Jolivet, Ira J., Jr.

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LeavenVolume 3Issue 1 Galatians Article 51-1-1995Justification by Faith in Galatians: An Argumentfrom the Letter and Intent of the LawIra J. Jolivet Jr.Ira.jolivett@pepperdine.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leavenPart of the Biblical Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, and the Religious Thought,Theology and Philosophy of Religion CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Religion at Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Leaven byan authorized administrator of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact Kevin.Miller3@pepperdine.edu.Recommended CitationJolivet, Ira J. Jr. (1995) "Justification by Faith in Galatians: An Argument from the Letter and Intent of the Law," Leaven: Vol. 3: Iss. 1,Article 5.Available at: http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol3/iss1/514 Leaven, vol. 3, #1Justification by Faithin GalatiansAnArgument fromthe Letter and Intent of the LawbyIra J. Jolivet, Jr.Shortly after Stuart Love asked me to writean article on justification by faith in Galatians Ibegan to realize that I could probably count thenumber ofsermons and Bible lessons I have heard onthis subject since I have been a Christian on onehand. Upon further reflection I could not recalldealing with this specific subject even once in thefifteen or so years that I have been preaching andteaching Bible classes. While I certainly donot haveaccess to adequate data to suggest that preachersand teachers in the Churches of Christ tend to ne-glect the matter ofjustification by faith, I can specu-late on why I have unconsciously avoided dealingwith this subject. Basically, in the past I think Iconsidered justification by faith tobe a great deal lessrelevant than many other topics forwhich I could seea concrete "practical application" for the Church.More recently, however, my interest in theapplication of insights from ancient Greco-Romanrhetoric to selected New Testament documents hasallowed me to see that the concept ofjustification byfaith is indeed extremely relevant for the present-day Church. For I now view this concept as arhetorical argument from the letter and intent (or, inPaul's terminology in Romans 2:29; 7:6 and 2Corinthians 3:6, the letter and Spirit) of the lawwhich may have important implications for how weuse scriptures in the Church today.Justification by Faith in GalatiansThe clearest statement of the concept ofjustification by faith in Galatians is to be found in2:15-16 in which Paul writes:We ourselves are Jews by birth and notGentile sinners; yet we know that a per-son is justified not byworks ofthe law butthrough faith in Jesus Christ. And wehave come to believe in Christ Jesus, sothat we might be justified by faith inChrist, and not by doing the works of thelaw, because noonewill bejustified by theworks of the law.Historically, the function ofthis passage in the overallargument of Galatians has been disputed. Somescholars propose that the specific problem of theapparent acceptance by the Galatians of a "newgospel" in which circumcision and Torah observancewere deemed necessary for salvation merely affordedPaul an opportunity to expound on the more impor-tant "doctrine"ofjustification by faith. Those scholarswho view Galatians as an "occasional" letter whichPaul wrote primarily to address the specificproblem,however, assign a somewhat subsidiary argumenta-tive function to the concept ofjustification by faith.In general, I agree with the latter position,for I see Paul's statements in which he contrasts1Jolivet: Justification by Faith in Galatians: An Argument from the LetterPublished by Pepperdine Digital Commons, 1995justification by faith with justification by works ofthe law as an indication that his primary argumen-tative strategy in Galatians conforms to that line ofreasoning which the ancient Greco-Roman rhetori-cians referred to as an argument from the letter andintent of the law.An argument from the letter and intent ofthelaw was one of several types of argumentative strat-egies which could be used in cases which involved awritten document such as a constitution or a particu-lar statute ofsomekind. In simple terms, in this typeof argument the party which argues for the letterfollows the exact words of the written documentwhile the party which argues for the intent followswhat he or she claims the writer of the documentmeant.A fictitious but perhaps familiar anecdotalillustration will serve to demonstrate how an argu-ment from the letter and intent might figure into acontemporary argumentative situation. Most peoplehave no doubt heard some form of a story about ahusband whowhile rushing his expectant wife to thedelivery room is stopped by a police officer for ex-ceeding the posted speed limit. The ending of thestory is totally predictable. The officer,on being toldthat the wife is in labor, gets back into the patrol carand with lights flashing and sirens blaring escortsthe couple at breakneck speed to the hospital whereall ends well.But suppose we change the story somewhatand say that instead of escorting the couple to thehospital the officergives the man a ticket for speeding.Despite the delay the couple arrives at the hospital intime and the woman delivers the baby with noproblems. Nevertheless, they decide to protest theticket and appear in court on the appointed day. Theofficer who issued the ticket is present and testifiesthat the man broke the law by exceeding the postedspeed limit and should therefore pay the fine. Hefurther states that if the judge excepts this excuse,other people will also claim that they have validreasons for breaking the law. The officer is arguingfor the letter of the law. The husband, on the otherhand, pleads that the lawmakers who decided whatthe speed limit should be did not dosoarbitrarily, butfor the purpose of saving lives. And, while he indeedbroke the letter of the law, he adhered to the trueintent of the lawmakers by speeding in order to savethe lives of the mother and the unborn child. Thehusband is arguing for the intent over the letter ofthelaw.In Galatians Paul also argues for the intentover the letter of the law as he attempts to dissuadethose whom he had taught the gospel from acceptingcircumcision and Torah observance. More specifi-Galatians 15cally, Paul claims that Godalways intended tojustifyall people, including the Gentiles, on the basis offaithrather than by works of the law. The example ofAbraham's justification by faith in Galatians 3:6-9adds support to this claim. For here Paul states:Just as Abraham "believed God, and itwas reckoned to him as righteousness,"so, you see, those who believe are thedescendants of Abraham. And theScripture, foreseeing that God wouldjustify the Gentiles by faith, declared thegospel beforehand to Abraham, saying,"Allthe Gentiles shall be blessed in you."For this reason, those who believe areblessed with Abraham who believed.Elsewhere in chapters three and four Paul usesvarious other subsidiary arguments in support ofhisprimary argumentative strategy of the intent overthe letter ofthe law as stated in terms ofjustificationby faith rather than by works of the law.The logical counter-argument to Paul's lineof reasoning would be that following the intent overthe letter ofthe law would promote moral license andperhaps give rise to ethical anarchy. As any well-trained orator would do, Paul anticipates and pre-emptively refutes this counter-argument in Galatians5:13-15 in which he states:For you were called to freedom, brothersand sisters; only donot use your freedomas an opportunity for self-indulgence, butthrough lovebecomeslaves to oneanother.For the whole law is summed up in asingle commandment, «Youshall loveyourneighbor as yourself." If, however, youbite and devour one another, take carethat youare not consumed byoneanother.The love ethic, therefore, replaces the moral regula-tions of the letter ofthe Torah and forms the basis ofself-restraint for the Galatian Christians. Paul fur-ther argues that the Spirit (which he reminds theGalatians in 3:2-5 they had received through faith)also functions to prohibit license in ethical matterswhen in Galatians 5:16-18he writes:Liveby the Spirit, I say, and donot gratifythe desires ofthe flesh. For what the fleshdesires is opposed to the Spirit, and whatthe Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh;for these are opposed to each other, toprevent you from doing what you want.But ifyou are led by the Spirit, you are not2Leaven, Vol. 3 [1995], Iss. 1, Art. 5http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol3/iss1/516 Leaven, vol. 3, #1subject to the law.In summary, then, Galatians is an occasionalletter in which Paul attempts to dissuade the recipi-ents from accepting the views of those who taughtthat eventhe Gentileconverts toChristian-ity had tosubmit tocircumci-sion andTorah ob-servance in order to be saved. Paul's primary strat-egy of dissuasion is an argument from the letter andintent of the law in which he argues that the trueintent of God has always been justification by faithrather than by works of the law.people who were already carrying a very heavy bur-den.Understanding the concept of the letter andintent of the law in Paul's writings, however, hascaused me to view the New Testament in a differentlight. Infact, I evenCT A , r see Jesus'-JIVemust "earn to trust in the Spirit umich. gives teachingIi Ii r. on divorceUS t e strengt to liue ethicalli; and riqhteouslt] in Mat-h .i: thew 5:31-eJore yoe£. 32 as anargumentfor the intent over the letter of the law. For hereJesus cites the letter of the law when he states: "Itwas also said, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him giveher a certificate of divorce." The law which Jesusquotes here is Deuteronomy 24:1 which in the con-text ofthe entire passage on divorce reads as follows:APractical Application of Justifica-tion by FaithFortunately, the Church today is not facedwith the specific threat which Paul addressed inGalatians. No one to my knowledge is teaching thatmembers ofthe Church should submit to circumcisionand Torah observance. "Different gospels" havecontinued to arise in various forms throughout theyears, however, making Paul's general admonition toremain true to the original gospel pertinent to theChurch in every age. Furthermore, some people inthe Church will always tend to fall into the trap of"works righteousness" and so we must continue topreach and teach that one is justified on the basis offaith as a gift of grace from God.But viewing Paul's concept ofjustification byfaith in Galatians as an argument from the letter andintent of the law may help to resolve another majorproblem which threatens the spiritual well-being ofthe Church today. For it seems that some ofus havethe tendency at times to use the New Testament asthe "new letter of the law," which would seem to runcounter to Paul's implicit strategy of argumentationin Galatians.A brieflook at how my personal views on thesensitive and significant issue of divorce and remar-riage in the Church have evolved will perhaps illus-trate my point. In my earlier years as a preacher andteacher I dealt with this matter by simply judgingeach individual instance of potential or past divorceon the basis of Matthew 5:31-32 and other relatedscriptures. In other words, like many others, I usedthe New Testament as the letter of the law. In sodoing I am sure that, in some cases at least Iunintentionally compounded the guilt and pain' ofSuppose a man enters into marriage witha woman, but she does not please himbecause he finds something objectionableabout her, and so he writes her a certifi-cate of divorce, puts it in her hand, andsends her out ofhis house; she then leaveshis house and goes off to become anotherman's wife. Then suppose the secondmandislikes her, writes her a bill of divorceputs it in her hand, and sends her out ofhis house (or the secondman whomarriedher dies); her first husband, who sent heraway, is not permitted to take her again tobe his wife after she has been defiled· forthat would be abhorrent to the Lord, andyou shall not bring guilt on the land thatthe Lord your God is giving you as apossession.Here clearly, according to the letter of the law,the woman had no rights whatsoever. Only the mancould initiate the divorce, and depending on how oneinterpreted "something objectionable," he could do soon basically any grounds. On receiving the bill ofdivorce the woman had to depart from "his," not"their," house. And ultimately it was only thewoman, not the man, who was considered to bedefiled.But Jesus shows the real intent of the lawwhen in Matthew 5:32 he says that "anyone whodivorces his wife, except on the ground ofunchastity,causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marriesa divorced woman commits adultery." God neverintended to give men a law which they could use to3Jolivet: Justification by Faith in Galatians: An Argument from the LetterPublished by Pepperdine Digital Commons, 1995divorce their wives for any reason. In fact, unchastitywas the only valid reason for divorce. Furthermore,whereas in the letter of the law the woman bore thedefilement, in the intent of God it is the man whoinitiates the divorce for frivolous reasons who bearsthe responsibility for causing her to commit adultery.In conclusion, I think we should exerciseextreme caution when we intentionally or uninten-tionally turn NewTestament teachings such as Jesus'comments on the true intent of God with respect tothe issue of divorce in Matthew 5:31-32 into a newletter ofthe law. We should be guided as much by theGalatians 17argumentative strategy ofthe letter and intent ofthelaw which underlies Paul's concept ofjustification byfaith as we are by the explicit theological content ofthat concept. And wemust learn to trust in the Spiritwhich gives us the strength to live ethically andrighteously before God.Ira J. Jolivet, Jr. teaches in the Religion Divisionat Seaver College, Pepperdine University, Malibu,California4Leaven, Vol. 3 [1995], Iss. 1, Art. 5http://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/leaven/vol3/iss1/5

Justification by Faith in Galatians: An Argument from the Letter and Intent of the Law

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Justification by Faith in Galatians: An Argument from the Letter and Intent of the Law

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