I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.
Parallel translations
- WEB I don’t reject the grace of God. For if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nothing!”
- KJV I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
- NKJV I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
- NASB I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
- NLT I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul refuses to nullify God's grace, for if righteousness came through the law, Christ died needlessly. The cross proves law-keeping cannot save.
Overview
Paul concludes his argument with a stark either/or: grace or law, but not both as the basis of righteousness. If the law could justify, Christ's death would be pointless. Upholding justification by faith honors the cross, while seeking righteousness by law empties it of meaning.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Rom 11:6And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
- Gal 3:21Is the law, then, opposed to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come from the law.
- Heb 7:11Now if perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (for on this basis the people received the law), why was there still need for another priest to appear—one in the order of Melchizedek and not in the order of Aaron?
- 1 Cor 15:14And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is worthless, and so is your faith.
- Gal 2:16know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
- Gal 5:2–4Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
- Isa 49:4But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent My strength in futility and vanity; yet My vindication is with the LORD, and My reward is with My God.”
- Rom 10:3Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
- 1 Cor 15:2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
- Mark 7:9He went on to say, “You neatly set aside the command of God to maintain your own tradition.
- Gal 2:18If I rebuild what I have already torn down, I prove myself to be a lawbreaker.
- Rom 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- 1 Cor 15:17And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.
- Ps 33:10The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
- Jer 8:8How can you say, ‘We are wise, and the Law of the LORD is with us,’ when in fact the lying pen of the scribes has produced a deception?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Christ became a curse for us to redeem us from the law's curse, that we might receive the Spirit and be sons — justified by faith in him, not by works.
How Galatians 2:21 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.