By Faith, or by Works of the Law?
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O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? 1It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly 2portrayed as crucified.
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Let me ask you only this: 3Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by 4hearing with faith?
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Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and 7works miracles among you do so 8by works of the law, or by hearing with faith--
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And the Scripture, foreseeing that 12God would justifyc the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 13"In you shall all the nations be blessed."
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So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
The Righteous Shall Live by Faith
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For all who rely on works of the law are 14under a curse; for it is written, 15"Cursed be everyone who does not 16abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them."
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Now it is evident that 17no one is justified before God by the law, for 18"The righteous shall live by faith."d
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Christ 20redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, 21"Cursed is everyone who is hanged 22on a tree"--
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so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might 23come to the Gentiles, so that 24we might receive 25the promised Spirite through faith.
The Law and the Promise
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26To give a human example, brothers:f27even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.
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Now 28the promises were made 29to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, 30"And to your offspring," who is Christ.
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This is what I mean: the law, which came years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as 31to make the promise void.
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For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but 32God gave it to Abraham by a promise.
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Why then the law? 33It was added because of transgressions, 34until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was 35put in place through angels 36by an intermediary.
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Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For 39if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.
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But the Scripture 40imprisoned everything under sin, so that 41the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given 42to those who believe.
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Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, 43imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.
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So then, 44the law was our 45guardian until Christ came, 46in order that we might be justified by faith.
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But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
(English Standard Version - The Holy Bible Online)