Growing With Galatians Daily Devotion

Gal 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. (ESV)

To be justified is to be declared innocent by a judge. The idea is that a justified person is innocent, good, worthy of love and respect, and valuable. Paul is saying that a person is not declared innocent, good, worthy of love and respect, and valuable because of what he or she has done. The reason no one is declared innocent? No one is. Instead, a person is declared innocent, good, worthy of love and respect, and valuable because of Jesus Christ. Jesus is innocent and those who believe in Him are too. Not because we are perfect (we aren’t), but because Jesus is perfect. Since everyone is justified in the same way (through Christ), none of us is better (or worse) than anyone else. In the light of our sameness in Christ, whom have you disrespected? Whom have thought unworthy of love? Whom have you undervalued? Whom have you ignored? Turned away from? Remember, we are ALL justified in the same way. The greatest and the least are level in Jesus Christ. If we are all the same, we see each other eye-to-eye and face-to-face. We look down on no one.