“If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, 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, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!””  (Galatians 2:17–21)

Did Christ die in vain?  Most certainly not!  His death was necessary as the only acceptable payment for the sins of mankind. Sometimes we live and act as though His death were unimportant, but in this passage Paul is addressing what is at the very core of our faith: sin and grace. We are sinners who need help. God provided the help we need. If we could save ourselves, why would Jesus have come down here and died?

The grace of God is the free gift of forgiveness that He has provided for sinful man through Jesus Christ. Ever since the Fall into sin, man is not able to live righteously before God.  But some people continue to stubbornly maintain that we can indeed make ourselves righteous before God, in spite of God’s Word telling us just the opposite. Through sin, man has become totally depraved, unable to do anything to please God. We are under sin, dead, under judgment, under Satan’s control. We are helpless and lost. That is why God sent His Son.  His grace provides the remedy for sin.  Jesus Christ delivers us from the consequences of sin, removes the guilt and condemnation, gives us life.  It was absolutely necessary.  If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing.  Man cannot be made righteous through his own obedience, so the death of Jesus was needed to redeem us.

The issue Paul was addressing here was whether a believer in Christ will live by the Law or the Gospel. Is the Christian faith a set of rules that must be observed in order for a person to be saved, or is trust in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins alone necessary for salvation? Paul made it clear that rules never saved anyone. Jesus did. Only trust in Jesus, His cross and resurrection, has power to save.

A lesson from this passage (and the one in yesterday’s devotion) is the way in which Paul confronts Peter’s sin. He does not run down Peter but speaks to the issue. He was condemning the sin. Peter was still his brother in the faith, even when he was wrong.  And that is a strong lesson Christians today. There is no room in a Christian congregation for character assassination, no matter how strongly you may feel about an issue.  Paul knew that Peter loved the Lord. His Christian faith was not in question. But his actions were harming the cause of Christ, so he needed to be corrected. We would do well to remember this when we disagree. Disagree with your brother or sister if you must, but never forget that he or she is your brother or sister in Christ. We share the same Lord, who died to forgive us. We live together in the forgiveness of sins. All of us need the forgiveness that comes only from the crucified body and shed blood of our Savior. And that is what will hold us together in spite of our differences: the knowledge of our forgiveness through Him who gave Himself for us.