Galatians 2:21 NIV
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
The Good News Translation renders our reference text in a simple but vivid way: “I refuse to reject the grace of God…if a person is put right with God through the Law, it means that Christ died for nothing!” (Gal 2:21 GNT). The great emphasis Paul lays on the grace of God for our right standing before Him counters the performance-based righteousness that some in his day were aggressively advocating for. Put differently, to Paul and rightly so, Christ could NOT have died for nothing! His death and resurrection are not only the brim-fulfillment of all that the Old Testament sacrifices foreshadowed, but Christ’s own perfect sacrifice is the sole and superior ground upon which we, in Him, are counted righteous before God (2 Cor 5:21).
Thus, to “set aside” or “reject the grace of God” is taking for granted and undermining the perfect work of Christ, which we all should guard against. Does Paul’s argument thus imply that one was at liberty to take lightly the law of Moses? Certainly not. In fact, the Apostle made a stunning comparison between the two and said, “Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Heb 10:28-29 NIV)!
Notice, even when rejecting the law of Moses had consequences, trampling the “Son of God [Christ] under foot” and insulting the “Spirit of grace”, which are synonymous with rejecting the grace of God, do attract more severe punishments. As can be seen, the grace of God alone in Christ alone surpasses everything else in making us righteous before God. Conversely, insulting the Spirit of grace likewise surpasses everything else in attracting the severest divine punishment. In that light of truth, it is wise to do what Paul did to keep on the safe side: “Do not set aside the grace of God”. Embrace it; talk good about it to others; celebrate God for it; and “Continue to grow in the grace…of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18 GNT).
Pst. Emmanuel