January 18 Click on verses for Full Scripture	previous - - - - - - - - - - next
Today's Pathway: Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Galatians 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

Having established that salvation comes by grace, and that he was living his life by faith based on the fact that Christ was living in him, Paul now gives a principle that he holds to. He is not "frustrating" the grace of God. The word translated "frustrate" carries the idea of "neutralizing, violating or setting aside". He is about to transition his focus from salvation by grace to living by grace, and he ties it all together with verse 21. Paul had been saved by grace apart from the Law, but if he then believed that keeping the Law was necessary at any point after his salvation in order to merit the favor of God he would be setting aside the doctrine of Grace. Righteousness does not come through the Law for salvation, and righteousness does not come through the Law after salvation either. If at any point a person's righteousness before God is determined by his obedience to the Law, then there was no purpose in Christ coming to earth and shedding His blood on the cross. Here is the point: if law-keeping factors into our salvation and our standing before God at any point, then we have nullified grace. The Judaizers taught that in order to be right with God after salvation believers had to live under the Mosaic Law. This destroys grace. Warren Wiersbe expounded on this passage this way:

"The Judaizers wanted to mix Law and grace, but Paul tells us that this is impossible. To go back to the Law means to 'set aside' the grace of God. Peter had experienced God’s grace in his own salvation, and he had proclaimed God’s grace in his own ministry. But when he withdrew from the Gentile Christian fellowship, he openly denied the grace of God (Galatians 2:11-13). Grace says, 'There is no difference! All are sinners, and all can be saved through faith in Christ!' But Peter’s actions had said, 'There is a difference! The grace of God is not sufficient; we also need the Law.' Returning to the Law nullifies the Cross: 'It is finished!' was Christ’s victory cry. Law says DO! Grace says DONE!"

As we begin chapter 3 Paul makes a practical application of what he has just written. Richard Halverson prefaced his discussion of these verses this way,

"When Paul says, 'by grace you are saved,' he is not referring just to a fraction of salvation: as though justification and glorification, but not sanctification, depended upon grace. He is referring to the total work of God in the Christian: the past, the continuing present, and the future. Grace is as necessary for the continuity of the Christian life as it is for its conception and consummation. One has little difficulty in understanding the fact that the new birth is a work of grace. There is nothing one can do to be born again. Furthermore, there is a little difficulty in understanding the resurrection of the body to be a work of grace. It is quite obvious that man can do nothing to expedite this event. But when it comes to the interlude between regeneration and resurrection the inclination is to think of it as 'man on his own', or at least man doing his best with token help from God. It is at this point that the Christian is constantly in danger of developing a doctrine of works that will defeat the very thing he is desiring in his life."

"There is a strong delusion among believers that is prevalent, which is the feeling that: 'fruit in my Christian life is by my own efforts' or 'fruit is by the flesh'. It is the thought that if we perform certain things, we will become spiritual."

Paul opens this section with a series of questions which are all designed to challenge the Galatians to consider the relationship between salvation by grace and sanctification by grace. We will begin looking at these tomorrow.