Justin Appel

Dear Friends,

Today’s Epistle reading from Galatians has St Paul speaking about an important issue facing Christians in the first century in Judea. In this passage, Paul speaks of his interaction with St Peter, who had separated himself from Gentile Christians, based on cultural pressure from Jewish Christians from Jerusalem.

Here, Paul reminded Peter that he was not “justified by the works of the law,” but that rather “by faith in Christ.” What does he mean by this language? While we may all be familiar with Martin Luther’s interpretation of these terms, here’s a much more traditional take:

By “works of the law,” Paul refers specifically to the whole Torah, including the stories and commandments in these books, the way of life proscribed for the Israelites. This economy (which is usually translated with the increasingly precise English word “law”) was given to the Israelites to separate them from the surrounding nations. St Paul makes it very clear here that the “law,” understood in this manner, never had the power to “justify” anyone.

What is meant here by “justification?” “Justification” means being brought into alignment, set in order, or made right. The English words we could associate with “faith” are faithfulness, loyalty, allegiance, or trust—terms that denote an active way of life rather than a passive receptivity.

So, to summarize what Paul is saying in this dense passage, we are no longer required to live in the specific manner of the Israelites, who were called into a particular economy (Torah).

Instead, we find the solution to our existential problems, those of sin and death, by proceeding in a way of life: that of faithfulness and allegiance to Christ, who was the fulfillment of Torah. It is in following Jesus, and in the ongoing process of growth in Christlikeness that we experience the alignment or healing that God accomplishes in us.

The great takeaway here for us is that being a Christian is a way of life that encompasses every facet of our day-to-day lives. We can pursue this life with the traditional tools offered by the Church for our growth: worship, sacraments, prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

Yours in Christ,

—Justin