Gal 2:15,16 Justified by Faith Alone

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Justified by Faith Alone

Gal 2:15,16  "We, who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’, know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Actually Peter himself made a similar argument in favor of the Gentiles when he spoke up in the Jerusalem council dealing with this very matter. For he said, "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.  Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." Acts 15:7-11

So if God made no distinction between Jew and Gentile, as Peter himself realized, then why was Peter making a distinction between the two in actual practice. This was the hypocrisy that Paul was pointing out. For Paul said virtually the same thing as Peter did in the Acts 15 passage above. They had no difference on the theology. But in practice Peter was acting hypocritically, not acting in line with the very things he himself said.

Fellowship with Christians and fellowship with God go hand in hand. If a person rejects fellowship with other Christians upon the basis of customs or culture, such a person is likewise communicating that fellowship with God is a function of customs and culture.

The Berean Christian Bible Study Resources

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