We, who are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles, 16 [yet] who know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we 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. 17 But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? Of course not! 18 But if I am building up again those things that I tore down, then I show myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; 20 yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
Some of the Gentile converts in Galatia were following the Mosaic Law by having themselves circumcised (Gal. 6:12-13) and following other Jewish customs and traditions (Gal. 4:9-10; 5:1-4). Paul explained the roles of justification and the Mosaic Law in the Christian life. Justification is when a person is made righteous in God’s eyes through faith in Jesus Christ. Justification is initially received through sanctifying grace at Christian Baptism by which original sin is removed. It is an ongoing transformative process where God’s grace enables believers to grow in holiness and to conform to the image of Christ. When a believer sins after his/her initial justification, the believer can return to a right relationship with God by sincerely repenting, confessing his/her sins, and seeking God’s forgiveness.
The Jews considered themselves superior because they enjoyed a special covenantal relationship with God by birth (Deut. 7:6-8), and through the Mosaic Law, they were given rules of conduct that the Gentiles, whom they referred to as sinners, were not privy to. Paul stated that justification came through faith in Jesus Christ, not through works of the Law. The Jewish Law (Torah) had 613 commandments and Paul asserted that every man who has himself circumcised is bound to observe the entire law (Gal. 5:3). If Jewish converts who sought justification in Christ committed sin that does not mean that Christ was a means through which the sin occurred because Christ is the means of justification and does not promote sin. And if Jewish Christians return to observing the Law in order that they may be justified, the Law which they gave up through knowledge of Christ, then they transgressed the Law for abandoning it in the first place.
Paul renounced the Law so that he could live for God, and through faith and baptism into Christ, his physical being is united with Christ in death and newness of life in which there is the indwelling of Christ (Rom. 6:3-4). He lives by faith in Christ who loves him and has given his life for him. He accepts and lives by the grace of God. If justification could come through the Law, then redemption through Christ was unnecessary.
Lord God of all creation, grant us the grace to join ourselves totally to Christ so that we may be transformed in Christ in spiritual love and be justified in your sight. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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