Sermon Guide: Galatians 2:17-21 "What Is The Christian Life?"

Key Passages

Galatians 2:17-21 ESV

 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.

Sermon Overview

This passage comes at the end of Paul’s bold defense of the gospel of grace—that we are justified by faith, not by works of the law. It’s an audacious claim, and it raises the question: if salvation is by grace, does it matter how we live? Paul’s answer is deeply personal and theologically rich. The Christian life begins with death: “I have been crucified with Christ.” The old self—the one that lived as its own reference point—has died, and now Christ lives in us. The Christian life isn’t about trying harder, giving up, or achieving spiritual greatness. It’s about living in union with Christ—Christ as the reference point for everything we do. 

Sermon Structure

Main Point: What does it mean to live the Christian life? That Christ is the reference point for everything we do.

#1 What the Christian Life Is

• You have died – The old you was crucified with Christ. You are not the center of your life

• You now live – You have Christ’s life–he is your central reality. But you still live in the flesh, make decisions, and sin.

• You are loved – This new life is grounded in the personal, sacrificial love of Christ for you.

#2 What the Christian Life Is Not

• Trying harder – Trying to live morally without Christ at the center just rebuilds what grace tore down.

• Not Trying at all – 1. Misses the cost of grace. 2. Our life is defined by Christ–we will love what he loves and want what he wants.

• An elite level – Jesus has only one tier.

Definitions

Justification: Being declared righteous before God, not based on what we do, but because of what Christ has done—received by faith alone.

Union with Christ: The central reality of the Christian life—being spiritually joined to Christ in his death, resurrection, and life. It means Christ is your life, your identity, your righteousness, and your hope.

“Live in the flesh…by faith”: We still live in a physical, sinful body—our fallen human nature remains. But we trust what is true about us in Christ: that we have been united with him.

Questions for Discussion & Reflection

1. The sermon described Jesus as the reference point of the Christian life. What does it look like to reorient your obedience, your identity, and your hope around him? Where in your life is that currently hard to do?

2. Which ditch of the Christian life are you most prone to—self-effort or apathy?

3. Have you felt that there is a higher tier of Christianity that you just can’t seem to reach?