Galatians 2

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing."
Galatians 2:20-21

In the book of Galatians we learn the precious truth that our eternal salvation rests in grace alone. Our salvation entirely rests in our faith in Jesus Christ's atoning sacrifice for our sins on the cross.  In the book of Galatians the apostle Paul was fighting against legalistic teachers who were falsely teaching the Galatian church that they had to return to the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament times. By teaching this the legalistic teachers were in effect saying that Christ alone was insufficient for salvation.

Paul admonished the Galatian church that these ceremonial practices of the past had merely been pointing to the coming of the Savior.  These ceremonial laws were no longer necessary. Jesus had fulfilled the law's requirement.  Jesus had paid the total penalty for sin.  So too, our salvation as believers today rests in grace and faith alone.  Praise God that this is true!  If our salvation rested even in part on our own merit, we would be in dire straits!  The law and our sins no longer have power to condemn us to a Christless eternity.  All of our sins have been washed away by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross!

Because of God'g grace we now are new creatures in Christ!  Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."  Because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross we now belong to Him.  As His children you and I have relinquished our lives to Christ. We are no longer in sin's grasp or in the devil's grip.  II Corinthians 1:22 promises us that the Lord has "set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."  Instead of living in Satan's realm we now have relinquished that life for an exchanged life in Christ.  "I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."

Galatians 2:20b goes on to say, "The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  As followers of Jesus Christ our new lives in Him are characterized by a walk of faith.  Our new lives in Christ are trusting lives.  In our new lives in Christ we can come to the Lord with all our needs and trust that He will always be with us. In our new lives in Christ we can trust that the Lord will always be our source of comfort and our friend. In our new lives in Christ we can trust that He will always guide and protect us. In our new lives in Christ we know we have a Savior who loved us so much that He was willing to give Himself on the cross to pay for our sins.

Finally, in our lives in Christ we are confident that Christ's sacrifice for our sins was sufficient. We need not and can not add anything to salvation's requirements.  It was all taken care of by our Savior! As His children we now can relinquish our old lives of sin and live new lives in Christ. We can do this; because Jesus Christ lives in us, giving us power to live for Him.  Christ died on the cross for us, and He lives within us.  Hence, we now can live lives of trust and faith in Him! Praise His name!