Galatians 2:14-17
Galatians 2:14 When I saw that they were not walking in line with the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? 15 We who are Jews by birth and not Gentile ‘sinners’ BSB
Peter eats with the Gentiles and lives like a Gentile because of grace. As Jews, their heritage tells them that they are acceptable to God and Gentiles are not. They have been taught that when they die and reach the gate to Heaven that only those who are circumcised will get in. (Women are saved through their father, husband and son’s circumcisions).
Galatians 2:16 know that a man is not justified by works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. BSB
Galatians 2:16 yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. NET
Galatians 2:16 is cross referenced back to Psalm 143 that tells us that God is justified in condemning everyone because no one is righteous. So how do we get right by God? Jews say by following the law. The problem is that we cannot follow the entire law. The next best thing for is to put on the outward appearance of following the law (even though that isn’t true on the inside). Fortunately, we are made right (“justified”) by the faithfulness of Christ.
There are three components of faith: 1) notitia, 2) assensus and 3) fiducia. Notitia (notice) is the content of faith and our thoughts and understanding related this content. Assensus (assent) is our agreement to this content. Fiducia (trust) is where we take these two things and apply them to our hearts and lives. Faith is often thought of as trust but it isn’t just about believing or trusting in anything but in believing in what is true and right.
Some translations have “of Jesus Christ” while others use “in Jesus Christ”. The Greek can be translated either way with the modern approach translating it as “in”. If we are saved by our faith in Jesus then it’s easy for us to feel a little insecure since we are never perfect in our faith. So that leads us back to our earlier discussion where we feel the need to “do something”. Using “of Jesus Christ” would indicate that our justification doesn’t rest in the ebb and flow of our faith but instead is anchored in Christ.
Galatians 2:16 was an essential verse for Martin Luther. Both Armenians and Calvinists agree that we are helpless to come to faith on our own without an act of the Holy Spirit. The difference between the two is whether we can resist this action or not. Note that this is not a question of being “good” or “bad”. Romans 2 talks about religious people who are bad and non-religious people who are good.
Grace can present a problem for us as after our conversion as the law then shows us just how poor in spirit we really are. We might begin to think that we need to do something (or we start to compare ourselves against other Christians and see ourselves as falling short). Alternatively, some may think that we can do whatever we want since we are now saved. The problem with this second approach is that if we over-emphasize grace then we may not step into our new lives as Christians. Some may misread what Paul is saying and fall into the trap of antinomialism (meaning anti-law). There is some tension here as we don’t want to focus so much on grace that we forget about any transformation yet on the other hand, we also don’t want to overlook grace in such a way that we try to earn our way in.
Galatians 2:17 But if seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also have been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? Never may it be! BLB
Here Paul uses “but” as an imaginary debate partner. The people who have been found to be sinners are us. No real surprise there. Paul describes these two competing people inside of us in Romans (as well as the answer to this problem).
Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh; for I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do. Instead, I keep on doing the evil I do not want to do. 20 And if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21 So this is the principle I have discovered: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law. 23 But I see another law at work in my body, warring against the law of my mind and holding me captive to the law of sin that dwells within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord! BSB
Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus 2 For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life has set you free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh, 4so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. BSB
This is the conflict we face as we go through the process of sanctification. Our lives as Christians are to be constantly moving toward Christ (sometimes a little more slowly than we might prefer but moving forward nonetheless). There is position (justification) and process (sanctification) with the ultimate goal being glorification. Martin Luther described our situation as Simul Justus et Peccator, that is simultaneously saved and sinful. His explanation is that we are like a sick patient under the care of a physician who is in the process of healing us. We lack the ability to heal ourselves so we must trust the physician to ultimately cure us.
Philippians 3:12 I do not say that I have already won the race or have already reached perfection. But I am pressing on, striving to lay hold of the prize for which also Christ has laid hold of me. WEY
1Timothy 1:15 This is a trustworthy saying, worthy of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the worst. 16 But for this very reason I was shown mercy, so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His perfect patience as an example to those who would believe in Him for eternal life BSB