Galatians 2:18 (KJV)

Passage

For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.

Nearby Context

Galatians 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

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

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

Galatians 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

Galatians 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "build", "again", "things", "destroyed", "make", "myself", and "transgressor". 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.