Gal 2:15 | KingComments | STEP | . Paul is still addressing Peter when he says that “we [are] Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles”. The difference between Jews and Gentiles was indicated by God. But what was the advantage of this difference for the Jews? Had they been, as God’s chosen people, faithful servants of God? Had they done what God in the law asked them to do? No, it was precisely with them that it became apparent how much they had transgressed the law. That’s why that same law had to condemn them. On the principle of works of the law every right to justification was lost. Peter realized and knew that. He had witnessed to that fact in Acts 15 ( ). Now that it seems he has forgotten that, Paul reminds him. . In one long sentence he wants to persuade Peter – but also the Galatians and us! – that “no flesh”, so really nobody, neither Jew nor Gentile, will be justified on the principle of works of the law. It concerns not so much the ten commandments but everything which can be called “law”. By “law” you should think of something that another imposes on you, but also what you impose on yourself by which you think you can please God if you succeed in accomplishing something you have put upon yourself as an obligation. But it is not like that! “A man”, that is to say somebody of the human race without differentiating between sex, origin or nationality, can only be justified by means of and on the basis of faith. A man also cannot be justified by a combination of faith and works. Faith and law exclude each other. What actually does that mean: justified? Someone who is justified is acquitted of any conceivable accusation. That doesn’t happen because of a lack of evidence, but because he is seen as a person who never did something wrong; no suspicion rests on that person at all. How is that possible? Well, it says, “that we may be justified by faith in Christ”. God acquits of any accusation every person who believes in Christ, the One Who took all the guilt on Himself on the cross of Calvary and washed it away by the blood He shed. God sees such a person as being made one with His Son. All sins are gone, sin has been judged. The sinner has become a child of God and God doesn’t see him as a sinner anymore. God grants him His own righteousness. As you see, this “being justified” happens completely without any action of man. It is an act of God – and not a process! – on the principle of faith. . And what happens if someone like Peter, Barnabas, the Galatians and ten thousands of Christians today, want (again) to keep the law? Then they make two things clear. In the first place they will say that it is wrong to give up the law as a way to be justified; to give up the law will be a sin. In addition they will say, and how serious this is, that Christ is a minister of sin. Wasn’t it indeed Christ Who persuaded them to give up the law as a way to be justified? Then Christ brings them to sin by giving up the law. I hope you understand this. Paul rejects this argument with a powerful “may it never be!” . ‘For’, so he continues, ‘if I first break down something because it was not good, but later on build it up again because it actually was good, then I indicate that I did wrong to break it down.’ Thereby he doesn’t say that the law is not good. In Romans 7 he clearly says: “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” ( ). How could it be possible that something which comes from God should be bad? What then is there which is not good? It is not good to use the law as a means to be justified. That’s not what God meant with the law! The law was given that man should see his sinfulness and acknowledge that he deserves death. . That is exactly what Paul says, when he goes on: “For through the law I died to the law.” Thereby he acknowledges the judgment of death contained in the law. At the same time he says that from that moment on the law has nothing to say about him anymore. For what effect can the law have on someone who is dead? Is it possible to say to a dead person, ‘you shall’ and ‘you shall not’? . In this magnificent verse Paul explains how he died to the law and how it is with him now. That applies also to every man who is a child of God. I really hope that you can repeat this with all your heart. He says: ‘As to my old man, my old ‘I’, I am crucified with Christ; but I also have a new ‘I’, that is my new life, which I live by faith; therefore “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me”.’ With this last ‘I’ Paul means the ‘I’ of his personal responsibility. In the life of the believer there is always the tension between the old ‘I’ and the new ‘I’. This cannot be solved by fighting against the old ‘I’, but by remembering that the old ‘I’ is crucified with Christ. Further, you can find in the Son of God all the power needed to experience a rich life in faith. He gave Himself. You may look upon Him continuously. He loves you. When you look upon Him you always will find the power to “live to God”. . Paul doesn’t set aside the grace of God. How would that be possible? Those people who want to maintain the law are exactly the ones who set aside God’s grace. Maybe they even say that you need grace to keep the law. But grace and law exclude each other, just like faith and law. It is God’s endless grace that gave Christ in death. If the law was a means for a man to attain righteousness or to be made righteous, then it wouldn’t have been necessary for Christ to have died. Now read Galatians 2:15-21 again. Reflection: Memorize .

‏ Galatians 2:15

Live by Faith in the Son of God

Gal 2:15. Paul is still addressing Peter when he says that “we [are] Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles”. The difference between Jews and Gentiles was indicated by God. But what was the advantage of this difference for the Jews? Had they been, as God’s chosen people, faithful servants of God? Had they done what God in the law asked them to do? No, it was precisely with them that it became apparent how much they had transgressed the law. That’s why that same law had to condemn them. On the principle of works of the law every right to justification was lost. Peter realized and knew that. He had witnessed to that fact in Acts 15 (Acts 15:10). Now that it seems he has forgotten that, Paul reminds him.

Gal 2:16. In one long sentence he wants to persuade Peter – but also the Galatians and us! – that “no flesh”, so really nobody, neither Jew nor Gentile, will be justified on the principle of works of the law. It concerns not so much the ten commandments but everything which can be called “law”. By “law” you should think of something that another imposes on you, but also what you impose on yourself by which you think you can please God if you succeed in accomplishing something you have put upon yourself as an obligation.

But it is not like that! “A man”, that is to say somebody of the human race without differentiating between sex, origin or nationality, can only be justified by means of and on the basis of faith. A man also cannot be justified by a combination of faith and works. Faith and law exclude each other.

What actually does that mean: justified? Someone who is justified is acquitted of any conceivable accusation. That doesn’t happen because of a lack of evidence, but because he is seen as a person who never did something wrong; no suspicion rests on that person at all. How is that possible? Well, it says, “that we may be justified by faith in Christ”. God acquits of any accusation every person who believes in Christ, the One Who took all the guilt on Himself on the cross of Calvary and washed it away by the blood He shed.

God sees such a person as being made one with His Son. All sins are gone, sin has been judged. The sinner has become a child of God and God doesn’t see him as a sinner anymore. God grants him His own righteousness. As you see, this “being justified” happens completely without any action of man. It is an act of God – and not a process! – on the principle of faith.

Gal 2:17. And what happens if someone like Peter, Barnabas, the Galatians and ten thousands of Christians today, want (again) to keep the law? Then they make two things clear. In the first place they will say that it is wrong to give up the law as a way to be justified; to give up the law will be a sin. In addition they will say, and how serious this is, that Christ is a minister of sin. Wasn’t it indeed Christ Who persuaded them to give up the law as a way to be justified? Then Christ brings them to sin by giving up the law. I hope you understand this. Paul rejects this argument with a powerful “may it never be!”

Gal 2:18. ‘For’, so he continues, ‘if I first break down something because it was not good, but later on build it up again because it actually was good, then I indicate that I did wrong to break it down.’

Thereby he doesn’t say that the law is not good. In Romans 7 he clearly says: “The law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom 7:12). How could it be possible that something which comes from God should be bad? What then is there which is not good? It is not good to use the law as a means to be justified. That’s not what God meant with the law! The law was given that man should see his sinfulness and acknowledge that he deserves death.

Gal 2:19. That is exactly what Paul says, when he goes on: “For through the law I died to the law.” Thereby he acknowledges the judgment of death contained in the law. At the same time he says that from that moment on the law has nothing to say about him anymore. For what effect can the law have on someone who is dead? Is it possible to say to a dead person, ‘you shall’ and ‘you shall not’?

Gal 2:20. In this magnificent verse Paul explains how he died to the law and how it is with him now. That applies also to every man who is a child of God. I really hope that you can repeat this with all your heart. He says: ‘As to my old man, my old ‘I’, I am crucified with Christ; but I also have a new ‘I’, that is my new life, which I live by faith; therefore “I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me”.’

With this last ‘I’ Paul means the ‘I’ of his personal responsibility. In the life of the believer there is always the tension between the old ‘I’ and the new ‘I’. This cannot be solved by fighting against the old ‘I’, but by remembering that the old ‘I’ is crucified with Christ. Further, you can find in the Son of God all the power needed to experience a rich life in faith. He gave Himself. You may look upon Him continuously. He loves you. When you look upon Him you always will find the power to “live to God”.

Gal 2:21. Paul doesn’t set aside the grace of God. How would that be possible? Those people who want to maintain the law are exactly the ones who set aside God’s grace. Maybe they even say that you need grace to keep the law. But grace and law exclude each other, just like faith and law. It is God’s endless grace that gave Christ in death. If the law was a means for a man to attain righteousness or to be made righteous, then it wouldn’t have been necessary for Christ to have died.

Now read Galatians 2:15-21 again.

Reflection: Memorize Gal 2:20.