Galatians 5:4 – “You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.”

Some teach this means obeying God’s law is a rejection of Jesus and God’s grace. In this case, we need only read the verse carefully.

Through Galatians, Paul has been correcting the false teaching that one must obey God’s law to be saved. In all cases, Paul refuted that false teaching and did so yet again in this sentence.

“You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.” (Galatians 5:4)

The ones rejecting Jesus and God’s grace are those who teach justification comes through obedience to the law.

There are plenty of legitimate reasons to obey God’s law (see the section on Acts 15:1), but keeping commandments to earn justification is not one of them. 

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    Galatians 5:1 – “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

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    Galatians 5:18 – “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”