1You foolish Galatians, who has cast a spell on you? You are not obeying the truth, even though Jesus Christ was clearly presented to you as crucified.
2I only want to know one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by following the law, or by hearing and believing?
3Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?
4Did you suffer so many things for no reason, if it really was for no reason?
5So, when God gives you the Spirit and performs miracles among you, does he do these things because you follow the law or because you believe what you heard?
6It is just like Abraham, who "believed God, and because of his faith, God considered him righteous."
7Understand, then, that those who have faith are the true children of Abraham.
8The Scripture, knowing ahead of time that God would declare non-Jews righteous through faith, announced the Good News to Abraham in advance: “Through you, all nations will be blessed.”
9So then, those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, who also had faith.
10Because everyone who relies on following the law is under a curse. As the Scripture says, “Everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.”
11It is clear that no one is made righteous before God by the law, because “The righteous person will live by faith.”
12The law is not based on faith. Instead, it says, “The person who does these things will live by them.”
13Christ bought us back from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, “Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed,”
14so that the blessing promised to Abraham might come to non-Jews through Christ Jesus, and so that we might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.
15Brothers and sisters, let me give you an example from everyday life: even with a human agreement, once it has been legally confirmed, no one can cancel it or add to it.
16Now, the promises were made to Abraham and to his single descendant. It does not say, "and to your descendants," referring to many people, but "and to your descendant," referring to one person, who is Christ.
17What I mean is this: The law, which came 430 years later, does not cancel an agreement previously confirmed by God in Christ, so as to make the promise meaningless.
18For if the inheritance comes by following the law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God gave it to Abraham through a promise.
19So what was the purpose of the law? It was added because of wrongdoings, until the descendant to whom the promise was made would come. It was given through angels by the hand of a mediator.
20A mediator, however, is not needed when there is only one party, but God is one.
21Does this mean the law goes against God's promises? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could bring people to life, then righteousness clearly would have come from the law.
22But the Scriptures declared that the whole world was held captive by sin, so that the promise, which depends on faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.
23Before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, held captive until the time when faith would be revealed.
24So the law became our strict teacher, leading us to Christ so we could be made right with God through faith.
25But now that faith has come, we are no longer under that strict teacher.
26For through faith in Christ Jesus, you are all children of God.
27Because all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28In Christ, there is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; you are all one.
29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants and heirs of God’s promise.