Summer School: “Justification By Faith” — Wednesday
Galatians 3:2
Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ. (NLT)
I remember learning about justification as I grew up in church. I was taught that being justified with God meant that, although I was guilty of sin, I was declared entirely innocent because of God’s grace offered through Jesus. One teacher even explained that it was as if your bank account was overdrawn by more than you could ever repay, but God made a deposit of righteousness into that account, and that righteousness never runs out! But it wasn’t until I heard that justification could be understood to mean “just as if I’d never sinned” that it took on a whole new meaning. Being justified with God means that God not only declares we are forgiven in Christ, but He deals with us as if we’d never sinned at all! We don’t have to fear being judged because our sins have already been judged in Christ on the cross. “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
This core teaching of forgiveness through Christ and justification before God was the message early Christians in the region of Galatia were struggling with. They had heard the clear teaching of the gospel, but there were some false teachers who couldn’t accept these ideas and kept confusing the message with the requirements of Moses’ law. Some theologians have described the sixty verses of Galatians 3-4 as being some of the strongest writing Paul ever offered. For Paul, the stakes couldn’t have been any higher. If the message of the gospel was compromised at all, it wouldn’t have the power to change people. They would continue to be enslaved by works that the law required.
While Paul’s tone and language are direct in his letter to the Galatians, what’s also clear is his love for his readers. This letter wasn’t written just to prove a point or win an argument. Paul, having been set free himself, wanted the new converts to Christ to experience that full freedom as well.
Wednesday’s Reflection
Just as if I’d never sinned. Can you embrace that God sees you this way? The level of joy in your life today might indicate how much you believe that truth.
