You who are trying to be justified by the law have been severed from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
Parallel translations
- WEB You are alienated from Christ, you who desire to be justified by the law. You have fallen away from grace.
- KJV Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.
- NKJV You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
- NASB You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the Law; you have fallen from grace.
- NLT For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
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
Those seeking to be justified by the law are severed from Christ and have fallen from grace. Relying on works for salvation forfeits the benefits of Christ's grace.
Overview
Paul issues a stark warning: to seek justification by law-keeping is to cut oneself off from Christ and abandon the realm of grace. This describes the spiritual disaster of trusting works rather than Christ; it does not teach that a truly saved person loses salvation, but warns against the deadly error of legalism. The two ways, law and grace, are mutually exclusive as grounds of acceptance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Rom 9:31–32but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it.
- 2 Pet 2:20–22If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.
- Gal 2:21I do not set aside the grace of God. For if righteousness comes through the law, Christ died for nothing.
- Rom 11:6And if it is by grace, then it is no longer by works. Otherwise, grace would no longer be grace.
- Heb 12:15See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many.
- Rom 3:20Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.
- Rom 4:4–5Now the wages of the worker are not credited as a gift, but as an obligation.
- Rev 2:5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
- Gal 5:2Take notice: I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
- Heb 6:4–6It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,
- Gal 1:6–9I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
- Rom 10:3–5Because they were ignorant of God’s righteousness and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.
- Heb 10:38–39But My righteous one will live by faith; and if he shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.”
- 2 Pet 3:17–18Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.
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 5:4 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.