“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.”
Galatians 2:21
Many people use this verse from Paul to advocate that we do not need to obey the commandments. I want to begin unpacking this verse by giving you another verse, written by Paul in Romans 2:13:
“For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.”
...did Paul just contradict himself?
This is why we cannot build doctrines off of just one verse. This is why we must examine Scripture. Not only that, but this is why it is so important to have a foundational understanding of the Scripture in the Old Testament, in order for the New Testament Scriptures to equip you and mature you in the faith.
Let’s start out with a little context about Paul and the audiences he was sent to preach the gospel.
That alone will bring clarity to the verses that at first glance, seem to contradict itself. I promise you, they are not a contradiction—we just need to better understand the audience he was called to minister to. Paul was an ex-Pharisee who followed the teachers of Rabbinic Judaism before having a radical encounter with Yahusha that completely changed his life. Paul was a Hebrew from the tribe of Benjamin. Paul knew the commandments and he followed the commandments.
When he was called to apostleship, he faced many challenges, as he was not only in an environment full of Pharisaic Jews, but also tasked with the ministry of taking the gospel to pagan people engaging in pagan worship who did not have an understanding of the Old Testament writings.
Can you imagine the delicacy one had to have in order to minister to those who insisted salvation came through works, and another group of people who didn’t even know the Word or who the Messiah was?
Especially during the time he wrote to the Galatians, there was a major doctrine floating around that salvation was only achieved through circumcision. Simultaneously, the region of Galatia was being heavily influenced by a religion called Druidism by a large body of migrating Gauls (which is where the word ‘Galatia’ comes from).
This is why you see Paul, in multiple letters, teaching salvation through faith, but sanctification through obedience to the commandments. This is why in one letter Paul says you can’t earn salvation through your works, and then stressing the importance and necessity to be a “doer of the Word” in other verses.
Paul never preached against the law. He preached against the misuse of it.
It would also be helpful to understand that the Messiah never once taught that He came to do away with obedience to the Father’s commandments. He was against the Pharisaic teachings through Judaism, that added EXTRA commands to how to observe the Father’s commandments, which is what made it a burden on people.
The change from the old to new covenant meant that the biggest change was going to be one of the heart. He put a new Spirit in us, one in which would be our Teacher, Advocate, Comforter, etc., to help us learn the Father’s ways. We needed a new Spirit to give us the mind of Messiah so that out of love, we would be empowered to want to obey.
The scriptural importance of Galatians is to bring people into the correct understanding of being justified apart from your works.
Works do not grant you salvation.
But the major theme that I have picked up through reading Paul’s writings is that he was tasked with the assignment to help people realize that the commandments are not against the promises of Messiah.
This is why you see Paul go back and forth in many verses throughout his different letters to the assemblies, by teaching justification through faith, as well as an exhortation to obedience to the commandments.
People love to use Paul when it comes to being saved by the gift of grace, but always seem to ignore the exhortation to obedience to the commands BECAUSE of the gift of grace.
That’s likely why Paul said in Galatians 2:21 that he does not “frustrate the grace of Elohim (God).”
Christianity (broadly speaking) teaches that anyone who follows Yahuah’s commandments doesn’t understand the gift of grace. People can’t understand one’s desire to seek righteousness out of a love for the Father’s ways, because we have been programmed to think that obeying the commandments is either a “Jewish” thing or only something you should do if you’re trying to earn your salvation.
Christianity seems to define obedience as legalism and a “works-based salvation,” and define love as freedom from obedience. This is confusing people. It confused me for years. When at the end of the day, the Messiah defined love as obedience to the commandments. He showed us how love and the commands work in harmony with one another, not in opposition.
And that’s why Paul is saying in Galatians 2:21 that if you are trying to earn your salvation by obedience, then Messiah died in vain. You are saved by grace because of your faith, and obedience is a result of that salvation—not a means to it.
With love,
Stephanie