Today, we continue our series entitled “Living the Grace Life,” where we will learn to embrace and walk in God’s unmerited, unearned, and often undeserved favor throughout 2025.
As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians. Today, we return to Galatians 2:21.
Key scriptures for this year:
2 Corinthians 9:8 TPT
“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything—every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.”
Galatians 5:4 TPT
“If you want to be made right with God by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from Christ and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!”
Romans 6:14 ERV
“Sin will not be your master, because you are not under law. You now live under God’s grace.”
1 Corinthians 15:10 CEV
“But God treated me with undeserved grace! He made me what I am, and his grace wasn’t wasted. I worked much harder than any of the other apostles, although it was really God’s grace at work and not me.”
Scripture(s) we will study today:
Galatians 2:21 TPT
“I refuse to be one who nullifies God’s grace. For if righteousness could be obtained by the Law, then Christ would have died for nothing!”
Galatians 2:21 ERV
“This gift of God is very important to me. I don’t want to make it useless. If we could be made right with God by following the Law, then Christ did not have to die.”
Romans 3:20 NIV
“Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.”
Galatians 3:21 ERV
“Does this mean that the Law works against God’s promises? Of course not. The Law was never God’s way of giving new life to people. If it were, then we could be made right with God by following the Law.”
Setting the Stage:
I know we have been looking at Gal 2:21 for a few days, but I need to go back to it this morning to focus on this point: The Law cannot, will not, and was never designed to make you righteous before God. If following rules, keeping commandments, or performing religious activities could make you right with God, then Jesus Christ died for absolutely nothing. His death on the cross was either necessary or it was pointless. Paul is adamantly declaring it was not pointless.
The Law was never God’s plan for making people righteous. The Law was designed to reveal our need for a Savior, not to provide salvation itself. Many believers today are still trying to earn God’s approval through law-keeping. They think that by following enough rules, attending enough services, praying enough prayers, or giving enough money, they can somehow make themselves right with God. But Paul is declaring that this thinking actually dishonors the death of Jesus Christ.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. The Law Was Designed to Expose, Not to Save.
Paul makes it clear: “Through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20). The Law wasn’t given to make you righteous; it was given to show you that you’re not righteous. The Law serves as a divine mirror that reveals your true spiritual condition.
How this applies to you:
— The Law shows you what righteousness looks like, but it provides no power to achieve it. Think of The Law like a medical X-ray; it can reveal what’s wrong with you, but it can’t heal you. The Law can diagnose your spiritual condition, but it cannot cure your spiritual disease.
— Every commandment you try to keep in your own strength proves you need grace. When you try to love perfectly, forgive completely, be patient in every situation, and live holy 24 hours a day, you quickly discover the limitations of your humanity. This discovery is not meant to discourage you. It’s meant to drive you to Jesus.
— The harder you try to keep the Law perfectly, the more aware you become of your failures. This is exactly what the Law was designed to do. It was meant to bring you to the end of yourself so you would cry out for a Savior. The Law was your schoolmaster to bring you to Christ (see Gal 3:24).
— Under The Law, your focus is constantly on your performance (what you do) rather than what God has already done. Law-consciousness keeps you looking at yourself (your efforts, your failures, your attempts to measure up, etc.), instead of resting in what Jesus did for you. This creates a cycle of striving, failing, guilt, and more striving.
— The Law creates sin-consciousness rather than righteousness-consciousness. When you’re trying to earn righteousness through Law-keeping, you become hyper-aware of every mistake, every failure, and every shortcoming. Most people don’t realize it, but this consciousness of sin actually weakens your ability to live righteously before God. If sin is all you think about, you are not focused on walking in the grace to live holy.
— No matter how hard you try, The Law will always reveal areas where you fall short. Even if you could keep 99% of the Law perfectly, that 1% failure would condemn you completely. James said, “For the person who attempts to keep all of the law but fails in just one point has become guilty of breaking the law in every point!” (James 2:10 TPT). The Law requires 100% perfection 100% of the time, which is humanly impossible.
— So, why was The Law given? It was designed to get humanity to the end of ourselves, demonstrating our need for a Savior. God knew that once people tried to earn righteousness through their own efforts, they would eventually realize it’s impossible and cry out for help. That help came in the form of a person. His name is Jesus, and He came full of grace and truth!
— Here’s how this applies to your daily life: Instead of starting each day focused on what you need to do to please God, start each day focused on what Jesus has already done to make you pleasing to God. When you make a mistake, don’t allow yourself to spiral into guilt, shame, and condemnation. That’s what the devil wants you to do. When you feel condemned, you run away from God. But when you are reminded of God’s grace, by the Holy Spirit, you run TO God! When you fall short, The Law is not your enemy; it’s your friend that points you back to Jesus, who was perfect FOR YOU!
2. Only Grace Can Produce What the Law Requires.
Paul’s argument is powerful: “If the law could give us life, then righteousness would indeed come by keeping the law.” But since the Law cannot produce righteousness, grace must be the only way to receive it.
How this applies to you:
— Grace doesn’t lower God’s standard; it provides the power to meet God’s standard. The Law shows you what God requires, but grace gives you the ability to fulfill it. Grace doesn’t excuse your sin; it empowers you to live free from sin. Actually, the only way to overcome sin is by God’s grace. Your performance will never measure up.
— What the Law demands externally, grace produces internally. The Law says “don’t lie,” but grace creates a heart that loves truth. The Law says “don’t steal,” but grace produces a generous spirit that wants to give rather than take.
— Under grace, righteousness becomes a gift you receive, not a goal you achieve. Instead of trying to earn righteousness through your performance, you receive righteousness as a free gift through faith in Jesus Christ. Your righteous standing is based on Jesus’ performance, not yours. We are righteous (right now), not because of what we do or what we fail to do. We are righteous (right now), only because of what Jesus did!
— Grace enables you to fulfill The Law naturally rather than legalistically. When grace transforms your heart, you fulfill The Law’s requirements not because you’re trying to earn something, but because your new nature wants to please God.
— The righteousness that comes by grace is superior to any righteousness that could come by Law. Grace produces authentic, lasting change from the inside out. Law-based righteousness is external and temporary; grace-based righteousness is internal and eternal.
— Grace gives you the power to do what you could never do in your own strength. Under grace, you love your enemies, forgive those who hurt you, and serve others sacrificially. You don’t do these things because you’re forcing yourself to, but because grace has empowered you to do so and you want to. There is no external pressure. What there is is internal transformation.
— Here’s how this works in your everyday life: When you’re struggling with a recurring sin, bad habit, or character flaw, stop trying to fix it through willpower and self-discipline alone. Instead, spend time meditating on God’s Word, receiving God’s grace, and reminding yourself of His love, acceptance, and power working in you. Ask the Holy Spirit to transform your heart regarding that area. You’ll discover that when you focus on receiving grace rather than trying harder, the change happens naturally from the inside out.
3. Make Grace-Based Righteousness Your New Operating System.
Paul declares: “I refuse to be one who nullifies God’s grace.” He’s making a conscious choice to operate under the grace system rather than the law system. This is a decision every believer must make.
How this applies to you:
— Your righteous standing before God is based on what Jesus did, not what you do. This means on your worst day, you’re still righteous in God’s eyes because Jesus was righteous for you. On your best day, you’re not more righteous because your righteousness doesn’t come from your performance. This takes the spotlight off of you (and what you do) and keeps it on Jesus (and what He has done for you).
— You can approach God with confidence because Jesus’ righteousness is your righteousness. When satan looks at you, he sees sin. But when God looks at you, He sees His Son; He sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ. This gives you bold access to the throne of grace without fear of rejection or condemnation.
— When you embrace the grace of God, your daily walk with God is motivated by love and gratitude, not fear and obligation. Because you know you’re already right with God through grace, you serve Him out of appreciation rather than desperation. You serve God out of pleasure instead of pressure. You obey Him because you love Him, not because you’re afraid of Him. This was a huge change for me!
— Grace empowers you to live righteously without the pressure of earning righteousness. When you know your righteous standing is secure in Christ, you’re free to pursue righteous living without the anxiety of having to maintain your salvation through performance.
— Under grace, your identity is secure regardless of your circumstances or behavior. You are righteous because God declared you righteous through faith in Jesus Christ. This identity doesn’t fluctuate based on your daily performance. Your identity is settled in heaven, and the Holy Spirit helps you to settle it in your heart.
— Grace-based righteousness produces supernatural transformation. When you know you’re loved and accepted unconditionally, it creates an environment where genuine change can occur. Grace doesn’t make you lazy. Grace makes you motivated to please God out of your appreciation for what He has done.
— Here’s how to make this your daily reality: Start each morning by declaring your righteous identity in Christ before you even get out of bed. When you face challenges during the day, remind yourself, “I’m approaching this situation as God’s child. I am the righteousness of God in Christ. I am not trying to become righteous. I am righteous now, because of what Jesus did.” So, when you pray, you come boldly to God’s throne knowing you’re already accepted, not begging Him to accept you. When you serve others or give your time and resources, do it from a heart of gratitude for what God has already done, not to try to earn His grace or favor. This shift from performing FOR acceptance to serving FROM acceptance will change your entire Christian experience. You will start living #TheGraceLife and it is liberating!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for making me righteous through the finished work of Jesus!
The Law was not designed to save me. It was designed to expose my need for a Savior.
That Savior came, and His name is Jesus!
Now grace produces what the Law requires.
I operate under grace, not the law.
The Law shows me my sin; grace shows me my Savior.
My righteousness comes from Jesus, not my performance.
My identity is secure in Christ.
Grace transforms me from the inside out.
I serve You, Father, from appreciation, not obligation; from pleasure, not pressure!
I am living #TheGraceLife and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!
I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper!
