What is the meaning of Galatians 2:21? I do not set aside the grace of God Paul is speaking personally but modeling for every believer a settled determination: God’s grace will never be treated as optional or expendable. • Grace is God’s unearned favor (Ephesians 2:8-9: “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith… not by works”). • To “set aside” grace would be as serious as brushing off life-saving medicine; it would declare, “I can handle sin and eternity myself.” • Paul’s earlier confrontation with Peter (Galatians 2:11-14) highlights the danger: any return to law-keeping for merit subtly downgrades grace. • His wording is emphatic: there will be no compromise, no mixture, no plan B. Grace stands alone as God’s chosen means of salvation. For if righteousness comes through the law Paul imagines the alternative: suppose right standing with God could be achieved by obeying the Mosaic Law. • Scripture keeps saying the opposite—Romans 3:20: “No one will be justified in His sight by works of the law.” • James 2:10 reminds us that law demands flawless obedience: “Whoever keeps the whole law yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of all.” • Every sacrifice, festival, and command pointed forward to Christ (Colossians 2:16-17), not to a self-powered pathway of righteousness. • The very existence of the law exposes sin (Romans 7:7); it was never designed as a ladder to heaven. Then Christ died for nothing Here Paul drives the logic home: if law-keeping could do the job, Calvary was a pointless tragedy. • 1 Peter 3:18: “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” If law could bring us, His death is redundant. • Hebrews 10:14: “By one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” One offering—nothing more is needed. • The cross is God’s bold declaration that human effort is powerless to save. Any trust in performance empties the cross of its power (1 Corinthians 1:17). • Paul’s statement is not rhetorical drama; it is theological fact. Either Christ is a complete Savior, or He is unnecessary. summary Galatians 2:21 insists on a single, unwavering truth: salvation is entirely by grace, secured at the cross, received through faith. Mixing in law-keeping as a means of righteousness discards grace and devalues Christ’s sacrifice. Paul refuses that trade-off, and so must we. |
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