The Unknown Bible - Pastor Bevans Welder

Justification
Gal 2:15-21
2-24-07

In this passage, Paul makes it abundantly clear that justification is a finished and immediate work of God in the person that has accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior and that any attempt to live according to the law after salvation in order to justify oneself simply frustrates the grace of God.

15 – Paul identifies two classes of people in this verse – Jews by nature (in other words by natural birth) and “sinners” who are Gentiles

16 – These natural Jews who are saved by the grace of God know that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ (Rom 4:5) – Paul said that “we” [he and Peter and others like them] believed in Jesus so that we could be justified by the faith of Christ rather than by the works of the law [Acts 13:38-39; 15:6-11] – because by the works of the law no flesh is justified – and “we” Jews who are saved know that

17 – Now while “we” are justified by Christ, if we are also found sinners (i.e., just like the Gentiles) does that mean that Christ is the minister of sin (i.e., that he makes us to be sinners by not keeping the law) – Paul says, “God forbid” – Christ doesn’t want us to sin but at the same time he is not making us sinners by justifying us – “we” refer to those who don’t keep the law as sinners), but that doesn’t make us sinners just because we no longer have to keep the law

18 – No, rather, if I try to be justified by the law (i.e., build again the things which I destroyed – that is justification by the works of the law), then I make MYSELF a transgressor – in other words, Christ doesn’t make me a transgressor by freeing me from the law, I make myself a transgressor by trying to keep a law I cannot keep, it is impossible [Gal 3:10; Jas 2:10]

19 – In fact, now that I am saved and justified by the faith of Jesus, I am dead to the law (that’s what the law says – Christ died for me so his death satisfies the law’s demand for my death – I am dead in the eyes of the law) – and because I am dead to the law, I live unto God

20 – I am dead because I am crucified with Christ – nevertheless I live (I am still kicking and I have eternal life) – but now it is not me that’s living but Jesus in me – I live my life in the flesh by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me

21 – That is the grace of God and I’m not going to frustrate it – listen, he says, if righteousness could come by the law then why in the world did Christ die – his death would be in vain – he died to satisfy the demands of the law and rose again to live his life (a perfectly righteous life) in me

The elements of justification are, therefore:

The law – for by it is the knowledge of sin – it cannot justify sinners

Sin – for by it is the reason for justification – i.e., I am a sinner but Christ is not the minister of sin

The death of the Lord Jesus Christ – for by it is the payment for sin

The faith of Jesus – for by it is salvation