No Flesh Shall be Justified by the Works of the Law
come from faith is sin." As if to say: When attempting any action, one must be convinced by the Spirit and the Word of God that what they are about to do is acceptable to God; without this conviction, they undoubtedly sin. If I were to accept that faith here means conscience,
I would add that the conscience must be informed by the Word of God, for many have such a misguided conscience that whether they follow it or not, they sin grievously.
But let us not linger long on interpreting this place. Let us consider what is said in the fourth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians: "My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me." Paul speaks here of his ministry, now converted to Christ, now an apostle, whom no one could justly accuse regarding his function. And if such a friend of God pronounces this about himself and his works, what makes us think that justification can be attributed to the works of those not yet regenerated? If the works of the godly, even the chief apostle of Christ, could not merit it, how then could it be granted to those still estranged from Christ?
No Flesh Shall be Justified by the Works of the Law 15. In the second chapter to the Galatians, Paul reiterates what he had written in the third chapter to the Romans; specifically, that no flesh shall be justified by the works of the law. This statement, clear enough and previously discussed, needs no further explanation.
However, he adds in the same chapter, "If righteousness could be gained through the law, then Christ died for nothing." This phrase,
'for nothing', signifies in vain and without purpose, which would certainly be true. For if true righteousness before God could have
been attained by any means other than through Christ, why then would He have died and been crucified? He also questions, "Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? So again, does He who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you do it by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?" Those who are justified receive the Holy
Spirit; for without it, it is utterly impossible to be justified, and if it is not given through works, then neither can justification be through works.
Furthermore, there is no doubt that justification comes from the goodwill and favor of God, as it enables men to be received into grace, adopted as His children, and made heirs of eternal life.
However, those occupied with the works of the law before justification are under a curse; thus, they cannot enjoy the favor of God. For the apostle adds, "All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse." To ensure we do not consider this his own opinion, he cites the Scripture, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." He then argues from the standpoint of human agreements: "Even though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is ratified, no one annuls it or adds to it."
Moreover, the promises were made to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "and to seeds," meaning many, but "and to your seed," meaning one, who is Christ. "This is what I mean: The law introduced 430 years later does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise."
If a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on the law. But this logic of the apostle is incomplete without stating that the law cannot impart life.
As stated to the Romans, "It was weakened by the flesh," even though it contained commandments that promised life. Since it is
certain that the law cannot impart life, neither can it justify. "Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith." If the law serves as a guardian, it would be a great disservice to God and Christ, who are like parents to us, to attribute to the guardian what belongs to them. It is not the guardian who makes us heirs, adopts us, or grants us everything; it is the Father. Therefore, let us attribute our justification to God and Christ, not to the law, works, or our merits.
Paul challenges those who wish to be under the law, asking, "Do you not hear what the law says?" For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. The son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but the son by the free woman was born as a result of a divine promise. These things are taken figuratively: the women represent two covenants.
One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother. It is critical to note that the law engenders only bondage, as Hagar did. But if works could justify, they would lead to freedom; for what is justification if not a release from sin? Yet since the law is called a servant and engenders bondage, we should not expect it to provide justification. In Galatians 5, it is stated, "If you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all."
Paul argues that anyone who accepts circumcision is obligated to obey the entire law. He asserts that if believers accept circumcision after faith, Christ will benefit them in no way, reinforcing the point:
"If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" This affronts the cross, where sinners are justified through
faith in the crucified Christ, a concept offensive to human reason.
But God insists on this 'foolishness' to save those who believe.
16. In the second chapter to the Ephesians, it is written, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you once walked following the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just like the rest of mankind." Let us note that before coming to Christ, humans are dead in sin; thus, they are incapable of aiding themselves to live and be justified. Who has ever seen a dead person help themselves? Moreover, these words show that they were under the power of the prince of darkness, who operates in the children of disobedience. Given they were governed by him, how could they possibly work toward justification? To ensure we do not think he speaks only of certain ungodly individuals, he includes, "All of us also once lived among them." What did we do then? We indulged in the desires of our flesh. To clarify that these desires were not only the vile affections of the baser part of the soul, it follows, "fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind," meaning we followed also the designs and thoughts of human reason. If this was our condition, whence then comes salvation and justification?
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, made us alive together with Christ.
But through what means did He grant us salvation? For, "By grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast." Could works be more clearly excluded? Where then do we place them?
Certainly, they follow justification, for the apostle adds, "For we are
His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." But these could not exist in us before, which is aptly described thus: "At that time you were without Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." Being in this state, who could claim to possess good works by which they might merit justification?
And to the Philippians in the third chapter: "If anyone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless." Given that Paul had so many commendable attributes before his conversion and had reasons to boast in the flesh, let us hear his final judgment on all these things: "But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ." If righteousness could be obtained through these things, should such profitable, precious, and holy things be considered loss, vile, and garbage? Let us heed Paul's words; rather, let the readers beware that they do not trust sophists more than Paul.
To the Colossians in the first chapter: "Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation." Each word should be carefully noted to understand that those alienated from God cannot possess anything through which they may return to grace and favor; that enemies in mind cannot