Do not nullify the grace of God

Galatians 2:17-3:9 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to 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.”

3 You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified? ² This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? ⁵ So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?

⁶ Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. ⁷ Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. ⁸ The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” ⁹ So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.

In today’s text it says:  I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?  This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?  Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?  So then, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you, do it by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?   We do not attain righteousness or earn our salvation by our works, but rather by believing, by having faith in Christ.  Ephesians 2:8-10 says: For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;  not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.   One of the greatest mistakes that we make in understanding and applying scripture in our lives is that we tend to view things as either one thing or the other.  So, many who rely solely on grace so that they do not nullify the cross, where Christ died once for all, complete disregard the importance of righteousness. As the verses in Ephesians say, we are not saved by our works, but we are saved for good works. James 4:17 says:   To one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.  Then just as reliance on the Law nullifies the grace of God, so does continuing in sin nullify God’s grace. Having received the free gift from God, do we just leave it unopened?  If the result of God’s grace is not righteousness, then we nullify grace. In Matthew 5:17-20 Jesus Himself says:  “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them.  For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished.  Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.  For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

Paul did already cover this in today’s text saying previously:  If, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!  For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.  For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.  I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.   Along with recognizing that the truth of God’s word is often not either or but rather yes and also, it is vital that we understand God’s word in the context of God’s word; that we don’t fall into the deception of building doctrines on isolated, out of context verses of scripture. Those who try to dispute or discredit the Bible will often try to point out contradictions in various passages. In truth though, these are not contradictions at all, but rather they reveal different sides of the same truth. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says: All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;  so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.    It is all scripture collectively, from Genesis to Revelation, all scripture reveals God’s plan and His will for redemption from sin and restoration to His original intention.   Detractors will say that scripture was written by men not God, but it is inspired by God, through the Holy Spirit. If a person will read all scripture, asking the Holy Spirit, the one who inspired its writing, to reveal its meaning, truth will be revealed; righteousness will be the result.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, thank You for Your grace. May I never nullify grace either by relying on my own works or by continuing in unrighteousness. By Your grace, through the power of the Holy Spirit, given through the cross and the resurrection, may I be Your workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which You prepared for me and prepared me for so that I would walk in them.  Amen.