Galatians 2:15-16. 15We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16yet 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.
Freedom in Christ is not something that we muster up or accomplish on our own; it is declared over us by God. This is how we are brought out of our prisons of legal condemnation under God’s law and into the wide world of faith in Jesus.
Peter had returned to the prison of partiality. By classifying the Gentiles as “sinners” and seeing himself as a pure and holy Jew, he was living in bondage. He was literally no longer free to fellowship with any and all brothers and sisters in Christ. What can set him free again? And what can set us free again? Remembering that we are not “justified by works of the law but by faith in Christ.”
To be justified is to be made right with God, to be what we were made to be. It is a declaration of pardon, not acquittal (make no mistake, you ARE guilty). Justification is a personal reconciliation to God—one that He alone initiates and accomplishes by His grace in kindness. Yet it is not forced upon us; it is by faith. Trust in Christ. A whole-life confidence in Jesus. He is my life. He is my hope. He is my salvation. Therefore, I am justified by faith in Him.
When we are set free by faith in Christ, we are freed from trusting in everything else, including the works of the law. The Christian is free from any and all earning of his or her righteousness. They are set free from all performing, succeeding, building, controlling, obtaining, and accomplishing.
The “works of the law” for Paul were the commandments of the Mosaic Covenant. But we might call them anything we do to get God’s approval. But this is a prison. Like a prisoner who only behaves in order to get their sentence reduced, we are left only obeying God in order to avoid more trouble or to bring about an end that favors us. Which means every good work is tainted by selfish motives.
In Christ, we are set free to live and love from a position of full acceptance and righteousness. Jesus’ own acceptance and righteousness. No more hiding who we are. No more trying to impress others (and God). And no more avoiding “sinners” who are actually no different from us. Just a life lived in the open air of grace.
You: Where do you find yourself still trying to earn favor with God?
You in Christ: What is the connection between being justified and being in Christ?
Christ in you: How might you live more openly before God, in freedom, rather than in the bondage of performing “works of the law?”
Pray: Father, you have declared me to be not guilty and fully righteous in Christ. Help me to trust this in faith. Let this justification be my freedom. Amen.
