Galatians 2:18 (DRB)

Passage

For if I build up again the things which I have destroyed, I make myself a prevaricator.

Nearby Context

Galatians 2:16 But knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ then the minister of sin? God forbid!

Galatians 2:18 For if I build up again the things which I have destroyed, I make myself a prevaricator.

Galatians 2:19 For I, through the law, am dead to the law, that I may live to God; with Christ I am nailed to the cross.

Galatians 2:20 And I live, now not I: but Christ liveth in me. And that I live now in the flesh: I live in the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and delivered himself for me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "build", "again", "things", "destroyed", "make", "myself", and "prevaricator". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "build" and "again", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 17's "But if while we seek to be..." into verse 19's "For I through the law am dead...", so "build" and "again" belong inside that flow. In Galatians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "build" and "again" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.