Justified by Faith

 

Justified by Faith

 

Justification is the gracious & judicial act of God whereby a person is granted complete absolution from all guilt & a full release from the penalty of sin. The question: By what are we justified? Paul answers this question in Galatians 2:15-21.

 

Verses 15-16 Justified by Faith

This passage makes it very clear that we are justified by faith in Jesus, not by works of the law. In Ephesians 2:8-9 we are told that we are saved by grace through faith. If justification came through acts of the law, it would not be by grace through faith & we could take credit for our own salvation.  

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about being justified by faith in Jesus & not works of the law.

 

Verses 17-18: Freedom from the Law

The argument is made here that since we are justified by faith & not works then by turning from faith in Jesus to again embrace the law for justification, we are saying that it is Jesus who made us sin. We are also saying that Jesus’ death on the cross is not enough & that we are still under the burden of having to keep the law to be saved. In James 2:10 we are told that if we fail to keep the whole law, we are lawbreakers & guilty of disobeying all the law.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about being freed from the burden of keeping the whole law because we are incapable of keeping the whole law.

 

Verses 19-20: Dying to Sin & the Law

We die to the law so we can find our life in God. We are to identity so much with Jesus that we are spiritually crucified so that it is no longer we who are living but Jesus living in & through us. We live life in our bodies by faith in Jesus because He loved us & died for our sins. We are dead to the law & dead to sin.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about been dead to the law & sin so that we are alive in & through Jesus. People are to see Jesus in us.

 

Verse 21: The Grace of God

If we depend on works of the law or keeping all the law to bring us justification, then we nullify God’s grace & we will never be righteous. Righteousness only comes through God’ grace that allows God to declare us righteous when we surrender our lives to Jesus as Savior & Lord. If righteousness could come through works of the law, then Jesus died for no purpose.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls is about depending on God’s grace through the death of Jesus for our justification.

 

The law was given to us to make us aware of our sin & our inability to obey the law & thus our need for a Savior. Our trying to obey the law cannot bring us justification because we cannot obey the law fully. Jesus did & that is why He is our perfect sacrifice for sin.

 

Raise the Roof & Remove the Walls,

                         Joe