Today’s Devotional: “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 concludes his personal testimony by emphasizing that Christians need to die to the Law, meaning the religious traditions and rules, because they never make anyone righteous. The goal is for us to 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 lives inside us, “Christ lives in me.”

Paul explains that although Jesus lives inside us, we still live in this fleshly body, meaning the sin nature remains within us. This shows that even though we have new life through faith in Jesus, we still sin.

But what’s neat is that even though the sin nature still exists, it no longer rules over us. Instead, it is Jesus Christ who rules, and no matter how great our sin may be, it doesn’t nullify God’s grace toward us.

What we need to realize is that although we are new creations in Christ, we still live within the limits of this body with the sin nature. This is why Paul describes it as a war raging inside, between the flesh and the Spirit (Galatians 5:17).

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