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. Galatians 2:20

At first glance, this verse seems like a morbid view of the Christian life. But when taken in the context of Paul’s letter to the church at Galatia, especially from the previous few verses, it sums up the idea of justification through faith in Jesus Christ and not through the works of the Law. Paul is not speaking of a physical crucifixion but rather a spiritual one. Only Jesus could have been crucified; He was the perfect substitution for mankind to be made right with God.

The idea of being crucified with Christ is the only way for our sin to be taken off our record. The Law shows us what sin is: lying, stealing, murder, and so on; however, the Law also points to the One who can remove the stain of sin, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Jesus came to die for the sins of the world. Once we believe in His act of sacrificial love, our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west (Psalms 103:12).

Our belief in what Jesus did transforms us from a life of sin to a new life in Christ. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come (2 Corinthians 5:17). Paul recognized his own failure in trying to keep the Law to become righteous. Instead of trying to achieve righteousness on his own, he accepted the righteousness of God through faith in Christ. Paul found real living after he accepted what Christ had done for him.

True life is found when a person meets Jesus Christ. Life before Christ is a life of never being good enough, is a life of misery, is a life of guilt and shame, is a life of addiction. Even when we try our best to be a good person, to serve others, to do the right things, to live circumspectly, without a relationship with Jesus, it will all be for naught. There is nothing we can do to make it into a right standing with God except for believing Jesus has already done it for us.

By faith we live because Jesus lives in us. It’s not my life to live but Christ living through my life. And to walk the path of true life, we must place our faith in Jesus, for without faith, it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)