Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 2:17

"But if, while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a minister of sin? God forbid." — Galatians 2:17 (ASV)

In Paul’s day, as today, arguments were directed against this way of salvation. So in this verse and the following ones Paul begins to answer these objections, first noting the main argument of his opponents and then revealing the argument by which he refutes theirs.

There have been many interpretations of this verse, because the wording contains several ambiguities. Is Paul speaking hypothetically or is he referring to actual experience? He obviously denies the conclusion that Christ is the minister of sin, but does he also deny that “we ourselves... are found sinners” (KJV)? In what sense is sin mentioned?

The best interpretation—one that reflects Paul’s thought elsewhere (Romans 6–8) and best explains the following verses—is that Paul refers to the standard antinomian objection to the doctrine of justification by faith, namely, that eliminating the law entirely encourages godless living. The argument goes, “Your doctrine of justification by faith is dangerous, for by eliminating the law you also eliminate one’s sense of moral responsibility. If people can be accounted righteous simply by believing that Christ died for them, why then should they bother to keep the law or live by any standard of morality? There is no need to be good. The result of your doctrine is that people will believe in Christ but thereafter do as they desire.” Paul’s reply is abrupt: “Absolutely not!” The form of his expression suggests that he was aware of the possibility that Christians can (and do) sin. But this is not the result of the doctrine of justification by faith, and therefore Christ is not responsible for it. Such a thought is abhorrent. If there is sin, as Paul acknowledges indirectly in the next verse, human beings themselves are responsible.

Why is it that Paul can reply so vigorously to the objection that his Gospel promotes lawlessness, especially since he seems to admit that those who have been justified by faith do sin? His answer is that the objection totally misunderstands the nature of one’s justification. In the eyes of legalizers, justification by faith is nothing more than a legal fiction by which men and women are accounted righteous when in fact they are not. But justification is not a legal fiction. It is true that people are accepted by God as righteous when they are not, but this takes place only because God has first joined them to Christ and this in its turn implies a real transformation. They are “in Christ,” says Paul. Consequently, they are “a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15). Obviously, to return to the old way of life after such a change is inconceivable.