sacred Asherah poles, and burn up their idols. For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. He has chosen you to be his people, prized above all others on the face of the earth.

For from the top of the rocks I see them; from the hills I watch them. Indeed, a nation that lives alone, and it will not be reckoned among the nations.

or associate with these nations that remain near you. You must not invoke or make solemn declarations by the names of their gods! You must not worship or bow down to them!

The Israelites who were returning from the exile ate it, along with all those who had joined them in separating themselves from the uncleanness of the nations of the land to seek the Lord God of Israel.

On that day the book of Moses was read aloud in the hearing of the people. They found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite may ever enter the assembly of God, for they had not met the Israelites with food and water, but instead had hired Balaam to curse them. (Our God, however, turned the curse into blessing.) When they heard the law, they removed from Israel all who were of mixed ancestry.

This is what the sovereign Lord says: No foreigner, who is uncircumcised in heart and flesh among all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, will enter into my sanctuary.

"We will not give our daughters in marriage to the neighboring peoples, and we will not take their daughters in marriage for our sons.

You must not intermarry with them. Do not give your daughters to their sons or take their daughters for your sons, for they will turn your sons away from me to worship other gods. Then the anger of the Lord will erupt against you and he will quickly destroy you.

Now when these things had been completed, the leaders approached me and said, "The people of Israel, the priests, and the Levites have not separated themselves from the local residents who practice detestable things similar to those of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. Indeed, they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy race has become intermingled with the local residents. Worse still, the leaders and the officials have been at the forefront of all of this!" When I heard this report, I tore my tunic and my robe and ripped out some of the hair from my head and beard. Then I sat down, quite devastated.read more.
Everyone who held the words of the God of Israel in awe gathered around me because of the unfaithful acts of the people of the exile. Devastated, I continued to sit there until the evening offering.

All the men of Judah and Benjamin were gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. (It was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of that month.) All the people sat in the square at the temple of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains. Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, "You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives! This has contributed to the guilt of Israel. Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents and from these foreign wives."read more.
All the assembly replied in a loud voice: "We will do just as you have said! However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season. We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter. Let our leaders take steps on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges, until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter." Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah were against this, assisted by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite. So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out by name men who were leaders in their family groups. They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month, and on the first day of the first month they finished considering all the men who had married foreign wives.

Also in those days I saw the men of Judah who had married women from Ashdod, Ammon, and Moab. Half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod (or the language of one of the other peoples mentioned) and were unable to speak the language of Judah. So I entered a complaint with them. I called down a curse on them, and I struck some of the men and pulled out their hair. I had them swear by God saying, "You will not marry off your daughters to their sons, and you will not take any of their daughters as wives for your sons or for yourselves!read more.
Was it not because of things like these that King Solomon of Israel sinned? Among the many nations there was no king like him. He was loved by his God, and God made him king over all Israel. But the foreign wives made even him sin! Should we then in your case hear that you do all this great evil, thereby being unfaithful to our God by marrying foreign wives?"

As Jesus was having a meal in Matthew's house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Jesus and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

As Jesus was having a meal in Levi's home, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. When the experts in the law and the Pharisees saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. But the Pharisees and their experts in the law complained to his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"

Now all the tax collectors and sinners were coming to hear him. But the Pharisees and the experts in the law were complaining, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Until certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision.

Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep the covenantal requirement I am imposing on you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. This is my requirement that you and your descendants after you must keep: Every male among you must be circumcised. You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskins. This will be a reminder of the covenant between me and you.read more.
Throughout your generations every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money from any foreigner who is not one of your descendants. They must indeed be circumcised, whether born in your house or bought with money. The sign of my covenant will be visible in your flesh as a permanent reminder. Any uncircumcised male who has not been circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin will be cut off from his people -- he has failed to carry out my requirement."

"When a foreigner lives with you and wants to observe the Passover to the Lord, all his males must be circumcised, and then he may approach and observe it, and he will be like one who is born in the land -- but no uncircumcised person may eat of it.

On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin must be circumcised.

Then God gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision, and so he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him when he was eight days old, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

This day will become a memorial for you, and you will celebrate it as a festival to the Lord -- you will celebrate it perpetually as a lasting ordinance. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. Surely on the first day you must put away yeast from your houses because anyone who eats bread made with yeast from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off from Israel. On the first day there will be a holy convocation, and on the seventh day there will be a holy convocation for you. You must do no work of any kind on them, only what every person will eat -- that alone may be prepared for you.

So you will keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because on this very day I brought your regiments out from the land of Egypt, and so you must keep this day perpetually as a lasting ordinance. In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, you will eat bread made without yeast until the twenty-first day of the month in the evening. For seven days yeast must not be found in your houses, for whoever eats what is made with yeast -- that person will be cut off from the community of Israel, whether a foreigner or one born in the land.read more.
You will not eat anything made with yeast; in all the places where you live you must eat bread made without yeast.'"

The Lord spoke to Moses: "The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves and present a gift to the Lord. You must not do any work on this particular day, because it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the Lord your God.read more.
Indeed, any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people.

But the man who is ceremonially clean, and was not on a journey, and fails to keep the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people. Because he did not bring the Lord's offering at its appointed time, that man must bear his sin.

This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live: You must never eat any fat or any blood.'"

Then the Lord spoke to Moses: "Tell the Israelites, 'You must not eat any fat of an ox, sheep, or goat. Moreover, the fat of an animal that has died of natural causes and the fat of an animal torn by beasts may be used for any other purpose, but you must certainly never eat it.read more.
If anyone eats fat from the animal from which he presents a gift to the Lord, that person will be cut off from his people. And you must not eat any blood of the birds or the domesticated land animals in any of the places where you live. Any person who eats any blood -- that person will be cut off from his people.'"

The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, "Tell the Israelites: 'This is the kind of creature you may eat from among all the animals that are on the land. You may eat any among the animals that has a divided hoof (the hooves are completely split in two) and that also chews the cud.read more.
However, you must not eat these from among those that chew the cud and have divided hooves: The camel is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. The rock badger is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. The hare is unclean to you because it chews the cud even though its hoof is not divided. The pig is unclean to you because its hoof is divided (the hoof is completely split in two), even though it does not chew the cud. You must not eat from their meat and you must not touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you. "'These you can eat from all creatures that are in the water: Any creatures in the water that have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, you may eat. But any creatures that do not have both fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the streams, from all the swarming things of the water and from all the living creatures that are in the water, are detestable to you. Since they are detestable to you, you must not eat their meat and their carcass you must detest. Any creature in the water that does not have both fins and scales is detestable to you. "'These you are to detest from among the birds -- they must not be eaten, because they are detestable: the griffon vulture, the bearded vulture, the black vulture, the kite, the buzzard of any kind, every kind of crow, the eagle owl, the short-eared owl, the long-eared owl, the hawk of any kind, the little owl, the cormorant, the screech owl, the white owl, the scops owl, the osprey, the stork, the heron of any kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. "'Every winged swarming thing that walks on all fours is detestable to you. However, this you may eat from all the winged swarming things that walk on all fours, which have jointed legs to hop with on the land. These you may eat from them: the locust of any kind, the bald locust of any kind, the cricket of any kind, the grasshopper of any kind. But any other winged swarming thing that has four legs is detestable to you. "'By these you defile yourselves; anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, and anyone who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and will be unclean until the evening. "'All animals that divide the hoof but it is not completely split in two and do not chew the cud are unclean to you; anyone who touches them becomes unclean. All that walk on their paws among all the creatures that walk on all fours are unclean to you. Anyone who touches their carcass will be unclean until the evening, and the one who carries their carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you. "'Now this is what is unclean to you among the swarming things that swarm on the land: the rat, the mouse, the large lizard of any kind, the Mediterranean gecko, the spotted lizard, the wall gecko, the skink, and the chameleon. These are the ones that are unclean to you among all the swarming things. Anyone who touches them when they die will be unclean until evening. Also, anything they fall on when they die will become unclean -- any wood vessel or garment or article of leather or sackcloth. Any such vessel with which work is done must be immersed in water and will be unclean until the evening. Then it will become clean. As for any clay vessel they fall into, everything in it will become unclean and you must break it. Any food that may be eaten which becomes soaked with water will become unclean. Anything drinkable in any such vessel will become unclean. Anything their carcass may fall on will become unclean. An oven or small stove must be smashed to pieces; they are unclean, and they will stay unclean to you. However, a spring or a cistern which collects water will be clean, but one who touches their carcass will be unclean. Now, if such a carcass falls on any sowing seed which is to be sown, it is clean, but if water is put on the seed and such a carcass falls on it, it is unclean to you. "'Now if an animal that you may eat dies, whoever touches its carcass will be unclean until the evening. One who eats from its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening, and whoever carries its carcass must wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening. Every swarming thing that swarms on the land is detestable; it must not be eaten. You must not eat anything that crawls on its belly or anything that walks on all fours or on any number of legs of all the swarming things that swarm on the land, because they are detestable. Do not make yourselves detestable by any of the swarming things. You must not defile yourselves by them and become unclean by them, for I am the Lord your God and you are to sanctify yourselves and be holy because I am holy. You must not defile yourselves by any of the swarming things that creep on the ground, for I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God, and you are to be holy because I am holy. This is the law of the land animals, the birds, all the living creatures that move in the water, and all the creatures that swarm on the land, to distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the living creatures that may be eaten and the living creatures that must not be eaten.'"

"'Any man from the house of Israel or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who eats any blood, I will set my face against that person who eats the blood, and I will cut him off from the midst of his people, for the life of every living thing is in the blood. So I myself have assigned it to you on the altar to make atonement for your lives, for the blood makes atonement by means of the life. Therefore, I have said to the Israelites: No person among you is to eat blood, and no resident foreigner who lives among you is to eat blood.read more.
"'Any man from the Israelites or from the foreigners who reside in their midst who hunts a wild animal or a bird that may be eaten must pour out its blood and cover it with soil, for the life of all flesh is its blood. So I have said to the Israelites: You must not eat the blood of any living thing because the life of every living thing is its blood -- all who eat it will be cut off.

that you abstain from meat that has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from doing these things, you will do well. Farewell.

"'No man is to approach any close relative to have sexual intercourse with her. I am the Lord.

You must not expose your father's nakedness by having sexual intercourse with your mother. She is your mother; you must not have intercourse with her. You must not have sexual intercourse with your father's wife; she is your father's nakedness. You must not have sexual intercourse with your sister, whether she is your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether she is born in the same household or born outside it; you must not have sexual intercourse with either of them.read more.
You must not expose the nakedness of your son's daughter or your daughter's daughter by having sexual intercourse with them, because they are your own nakedness. You must not have sexual intercourse with the daughter of your father's wife born of your father; she is your sister. You must not have intercourse with her. You must not have sexual intercourse with your father's sister; she is your father's flesh. You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother's sister, because she is your mother's flesh. You must not expose the nakedness of your father's brother; you must not approach his wife to have sexual intercourse with her. She is your aunt. You must not have sexual intercourse with your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife. You must not have intercourse with her. You must not have sexual intercourse with your brother's wife; she is your brother's nakedness. You must not have sexual intercourse with both a woman and her daughter; you must not take as wife either her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to have intercourse with them. They are closely related to her -- it is lewdness. You must not take a woman in marriage and then marry her sister as a rival wife while she is still alive, to have sexual intercourse with her. "'You must not approach a woman in her menstrual impurity to have sexual intercourse with her. You must not have sexual intercourse with the wife of your fellow citizen to become unclean with her. You must not give any of your children as an offering to Molech, so that you do not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord! You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; it is a detestable act. You must not have sexual intercourse with any animal to become defiled with it, and a woman must not stand before an animal to have sexual intercourse with it; it is a perversion. "'Do not defile yourselves with any of these things, for the nations which I am about to drive out before you have been defiled with all these things. Therefore the land has become unclean and I have brought the punishment for its iniquity upon it, so that the land has vomited out its inhabitants. You yourselves must obey my statutes and my regulations and must not do any of these abominations, both the native citizen and the resident foreigner in your midst, for the people who were in the land before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become unclean. So do not make the land vomit you out because you defile it just as it has vomited out the nations that were before you. For if anyone does any of these abominations, the persons who do them will be cut off from the midst of their people. You must obey my charge to not practice any of the abominable statutes that have been done before you, so that you do not defile yourselves by them. I am the Lord your God.'"

If a man commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death. If a man has sexual intercourse with his father's wife, he has exposed his father's nakedness. Both of them must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. If a man has sexual intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death. They have committed perversion; their blood guilt is on themselves.read more.
If a man has sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman, the two of them have committed an abomination. They must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. If a man has sexual intercourse with both a woman and her mother, it is lewdness. Both he and they must be burned to death, so there is no lewdness in your midst. If a man has sexual intercourse with any animal, he must be put to death, and you must kill the animal. If a woman approaches any animal to have sexual intercourse with it, you must kill the woman, and the animal must be put to death; their blood guilt is on themselves. "'If a man has sexual intercourse with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or his mother, so that he sees her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off in the sight of the children of their people. He has exposed his sister's nakedness; he will bear his punishment for iniquity. If a man has sexual intercourse with a menstruating woman and uncovers her nakedness, he has laid bare her fountain of blood and she has exposed the fountain of her blood, so both of them must be cut off from the midst of their people. You must not expose the nakedness of your mother's sister and your father's sister, for such a person has laid bare his own close relative. They must bear their punishment for iniquity. If a man has sexual intercourse with his aunt, he has exposed his uncle's nakedness; they must bear responsibility for their sin, they will die childless. If a man has sexual intercourse with his brother's wife, it is indecency. He has exposed his brother's nakedness; they will be childless.

Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his father's former wife, for he dishonors his father.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!' Cursed is the one who commits bestiality.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!' Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his sister, the daughter of either his father or mother.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'read more.
Cursed is the one who has sexual relations with his mother-in-law.' Then all the people will say, 'Amen!'

So the Samaritan woman said to him, "How can you -- a Jew -- ask me, a Samaritan woman, for water to drink?" (For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.)

When the enemies of Judah and Benjamin learned that the former exiles were building a temple for the Lord God of Israel, they came to Zerubbabel and the leaders and said to them, "Let us help you build, for like you we seek your God and we have been sacrificing to him from the time of King Esarhaddon of Assyria, who brought us here." But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the leaders of Israel said to them, "You have no right to help us build the temple of our God. We will build it by ourselves for the Lord God of Israel, just as King Cyrus, the king of Persia, has commanded us."

Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them as follows: "Do not go to Gentile regions and do not enter any Samaritan town. Go instead to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Now when the days drew near for him to be taken up, Jesus set out resolutely to go to Jerusalem. He sent messengers on ahead of him. As they went along, they entered a Samaritan village to make things ready in advance for him, but the villagers refused to welcome him, because he was determined to go to Jerusalem.

He said to them, "You know that it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile, yet God has shown me that I should call no person defiled or ritually unclean.

Jesus sent out these twelve, instructing them as follows: "Do not go to Gentile regions and do not enter any Samaritan town.

After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!" But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, "Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us."read more.
So he answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came and bowed down before him and said, "Lord, help me!" "It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs," he said. "Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you." And her daughter was healed from that hour.

After Jesus left there, he went to the region of Tyre. When he went into a house, he did not want anyone to know, but he was not able to escape notice. Instead, a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him and came and fell at his feet. The woman was a Greek, of Syrophoenician origin. She asked him to cast the demon out of her daughter.read more.
He said to her, "Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and to throw it to the dogs." She answered, "Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." Then he said to her, "Because you said this, you may go. The demon has left your daughter." She went home and found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the Roman governor's residence. (Now it was very early morning.) They did not go into the governor's residence so they would not be ceremonially defiled, but could eat the Passover meal.

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles too had accepted the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him, saying, "You went to uncircumcised men and shared a meal with them."read more.
But Peter began and explained it to them point by point, saying, "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, an object something like a large sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came to me. As I stared I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild animals, reptiles, and wild birds. I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; slaughter and eat!' But I said, 'Certainly not, Lord, for nothing defiled or ritually unclean has ever entered my mouth!' But the voice replied a second time from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not consider ritually unclean!' This happened three times, and then everything was pulled up to heaven again. At that very moment, three men sent to me from Caesarea approached the house where we were staying. The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. He informed us how he had seen an angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter, who will speak a message to you by which you and your entire household will be saved.' Then as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as he did on us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, as he used to say, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' Therefore if God gave them the same gift as he also gave us after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to hinder God?" When they heard this, they ceased their objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted the repentance that leads to life even to the Gentiles."

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong. Until certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them by their hypocrisy.

Now some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

But some from the religious party of the Pharisees who had believed stood up and said, "It is necessary to circumcise the Gentiles and to order them to observe the law of Moses."

Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace!read more.
For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight -- the only thing that matters is faith working through love.

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.

For there are many rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections,

And God, who knows the heart, has testified to them by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.

The only thing I want to learn from you is this: Did you receive the Spirit by doing the works of the law or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort? Have you suffered so many things for nothing? -- if indeed it was for nothing.read more.
Does God then give you the Spirit and work miracles among you by your doing the works of the law or by your believing what you heard?

We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners, yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.

and he made no distinction between them and us, cleansing their hearts by faith. So now why are you putting God to the test by placing on the neck of the disciples a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? On the contrary, we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they are."

For we consider that a person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! Since God is one, he will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

Is this blessedness then for the circumcision or also for the uncircumcision? For we say, "faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness." How then was it credited to him? Was he circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but uncircumcised! And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised, so that he would become the father of all those who believe but have never been circumcised, that they too could have righteousness credited to them.read more.
And he is also the father of the circumcised, who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was still uncircumcised.