From Galatians: What It Means to Die to the Law and Live to God
Orientation
The struggle to find righteousness through our own effort under the law leads only to defeat and condemnation.
- The law exposes our inability and the futility of self-righteousness.
- This experience of failure is not a sign of spiritual immaturity, but a necessary step.
- It brings us to agree with God's judgment that nothing good dwells in the flesh.
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. (Romans 7:18)
— Romans 7:18
Clarification
Dying to the law is not about trying harder to obey it, but accepting God's verdict that the flesh has been crucified with Christ.
- The law's role was to lead us to Christ, not to be a permanent rule of life.
- God's answer to the flesh is not rehabilitation, but execution in Christ.
- We are transferred out of the law's jurisdiction entirely through Christ's work.
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. (Galatians 3:24-25)
— Galatians 3:24-25
Structure
Through union with Christ's death, we are freed from the law's dominion to live by faith in the Son of God.
- Our old self was crucified with Christ, breaking the law's claim on us.
- Righteousness is now received as a gift, not earned as a wage.
- We live unto God in the new realm of grace and the Spirit, not by legalistic effort.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)
— Galatians 2:20
Weight-Bearing Prose
The law functions as a schoolmaster, not to produce righteousness, but to expose the sinfulness of the flesh and lead us to the end of self-trust. This experiential failure is God’s appointed means to bring us to agree with His judgment: the flesh is irredeemable and has been crucified with Christ. This is the death to the law—the termination of the old regime where the flesh sought a righteousness of its own. Christ’s atoning work did more than forgive sins; it transferred believers out of the law’s jurisdiction entirely. The law is a shadow; Christ is the reality. To attempt righteousness through the law now is to reject grace and place oneself back under condemnation. The Pauline shift is categorical: from law to grace, from flesh to Spirit, from self-effort to faith-union with Christ. Righteousness is from God, based on faith, apart from the law. The offense of the gospel to the legalist is this total repudiation of fleshly contribution.
Integration
Your struggle under the law was meant to end. Its purpose was to bring you to Christ, and in Him, that purpose is complete. You are not under the schoolmaster anymore. The verdict on the flesh has been executed in Christ’s crucifixion. You are free. Your life now is by faith in the Son of God who loves you. This is not a challenge to strive, but a reality to rest in. Christ is your life and your righteousness. There is no pressure to advance or perform, only the assurance of a finished work. You live unto God because He has made you alive together with Christ. This is your permanent, secure standing in grace.