The Failure of Justification by the Law, Galatians 5:13-26

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The Failure of Justification by Law

Galatians 5:13-26

Introduction: There is a question that has intrigued me that comes out of our study of the Galatian letter. Some commentators have had the same question. Maybe you have noticed it. Paul is addressing Christians who have fallen prey to false teachers who insist on following the Law, especially certain specifics that are required to be considered a faithful Jew in connection with Abraham and the promises. And yet, suddenly at the end of the letter Paul launches into a number warnings of immorality and divisiveness that indicate this emphasis on the Law has created a church that is no longer filled with love, but instead is “biting and devouring” one another (15). The question: “Is there a connection between teaching and practicing salvation based on Law and a lifestyle that lends itself to Paul’s warning of verses 15 and 26?”

Briefly, to begin we must note that righteous people of the OT who followed the Law correctly as intended by God, were saved by grace through faith – David (Rom. 4:5-8). The Pharisees and Galatian Judaizers had turned the Law into “justification by works of the Law” – picking a certain list of commands that put one in the right family, and thus children of God. I will suggest the Jewish response to the Law is a common response to a law that says, “Do this and you will live.” Therefore, the tendency is to choose commands that are most important in order to have confidence in being saved. I grew up that way. Did you? Here are examples of this thinking:

• Matt. 3:7-12 Repent! Don’t say, “We have Abraham as our father…the one who comes after will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire…”
• Matt. 5:19-48 “Your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees…” To justify themselves, they lowered the standard of the Law.
• Matt. 19:16-22 “All these I have kept from my youth up…”
• Luke 18:9-15 “God I thank you I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” The tax collector: “‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ This man when to his house justified rather than the other.”
• Romans 2:25 “For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.” 
• Galatians 5:3 “I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.” 

1. Texts That Help Us Define the Issue
   1. 1 Tim. 1:3-11 Notice the phrase, “the aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience, and a sincere faith.” Therefore, the aim or goal of Paul’s teaching is love that comes from the heart, the conscience, and the faith. Therefore, this is the end-goal of the teaching of the gospel. In Galatians, Paul made a similar point beginning in 5:13 by emphasizing love as the fulfillment of the Law.
      1. In contrast to this aim of love, the false teachers in the Ephesus church were also teaching the Law incorrectly: “the Law is good if one uses it lawfully.” It is possible to teach God’s law incorrectly, whether Old or New covenants.
      2. And then, “the law was not laid down for the just but for the unjust…” That should tell us something about what it means to follow the gospel of Christ. A follower of Christ shouldn’t need a barrage of “Thou shalt nots.” This is how we can “abhor what is evil, cleave to what is good.” Therefore, back to the original question, What is so different about following a law-system and following the Spirit/Christ that dramatically affects the way we live our lives? 
   2. Consider Romans 8:3-4 “…he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
      1. The “righteous requirement of the law” refers to the end-goal of righteousness (Rom. 10:4), for which it is impossible for man to attain under law. If we walk according the flesh (law), we fail the end-goal. But if we walk according to the Spirit, we can attain the righteous life we could not attain by law. Therefore, as Christians since we are still to follow the “law of Christ,” what is it about living by the Spirit that enables us to do what couldn’t be done under a law system?
      2. This question is important because many of us were raised to approach our obedience to the law of Christ as a law system similar to the way the Jews approached the Law of Moses.
2. You Were Called to Freedom…Through Love Serve One Another
   1. If we were reading 2 Peter 2 we might think Paul was condemning a libertine attitude of living in sin because of grace and “freedom” from the Law. But that does not fit the false teachers nor the context of the letter. We can understand the meaning when we see the contrast of “opportunity for the flesh” and certain opposing phrases: “through the Spirit, by faith we eagerly wait” (5); “only faith working through love” (6); “through love serve one another” (13); “walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (16); “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law” (18).
   2. As mentioned above, there is a contrast in motivation and purpose from what is generated by serving based on the works of the Law/flesh and “through love serving one another.” Salvation based on flesh – circumcision, outward obedience of ceremonial laws, and having physically descended from Abraham – generates pride.
      1. This self-righteous pride in seen in Luke 18:9-15, in Luke 7:36-51, and in Matthew 5:19. 
      2. Here’s how it happens: if I justify myself or consider my righteousness based on any accomplishments of my own (see Phil. 3:3-9), then I have reason to boast (see Rom. 3:27; 4:2). If I am able to boast, then the result is:
         1. I become judgmental of others who have not attained what I have attained. I do not act out of love and compassion (parable of the good Samaritan).
         2. I lower to bar on morality and any other command of God that I deem unimportant to my own justification (Matt. 23:23). I justify and rationalize my sins as minor compared to others, especially others who do not put in the effort of serving God like I do, or they do not place equal importance on the commands I deem as important to salvation.
         3. I fail at Hosea 6:6, “I desire steadfast love, not sacrifice; the knowledge of God instead of burnt offering.” When I serve by “works of the Law,” I just want to know what the “sacrifice” is. I just ask what the commandments are. I serve in the same way I fill out a tax return – how little can I do and still be saved?
   3. Therefore, in the Galatian context, notice Paul’s warnings about biting and devouring one another, becoming conceited, provoking one another, and envying one another. This comes out of a hypercritical attitude of others because of the self-righteous confidence in the flesh (cf. the Pharisee in the temple).
   4. John 5:39-42 summarizes the difference in a “works of Law” approach and serving by the Spirit.
3. The Result of Living and Serving by the Spirit
   1. Living and walking by the Spirit (16,18) begins with a recognition that my salvation had nothing to do with anything I have accomplished. It puts no value on personal position, personal goodness, or personal advantages. Instead, there is a deep recognition of the greatness of my own sin. We see this is the “sinful woman” of Luke 7. “She loved much because she was forgiven much.” Simon loved little because he saw his sin and therefore his forgiveness as “little.” 
   2. Therefore, in living by the Spirit, everything is based on grace. It does not matter how “little” or how “much” I have sinned, I know that I am separated from God because of my sin and I cannot pay my debt no matter what I do. Therefore it excludes boasting. The results of living by the Spirit are the opposite of living by the flesh in many ways:
      1. No matter how well I think I do or others might think I do in serving God, I recognize myself as an “unprofitable servant” (Luke 17). I have not “attained” to anything before God. 
      2. Therefore, my evaluation of others is nonjudgmental. I know I am a sinner saved by grace. I am in the same condition as any other sinner. My service to others comes out of compassion and empathy for their condition because I know “I’ve been there.” Because I deeply appreciate the mercy shown to me, I readily desire to show mercy to others.
      3. Out of that mercy comes a whole different way of looking at a sinner without Christ. Simon the Pharisee was disgusted with the sinful woman in his house. He has no compassion for her nor a desire for her to be saved. In fact, her salvation does not cross his mind.
      4. Walking by the Spirit also changes how I serve the Lord and the energy and passion I put into it. The words, “through love serve one another” and “faith working through love” (6), tell us that we are not loving as if we are obeying a law, but truly out of love. In other words, if you went out of your way to help a brother or sister in need and they thanked you and asked, “What motivated you to make such a great sacrifice for me?” What if your answer was, “Well, I did it because God commanded me to and I didn’t want to get in trouble with God”? 
      5. The same would be true if that were our answer to our spouse as to why we helped him or her in some way. 
      6. Or, do we go to church because Hebrews 10:25 said “not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together?” [I used to hear arguments for assembling Wednesday night based on the elders said so.] No! It is because we love God, love his word, and love his people so much, wild horses couldn’t keep us away. In other words, love supersedes law! 
      7. Walking by the Spirit has a deep desire to change from the inside out, not just paying attention to how the outside looks before others or what I believe is the most important commands. It is a desire to see God and reflect God in all that we do. It is adopting the heart of God (Luke 15).
4. How We Know We Are Walking by the Spirit
   1. The test begins in verse 19: “The works of the flesh are obvious…” To the extent these are a regular part of my life is the measure of how much the flesh is winning the battle and most importantly, how I evaluate myself before God and the appreciation for his grace. When this happens, I’m typically not motivated by grace, I’m motivated by law. I’m typically judgmental. I’m typically deemphasizing the seriousness of my own shortcomings and sins. 
   2. And when a church is typified by judgmental attitudes, provocations, envy, strife, anger, dissensions, that is a church not walking by the Spirit.
   3. On the other hand, if the Spirit is bearing fruit in my life, it is because I have given myself over to his power in my life as I grow in the knowledge and image of him. These nine character traits are also obvious and are without law. I don’t put limitations on my service to God and how much I need to give to him. 
   4. Said another way, walking in the Spirit is walking in grace, always free from the bondage of sin. That freedom causes us to serve with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength. That’s walking by the Spirit. 2 Cor. 5:12-16a.

Conclusion: If you grew up in a church where dissensions and strife were a regular part of the church’s culture, where people were not gentle, patient, and loving toward one another, it is likely a result of justification based on the flesh, that is, a law system just like the Jews, instead of “living by the Spirit and keeping in step with the Spirit” (Gal. 5:25-26). 

Berry Kercheville