Most Christians can say that in the past, they were
justified by faith in Jesus Christ (2:16) so, because of this, in the future
they will be justified by faith (2:16).&nb=
sp;
Many Christians place all the emphasis in eith=
er
past or future. Galatians 2:20
places it on the present. I <=
i>am
crucified; Christ who lives in me; the life I now live.
These are great statements to make. It took a lot to believe our past =
has
been settled and our future is secure, but how ready are we to agree with P=
aul
concerning our present?
Why is this challenging? Because of the life I now live in =
the
flesh, that is, in the physical realm.&nbs=
p;
Many things in the physical realm try to suggest that I am not cruci=
fied
and Christ is not living in me.
If we count on feelings or circumstances or
religious performance, this will never materialize. Only faith can substantiate the re=
ality
of being crucified with Christ and having Christ live in us. NOT a great faith (all we need is =
the
size of a mustard seed), NOT a perfect faith (we still need divine things added=
to
our faith 1 Thes. 3:10).
2:21
Righteousness is mentioned here in particular
because it is the chief attribute that must be settled between God and man
before salvation can come. Wh=
at
about love? God can love, but=
as long
as righteousness is not settled, He cannot save the man. But if righteousness is settled, t=
hen He
can and will save the man. &nbs=
p;
So, how does righteousness come? By Christ dying (that kills the
sinner—“I am crucified with Christ.”) The righteousness of God is, therefore, a gift in grace.
The danger here is that the believer could nul=
lify
this grace, at least in our own experience, when we choose to attach ourselves=
to
principles, etc.