Bible Reading Plan – Day 308

₁But now to continue — the son who will receive his father's property is treated just like a slave while he is young, even though he really owns everything. ₂While he is young, there are men who take care of him and manage his affairs until the time set by his father. ₃In the same way, we too were slaves of the ruling spirits of the universe before we reached spiritual maturity. ₄But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son. He came as the son of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law, ₅to redeem those who were under the Law, so that we might become God's sons and daughters.

₆To show that you are his sons and daughters, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who cries out, “Father, my Father.” ₇So then, you are no longer a slave but a son or daughter. And since that is what you are, God will give you all that he has for his heirs.

₈In the past you did not know God, and so you were slaves of beings who are not gods. ₉But now that you know God — or, I should say, now that God knows you — how is it that you want to turn back to those weak and pitiful ruling spirits? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again? ₁₀You pay special attention to certain days, months, seasons, and years. ₁₁I am worried about you! Can it be that all my work for you has been for nothing?

₁₂I beg you, my brothers and sisters, be like me. After all, I am like you. You have not done me any wrong. ₁₃You remember why I preached the gospel to you the first time; it was because I was ill. ₁₄But even though my physical condition was a great trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you received me as you would an angel from heaven; you received me as you would Christ Jesus. ₁₅You were so happy! What has happened? I myself can say that you would have taken out your own eyes, if you could, and given them to me. ₁₆Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

₁₇Those other people show a deep interest in you, but their intentions are not good. All they want is to separate you from me, so that you will have the same interest in them as they have in you. ₁₈Now, it is good to have such a deep interest if the purpose is good — this is true always, and not merely when I am with you. ₁₉My dear children! Once again, just like a mother in childbirth, I feel the same kind of pain for you until Christ's nature is formed in you. ₂₀How I wish I were with you now, so that I could take a different attitude towards you. I am so worried about you!

₂₁Let me ask those of you who want to be subject to the Law: do you not hear what the Law says? ₂₂It says that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, the other by a free woman. ₂₃His son by the slave woman was born in the usual way, but his son by the free woman was born as a result of God's promise. ₂₄These things can be understood as a figure: the two women represent two covenants. The one whose children are born in slavery is Hagar, and she represents the covenant made at Mount Sinai. ₂₅Hagar, who stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia, is a figure of the present city of Jerusalem, in slavery with all its people. ₂₆But the heavenly Jerusalem is free, and she is our mother. ₂₇For the scripture says:

₂₈Now, you, my brothers and sisters, are God's children as a result of his promise, just as Isaac was. ₂₉At that time the son who was born in the usual way persecuted the one who was born because of God's Spirit; and it is the same now. ₃₀But what does the scripture say? It says, “Send the slave woman and her son away; for the son of the slave woman will not have a part of the father's property along with the son of the free woman.” ₃₁So then, my brothers and sisters, we are not the children of a slave woman but of a free woman.

₁Freedom is what we have — Christ has set us free! Stand, then, as free people, and do not allow yourselves to become slaves again.

₂Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you allow yourselves to be circumcised, it means that Christ is of no use to you at all. ₃Once more I warn any man who allows himself to be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the whole Law. ₄Those of you who try to be put right with God by obeying the Law have cut yourselves off from Christ. You are outside God's grace. ₅As for us, our hope is that God will put us right with him; and this is what we wait for by the power of God's Spirit working through our faith. ₆For when we are in union with Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor the lack of it makes any difference at all; what matters is faith that works through love.

₇You were doing so well! Who made you stop obeying the truth? How did he persuade you? ₈It was not done by God, who calls you. ₉“It takes only a little yeast to make the whole batch of dough rise,” as they say. ₁₀But I still feel confident about you. Our life in union with the Lord makes me confident that you will not take a different view and that the man who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will be punished by God.

₁₁But as for me, my brothers and sisters, if I continue to preach that circumcision is necessary, why am I still being persecuted? If that were true, then my preaching about the cross of Christ would cause no trouble. ₁₂I wish that the people who are upsetting you would go all the way; let them go on and castrate themselves!

₁₃As for you, my brothers and sisters, you were called to be free. But do not let this freedom become an excuse for letting your physical desires control you. Instead, let love make you serve one another. ₁₄For the whole Law is summed up in one commandment: “Love your neighbour as you love yourself.” ₁₅But if you act like wild animals, hurting and harming each other, then watch out, or you will completely destroy one another.

₁₆What I say is this: let the Spirit direct your lives, and you will not satisfy the desires of the human nature. ₁₇For what our human nature wants is opposed to what the Spirit wants, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to what our human nature wants. These two are enemies, and this means that you cannot do what you want to do. ₁₈If the Spirit leads you, then you are not subject to the Law.

₁₉What human nature does is quite plain. It shows itself in immoral, filthy, and indecent actions; ₂₀in worship of idols and witchcraft. People become enemies and they fight; they become jealous, angry, and ambitious. They separate into parties and groups; ₂₁they are envious, get drunk, have orgies, and do other things like these. I warn you now as I have before: those who do these things will not possess the Kingdom of God.

₂₂But the Spirit produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ₂₃humility, and self-control. There is no law against such things as these. ₂₄And those who belong to Christ Jesus have put to death their human nature with all its passions and desires. ₂₅The Spirit has given us life; he must also control our lives. ₂₆We must not be proud or irritate one another or be jealous of one another.

₁My brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in any kind of wrongdoing, those of you who are spiritual should set him right; but you must do it in a gentle way. And keep an eye on yourselves, so that you will not be tempted, too. ₂Help to carry one another's burdens, and in this way you will obey the law of Christ. ₃If someone thinks he or she is somebody when really they are nobody, they are only deceiving themselves. ₄You should each judge your own conduct. If it is good, then you can be proud of what you yourself have done, without having to compare it with what someone else has done. ₅For we each have our own load to carry.

₆Those who are being taught the Christian message should share all the good things they have with their teachers.

₇Do not deceive yourselves; no one makes a fool of God. People will reap exactly what they sow. ₈If they sow in the field of their natural desires, from it they will gather the harvest of death; if they sow in the field of the Spirit, from the Spirit they will gather the harvest of eternal life. ₉So let us not become tired of doing good; for if we do not give up, the time will come when we will reap the harvest. ₁₀So then, as often as we have the chance, we should do good to everyone, and especially to those who belong to our family in the faith.

₁₁See what big letters I make as I write to you now with my own hand! ₁₂The people who are trying to force you to be circumcised are the ones who want to show off and boast about external matters. They do it, however, only so that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. ₁₃Even those who practise circumcision do not obey the Law; they want you to be circumcised so that they can boast that you submitted to this physical ceremony. ₁₄As for me, however, I will boast only about the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ; for by means of his cross the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world. ₁₅It does not matter at all whether or not one is circumcised; what does matter is being a new creature. ₁₆As for those who follow this rule in their lives, may peace and mercy be with them — with them and with all God's people!

₁₇To conclude: let no one give me any more trouble, because the scars I have on my body show that I am the slave of Jesus.

₁₈May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, my brothers and sisters. Amen.