June 17, 2026
— Wikipedia · Source: Wikipedia, "Claude de Visdelou" (after the Catholic Encyclopedia)
Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God. If righteousness were obtained through the law, then Christ died in vain.
Paul's outcry serves as a stark reminder that we cannot use worldly merits and self-righteous "good-man morality" to undermine the cross. We often act like the scholar-officials or legalists of yesteryear, attempting to embellish our lives with our actions, knowledge, or cultural refinement, even using them as bargaining chips for salvation. However, no wisdom or righteous act of any created being can be a means of salvation before the holy God. If justification could be achieved through earthly laws and morality, Christ's sacrifice would be in vain. Faith is not a self-cultivation of moral packaging, but a complete acknowledgment of our own powerlessness and total surrender to Christ's sole grace.
Holy God, thank You for the unique and irreplaceable redemption You accomplished for us on the cross through Your only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Forgive us for the pride that often tries to replace Your grace with our own actions, worldly wisdom, or legalistic merit. May the Holy Spirit constantly cleanse our hearts, enabling us to uphold the purity of truth in the face of the world's various doctrines and self-worship, and to look solely to and surrender to Your supernatural revelation. May our lives no longer depend on our own righteousness, but be completely rooted in the free grace of Christ, living out obedience and glory to Your cross in every day. Amen.