Galatians 2:20-21: Part 4

“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Paul closes this verse with a very strong statement. He basically says that if we try to please God by striving to do good (keeping the law) rather than by simply accepting God’s grace: i.e. the new life which is Christ in us; then Christ death was meaningless. We can actually work our fingers to the bone serving a cause that we think is God honoring, but all the while we are simply making Christ’s sacrifice a waste. Why? How? Because we are still failing to access the new life…the abundant life…the freedom that the death of Christ provides for us. We reject the gift and therefore we reject Christ himself. We would rather do “what seems right to a man(18)” than to submit ,be broken(19), and let Christ be displayed in our lives. We refuse to get give up control and get out of the way. We refuse to believe what God says is true rather than what we can figure out. We refuse to live by faith.

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

Grace,

Tim

18. Proverbs 14:12, Colossians 2:8
19. Luke 20:17-18