Galatians 2:17-18. 17But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
Has Jesus ever asked you to sin? Certainly not! The very thought of this is offensive. And yet, this seems to be the logical conclusion for the Judaizers. If Christ is allowing you to eat with Gentile “sinners,” then Christ is allowing you to sin. Or, to say it another way, if Christ is only requiring faith and not the law, then Christ is letting us get away with sin (transgression, or law-breaking). He’s even encouraging it (making Him a servant of sin).
I remember when I first became the young adults pastor at my current church almost twenty years ago; I began to teach a gospel of grace apart from law-keeping. It wasn’t long before I was having meetings with parents of the young adults who questioned the teaching. “If we don’t uphold the law to our young people, how will they know what is required of them? You can’t just teach grace to our children; you will only be giving them a license to sin.” The accusation? You’re making Christ a “servant of sin.”
But the Christ who welcomes us into His death is never a servant of sin, and grace is never a license to sin. It is the power of salvation, including our sanctification.
But the truth of verse 18 remains: If we use the law to “rebuild” the walls of separation that were “torn down” in Christ, then THAT is the transgression of the law. Using the law to divide breaks the law. What law? The law of love—love God, love your neighbor, love your enemy. This is the law of Christ. The law of Christ, unlike the law of Moses, is empowered by grace—not self-effort, not trying harder, and definitely not our own self-righteousness. Grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone is what allows us to actually live the life Christ calls us to: the life of tearing down barriers between ourselves, barriers that legalism only fortifies and strengthens.
When we require people to create their own purity through behavior change, it will only increase division. But when we see that our purity is Jesus alone, well, that serves only to bring us together in Christ.
You: Are you a wall builder or a wall destroyer?
You in Christ: Why does justification in Christ require us to “tear down” the walls that separate us, especially walls that are built by law-keeping?
Christ in you: How can you actively seek to build bridges between those who are different in your church?
Pray: Father, the law kept me from You, but Jesus took the law’s requirement upon Himself for me. Help me live from my free access to You by Your grace. Amen.
