Paul: Justification by Faith in Galatians and Romans

"Justification by Faith" in Galatians & Romans
by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.

Definitions:
Most people think of "justification," "salvation," etc., as if they were states of being, referring to what you are (or are not). Similarly, they often talk about "faith" as if it were an object, something that you have or possess (or not). In the New Testament, however, these terms all refer to processes, things that you do, or even more importantly, what God and Jesus have done for you:

"Justification" - the process of being "justified" (accepted by other people or by God)
"Salvation" - the process of being "saved" (rescued from any type of danger or catastrophe)
"Redemption" - the process of being "redeemed" (getting something back by repaying a loan)
"Sanctification" - the process of being "sanctified" (set apart, made holy, dedicated to God)
"Righteousness"- the process of being "made right" (put back into "right relationship" with God)
"Faith" - the action of "trusting" someone (relying on them or "entrusting" yourself to them)

All of these terms originally come from secular (non-religious) language, although today they are usually used in religious contexts.

Process and Results:
Many people think that our salvation depends on our own faith in Jesus, how firmly we believe in him; but what Paul actually says is that salvation is accomplished through the faithfulness of Jesus (as show by his willingness to die on the cross):

"our faith in Jesus" - an inaccurate translation of Gal 2:16, 20; 3:22; and Rom 3:22, 26; all of which use the genitive case (indicating possession; meaning "of") in the Greek text, not the preposition "in."
"the faith of Jesus" - the trust that Jesus himself had in God, believing that his death on the cross would be vindicated by the resurrection.
our faith in Jesus is supposed to be just like the faith/trust of Jesus in his Father, in the particular circumstances of our own lives.
the foundation of our salvation is the faith of Jesus (the cross!); our faith in Jesus is a consequence or response to Jesus' action.

	Galatians	Romans
Audience	Primarily Gentile Christians (who had not been Jews)	Mixed community of Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians
Main Point	Gentile Christians need not follow the whole Torah	Both Jews and Gentiles are sinners, and both can be saved
Thesis Statement	Gal 2:16 "... we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through the faith of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law."	Rom 1:16-17 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel; it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has *faith, to the Jew first* and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith;** as it is written: 'The one who is righteous will live by faith.'"
Structure	Theology: Gal 3:1—5:12 Ethics: Gal 5:13—6:10	Theology: Rom 1—11 Ethics: Rom 12—15
Analogies	Gal 4:21-31 Jews: slaves to the Law; compared to Hagar and "the present Jerusalem" Christians: free children; compared to Sarah and "the Jerusalem above"	Rom 11:11-32 Jews: olive tree with roots and natural branches (some broken off, but can be grafted in again) Gentiles: wild olive branches grafted into the cultivated olive tree (but could be broken off again)

Return to the main webpages on Paul's Letter to the Galatians or Paul's Letter to the Romans.