Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. (Galatians 5:2-6 ESV)
Paul is making an argument to warn believers against falling back into "elementary principles" - that worldly concept that we earn our way to God's approval, be it for salvation, or for living our lives to please Him. Our only hope, he says, is through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the one who adopts us into the Family of God when we put our faith in Christ. In the same way, He is the one through Whom we have any possibility to live life in a manner pleasing to God. There are no rituals, good deeds or loft promises that can ever replace that. It's only Him in me.
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