Dual PanelHelp Each Other
1Brothers and sisters, someone in your group might do something wrong. You who are following the Spirit should go to the one who is sinning. Help make that person right again, and do it in a gentle way. But be careful, because you might be tempted to sin too.
2Help each other with your troubles. When you do this, you are obeying the law of Christ.
3If you think you are too important to do this, you are only fooling yourself.
4Don’t compare yourself with others. Just look at your own work to see if you have done anything to be proud of.
5You must each accept the responsibilities that are yours.
Never Stop Doing Good
6Whoever is being taught God’s word should share the good things they have with the one who is teaching them.
7If you think you can fool God, you are only fooling yourselves. You will harvest what you plant.
8If you live to satisfy your sinful self, the harvest you will get from that will be eternal death. But if you live to please the Spirit, your harvest from the Spirit will be eternal life.
9We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up.
10When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.
Paul Ends His Letter
11This is my own handwriting. You can see how big the letters are.
12Those men who are trying to force you to be circumcised are only doing it so that their people will accept them. They are afraid they will be persecuted if they follow only the cross of Christ.
13They are circumcised, but they don’t obey the law themselves. They want you to be circumcised so that they can boast about what they did to you.
14I hope I will never boast about things like that. The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for boasting. Through Jesus’ death on the cross the world is dead to me, and I am dead to the world.
15It doesn’t matter if anyone is circumcised or not. The only thing that matters is this new life we have from God.
16Peace and mercy to those who follow this rule—to all God’s people.
17So don’t give me any more trouble. I have scars on my body that show I belong to Jesus.
18My brothers and sisters, I pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will be with your spirits. Amen.