5 The Messiah has set us free to live in freedom, so stand firm and do not be subject again to the burden of slavery. 2 Listen to me, Paul. I say to you that if you get circumcised, Messiah will be of no use to you.  3 I solemnly emphasize again that every man who gets circumcised is obligated to keep the whole Law.  4 You who are trying to be made right by the Law[1175] have cut yourselves off from Messiah; you have fallen from grace.  5 For we through the spirit, by faith, are expectantly waiting for the hope of righteousness.  6 For in Messiah Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything,[1176] but only faith working through love.
    7 You were running the race so well! Who blocked you from obeying the truth?  8 This persuasion is not coming from the One who calls you.  9 A little bit of yeast makes the whole lump of dough rise.  10 I am persuaded in the lord that you will adopt no other view, and that whoever is troubling you will bear his judgment.  11 As for me, brothers and sisters, if I were still preaching circumcision,[1177] why am I still being persecuted? If I were still preaching circumcision, the stumbling block of the cross would have been removed.  12 I wish that those agitating you would cut theirs right off!
    13 For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters. Only do not use this freedom as an excuse to do what the flesh wants, but through love serve one another.  14 For the whole Law is fulfilled in one statement: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  15 But if you attack and devour one another, watch out that you are not destroyed by one another.
    16 I say this: follow the spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.  17 For what the flesh desires is against the spirit, and what the spirit desires is against the flesh. These are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want.  18 But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the Law.  19 The actions of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, rivalries, dissensions, factions,  21 envy, drunkenness, carousing, and similar things. I warn you, just as I warned you before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. [1178] 22 But the fruit the spirit produces is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!  24 Those who belong to Messiah Jesus have crucified their flesh with its lusts and desires.
    25 Since we live by the spirit we should also be guided by the spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.