Friend, I believe all of God's Word how about you?
Continued from post 177
What justification is Paul speaking of in gal2:14-17 that is not instantaneous?
For if you repent and ask Christ to be Lord and Saviour of your life you are instantly declared righteous/ justified before God.
Paul is speaking in these verses of seeking a justification by faith in Christ in respect to the new convert crossing over from being a slave of sin when they come to Christ, to a slave if righteous leading to holiness(rom6:17&18)
Much sin you can immediately cease upon conversion, for it does not have much hold over you. But other sin, you may have been a slave to over decades, and this sin takes time to see victory over, it is often not instant deliverance.
You seek this justification of your newfound christianity by faith in Christ. You trust in Jesus to cross over from being a slave of sin when you come to Christ to a slave of righteousness leading to holiness.
Now what would someone who did not understand the true message think? A new convert with glaring sin in their life joins their church, and heartily joins in the service, worshipping and praising God. Someone who didn't understand Pauls message concerning justification would immediatley think:
If this man is a Christian Christ must promote sin. For here he is praising and worshipping God while having glaring sin in his life.
However, the man who has been born again hates the sin he is a slave to, he earnestly seeks, by a righteousness of faith in Christ to be delivered from it. But he is still entitled, despite such imperfections to praise and worship God for giving him rightstanding through what Christ did for him, otherwise, he must go around in sackcloth and ashes until he is as pure as the driven snow.
Immediatley after Paul asks the question he answers it:
Absolutely not! If i rebuild what I destroyed I prove I am a lawbreaker
What has paul sought to destroy? Righteousness of observing the law.
In other words, if Paul sought to defeat his sin in order to be justified before God/observe the law to be justified, he would fail and simply prove he was a lawbreaker/sinner
Your view of justification is much like a Catholics, though I am sure such a thought would horrify you