CHRIST IS LAW

Galatians 2:17-21

17: “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18: If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. 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 I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21: I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

2:17-19 Through studying the Old Testament Scriptures, Paul realized that he could not be saved by obeying God’s laws. The prophets knew that God’s plan of salvation did not rest on keeping the law. Because we have all been infected by sin, we cannot keep God’s laws perfectly. Fortunately, God has provided a way of salvation that depends on Jesus Christ, not on our own efforts. Even though we know this truth, we must guard against the temptation of using service, good deeds, charitable giving, or any other effort as a substitute for faith. 2:21 Believers today may still be in danger of acting as if there was no need for Christ to die. How? By replacing Jewish legalism with their own brand of Christian legalism, they are giving people extra laws to obey. By believing they can earn God’s favor by what they do, they are not trusting completely in Christ’s work on the cross. By struggling to appropriate God’s power to change them (sanctification), they are not resting in God’s power to save them (justification). If we could be saved by being good, then Christ did not have to die. But the cross is the only way to salvation. Tyndale. Life Application Study Bible NIV.

In today's world, it is not any different. We see so many people that try to “buy” God’s grace by what we do, “doing good things.” But Jesus told us all have sinned, and nothing we can do can give us salvation short of faith in what He did on the cross. I can’t understand how anyone would want to think that he had to do anything more than have faith in Christ. When you do, then the deeds will come and come from the heart not out of a sense of obligation which is a sin. ON THE WAY HOME WALK WITH JESUS and follow Christ and let Jesus show how to fulfill the law.