Goodness Grace-ious

nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the Law; since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified.  Galatians 2:16  NASB

Works of the Law – Almost.  That’s what I thought when I read this commentary on the Galatians’ use of law and grace.  Almost right.  Here’s what Cecil Maranville wrote:

Paul’s thinking on the law is in complete harmony with that of our Savior and that God expects believers to live by His Commandments. That truth fits hand in hand with grace—God’s benevolent kindness that is given based upon His goodness without regard to the worthiness of the recipient. God stands ready to extend grace to all who repent (turn away from breaking the law). The irrepressible truth of Scripture is that it is law and grace, not law or grace. . .

Therefore, the book of Galatians counters the mistaken thinking that salvation could be earned through some legalistic formula. It was not an argument against whether a believer was required to keep God’s law.  There is a world of difference between thinking that salvation can be earned by keeping a set of rules, and the fact that those who receive salvation must live by God’s rules.

Many religious teachers today reflect the widespread antinomian prejudice (opposition to any teaching that a believer must keep the law of God) when they comment on Galatians. They overlook the reason for writing the letter, which was to counter the heresy being promoted by the pro-circumcision Judaizers. [1]

As you can see, it’s almost right.  Paul never considered law and grace as polar opposites.  The argument in Galatians is about circumcision.  Paul does excoriate the “Judaizers.”  But salvation is not in this mix.  What’s at stake is the question of membership in the assembly.  Not even the most scrupulous Jew would claim that obedience to the Law entails salvation.  Salvation is God’s prerogative and His enactment.  Men might be required to keep the Law as a result of God’s graceful inclusion, but they don’t earn salvation because they are meticulous about the Law.  Every Jew knows this.  It is a Christian theological mistake (perhaps intentional) to claim that Jews believed in salvation by the Law.  They don’t.  They never did.  So, Maranville’s claim about earning salvation is a mischaracterization of even these Judaizers.  What Paul’s opponents argued about was whether or not a Gentile could be a full-fledged member of the assembly withoutgoing through the usual proselyte process which included circumcision.  Paul argues that since salvation is God’s work, a Gentile who accepts Yeshua as the Messiah is ipso facto a member of God’s household and must be welcomed as such despite his current uncircumcised status.  The issue is about membership, not salvation.  So, Maranville almost gets it right.  He is absolutely correct in his comment about the antinomian character of Christianity and he is correct that Paul wrote in order to stop the heresy (difference of opinion) of those who promoted circumcision before inclusion.  He just missed the fact that salvation was never an issue.  And if you’re thinking that salvation must have something to do with this, then I would recommend Mark Nanos’ excellent books on Galatians and on Romans.  And this citation from Heschel, which tells us why the confusion about law and grace has been such a problem for so long:

“The critics of the modern age have largely been influenced by the view of Spinoza, adopted by Moses Mendelssohn, which says: Judaism is law, the disciplined life, and not a system of beliefs and opinions.  Mendelssohn thus removed Judaism from the domain of religious thought and placed it in the domain of deeds, constricting it to a legal system.”[2]

“Spiritual problems continually shed forms and take on new ones.  Before you can understand the intellectual movements of recent times, you must inquire into the chain of tradition that precedes them.”[3]

Yes, indeed.  Every idea comes from somewhere.  Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to find out where.

Topical Index: law, works of the law, grace, Galatians 2:16

[1] https://lifehopeandtruth.com/bible/law-and-grace/galatians-law-and-grace/

[2] Abraham Heschel, Heavenly Torah as Refracted through the Generations, p. 26.

[3] Ibid., p. 32.