Galatians 1-3
Justification
By Faith

Persecuted by his enemies and overwhelmed, David calls to God for much-needed help. Rather than remaining in the darkness, he recalls God's faithfulness, righteousness, past deliverances, and presses his plea to God. He bases his plea on the righteousness of God, knowing that no one is perfect in his sight. Every fiber of his being thirsts for God, his only hope.

The last half of the psalm contains a number of requests and the reason for them. The last half of verse 10 flips the order for emphasis. Our dependency upon God should be so great that if He is not actively involved in our lives, sustaining and guiding, we will perish. There might be dry days but no prolonged parched periods in the life of someone who walks in the shadow of God, for in His presence (available to anyone, anywhere, anytime) is fullness of joy. David asks God for guidance and direction, which He is pleased to give so we can do His will. God's servants can trust Him because not only is He infinitely good, He is infinitely loyal to His promises to protect those who trust in Him.

Paul opens with the assertion that he is an apostle (sent one) from Jesus the Messiah. He writes to the assemblies of believers in the resurrected Christ, which he planted in Galatia on his first missionary journey. As in Romans and 1Corinthians, he wishes them the covenantal blessings of grace and peace and writes the book so they can get blessed. The “bookend” of 6:16 tells them how to get them (“walk/live according to this rule/standard”). The Lord Jesus, the Messiah gave himself for our sins (justification -see Romans 3 comments) so that (purpose) believers might be delivered out of (ek) this present age (here aion is used for a definite period of time), according to the will of God. The will of God is not just that our sins be forgiven, but that we experience a deliverance, through sanctification, into the glory of the Age to come (glorification).

Paul marvels that those who believed the good news/gospel he preached to them (see comments on 1Cor 15 for what that was) were so quick to bite the bait Satan dangled in front of them. Even if an angel (which Satan can disguise himself as -2Cor 11:14) told them anything different than Paul did, they shouldn't believe it, and the false teacher should be accursed. To understand what he means, you have to skip ahead to understand the context of the letter: those Jews who had believed, were trying to make the Gentiles become Jews to be recipient of God's blessings. (See comments on the Jerusalem Council -Acts 15). This teaching is not from God, but men. By seeking to please men and submit to the Jewish traditions and “law” they would not be pleasing to God. This is why Paul emphasizes the choice the Galatians face: please unauthenticated men by following their teaching, or please God by following His authenticated teachers (the apostles) and His message. Paul recounts his conversation with Jesus, and his resultant conversion, and commission to show his message is the real deal.

Acts 26:15 So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.' 

(See comments there).

After his encounter with Jesus Paul didn't immediately go to Jerusalem, but eventually did, meeting briefly with Peter and James (the Lord's brother, now an apostle -see comments on Acts 12:2 and 15:13). He did not get his message from the other apostles, nor did he have contact with the churches in Judea, so his message was based upon revelation from God alone (the only way a finite being can know infinite truth).

Fourteen years later Paul again went to Jerusalem and met with the chief apostles who agreed with his message to the Gentiles. No circumcision was required (Titus heaved a sigh of relief). False (pseudo) brothers had entered into the assemblies, to advance the cause of Judaism, not Christ. These folks are referred to as Judaizers, who taught that one had to become a Jew to be blessed, even though one believed in Christ. The apostles at Jerusalem saw that Christ had appointed Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles, as he had Peter to be the apostle to the Jews. The request the apostles had of Paul was for him to remember the financial needs of the poor saints in Jerusalem, which he was eager to do.

When Peter was at Antioch, he ate with the Gentiles, which was considered a violation of the law by the Jews. So when the Jewish believers came from Jerusalem, Peter withdrew from the Gentiles (even though God had given him direct revelation that eating with Gentiles was OK; see comments on Acts 10:28 when God showed him that). Peter's hypocrisy, for fear of the Jews, was leading others astray, so Paul opposed him to his face in front of all. Peter was clearly wrong for trying to compel the Gentiles to live as Jews.

Paul argued that even Jews are not justified by works or deeds of the Jewish law, but by faith in Jesus. One has to ask why Paul is arguing justification with people who already have their sins forgiven. The answer is that he is viewing not the forensic righteousness ala Romans 3:23-26 (above in the TMS section), but rather the righteousness (doing what is right in His sight that God required for blessing in the OT, and still requires for blessing in this life and in the Ages to come). The law can't declare one righteous, since it points out sin. If someone who has believed in Christ doesn't follow all the law (like doesn't keep his distance but actually eats with defiling Gentiles) does that mean that Christ causes sin? Obviously the indwelling Christ can't be a source of sin, so the only reasonable thing to conclude is that the law is no longer valid. The law to which Paul refers must be inferred from context, and the context of the chapter. The rest of the letter will point to the ceremonial or religious law, rather than the moral law (which the audience, as recipients of the Holy Spirit, and participants in the blessing of the New Covenant, would already have written on their hearts). "Rebuilding" the law by seeking to live according to it (in the ceremonial sense, since the moral law was now written in his heart) would make himself a law-breaker. Paul has died to the law so that he may live for Christ

He himself is crucified with Christ (in his union with Christ) and thus no longer lives as the law-keeping/breaking Paul. He now lives by faith in the son of God (with the resultant indwelling life-giving Spirit). Paul is using justification here in a different sense than most realize. Justification usually refers to being declared righteous in reference to the penalty of sin, also known as the forgiveness aspect of salvation (see introduction to Matthew for the different aspects of salvation). Here Paul is looking beyond forgiveness to the righteousness God requires for reward in the Kingdom. To receive this declaration the just person needs to live by faith. Living by faith is more than a one time belief in the substitutionary atonement, but an ongoing trust in the promises of God (see Faith Actuates God's Promises on Truthbase.net if you've never studied what the Scripture says faith is). To live is not just a deliverance from the lake of fire, but to exercise dominion/glory in the realm of God's promises (Dt 30:19). This is the only understanding that is consistent with all the facts. It's not about past forgiveness, nor present position, but future righteousness (knowing and doing what is right in God's sight).

If one can be rightly related to God, forgiven, reconciled, and restored by doing deeds of the law, then Christ didn't have to die. A major “crowbar” question to ask in helping folks understand Christianity is: “Why did Jesus have to die?”

Jesus was openly declared to be the crucified Savior of Isaiah 53, and the Galatians believed it. They received the Spirit as a result of faith in what they heard. God worked miracles to authenticate Paul's message, and their reception of it. They were even persecuted for their faith. So the issue is not the forgiveness of sins (justification aspect of salvation) received by faith. Paul rebukes them for not “obeying” the truth he delivered to them (not for being unbelievers). He appeals to the faith they already had as the basis for arguing that not law-keeping but faith-keeping was necessary for the blessings God had in store for them. It's foolish to begin a journey in the power of the Spirit and then try to bring the journey to completion/fulfillment by a means that was inadequate for starting it. It's like starting across the ocean flying in an airplane, and then halfway there, decide to finish by swimming.

Paul quotes Genesis 15:6 to show that the dynamic in Abraham's life was faith, not deeds of the flesh. God always “reckons” righteousness on the basis of faith. What one has to believe varies (Adam-die if eat fruit; Cain-accepted if do right; Noah-flood coming; Abe-God would bless him; Moses-God accepts sacrifices as atonement; John's audience-the kingdom promised in OT in which God rewards righteous behavior was coming [this was the same as the initial message of Jesus and the apostles], latter audience of Jesus and the apostles-Jesus is the promised Messiah who blesses [and forgives]). In each case faith in what God had revealed was necessary to be righteous in God's sight. Paul says that God (the Scriptures) foresaw (seeing ahead of) that God would justify (declare righteous) the nations/Gentiles by faith, proclaimed the good news (gospel) to Abe that in him all the nations would be blessed. So those who demonstrate a faith like Abe will be blessed like Abe.

God's promise to Abe was made 430 years before the law, so there is no way the law can undue or annul the faith dynamic which was the basis of God's promise. Instead of blessing, the law brings curse for disobedience. But Christ's death took that curse as our substitute, so we would be free to receive the blessing that comes through the path of faith. The blessing comes to Abe's seed (note the argument hangs on the word being singular rather than plural), which is Christ, who shares it with those who are in union with Him. Notice that the subject matter is the inheritance that one gets in the kingdom, not forgiveness. Inheritance is a reward for faithful obedience (Col 3:24-25).

So what's the purpose of the law? It was added as a temporary measure (most likely to restrain or highlight transgressions/sin) until Christ would come and bring the promised blessing (which via the Spirit would write the law on their heart). Both God and the Jews had responsibilities under the Mosaic law/covenant, but the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant was dependent solely upon God (see comments on Gen 12 &15). The law isn't at odds with the promises of God. If there was a law that could give life, then righteousness would come from the law. But the law enclosed (like a shoal of fish in a net) all under sin so that the promise of faith (Spirit and inheritance) could be given to those who believe. Under the law, they were guarded or enclosed (protected?) people, the law serving as a guardian/tutor, with a view toward them being justified by faith. Now that the anticipated faith was revealed (the content of what they should believe), the believers were no longer under the guardianship of the law. Now they are all children of God (born) through faith in Christ. Their identity is one, in the Messiah Jesus, and thus heirs of the promise made to the seed of Abraham (blessing/inheritance). This means that all distinctions (like Greeks and Jews) no longer exist, so Greeks not only don't need to become Jews to receive the Messianic promises, but they even can't become Jews.