What St. Paul said about Nullifying the Grace of God

Galatians 2:19-21   19 "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.  20 "I have been crucified with Christ; 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 for me.  21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain."

It cannot be the case that the temporary epoch of the Law, given at Sinai, is referred to here by Paul.  Of course, it is a truism in Paul that "The Law" is most often a reference to the Law of Moses which came on Sinai.  However, it's hard to believe that Paul simply refers to the temporary, Israelite-bound economy of that Law from Sinai, when he states that it took the crucifixion of Christ to deliver him from it.  Furthermore, in the crucifixion of Christ, he sees the activity of the Law itself.  Christ gave himself unto the death of the cross, for Paul, in order to deliver Paul from the law.  Thus we conclude the the Law given from Sinai is representative of a bigger Law -- a Law so big that it required -- and got -- the crucifixion of the Son of God.

The administration of the Law under the Old Covenant truly is a temporary administration.  But, it is only temporary because Christ died.  "The Law" is not just a temporary administration of food laws, Jewish customs, and rituals of worship.  The deliverance that Christ brings is bigger than deliverance from "Jewish boundary markers."

It didn't take the death of Christ simply to free the Jews to have a ham sandwich (HT: Lee Meckley).