No Nullifying God’s Grace

“For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life, which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God.” (Galatians 2:19-21a)

Paul ends his personal testimony saying Christians need to die to the Law, that is, the religious traditions and regulations because they never make a person righteous. The purpose is so we can become new creations alive to God through faith in Jesus Christ.

When this happens we die to who we once were, “crucified with Christ,” and come alive in Christ who takes up residency inside, “Christ lives in me.”

Paul goes on to say that even though Jesus lives inside we still occupy this body of flesh, that is, the sin nature still lives within us, which means that even though we have this new life by faith in Jesus, we still sin.

But the neat thing is that even though the sin nature is still around, it no longer is ruling over us, but rather it is Jesus Christ, and no matter how great our sin may be it doesn’t nullify God’s grace towards us.

What we need to understand is that even though we’re new creations in Christ, we still live in the confines of this body with the sin nature. This is why Paul refers to it as a war raging inside, that is, the flesh against the Spirit (Galatians 5:17).

And so while we’re still saved, we still sin, and if anyone says differently the Bible calls them liars (1 John 1:10), yet we don’t need to live condemned lives, for in Christ there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1). And that’s because of God’s great grace, which nothing we do is able to nullify.