We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
Galatians 2:16 (ESV)
Justified
In life, there are many things that require faithful, consistent, and hard work in order to achieve the results that are desirable. No one ever grew in wisdom and knowledge by simply owning books or sitting in a college library. No one ever developed strength and physical fitness because they bought a gym membership or owned a kettlebell. Owning a pair of running shoes doesn’t make you a runner and owning a compound bow doesn’t mean you’re an archery hunter. All of these analogies point to the fact that in order to achieve certain things in life, you have to put in the work in order to experience the benefit of the exercise.
In many respects, this is an encouraging reality. If there’s something in life that you aspire to learn and do, there’s a high likelihood that if you apply yourself to studying or practicing, with the right amount of ambition and dedication, you can achieve far more than you probably thought possible. Afterall, all of us begin our earthly experience basically knowing nothing and not able to do much more than eat, sleep, cry, and make dirty diapers.
On the contrary, the apostle Paul writing to the Galatian church needed to address a supremely significant truth concerning the nature of eternal salvation. While many centuries have passed between then and now, the same truth is still a point of relevance and eternal significance within the scope and spectrum of human thought and more specifically Christian doctrine. This truth is so important that we can boldly say that it’s the difference between an eternity spent in the glory of God and the fullness of His love, and perfections or an eternity separated from God’s peace and comfort in a place of eternal torment and death.
According to the Word of God, the difference between being justified or not, is faith in Jesus Christ. Galatians 2:16 serves as a three-fold denunciation of any kind of salvation by works of the law. In other words, there’s no amount of working or doing that can save you. No amount of religious or righteous activity can make you justified before God.
The word justified (δικαιόω in Greek), means to bring about the judgement that one is righteousness. So, to state it plainly, to be justified means that you have been proven righteous. It is a legal term, and its meaning alone nearly proves the point that needs to be made. No one is judged righteous by works of the law, because no one is actually righteous based upon the standard of the law. Without going into an all-out excursus on the law itself, let’s just summarize by saying that the law itself demands absolute perfection in thought, word, and deed both toward God and man. The standard is quite high.
One transgression of the law is eternally disqualifying from being perfect. One transgression of the law also has an eternal consequence, the sentence of death. So, the question that should be asked, and has been asked, “who then can be saved?” Paul’s words come rushing in, “…so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law.” Justification by faith in Jesus Christ is the heart and soul of the Gospel. You cannot be “good enough” because you’ve already been “bad enough” to be damned to hell. But praise God, the righteousness of Christ is the means by which wretched sinners can be justified. The works of Christ in life, and His taking our punishment in death are the means by which God not only grants us forgiveness, but also declares us righteous. By faith in Jesus Christ, God grants us the gift of eternal life completely based upon the works of the law that Christ has kept! You cannot work for it, it’s a gift. You cannot earn it, it’s paid in full. You cannot add to it, it is finished! As Paul and Silas told the Philippian jailer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31 (ESV))
