Galatians 2: 15-21
We are Jews by Nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;
The "we" here refer to Paul and Peter, who as Jews possessed the advantages of a privileged birth and a revealed religion; and in Jewish speech, the term "Gentile sinners" was used seriously as an opposite concept to all that being Jewish implied.
nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus,
Even with all these advantages, they still needed to trust in Christ's work on their behalf, not any following of Law, to be justified.
even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ Jesus and not by the works of the Law;
Here is the kernel of the Faith: to believe in Christ Jesus, to trust Him, not any adherence to rules, that His payment of our debt would be complete, so God can declare us justified, a legal term that means "to declare righteous or innocent."
since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.
Because no one can perfectly follow every law all the time.
But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!
Paul's accusers have said that to put aside all rules and standards for just trusting Christ to have already done it all, would promote a godless lifestyle without boundaries. This is antinomianism, the heresy that God's grace frees us from the moral laws.
For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
If I have to restore what I destroyed, then I admit I was wrong to destroy it in the first place.
For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.
I have been crucified with Christ;
Paul identified with Christ's fulfillment of the Mosaic Law in His life and death, as though he died with Christ on the Cross.
and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
Since I died, it's not me who is living, but the life of Christ living in me.
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
The life that is living in my body is my depending on the Son of God, that His Spirit is in my spirit.
who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
He loved me, and gave His body in death in substitution for mine.
I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.
If it were possible for us to be saved by following the Law, then Jesus didn't need to die at all. Jesus prayed three times in the Garden, that if it were possible for us to be saved any other way than through His death, then to not make Him have to go through with it (Matthew 26: 39-44; Mark 14: 35-40; Luke 22: 41-44). But there was no other way, and He knew it. So He submitted to the Father's will and allowed them to nail His body to the Cross in our place.
Jesus had to be God to be the eternal Person who could pay our eternal debt in time; and He had to be genuinely human to qualify to take our place in dying a human death for each of us. He is the sacrificial Lamb of God, the perfect Sacrifice, to fulfill the sacrificial Law for us.
This is the only way He could wash us clean with His Blood, sprinkled on the sides of His altar, the Cross. The blood of bulls and goats could never wash away sins, only cover them. The sacrificial laws were given to show what our Messiah would accomplish for us when He came, so we would recognize Him.
Our sins had to be completely washed away without a trace in order to fit us to be able for God to live in us by His Spirit. And His Spirit in us gives us His authority over the power of sin. So we now can live lives of love and compassion and kindness, as His own sons and daughters.
O my Father, I praise Your greatness, Your goodness, Your wisdom, Your compassion, Your wonderful Plan of the Ages! You have created everything that exists, and You have made it all for Your pleasure. You have designed everything to work together, for the good of Your own family, and You made the human race to be Your children. Let every living person hear and understand how much You Love them, to make an informed decision to seek You or reject You.
And every eye shall see, every knee will bow, every tongue will proclaim that Jesus is our Christ, Lord God Almighty, King of the Universe, to the eternal glory of Almighty God the Father, for ever and ever, Amen.
Even so, come swiftly, Lord Jesus!
