Galatians 2:21 (KJV)

Passage

I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Nearby Context

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.

Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "grace", "frustrate", "righteousness", "come", "christ", "dead", and "vain". It is saying that salvation is received as God's gift through faith, so boasting is pushed out by the wording itself.

The prior verse says "I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I...", giving immediate footing for "grace" and "frustrate". In Galatians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

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