How does Galatians 5:4 warn against seeking justification through the law? Setting the Scene in Galatians Paul has spent four chapters insisting that salvation rests on faith in Christ alone, not on keeping the Mosaic law. Chapter 5 opens with the rallying cry, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1). Into that freedom Paul drops the sober warning of verse 4. Unpacking the Warning (Galatians 5:4) “You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” • “Trying to be justified” – pursuing a right standing with God by law-keeping. • “Severed from Christ” – cut off from the very source of life and righteousness. • “Fallen away from grace” – stepped outside the realm where God freely gives what we can never earn. Why the Law Can Never Justify • Exposure, not remedy: “The law merely brings awareness of sin” (Romans 3:20). • Human inability: “What the law was powerless to do… God did by sending His own Son” (Romans 8:3). • Universal failure: “All who rely on works of the law are under a curse” (Galatians 3:10). • Redundant if it could save: “If righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing” (Galatians 2:21). Grace: God’s Better Answer • Given, not earned: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith… not by works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). • Christ’s righteousness credited: “Be found in Him, not having my own righteousness from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:9). • Freedom to love: Faith expresses itself through love (Galatians 5:6), not through anxious rule-keeping. Cross-References That Echo the Warning • Romans 10:4 – “Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.” • Acts 15:10-11 – Peter questions placing “a yoke on the neck of the disciples” that even Israel could not bear. • Hebrews 7:18-19 – “The former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless… a better hope is introduced.” Practical Takeaways • Any attempt to supplement Christ’s work with personal merit empties the cross of its power. • Good works matter, but as fruit of salvation, never as the root. • Staying anchored in grace keeps believers joyfully devoted to Christ instead of fearfully driven by performance. • Regularly rehearse the gospel: Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone. |
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