12 Those 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.
13 They 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.
14 I 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.
15 It doesn’t matter if anyone is circumcised or not. The only thing that matters is this new life we have from God.
16 Peace and mercy to those who follow this rule—to all God’s people.
17 So don’t give me any more trouble. I have scars on my body that show I belong to Jesus.
18 My brothers and sisters, I pray that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will be with your spirits. Amen.