The Legalist's Last Peace

Legalism and license are often the twin errors that haunt the Christian journey. Some believers labor under the crushing weight of trying to earn God’s favor; others drift into a casual indifference, assuming grace means permission to live as they please. Most of us, at some point, swing between both extremes.

But the book of Galatians offers a remedy for both.

An Endless Cycle of Proving Myself

For many years, I lived on a spiritual merry-go-round. Converted at age ten in a gospel-preaching church, I understood salvation through faith in Christ. But discipleship the daily walk of sanctification remained a mystery. What followed were years of rededicating my life to Jesus again and again, trying harder, failing, and then rededicating again. My relationship with God felt like a never-ending transaction where I had to prove myself with sincerity and obedience.

What I didn’t yet grasp was that grace doesn’t just initiate our salvation it sustains our transformation.

Galatians Opened the Door to Rest

It wasn’t until a men’s conference sermon on Galatians 2:20 that the truth finally pierced through:

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

That day, God made it clear my justification and my sanctification are both rooted in grace. The same gospel that saved me is the gospel that keeps me. This truth transformed my spiritual life not into passivity, but into peace. No more striving to earn what Jesus already secured.

Six Reasons Galatians Is Still My Lifeline

Even decades later, I return to Galatians again and again. Here's why I never outgrow its grace-drenched message:

Good Works Can Never Justify Me

This sounds elementary and it is. But the temptation to believe that God’s love hinges on our performance is deeply human. Galatians 3:3 confronts us: “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” I still need this rebuke when I try to substitute spiritual checklists for true communion with Christ.

Confusing Law and Gospel Leads to Misery

As one old poem says, “Run, John, run, the law commands, but gives us neither feet nor hands.” Only the gospel gives us the power to obey. Using the law as the engine of sanctification wears out the soul. Galatians reorients us: the law can guide, but it cannot transform.

Grace Sets Us Free Not Free to Sin

For all my legalistic tendencies, I’ve also dabbled in the opposite error: living as if grace is permission. But Galatians 5:1 is clear: “For freedom Christ has set us free… do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” True grace not only pardons; it empowers us to fight sin and walk in holiness.

The Holy Spirit Is Essential to Sanctification

Many overlook how often Galatians speaks of the Spirit. Paul urges believers to “walk by the Spirit” (Galatians 5:16), highlighting the Spirit’s active role in shaping our lives. The Spirit isn’t just for Pentecostals or the super-spiritual He is the presence of God in every believer, leading us in daily obedience.

The Christian Life Is a Crucified Life

We don’t merely admire the cross we carry it. Galatians 2:20 reminds us that our old self was crucified with Christ. That means we’re no longer slaves to our past, nor are we bound by the pressures of self-justification. We now live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us.

The Gospel Must Be Guarded in Every Generation

Paul’s sharp rebuke in Galatians 1 isn’t overkill it’s protection. He writes, “If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9). We need that same urgency today. Whether in pulpits, podcasts, or personal study, the pure gospel of grace must be reclaimed and retaught again and again.

Freedom at Last

If you’ve been trapped in the cycle of rededication and striving, or if you’ve wandered into the false freedom of lawlessness, Galatians invites you to rest. Not in laziness, but in liberty. Not in perfection, but in the finished work of Christ.

Remember: you were crucified with Christ. You no longer live He lives in you. And the life you now live, you live by faith in the Son of God, who loves you and gave Himself for you.

Rest in that. Live from that.

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