²⁰ “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

This was Paul’s personal vision statement for his life. And if Philippians 3:17 is taken seriously, then we ought to imitate Paul and set that as our own personal vision statement for life. As Christians we have identified with His crucifixion, so much so that we see ourselves as being there on the cross with Christ, dying with Him. Just as Peter walked on the water with Christ, we choose to relate to Him in the dying process. But, as Paul continues to speak figuratively, we likewise identify with His life. The old way of living is no longer in control, or as Paul writes elsewhere, the old self is crucified (Rom 6:6), with its passions and lusts (Gal 5:24).Christ lives in Paul—and so should we see this as true for ourselves. Christ lives in me.  The life I now live is characterized by the life of faith in Christ. It was Christ who loved me and gave Himself up for me—not vice versa. And that is precisely where the legalists were fouling up the message. Legalism really has at its core the need for the initiative for salvation to lie within the human heart. But, not so. The initiative lies with God. As John says, “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

His great truth is mutually exclusive with a righteousness that comes through the law. If law was still in effect, then two things would follow: 1) The grace of God would be nullified—in other words, God is either gracious or He is not, He is all about law or He is all about grace – the two concepts are mutually exclusive and cannot be mixed, or 2) Christ died needlessly—the sacrificial system of Moses must continue on—Christ’s death, although a good model of self-sacrifice, was just another death, inspiring as it was. If law was required for salvation, then Christ’s death was worthless.

Some have said salvation is by faith and works, and if it is later discovered that works were not required, then the faith would be enough.  However, by its very nature, believing that works of the law are required for salvation, necessarily exposes the faith being claimed as insufficient. For the faith required for salvation is a faith in the ultimate sufficiency of Christ, undiluted by faith in the law.  So then, a person who believes in Christ and also the law of Moses, does not really have a saving faith after all!