A Purposeful Death
By Susan Klein
“I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Galatians 2:21
I’ve been spending some time in the Old Testament lately, reading about the Israelites and their journey out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. I am always amazed by the number of laws they were required to follow. I often wonder how anyone could possibly obey every single law, every single day?!! Well, we know they didn’t, which is why God required sacrifices from them to atone for their sins. Many still suffered consequences or punishment on top of their sacrifices. Moses didn’t get to enter the Promised Land because of one act (albeit self-exalting) of disobedience (Numbers 20:8-12). King Saul’s reign would be cut short because of one choice to disregard Samuel’s instruction from God (1 Samuel 13:8-14). It might almost seem a bit harsh, or unfair. But God is a just and perfect God, and He requires complete devotion and obedience from His people.
That said, He saw our human frailty and knew we could never keep all the laws in our own efforts. So, He graciously provided His Son to be the ultimate and only acceptable sacrifice, or payment for our sins. Why is it that we know this to be true in our minds, yet we persist, even today, in trying to earn our way into God’s grace? Do you ever set standards that you feel, if followed, qualify you to be righteous in God’s eyes? Consequently, when those standards aren’t met, are you laden with guilt because you feel you’ve let God down? Or, have you ever been guilty of imposing your own standards onto someone else? This is the very issue Paul was addressing with the Galatians. There was a bit of hypocrisy going on in regard to the law and grace. Some were teaching salvation through Christ, but in addition to also keeping certain laws. Paul sternly admonished that if they were still clinging to the law and trying to follow it, then Christ’s death was needless. They just weren’t grasping the concept of grace! And some of us today still struggle with that concept.
Though we would dare not utter the words, “Christ died needlessly,” we might inadvertently be displaying it in our actions. Let us not forget the purpose of Christ’s death, which was not only to pay for our sins, but also to declare us righteous, or justify us in God’s eyes. We don’t have to do anything else to earn that righteousness. It’s been (purposefully) done!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What personally-set standards might be hindering you (or someone else) from living in the freedom of God’s grace?
FURTHER READING:
Susan is We Women's Tuesday Morning Bible Study Coordinator and one of its teachers. She and her husband Mark lead a couples' small group in their home; she is also involved in inner city outreach.
