1. You people in Galatia are so foolish! Why do I say this? Because I told you very clearly about the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. But now it seems as though you have let someone use their magical powers to make you forget.
2. Tell me this one thing: How did you receive the Spirit? Did you receive the Spirit by following the law? No, you received the Spirit because you heard the message about Jesus and believed it.
3. You began your life in Christ with the Spirit. Now do you try to complete it by your own power? That is foolish.
4. You have experienced many things. Were all those experiences wasted? I hope they were not wasted!
5. Does God give you the Spirit because you follow the law? Does God work miracles among you because you follow the law? No, God gives you his Spirit and works miracles among you because you heard the message about Jesus and believed it.
6. The Scriptures say the same thing about Abraham. “Abraham believed God, and because of this faith he was accepted as one who is right with God.”
7. So you should know that the true children of Abraham are those who have faith.
8. The Scriptures told what would happen in the future. These writings said that God would make the non-Jewish people right through their faith. God told this Good News to Abraham before it happened. God said to Abraham, “I will use you to bless all the people on earth.”
9. Abraham believed this, and because he believed, he was blessed. All people who believe are blessed the same as Abraham was.
10. But people who depend on following the law to make them right are under a curse. As the Scriptures say, “They must do everything that is written in the law. If they do not always obey, they are under a curse.”
11. So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by the law. The Scriptures say, “The one who is right with God by faith will live forever.”