Galatians 2:17-22

Summary retelling of Galatians 2:17-22

Paul asks an age old question.  If we are born again in Christ, how is it that we can still sin?  After all, if we sin after we come to know Christ, don’t we help rebuild the sinfulness that Christ has gotten us to tear down?  However, the Law tells us that no human is righteous enough in the Law to be justified.  Therefore, our salvation only comes through Christ.  We who are in Christ are therefore “crucified” with Him – we lay down the things that are important to us from a worldly perspective so that Christ can live in us as we gain a spiritual perspective.  As we gain this spiritual perspective, we grow in faith and live out our faith because God loved us.  It has to be this way, because if it were possible for anyone to be saved through the Law then there is no real point for Christ to die.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The first question that we come to is: why do we sin?  Why do people who love God and confess that there is no salvation but through Jesus Christ – why do these people sin?  Well, the answer is that we still live in this world.  This world is corrupt.  Sin is the nature.  So long as we are a part of this world, this world will have its influence upon us.

How does this point help us understand the importance of resisting the sinful corruption of this world?  How does this point illustrate our need to be closer to God so that we are prepared to see and resist sin?

Second Thought:

This set of verses is one of my all-time favorite paragraphs of the Bible.  In it is Galatians 2:20, which uses the Greek word from which my email address is derived: estauromai.  Estauromai means “I have been crucified.”  In one word Paul gives us the proper response to the problem of “sin” discussed in the prior point.  We resist sin by constantly allowing ourselves to be crucified with Christ.  We give up the agenda of this world and embrace the agenda of Jesus Christ.

How well do you act out laying down the agenda of this world?  How well do you really embrace the idea that God’s agenda is really more important than our desires?

Third Thought:

I love the way Paul ends this paragraph.  It has to be that salvation can only come through the cross.  If salvation can come through any other way, then Jesus becomes the “Slacker’s Way Into Heaven.”  Think about it.  Let’s say that it is possible for a person to be obedient to the Law and never sin, thus earning their way into heaven.  If that is possible, then Jesus becomes God’s attempt to say, “Well, I’m not content with the very few people who can actually do it, so I want to let in some of the good-for-nothing slackers who can’t really do it.”  If anyone of us can be saved apart from Jesus, then Jesus becomes the “Cliff’s Notes To Salvation.”  That’s not the Jesus I think the Bible speaks about.  I believe the Bible says that nobody can do it, so God HAD to find another way.  That other way is Jesus.  Therefore, our obedience to God is a response to The-Only-Way, and Jesus becomes something far more significant than the “short-cut to heaven.”  {And for those who know the song … I know have Blind Man running through my head.  “The only way to go home!”}

What do you think Paul would say to the people who claim that there are many paths to eternal life?  How does what Paul says here make you think about how important it is that people hear about Jesus so they have an opportunity to decide for themselves whether or not they believe?

Passage for Tomorrow: Galatians 3:1-6