Paul’s declaration in Galatians 2:19—“I through the law died to the law, that I might live unto God”—is not a cryptic slogan or a mere doctrinal curiosity. It is the dividing line between a life of futile striving and the freedom of true sonship. This is not a secondary matter; it is the very heart of the gospel and the difference between living under condemnation or in the liberty of Christ.
The Law’s Purpose: Exposing the Flesh
The law was never given as a means for the flesh to achieve righteousness. Instead, God appointed the law as a schoolmaster—a relentless examiner that exposes the utter inability of the flesh. When we attempt to keep the law in our own strength, we inevitably encounter defeat and failure. This is not an accident, nor is it a sign of spiritual immaturity. It is the divinely appointed outcome. God intends for us to reach the end of ourselves, to exhaust every last hope in self-effort, and to discover firsthand that “nothing good dwells in the flesh” (Romans 7:18).
This breaking point is not a tragedy, but a mercy. The experience of failure under the law is a positive, necessary step. It brings us to agree with God’s judgment: the flesh is irredeemable, and God has already condemned it to death. The law’s demands are not a ladder to climb, but a verdict to face. The legalist finds this message offensive, but for the one who has learned the lesson of the schoolmaster, it is a profound relief. The struggle is over; the verdict is in.
Crucified with Christ: The End of the Old Man
God’s answer to the flesh is not rehabilitation, but execution. In Christ, the old man—the self that strives to establish its own righteousness—was crucified. This is not theoretical. At the cross, God did not merely forgive our sins; He put an end to the entire regime of the flesh. He does not expect anything from it, and neither should we.
To die to the law is to accept God’s judgment on the flesh and to see ourselves as having been put to death with Christ. The law’s accusations and demands have been fully answered by the blood of Jesus. Not only are we forgiven, but we are also transferred out of the jurisdiction where the law has any claim on us. We are now in Christ, and the law has nothing to say to Him. He is the reality; the law is merely a shadow (Colossians 2:16-17).
Living Unto God: The New Way of Faith
This death to the law is not an end, but a beginning. Freed from the law’s dominion, we are now alive to God in Christ. The Christian life is not a project of self-improvement or a renewed attempt to keep the law by better means. It is a life lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us (Galatians 2:20). Righteousness is no longer sought as a wage for effort, but received as a gift through union with Christ.
To return to law-keeping as a means of righteousness is to reject the finished work of Christ and to place oneself back under condemnation. It is to forfeit the inheritance, the liberty, and the sonship secured by His blood. If you accept the error that the flesh can contribute anything to your standing before God, you lose not only your rest, but the very foundation of justification. You exchange the reality for the shadow, the promise for the impossible burden of performance.
The Only Path to Transformation
Transformation does not come by redoubling our efforts, but by embracing our death with Christ and our new life in Him. The Spirit works, not through the law, but through faith. The law’s purpose was to drive us to Christ; to remain under it is to remain under a curse. But to stand in grace, to confess, “I am crucified with Christ; I died to the law; I am raised with Him,” is to live unto God in the power of resurrection.
This is not a comfortable message for those who cling to works-based assurance. It is a direct confrontation: God has condemned the flesh and ended its claims. The only righteousness that counts is that which comes by faith in Christ. Anything less is a denial of the gospel itself.
Let the law do its work—drive you to the end of yourself, to the cross, and to the freedom of Christ. There, and only there, will you find rest, assurance, and the true life of the Spirit.
