Lawlessness and Righteousness
When you stay entrenched in your sin and do not cease to remove from your lifestyle (intentionally) then that is what we be known as lawlessness. For instance, if the will of God is in you and you continue to get drunk and sleep with different people, then that would be an example of lawlessness. In 1 John 3:4-10, John is telling the reader specific ways of how to look at lawlessness. It can be harder for us to understand as it appears that the text is saying you can never sin. While we should do what we can and also rely on God's strength to not sin, the text is specifically speaking about intentional and continual sin that is seen as a regular part of your life. No apologies for it. I have sins such as that. The text further explains that when you have sins like that you do not know the Father (God). What sin is still in your life?
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Make a Defense
1 Peter 3:14-15 tells us that when someone attacks you for your righteousness (in being with the Lord's will) then be ready to have a defense for your faith when asked why you have hope. This does not say "make sure to argue with people" when they disagree with you. This is defend your faith with your story. Understand who Jesus is to you and who he was historically. Tell people about the work God has done in your life and tell your story. Be a witness. Show and tell them why you have hope in God and in Jesus. Share when asked.
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Christ Lives Through Me
We have to understand, as Paul tells the Galatian church, that it is not us who are just so great, but it is God working through us. Paul said that he died with Christ. His statement was answering a question that he would have been asked from the Galatians. His point in saying that he died with Christ was that he died to the rules of the law when Christ died in his place. Christ died in all of our place. He died for our sins. So, when Paul says "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me", he is saying that because he accepts Jesus as his Lord and Savior, it is now the Spirit of God that lives through us and guides us (Galatians 2:20).
In verse 21, Paul validates what he stated before. Paul is showing the church that the law cannot save them, but only the grace of God through Christ. Paul says, "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose." Paul's point is to say that the law cannot save someone for if it could, the Christ's sacrificial death was wasted.
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