Galatians 2:15-21 (NRSV)
Read Galatians 2:15-21 on biblegateway.com
Verse 15We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; Verse 16yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law. Verse 17But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! Verse 18But if I build up again the very things that I once tore down, then I demonstrate that I am a transgressor. Verse 19For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; Verse 20and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Verse 21I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
Devotion
In the movie "National Treasure," hero Nathan Gates quotes from the Declaration of Independence and then remarks, “People don’t talk like that anymore.”
The same could be said of St. Paul writing to the Galatians, when he wrote, “I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.”
We normally work for what we get. And the common wisdom seems to be that you get what you pay for. But no one can be put right with God or earn salvation or merit eternal life by working for it. To try to work for our salvation by keeping the law nullifies the grace of God.
But as Paul explained, Christ’s death on the cross and his being raised to life for us is nothing less than amazing grace!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, forgive us for acting as though we ourselves have to earn our own salvation, our own place in heaven, our own approval in God’s eyes. We know and believe that we fall far short. But we also believe that you have graciously and wonderfully granted us the gifts of salvation – the heritage of being your children. Amen.