DON'T SET GRACE ASIDE
Galatians 2:16 and 21 NKJV
16 knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."
Paul had a God-given understanding of grace and how it pertained to being in right standing with God. The battle of grace versus works was something Paul fought with all the days of his ministry. Paul was the champion for grace.
Paul's background of being a former Pharisee gave him a front-row seat of righteousness by works. Before he turned to Christ, he was furious with Christians and the fledgling church. He did everything he could to stamp out the name of Jesus. The idea that someone could be made right with God without keeping Jewish laws was, in his mind, out of the question and needed to be dealt with harshly. After his encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, everything changed.
In our verses for today, Paul is summing up what had transpired 14 years after that Damascus Road conversion. Paul came to the leaders of the church and declared to them the gospel that he preached among the Gentiles. The leaders of the church at that time, James, Peter, and John, did not try to change his mind. They perceived that God had given Paul a grace to go to the Gentiles just as Peter had a grace to reach the Jews. Later, when Peter waffled a bit on righteousness by grace, Paul called him out and we have our verses for today.
Paul declared what Peter and all the leaders knew to be true. A man is not justified or made right by the works of the law. It is only through faith in Jesus Christ that someone is justified before God. Keeping the law would never suffice. And in verse 21, Paul makes a very strong statement. He refused to set aside the grace of God. He refused to go back to trying to keep the Jewish laws in order to be righteous. Because if righteousness was through keeping the law then Christ died in vain.
That's a bold statement, but there is no hype associated with how definitive it is. The entire reason Jesus had to die on the cross and be raised from the dead was to do what keeping the Jewish laws could not do. The law was not bad. The Ten Commandments are very good. But they exposed man's inability to make himself right with God. God's grace, His power and ability on our behalf, was the only thing that could justify mankind. So, faith in Christ and what He did for us is the sole way we are saved. Period.
APPLICATION
Do we still strive to live right before God? Absolutely. But we live right because by faith in God's grace we have been made right. Paul spent his entire ministry sharing this good news. And this good news is still the same today. We don't set aside God's grace by adding works to make us accepted with God. Our actions are now a result of grace and the impact God's grace has had on our lives. This is why we don't look down on others. This is why we don't judge. If it was not for grace we would be lost. God, in Christ, did for us what we could never do on our own. So, we are grateful for grace.
PRAYER
Thank You, Father, for Your grace. Thank You that I look good in Your sight because I have put my faith in Jesus.