Galatians 2:11-21: Justified by Grace through Faith
In this passage from Galatians 2:11-21, Paul presents his biblical and theological argument in response to Peter’s unacceptable behavior. Peter, the one whom God had chosen to share the gospel with a gentile, Cornelius (cf. Acts 15), was behaving in a way that was against the true gospel. Earlier, Peter was eating with the Gentiles, but as soon as the Judaizers, or circumcision group, arrived, he snuck out from the gentile group and joined the latter group. This behavior also led Barnabas astray.
Paul was astonished at his hypocrisy and opposed him, though Peter was a senior apostle. Paul says that Peter did not adhere to the true gospel and, though a Jew, behaved as a non-Jew, thus disqualifying him from asking Gentiles to live like Jews. Paul then presents his argument. Certainly Paul and Peter were Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles (v. 15b). Gentiles were called sinners because they were believed to be born outside the Law, yet Paul added that Jews, like Gentiles, were saved or justified by faith in Jesus Christ and not by works of the Law. By writing this, Paul does not mean to suggest that Jesus was a promoter of sin since Jesus had made it possible for Gentiles, the people outside the Law, to come to faith without the Law. Paul absolutely does not want people to think this way.
Paul declares himself dead to the Law, and he states that the new life he had was through faith in Christ. His old life had been crucified on the Cross with Jesus Christ. So he found himself justified by faith through grace and not through the works of the Law. If it were through the works of the Law, he believed that Jesus’ grace was nullified and that Jesus died in vain.
The main point of this passage is that people are justified by faith in Jesus through grace and not by the works of the Law or living by a set of moral rules or even doing good deeds. It is only by faith through grace that we are justified.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Since the time of Adam, God had instructed people to offer sacrifices. However, these sacrifices had never fulfilled the full atonement of people’s sins. The sacrifice of animals was actually pointing to Christ, the perfect sacrifice that had yet to come. Nonetheless, God always looked at the heart of those who offered sacrifices. When Abraham was willing to offer his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, God declared him righteous because of his faith. In the Cain and Abel story, Abel’s offering was accepted because he wanted to give God his best. People in the past had been following works of righteousness to please God or earn merit from Him. Yet God was only pleased when people worshipped Him wholeheartedly. The Hebrews and Jews were adherent to the Mosaic Law and based their righteousness on fulfilling such laws. It is thus fascinating to note that God had secured His faithful few, the remnants—those people who worshipped Him with all their hearts, souls, and minds. At the time Jesus was born, the believing remnants were Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zacharias, Anna, Simeon, and many unknown names to us. They lived their lives believing that the Old Testament was the divinely revealed Word. They followed the Old Covenant’s standards but trusted only in the Holy One, not in their adherence to the rituals (MacArthur, 47).
When Jesus was born, there were many Israelites who perverted and added to the Old Testament revelation. They also based their righteousness on their goodness and accomplishments. “Most Jewish leaders, epitomized by the self-righteous scribes and Pharisees, proudly believed their religious works placed them in God’s special favor and gained them forgiveness for their sins” (MacArthur, 47). Judaizers arose from this vast group of legalistic Jews; they claimed to be followers of Christ but observed works of righteousness and prescribed circumcision to the Gentiles and followed the Mosaic Law before they could be saved. This teaching certainly contradicted the Old Testament teaching where people like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, the godly judges, kings, prophets, and other godly figures from the Old Testament were saved or “gained approval through faith” (cf. Heb. 11:1-39).
The Judaizers were thus “not teaching the Old Testament doctrine but the cardinal doctrine of Satan, that a person can by his goodness and works gain favor with God” (MacArthur, 47). This belief is the very reason why Paul referred to Judaizers as “dogs, evil workers…the false circumcision” (Phil. 3:2). If the Judaizers were to compare their Jewish heritage with Paul, they would be no match for him because he had been a zealous Jew himself before his dramatic conversion. In Phil. 3:5-9, he stated how he counted his impeccable keeping of the law as rubbish in comparison to the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
Certainly, the Judaizers had a corrupt view of the Messiah. “As circumcised, ceremonial Jews, they were convinced they already had the full favor of God and were spiritually and morally acceptable to Him just as they were” (MacArthur, 48). They did not even view the Messiah as one who would forgive their sins because they did not believe their sins required such a sacrifice. Paul was afraid that Peter, a Jewish-Christian, would corrupt the view of justification among Gentile-Christians by following the Judaizers, so he intervened to confront Peter with the true gospel: justification through faith in Christ rather than through observing the Law.
LITERARY CONTEXT
Paul and Barnabas worked among the Gentiles and shared the true gospel. Judaizers informed some members of the Galatian Church shortly after their departure that Paul was a self-proclaimed apostle with no divine commission. In response to this, Paul wrote the letter to the Galatian Christians. The opening verse of the letter of Galatians identifies Paul as the author. It certainly is an unchallenged Pauline autobiography. Many false teachers and Judaizers had infiltrated the churches in the area of Antioch, spreading the rumor that Paul was an imposter and his teachings incredible. Thus, in the preceding verses, Paul explained his appointment as an apostle from Jesus himself and his acceptance as one from the preeminent apostles like James, Peter, and Barnabas. It is no wonder then that Paul spoke with unrelenting authority when he confronted Peter. Once again, Paul defends his doctrine of justification through faith and introduces the whole theme of his letter in verse 16.
2:11–14: Paul rebukes Peter in Antioch.
2:15-16—Theme verses
- Justification: It is that gracious act of God whereby God declares the sinner to be just or righteous on the basis of the work of Christ on the cross (imputation), which the sinner receives with a believing heart (Kroeze).
- Salvation is by faith in Christ and not by observing the “law.”
2:17-18—Paul reemphasizes that justification is through faith in Christ. However, people should not indulge in sin just because they no longer need to observe the Law. Paul taught this gospel, and if he departed from his teaching, he would be considered a transgressor.
2:19-21—Paul declares that the Mosaic Law does not justify his sins anymore, but his faith in Christ alone does. His past life was crucified when he put his faith in Christ. The new life was due to Christ, who lived in him. If he were to use his adherence to the Law as a justification for his sins, Paul would lament that Christ’s death was in vain.
GRAMMATICAL ISSUES
The passage recounts the confrontation that Paul has with Peter. At the same time, Paul conveys his theological message not only to Peter but also eventually to the Galatians. Hence, the grammatical changes have to be observed. The ‘we’ in vv. 15-17 includes Paul with the Jewish Christians and particularly Peter. In verse 18, when Paul changes to ‘I’—a first-person singular form—it is used in a generalized sense to refer to Peter and the Jewish Christians who behave like him. By doing so, he shifts the focus away from the confrontation at Antioch and instead highlights the essence of the fundamental principle. In the latter verses, 19-21, the ‘I’ is Paul’s own position and is not shared. It is also intriguing to note that Paul’s personal confessions in the first person singular are not limited to just him. These verses exemplify the circumstances faced by every Christian. In the passage, there are pronouns where ‘we’ exclusively makes sense only to Jewish Christians, but there are also places in verses like v. 16 where ‘we’ applies to both Jewish and Gentile Christians.
Commentator Ebeling points out:
“These observations on the grammatical and semantic subject already pave the way for an understanding of how this section is organized. The argumentation begins with the Jewish Christian agreement (vv. 15-16). It then indicates the critical point of disagreement (vv. 17-18) and goes on to describe the sublation of the Jewish Christian agreement in the universal Christian truth of the gospel (vv. 19-20). The concluding sentence (v. 21) may be read by itself or in connection with the last subsection.” (120, Ebeling).
The crucial idea or phrase of the passage, “justification,” is “mentioned in a General, Personal, and Universal statement referring to the past, present, and future” (Kroeze). Paul employs this complex architecture to firmly establish one of the most significant doctrines in the Bible.
THEOLOGICAL ISSUES
The verses in this passage build up to Paul’s main thesis for the entire epistle of Galatians, which is found in verse 3:11: “Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident, for the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Since the dawn of humanity, there has been a consistent tendency in their nature to seek to please God one way or another. Adam and Eve were living in the Garden of Eden without a structured set of laws. God wanted them to trust Him and obey His only command: not to eat from the tree of knowledge. God only wanted that simple faith from them that they would trust in Him. However, Satan tempted them into believing that there was something beyond simply trusting God. We could say that since then people have inherited this idea of doing something on their own. Yet God in his sovereignty and grace has always saved the few who put their faith in the only true God. Through this line of faith, we see that the Messiah will eventually come.
In the past, people who walked faithfully with God were considered righteous in His sight. Noah, Abraham, and Abel are some examples of people from the Old Testament who put their entire trust in God alone and did not walk in the path to fulfill their fleshly inclinations. They didn’t worship the Lord who freed them, even after freeing the Hebrews from slavery and the wilderness. Again, in his grace plan, God gave the Ten Commandments to people through Moses so that whoever kept the commands would be put right with God. God also gave instructions about offering sacrifices to him. The offering of a lamb was offered to God, and the sins of the one who laid a hand on that lamb were atoned. By the end of the Old Testament, there was an accumulation of all kinds of laws: the Mosaic Law, ceremonial laws, and circumcision. When God set those laws, they were in fact only pointing toward man’s incapacity to keep them. God was pointing toward the perfect sacrifice that would atone for humans’ sins.
Paul was one of those believers of the Law. After his conversion, he deserted his previous set of beliefs. As a former zealot (Phil. 3:5), Paul could not have been any more familiar with the Old Covenant. When he received a revelation from Jesus on his way to Damascus, then the true gospel became clear to him. He saw the Old Testament through the lens of the true gospel. He saw no evidence in the Torah or from his ancestors that they were saved by the Law. In fact, Paul refers to Gen. 12:3, “All the nations will be blessed in you.” This was the gospel preached to Abraham beforehand, which preceded the Mosaic Law. Hence, whoever has faith is a descendant of Abraham and has been declared righteous.
The Law was given through the agency of a mediator to reveal people’s sins. When Christ, the seed of the promise, came, the mediated message was nullified forever. Christ fulfilled Abraham’s promise of blessing all nations. Thus, there is salvation for every person who comes to Christ in faith. They do not have to be a Jew and an observer of the Law.
BIBLICAL ISSUES
The Bible emphasizes faith in Christ as the ruling factor for salvation. In the Scripture, ‘righteousness by faith through grace’ is a requirement broached time and again. Rom. 1:17 says, “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” Habakkuk 2:4 says, “The righteous shall live by faith”; Hebrews 10:38 states, “But my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” These verses in the Scripture support Paul’s doctrine of justification through faith.
APPLICATION
The writer’s purpose in writing this passage is to warn people who call themselves Christians about knowing the scripture in its truest sense. We cannot read and apply the Word of God in the manner of cherry-picking. The Bible is coherent and whole in its nature. Just as Paul understood the true gospel in light of the Old Testament and recognized God’s intention in the statement, “The righteous shall live by faith,” we ought to know the Word of God as it was intended. Paul has successfully rendered to us the true gospel by way of presenting his argument analytically and critically.
The passage is universally true: justification is through faith in Christ and always will be. It was true with our forefathers, is true with us, and will be forever. Throughout history, individuals have attempted to deviate from God’s path. The truth of the passage is still applicable to us and thus contextual. People don’t seem to observe the Law in churches today, but they still believe they must do good to please God. People who perform good deeds without worship or gratitude to God are similar to Judaizers. They have put their faith in deeds. They have departed from the reality that God covets the heart that fully trusts in His grace.
I thus believe that even if my deeds are meant for beneficial purposes, if I have not placed my faith in Christ, I have failed to worship God. If we base my happiness on the achievements and deeds of my life, we grieve God’s heart. The scriptures call us to totally rely on Him and have faith in Christ alone; this fact itself is the most gratifying truth of our lives. Even in our relationships, more than becoming a people pleaser or a queen of hospitality, our lives should convey the message that only God justifies us. Our actions cannot earn that merit. We should live a life that tells people that our lives begin with the work done by Christ; we cannot add to or subtract from that done deal.
Occasionally, we make similar mistakes to Peter. Inadvertently, just as Peter’s actions led Gentile-Christians astray, our hypocrisy can lead others astray. Our un-Christian-like behavior can hurt our brothers’ and sisters’ newfound faith. When we share the love of Christ with someone and walk them through this new life, our first priority should be to nurture them in faith and not push too firmly on the work. We must teach that we are justified by faith, not works, in our ministries. Our constant mission trips and mercy programs in the churches should not convey to them that they are earning favor before God. Justification is only through faith; their heart before God matters, and the rest will follow.
I stand in confidence knowing that justification is only through faith. I have no obligation to earn merit based on my good works. If we perform good works, we do so to reflect the character and love of Jesus. It pleases God. Just as Paul mentioned over and over again, justification is by faith through grace. We should simply have faith and let the works of grace lead us to doing good works, instead of trying to earn grace through good works.
