Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.

But from those who were influential (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people) – those influential leaders added nothing to my message.

But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel –

They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith he once tried to destroy.”

But we did not surrender to them even for a moment, in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

On the contrary, when they saw that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised just as Peter was to the circumcised

(for he who empowered Peter for his apostleship to the circumcised also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles)

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong.

But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages sin? Absolutely not!

I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!

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?

Brothers and sisters, I offer an example from everyday life: When a covenant has been ratified, even though it is only a human contract, no one can set it aside or add anything to it.

Now before faith came we were held in custody under the law, being kept as prisoners until the coming faith would be revealed.

Now I mean that the heir, as long as he is a minor, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything.

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.

And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

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.

in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.