God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of ^athe Sons of Korah. According to ^bAlamoth.¹ A Song.

The Messages of the Three Angels

6 Then I saw another angel ^kflying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to ^lthose who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, ^m“Fear God and ⁿgive him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and ^oworship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the ^psprings of water.”

19 Now we know that whatever ^vthe law says it speaks to those who are under the law, ^wso that every mouth may be stopped, and ^xthe whole world may be held accountable to God. 20 For ^yby works of the law no human being¹ will be justified in his sight, since ^zthrough the law comes knowledge of sin.

The Righteousness of God Through Faith

21 But now ^athe righteousness of God ^bhas been manifested apart from the law, although ^cthe Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God ^dthrough faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. ^eFor there is no distinction: 23 for ^fall have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 ^gand are justified ^hby his grace as a gift, ⁱthrough the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God ^jput forward as ^ka propitiation ^lby his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in ^mhis divine forbearance he had passed over ⁿformer sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

27 ^oThen what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. 28 For we hold that one is justified by faith ^papart from works of the law.

Greeting

1 Paul, an ^aapostle—^bnot from men nor through man, but ^cthrough Jesus Christ and God the Father, ^dwho raised him from the dead— 2 and all ^ethe brothers¹ who are with me,

To ^fthe churches of Galatia:

3 ^gGrace to you and peace ^hfrom God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 ⁱwho gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present ^jevil age, according to the will of ^kour God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

No Other Gospel

6 I am astonished that you are ^lso quickly deserting ^mhim who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to ⁿa different gospel— 7 ^onot that there is another one, but ^pthere are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or ^qan angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, ^rlet him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, ^rlet him be accursed.

10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying ^sto please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a ^tservant² of Christ.

Paul Called by God

11 For ^uI would have you know, brothers, that ^vthe gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.³ 12 ^wFor I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it ^xthrough a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13 For you have heard of ^ymy former life in Judaism, how ^zI persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely ^azealous was I for ^bthe traditions of my fathers. 15 But when he ^cwho had set me apart ^dbefore I was born,⁴ and who ^ecalled me by his grace, 16 was pleased to reveal his Son to⁵ me, in order ^fthat I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;⁶ 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

18 Then ^gafter three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James ^hthe Lord’s brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, ⁱbefore God, I do not lie!) 21 ^jThen I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to ^kthe churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

The Truth Will Set You Free

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ^c“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will ^dknow the truth, and the truth ^ewill set you free.” 33 They answered him, ^f“We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, ^geveryone who practices sin is a slave¹ to sin. 35 ^hThe slave does not remain in the house forever; ⁱthe son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

12 ^rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,¹ and the violent take it by force. 13 ^rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14 and if you are willing to accept it, he is ^sElijah who is to come. 15 ^tHe who has ears to hear,² let him hear.

16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

18 For John came ^uneither eating ^vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came ^weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, ^xa friend of ^ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”³