I am so blessed with many inquisitive friends and parishioners who are not afraid to ask good questions. Most of the time I answer these questions with conversation or a private e-mail. Today, I wish to answer a question by public post. Why? It is a good question that gets to heart of the gospel!
The following is a long quotation from an e-mail I received late last week. It reads:
I hope that the following points of vagueness on my part are due to the translations or the wording, but I'm afraid it may just be I am thick in the head sometimes! Ha!
The first portion of text that is tripping me up a bit is Galatians 2:17-21 which I reproduce for your own convenience from the ESV:
But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Gal 2: 17-21
When Paul here asks about Christ being a servant of sin if those who believe are found to be sinners, what does he mean? It seems strange that some would think Christ is a "servant (minister HCSB) of sin" because those who believe in him sin! Did these folks believe in an early form of holiness doctrine, where once you converted you needed to live perfectly? I can somewhat understand this in context, if Paul is countering a potential claim of the Judaizers that you had to follow the law, presumably perfectly, once you believed in Christ. This seems to fit his response as well, as he puts the guilt of sin squarely on the transgressor.
He then says, "Through the law I died to the law...". What does he mean here? Is he referring to Christ fulfilling the Law one our behalf, thereby freeing us from it by operating and fulfilling it from within? This would fit the later context of chapter 4:4, where he says Christ was born "under the law, to redeem those who were under the law...".
Further, when he says, "the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God..", is he here referring to that conflict of the flesh and Spirit, whereby we still struggle with the flesh in our mortal bodies but live by faith in Christ that were are justified and forgiven? This seems to make sense, as he goes on to say that we do not nullify the grace of God with out sin, because sin is aroused and seen by the Law, but we are set free from the Law (vs. 21). Therefore, even though we continue to sin, we remain justified because it is by Christ's live and work, not our own works of the Law, that justify us?
The first and most important rule of interpretation is that context determines meaning. I know this idea sounds old-fashioned for those raised in reader-response postmodernism. I don't care. This whole movement of thought is at least 90% wrong.
We do bring our own bias to the reading (that's the 10% correct), but we come to a text to understand what the author intended. The author wrote for a purpose. Understanding this purpose helps us understand what the author is saying. Honestly, this should not be that difficult to understand. If it were not true, we would never write or even speak in an attempt to communicate!
Anyway, Paul's argument begins a paragraph before and it runs through the next two chapters. What is his point? "By the works of the law no one will be justified." (Gal. 2:16) Thus, Jew and Gentile alike are justified by faith. Faith is the instrument that God works to bring salvation. It always has been, and it always will be.
What does this mean in the life of a believer? Here is Paul's point in this passage. Paul is writing briefly about Christian experience. He is writing to a group that is deeply confused. They have "begun by faith, but are now being perfected by the flesh." (Gal. 3:3). Paul does not believe this perfection by the flesh/law/self-effort is possible.
Paul believes we must be justified by faith and we must live by faith.
Why? Human experience. Believers and unbelievers alike struggle with sin. When the law is correctly applied to our life, it does not bring freedom and joy. Instead it brings condemnation, doubt, and death. In our fallen world, the Law always proves us to be sinners. Thus, before a Holy God we are dead meat!
What should be our response? Repentance and faith in Christ. When confronted with our sin, we should not attempt to lessen the reality of our need by explaining away God's holiness or by emphasizing our good intentions. We need to be honest! We are guilty before God and we need help.
This help comes from Jesus Christ who "was born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." (Gal. 4: 2-3)
What Paul is emphasizing in this passage is the entry way into our new life. He is emphasizing the importance of conversion by faith in Christ. This conversion is entered into by repentance and faith. When we believe, the old self is crucified with Christ, and we are raised again in a spiritual sense with Christ.
This act of conversion through repentance and faith is just the beginning of a new life-style. Those who were throwing the Galatians into confusion denied this life-style. They maintained that we are justified by faith, but we grow by a now "correct application" of the Law. Paul teaches that this is nonsense.
In Paul's mind, God works through and by faith. Faith allows us to be honest that we often fall to obey the law. Thus, faith leads us to repentance and repentance leads us to faith. In this way, the Law is our tutor/guardian that leads us to Christ. (Gal. 3:24 Not a huge fan of the ESV translation here)
So how do we live this life in Christ? By faith. It is started by faith and it continues by faith. While walking in faith, I often find I am a law-breaker. This does not nullify the truth in Christ! In fact, it confirms that I need Jesus.
I think this great question has the right pieces, but they are not quite in the right order. The context of the book gives us Paul's primary point in writing. He wants the Galatians and us to know that we are redeemed and rescued by applying Christ's finished work through repentance and faith. He also wants us to know that the entire life as a believer must be lived by that same repentance and faith.
In what do you trust to find your joy, satisfaction, and motivation in life? Are you formed by conscience repentance and faith or have you "grown" past that stage? According to Paul, we never grow past that stage! If you understand this perspective, you will understand the argument contained within the book of Galatians.
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