Galatians' Justification

[Soyeong]

Nope, this is part of Paul's argument that righteousness through the law only is achievable if you obey it completely, as explained in more detail here:

25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law? 28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God. (Ro 2:25–29 NKJV)​

We do not earn our justification as the result of obeying God's law because it was never given as a means of doing that even through perfect obedience (Romans 4:1-5), so that has always been a misunderstanding of why we should obey it, and that that doesn't change the fact that only doers of the law will be justified. In Romans 2:25-29, it doesn't say anything about being justified, so I don't see what you think it is explaining in connection to Romans 2:13.

This is nearly identical to his argument in Galatians:

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” (Ga 3:10–12 NKJV)​

In Acts 5:32, the Spirit has been given to those who obey God, so obedience to what God has instructed is part of the way to receive the Spirit, however, Galatians 3:1-2 denies that works of the law are part of the way to receive the Spirit, therefore the phrase "works of the law" does not refer to obedience to obedience to what God has instructed. In Romans 3:27, Paul contrasted a law of works with a law of faith, so works of the law are of works, while our faith upholds God's law, so it is of faith, and a law that our faith upholds can't be referring to the same thing as the works of the law that are not of faith in Galatians 3:10-12.

According to Deuteronomy 27-28, the way to be blessed is by relying on God's law while the way to be cursed is not relying it, so Galatians 3:10 should not be interpreted as quoting from that passage in order to make a point that is arguing against it by saying that relying on it is the way to be cursed while refusing to obey it is the way to avoid being cursed. Rather, all those who rely on works of the law come under a curse for not relying on the Book of the Law because they are doing the instead of relying on the Book of the Law. In Galatians 3:10-12, Paul connected a quote from Habakkuk 2:4 saying that the righteous shall live by faith with a quote from Leviticus 18:5 that the one who obeys God's law will live by it, so the righteous who are living by faith are the same as those who are living in obedience to God's law. God is trustworthy, therefore what He has instructed is also trustworthy (Psalms 19:7), so the way to trust God is by trusting what what He has instructed, while to suggest that what God has instructed is not of faith is to deny the faithfulness of God.

Obeying the law is not the same as following the Lord.

How is following what the Lord has instructed not the same as following the Lord?

1 John 3:9 (NKJV) is a difficult verse: "Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God." It is not explained away by inserting the word, "practice" in front of both instances of the word, "sin".

A while back, I heard a famous preacher say on a podcast that he has gone as much as 3 days in a row without sinning. I didn't believe him, but let's say he's right. That would mean he sinned at least 10 times a month and at least 120 times a year every year. Sinning every 3rd day for your entire life constitutes the practice of sin and is the antihesis of practicing righteousness no matter how you slice it.

1 John 3:10 (NKJV) In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

The vast majority of the translations at Bible hub refer to those who do not practice or do righteousness, which are both are referring to not obeying God's law. It's not about how often we obey God's law or sin, but about whether we continue to practice repentance after have sinned.

 

[NewLifeInChristJesus]

We do not earn our justification as the result of obeying God's law because it was never given as a means of doing that even through perfect obedience (Romans 4:1-5), so that has always been a misunderstanding of why we should obey it, and that that doesn't change the fact that only doers of the law will be justified... In Acts 5:32, the Spirit has been given to those who obey God, so obedience to what God has instructed is part of the way to receive the Spirit. however, Galatians 3:1-2 denies that works of the law are part of the way to receive the Spirit.

You can only have it one way or the other, not both. Either we get justification as a result of obeying God's laws or we don't.

In Romans 2:25-29, it doesn't say anything about being justified, so I don't see what you think it is explaining in connection to Romans 2:13.

I thought it was self-explanatory. Maybe not.

In Romans 3:27, Paul contrasted a law of works with a law of faith, so works of the law are of works, while our faith upholds God's law, so it is of faith, and a law that our faith upholds can't be referring to the same thing as the works of the law that are not of faith in Galatians 3:10-12.

I do not know if it is possible to be more confused. Let me straighten it out for you.

Justification is by faith apart from obedience to the law: Romans 3:28 - Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.​

​

If obedience to the law yielded justification, then we would have earned it - Romans 4:4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.​

​

Justification by faith means that we don't work for it, but we trust in Him who justifies the ungodly - Romans 4:5 - But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness​

​

This is not new to the New Testament because King David wrote about it - Romans 4:6-8 - just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:​

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,​

And whose sins are covered;​

Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”​

According to Deuteronomy 27-28, the way to be blessed is by relying on God's law while the way to be cursed is not relying it, so Galatians 3:10 should not be interpreted as quoting from that passage in order to make a point that is arguing against it by saying that relying on it is the way to be cursed while refusing to obey it is the way to avoid being cursed. Rather, all those who rely on works of the law come under a curse for not relying on the Book of the Law because they are doing the instead of relying on the Book of the Law.

It is obvious that you are trying to reconcile faith and obedience as being the same things. You would be well-served to understand the difference. The key verse for you should be Galatians 3:10, which is a quote from the Septuagint version of the Old Testament:

26 Cursed is every man that continues not in all the words of this law to do them: and all the people shall say, So be it. [Brenton, L. C. L. (1870). The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament: English Translation (Dt 27:26). Samuel Bagster and Sons.]​

If you seek rightness with God through obedience to the law, you must do it all.

How is following what the Lord has instructed not the same as following the Lord?

Because He has instructed us that obedience to the law is a pathway to salvation that is blocked for us.

1 John 3:10 (NKJV) In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

The vast majority of the translations at Bible hub refer to those who do not practice or do righteousness, which are both are referring to not obeying God's law. It's not about how often we obey God's law or sin, but about whether we continue to practice repentance after have sinned.

So, you are saying that 1 John 3:10 does not require practicing righteousness, it only requires practicing repentance? I must say that you are not the first one to say this. Many people, including some pastors, make this substitution. In reality, this point of view reveals the fear that 1 John 3:10 (and those like it) evoke in the readers who don't understand how the plain language can be true.

 

[Soyeong]

You can only have it one way or the other, not both. Either we get justification as a result of obeying God's laws or we don't.

Indeed, while we do not earn our justification as the result of obeying God's law, that doesn't mean that Romans 2:13 is wrong about the fact that only doers of the law will be justified. In other words, the fact that we do not earn our justification by obeying God does not mean that we are not obligated to obey Him. There are many reasons that someone could have for choosing to obey God's law, some of which are correct while others are incorrect, and what was only said against the incorrect reasons, such as earning our justification as a wage or in order to look pious to our neighbor should not be mistaken as speaking against the correct reasons, such as faith and love.

While it is true that Abraham believed God, so he was justified (Genesis 15:6), it is also true that he believed God, so he obeyed God's command to offer Isaac (Hebrews 11:17), so the same faith by which he was justified was also expressed as obedience to God, but he did not earn his justification by his obedience as a wage (Romans 4:1-5). In James 2:21-24, it quotes Genesis 15:6 to support saying that Abraham was justified by his works when he offered Isaac, that his faith was active along with his works, and that his faith completed his works, so he was justified by his works insofar as they were an expression of his faith, but not insofar as they were earning a wage.

Because He has instructed us that obedience to the law is a pathway to salvation that is blocked for us.

The content of a gift can itself be the experience of doing something, such as giving someone the opportunity to experience driving a Ferrari for an hour, where the gift requires them to do the work of driving it, but where doing that work has nothing to do with trying to earn it. Similarly, the content of God's gift of eternal life is the experience of knowing God and Jesus (John 17:3) and the gift of God's law is His instructions for how to have that experience (Exodus 33:13, Matthew 7:23), which is why Jesus said that the way to enter eternal life is by obeying God's commandments (Matthew 19:17, Luke 10:25-28). So just because the gift of eternal life requires us to obey God's law does not mean that it requires us to obey God's law for the purpose of earning it as a wage.

Our salvation is from sin (Matthew 1:21) and sin is the transgression of God's law (1 John 3:4), so while we do not earn our salvation as a wage by obeying it, living in obedience to it through faith in Jesus is nevertheless intrinsically part of the concept of him saving us from not living in obedience to it. In Titus 2:11-14, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, so we do not earn our salvation as the result of having done those works and we do not do those works as the result of having been saved, but rather God graciously teaching us to do those works is itself the content of His gift of saving us from not doing those works.

I do not know if it is possible to be more confused. Let me straighten it out for you.

It is important to recognize that Paul spoke about multiple different categories of law other than the Law of God, such as in Romans 7:25-8:2, he contrasted the Law of God with the law of sin and contrasted the Law of the Spirit with the law of sin and death, and it is also straightforward that the law our faith upholds in Romans 3:31 can't be the same law that is not of faith in Galatians 3:10-11.

It is obvious that you are trying to reconcile faith and obedience as being the same things.

We have a choice of whether we are going to lean on our own understanding of right and wrong by doing what is right in our own eyes or whether we are going to trust in God with all of our heart to correctly divide between right and wrong through what He has instructed, and He will make our paths straight (Proverbs 3:5-7), so that is why there are multitudes of verses that connect our faith in God with our obedience to Him. For example, in Matthew 23:23, Jesus said that faith is one of the weightier matters of the Mosaic Law. In James 2:17-18, faith without works is dead and he would show his faith by his works. In Romans 1:5, we have received grace in order to bring about the obedience of faith. In Romans 3:31, our faith upholds God's law. In Psalms 119:30, he chose the way of faithfulness by having the Mosaic Law on his heart. In Habakkuk 2:4, the righteous shall live by faith, and in Isaiah 51:7, the righteous are those on whose heart is the Mosaic Law. In Revelation 14:12, those who kept faith in Jesus are the same as those who kept God's commandments. In Hebrews 11, every example of faith is an example of works. In Numbers 5:6, disobedience to God's law is referred to as breaking faith. In Hebrews 3:18-19, unbelief is equated with disobedience.

You would be well-served to understand the difference. The key verse for you should be Galatians 3:10, which is a quote from the Septuagint version of the Old Testament:

26 Cursed is every man that continues not in all the words of this law to do them: and all the people shall say, So be it. [Brenton, L. C. L. (1870). The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament: English Translation (Dt 27:26). Samuel Bagster and Sons.]

If you seek rightness with God through obedience to the law, you must do it all.

The fact that cursed is every man that continues not in all the words of this law to do them means that the only way to avoid being cursed is by continuing to obey the law, while living in complete disobedience to God is not an option for avoiding being cursed.

Justification is by faith apart from obedience to the law: Romans 3:28 - Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.​

​

If obedience to the law yielded justification, then we would have earned it - Romans 4:4 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.​

​

Justification by faith means that we don't work for it, but we trust in Him who justifies the ungodly - Romans 4:5 - But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness​

​

This is not new to the New Testament because King David wrote about it - Romans 4:6-8 - just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:​

“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,​

And whose sins are covered;​

Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.”​

For someone to have a character trait is to be someone who chooses to act in ways that express it, so for someone to be courageous is to be someone who choose to act courageously and it would be nonsensical for someone to be courageous while being someone who chooses not to act courageously. Likewise, to say that God is righteous is to say that He chooses to act righteously and it would be nonsensical to say that God is righteous while saying that He chooses not to act righteously. So the gift of becoming righteous is the gift of becoming someone who chooses to act righteously while it is nonsensical for someone to be righteous apart from being someone who chooses to act righteously, so if you interpret Paul as promoting nonsense, then you should have the self-awareness to recognize that you must have misunderstood him rather than think that it is a good idea to promote nonsense.

God's law is His instructions for how to act righteously not for how to become righteous. For example, God's law reveals that helping the poor is acting righteously, but no amount of helping the poor will ever cause someone to become righteous because the one and only way that there has ever been to become righteous is through faith. While someone can become righteous by faith apart from works done to earn it, when God declares us to be righteous through faith He is declaring us to be someone who acts righteously.

So, you are saying that 1 John 3:10 does not require practicing righteousness, it only requires practicing repentance? I must say that you are not the first one to say this. Many people, including some pastors, make this substitution. In reality, this point of view reveals the fear that 1 John 3:10 (and those like it) evoke in the readers who don't understand how the plain language can be true.

No, the difference between practicing righteousness or practicing sin is whether we continue to practice repentance after we have sinned.

 

[Clare73]

You're close to my position. When we are changed by the power of the HS in our lives He causes us to live in obedience to the 10 commandments. That's what Galatians is all about.

And we learn further in Ro 13:8-10 that
those who love their neighbor have fulfilled the law (v.8),
the law can be summed up in one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (v.9) and
love is the fulfillment of the law (v.10).

 

[Gary K]

And we learn further in Ro 13:8-10 that
those who love their neighbor have fulfilled the law (v.8),
the law can be summed up in one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." (v.9) and
love is the fulfillment of the law (v.10).

The 10 commandments are based on the principles of God's love for His love is a principle. For evidence of this reread the sermon on the mount. What Jesus was expanding on are clearly principles not emotions as we human beings understand love to be. I think this is one of the reasons for your misundestanding of the 10 commandments and Paul's writings.

 

[Clare73]

The 10 commandments are based on the principles of God's love for His love is a principle. For evidence of this reread the sermon on the mount. What Jesus was expanding on are clearly principles not emotions as we human beings understand love to be. I think this is one of the reasons for your misundestanding of the 10 commandments and Paul's writings.

Are you setting Paul in Ro 13:8-10 against Jesus, from whom personally Paul received his teaching (Gal 1:11-12),
and setting Jesus against himself in Mt 22:37-40?

Get over yourself!

 

[Gary K]

Are you setting Paul in Ro 13:8-10 against Jesus, from whom personally Paul received his teaching (Gal 1:11:12),
and setting Jesus against himself in Mt 22:37-40?

Get over yourself!

Absolutely not. There is zero conflict with any of my beliefs and scripture.

Just as an aside, you've never responded to my quote from the Babylonian Talmud showing the heartless racism of the Jews of Christ's day nor the example of the Samaratin woman at the well. Why?

 

[Clare73]

Absolutely not. There is zero conflict with any of my beliefs and scripture.

Just as an aside, you've never responded to my quote from the Babylonian Talmud showing the heartless racism of the Jews of Christ's day nor the example of the Samaratin woman at the well. Why?

Not sure what the point is, but I have no objection.

The only basis for such a notion would be "We are the people of God, and you're not!"
"We are the clean, and you are the defiled!"
"Our food is clean, and your food is defiled!"
"We worship the true God, and you worship idols!"
"We keep the Sabbath holy, and you do not!"
Etc., etc., etc.

 

[Gary K]

Not sure what the point is, but I have no objection.

The only basis for such a notion would be "We are the people of God, and you're not!"
"We are the clean, and you are the defiled!"
"Our food is clean, and your food is defiled!"
"We worship the true God, and you worship idols!"
"We keep the Sabbath holy, and you do not!"
Etc., etc., etc.

So you think I'm selfrighteos even though I've apologized to you for being out of line? How is that evidence for your assertion?

 

[Gary K]

Not sure what the point is, but I have no objection.

The only basis for such a notion would be "We are the people of God, and you're not!"
"We are the clean, and you are the defiled!"
"Our food is clean, and your food is defiled!"
"We worship the true God, and you worship idols!"
"We keep the Sabbath holy, and you do not!"
Etc., etc., etc.

BTW, I guesa I missed your comment on the Talmud quote I gave you, again.

 

[Clare73]

So you think I'm selfrighteos even though I've apologized to you for being out of line? How is that evidence for your assertion?

My statements in post #49 refer to your statement regarding the racism of the Jews.

My post #49 does not refer to you personally.

 

[Clare73]

BTW, I guesa I missed your comment on the Talmud quote I gave you, again.

I have no objection to the Talmud quote in light of what I presented in post #49 which explains the reason in the Talmud quote.

 

[NewLifeInChristJesus]

The fact that cursed is every man that continues not in all the words of this law to do them means that the only way to avoid being cursed is by continuing to obey the law, while living in complete disobedience to God is not an option for avoiding being cursed.

Let us just see if we can discuss this one thing. That would be an improvement. This is Scripture in question:

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” (Galatians 3:10–12 NKJV)​

Verse 10 says those who are of the works of the law are under the curse because the law itself says you are under the curse if you do not "continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them". You seem to agree with this since that appears to be the point you made when you said, "the only way to avoid being cursed is by continuing to obey the law".

Verse 11 starts with the word, "But", which means it points back to verse 10 to make a counterpoint. And the counterpoint is that those who are of the works of the law need to be aware that God will compare no one's deeds to the law and make a judgement that they did what the law requires. Verse 11 quotes the law as proof of this statement where it says that those who have life will have obtained it by faith.

Verse 12 is emphatic that if a person were to gain life through obedience to the law that it would not be by faith because the law says obtaining life through the law is performance based.

The essence of what I am saying above should not be in dispute.

Can you embelish on 1) who are those who "are of the works of the law", 2) can some of them be Christians in whom Christ lives, and 3) explain why Paul is giving this exhortation to the Galatian Christians who are already saved. This is a test to see if you understand legalism and why it is danger that Christians should be vigilant to fight.

Other people are also invited to participate in the challenge.

 

[Gary K]

Let us just see if we can discuss this one thing. That would be an improvement. This is Scripture in question:

10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them.” (Galatians 3:10–12 NKJV)​

Verse 10 says those who are of the works of the law are under the curse because the law itself says you are under the curse if you do not "continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them". You seem to agree with this since that appears to be the point you made when you said, "the only way to avoid being cursed is by continuing to obey the law".

Verse 11 starts with the word, "But", which means it points back to verse 10 to make a counterpoint. And the counterpoint is that those who are of the works of the law need to be aware that God will compare no one's deeds to the law and make a judgement that they did what the law requires. Verse 11 quotes the law as proof of this statement where it says that those who have life will have obtained it by faith.

Verse 12 is emphatic that if a person were to gain life through obedience to the law that it would not be by faith because the law says obtaining life through the law is performance based.

The essence of what I am saying above should not be in dispute.
Can you embelish on 1) who are those who "are of the works of the law", 2) can some of them be Christians in whom Christ lives, and 3) explain why Paul is giving this exhortation to the Galatian Christians who are already saved. This is a test to see if you understand legalism and why it is danger that Christians should be vigilant to fight.

Other people are also invited to participate in the challenge.

There is no conflict bewteen faith and works for faith cometh by hearing and hearing and by the word of God and the HS leads us into all truth. You add to that Galatians 5: 21, 22 and we find out that we are capable of violating no law. That is keeping the 10 commandments.

 

[NewLifeInChristJesus]

There is no conflict bewteen faith and works for faith cometh by hearing and hearing and by the word of God and the HS leads us into all truth. You add to that Galatians 5: 21, 22 and we find out that we are capable of violating no law. That is keeping the 10 commandments.

That is non responsive. Please answer the questions.

 

[HIM]

Galatians' justified, being made righteous or deemed righteous in chapter 2 verse 17 is being spoken in the subjunctive mood. The mood of possibilities not the indicative, as a done deal, a fact. This is shown by the use of the word "might" in verse 16, in the clause "might be justified (made righteous)" as in not yet but can happen in the KJV. Couple that with verse 17 where it says, 'while we seek to be justified'. This is being spoken in the Infinitive mood. This is brought out by the use of the words "to be" as in not yet but to be. This shows us here in Galatians that justified, being made righteous or deemed righteous in Galatians is not a done deal it is a process.

In context, where Paul is opposing works to faith in justification in his correction of Peter,
"might be" is as in "in order to be". . . and "seeks" is as in "looking to". . .

16) "yet who know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Christ Jesus (objective genitive, shown by-->) even we have believed in Christ Jesus, 'in order to be' justified by faith in Christ (objective genitive). . .
17) But if, in our 'looking to' be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found to be sinners,"

It's not about a process in contradiction of the rest of the NT, it's about a form of expression.

In Galatians the Justification it speaks of has not happened. It is not a form of expression. That leaves it to opinion with no objectivity. Pure conjecture. Our understanding of a given text must come from context, grammar and syntax. We must go by what it says not what we think it says because of doctrine or because we think something says something different elsewhere.

And let us not forget that justified is a verb, an action not a noun, a state of being. Take a look at Thayers definition below. It says to make or render righteous is the proper definition. Take that with what was shared above in the OP and there is no possible way to understand that justification as shared in Galatians is a done deal. Our justification, being made righteous or deemed righteous is a process in Galatians. And that is a fact based on objectivity not subjective conjecture.

All you did in your post is post an opinion with nothing objective to back it up.

And where did you get the idea that Jesus in verse 16 was in the objective genitive? The context of the passages says different.
See verse 20 where it says we live but don't because it is Christ that lives in us and therefore it is His faith we live through. This dictates that the genitive is of origin. Couple that with verse 3:27 where it says we who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ and there is no doubt.




Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.


δικαιόω, δικαίῳ; future δικαιώσω; 1 aorist ἐδικαίωσα; passive (present δικαιοῦμαι); perfect δεδικαίωμαι; 1 aorist ἐδικαιωθην; future δικαιωθήσομαι; (δίκαιος); the Septuagint for צִדֵּק and הִצְדִּיק;
1. properly, (according to the analogy of other verbs ending in -όω, as τυφλόω, δουλόω) to make δίκαιος; to render righteous or such as he ought to be; (Vulgatejustifico); but this meaning is extremely rare, if not altogether doubtful; ἐδικαίωσα τήν καρδίαν μου stands for זִכִּיתִי לְבָבִי in Psa 72:13 (Psa 73:13) (unless I have shown my heart to be upright be preferred as the rendering of the Greek there).

 

[NewLifeInChristJesus]

Galatians' justified, being made righteous or deemed righteous in chapter 2 verse 17 is being spoken in the subjunctive mood. The mood of possibilities not the indicative, as a done deal, a fact. This is shown by the use of the word "might" in verse 16, in the clause "might be justified (made righteous)" as in not yet but can happen in the KJV. Couple that with verse 17 where it says, 'while we seek to be justified'. This is being spoken in the Infinitive mood. This is brought out by the use of the words "to be" as in not yet but to be. This shows us here in Galatians that justified, being made righteous or deemed righteous in Galatians is not a done deal it is a process.

Are you SDA too? Your bio says you are Christian, so it's not clear. Your original post, which I read again after some initial research into SDA beliefs, seems to be in alignment with SDA beliefs (faith of Jesus, keeping God's commandments). I'd appreciate an honest and straightforward answer if you are willing.

 

[HIM]

Are you SDA too? Your bio says you are Christian, so it's not clear. Your original post, which I read again after some initial research into SDA beliefs, seems to be in alignment with SDA beliefs (faith of Jesus, keeping God's commandments). I'd appreciate an honest and straightforward answer if you are willing.

First off it does not matter. Second, you speak as if SDA's are not Christians. Third, SDA's do not teach what you have received here. I know of no denomination that does. They all teach as far as I know that the justification that Galatians speaks of is a done deal. Fourthly, why not address the post within the context of the passages cited rather than make a response like this?

And lastly, know I am not. I am what I am, a Christian. Silly labels tricks are for kids

 

[NewLifeInChristJesus]

First off it does not matter. Second, you speak as if SDA's are not Christians. Third, SDA's do not teach what you have received here. I know of no denomination that does. They all teach as far as I know that the justification that Galatians speaks of is a done deal. Fourthly, why not address the post within the context of the passages cited rather than make a response like this?

And lastly, know I am not. I am what I am, a Christian. Silly labels tricks are for kids

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply SDA's are not Christians. I just asked because I wanted to know what I was dealing with. BTW, from what I know, SDA's don't think justification is a done deal. They think it is something Jesus will rule upon after their physical death based on how well their lives on earth comported with His requirements. SDA's are welcome to correct me if I'm wrong.

Having said that, your analysis of Galatians 2:16-17 is faulty. The use of the subjunctive and infinitive do not indicate that justification is a process. But, let's assume for the sake of argument that you are right. What exactly would you say is the process? I am familiar with (and dissagree with) progressive sanctification. Is it similar to that?

 

[HIM]

. The use of the subjunctive and infinitive do not indicate that justification is a process.

Sure it does. Saying it doesn't is subjective conjecture. In other words you are just saying so with no basis for it. Whereas if we just take the text for what it says there is no argument. The justification to which Galatians speaks is not yet. Therefore it is a process according to the text.

I have a question for you. Do you believe once saved always saved?