Justified By Faithfulness (part 1)

Yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. – Galatians 2:16a (NET)

This phrase is proceeded by an important one that assists in the creation of context and understanding of the terms that Paul is going to be employing in what is to follow from this statement. Paul had written, “We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners” (2:15). This issue of justification is terribly significant and important. It was important before Jesus and is important after Jesus. It was important for Jews before the Christ-event, and was and is important for all people (both Jews and Gentiles) after the Christ event.

As we read Paul’s letters, we have to remember that he was writing after the Resurrection, in the early years of Christ’s church, and that the terms that he employs carry a specific meaning and connotation for the time period in which they were written. Understanding the relevance of time-specific meanings is equally important for all of Scripture. If we will hold to that as a standard, then we will be able to achieve greater comprehension. This is what provides the Scriptures with their element of timelessness and universal application, as examining the Word of God in this way will make personal applications far more appropriate, effective, interesting, and exciting.

Defining terms, we can begin with justification, or being “justified” as Paul writes. Justification specifically has to do with being in a positive covenant standing before God, or by having a positive covenant status. Because God’s “righteousness” (which we read about so often) is best defined as His “covenant faithfulness,” righteousness is connected with covenant, so “justified” can also be presented as being “righteous.” Therefore, if one is justified, or is going to experience justification, then one must be adhering to the marks and requirements of the covenant that have been put in place by God Himself.

We can quickly trace this issue of covenant status through the Hebrew Scriptures. Though the term is not used, we find the first covenant with Adam in the garden. God told Adam, essentially, “If you do this, then this is what will happen.” That is a covenant. Of course, we know how that went for Adam, for all of creation, and for every human that would follow in Adam’s wake. God’s righteousness was put on display as a result of Adam’s actions. God was faithful to the covenant that He made with Adam. Immediately following the fall, God spoke of another covenant concerning the serpent and the seed of the woman. In Christ, God was faithful to fulfill this covenant as well (God is righteous), and it is this covenant that is connected with justification for His people (making them righteous).

Moving forward to Noah, we find the first use of the word “covenant.” God had judged the earth with a worldwide flood. This actually allows us to see the two-fold nature of judgment. In one sense, the judgment brought destruction, in that God destroyed all but eight people. In the other sense, which we can think of as the positive side of judgment, God’s judgment liberated the world (albeit temporarily) by purging from it the wickedness of man, and its effects, that had abounded upon it. Yes, God’s judgment can be both destructive and liberating, and we should make every attempt to see what type of judgment is being presented when we read about it in the Scriptures. Following the flood, God made a covenant with Himself, with man as a witness, that He would never again bring destruction with a worldwide flood. The history of mankind is a clear demonstration that God has been faithful to His covenant. Again, God is righteous (faithful to His covenants).

The next covenant was with Abraham. God entered into history and chose a man for Himself to be the bearer of the light of His glory, and the progenitor of a people that would do the same. God said to Abraham, “I will do this, and you will do that, and this will be the result.” God gave Abraham the sign of the covenant, which was circumcision. This covenant was passed along through Abraham’s son Isaac, on to Isaac’s son Jacob, and on to Jacob’s progeny, which was the nation of Israel. In each instance, the passing along of the covenant included God’s foundational statement of “I will do this, and you will do that, and this will be the result.” With the nation of Israel itself, in its receipt of God’s law at Mount Sinai following their exodus from Egypt, God expanded what it was that He was requiring of His covenant, light-bearing and glory-reflecting people, to set themselves apart from the peoples that they were going to encounter in the land that had been promised to them.