Galatians 2:15-21
15 “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from the Gentiles;16 nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified. 17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Far from it! 18 For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a wrongdoer. 19 For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified: Paul is clear: There are no doers of the law. Consequently, no one is justified by the law. And yet, in Paul’s context, people were combining law and Gospel. Modern Christians do the same thing. We believe we need rules and regulations to somehow carry us in our faith. And yet when we combine law and Gospel, we make the Gospel void. It’s either all based on Christ’s finished work, or it isn’t.
Far from it: Paul is saying that if we combine law and Gospel in any way, then we will be ministering sin to people because the law excites sin (Romans 7).
I died to the law: Believers are dead to the law as the law has no place in the Christian life. This would have had special relevance for Jewish Christians who grew up with the law. A clear transition in covenant has occurred. In God’s New Covenant, there is no room for Old Covenant law. Believers have been spiritually crucified with Christ and are now alive to God.
Crucified with Christ…the life I now live: Believers are dead to the law because they’ve been crucified with Christ. Now, we live by faith in the indwelling Son of God who lives in us and through us. We have the God of the universe living in us and producing His fruit within us. What more could a Christian need? According to Paul, nothing!
I do not nullify the grace of God: If the law provides any aspect of salvation, then Christ died for nothing. Total forgiveness, righteousness, and adoption as God’s children are all founded on Christ’s finished work. If we pursue any of these things in addition to Christ, then we nullify God’s grace.
