Have you ever felt like you need to earn God’s approval? Maybe you try harder to be good, attend church more often, or follow certain rules perfectly, hoping it will make you right with God. If so, you are not alone. Many people throughout history have wrestled with this question: How can a sinful person stand justified before a holy God?
The apostle Paul addresses this directly in his letter to the Galatians. In a passionate defense of the true gospel, he declares a truth that changed everything for him and for us: righteousness comes through faith in Christ, not by observing the law. This is the doctrine of justification by faith alone.
Paul writes in Galatians 2:16, “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.”
Here, Paul uses the word “justified” three times in one verse. Justification means being declared righteous or right before God. It is a legal term. God, the righteous Judge, looks at us and says, “Not guilty. You are accepted as righteous in my sight.”
How does this happen? Not by our efforts to keep God’s law perfectly. Paul says clearly that no one will be justified by works of the law. Why? Because all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). The law reveals our sin but cannot remove it or make us righteous. Trying to earn justification through law-keeping actually puts us under a curse, for whoever fails in one point is guilty of all (Galatians 3:10).
Paul continues this thought in Galatians 3:11: “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith.’” He quotes Habakkuk 2:4 to show that Scripture itself teaches this principle. Right standing with God has always come by faith, not by performance.
To understand Paul’s argument, look at the context in Galatians. False teachers had come to the churches in Galatia, insisting that Gentile believers must be circumcised and follow the Mosaic law to be fully accepted by God. They were adding requirements to the gospel of grace. Paul calls this a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-7). He warns that if anyone preaches another way of salvation, let them be accursed.
Paul uses his own story to prove the point. He was a zealous Pharisee, blameless under the law by human standards (Philippians 3:6). Yet he counts all that as loss compared to knowing Christ. In Galatians 2:20, he says, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
The cross is central. Christ took our sin and the curse of the law upon Himself: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Because Jesus perfectly fulfilled the law and died in our place, God credits His righteousness to those who trust in Him. We receive this gift by faith alone.
This truth brings incredible freedom. We are no longer slaves trying to earn acceptance. We are sons and daughters adopted into God’s family (Galatians 4:4-7). The Holy Spirit comes to live in us, not because we deserve it, but because we believe.
Does this mean we can live however we want? No. Paul answers that in Galatians 5:13: “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Justification by faith leads to a transformed life. True faith produces fruit, including love for God and others (Galatians 5:22-23). Good works flow from gratitude for grace, not as a means to earn it.
Many people misunderstand this doctrine. Some think it encourages laziness. Others add their own requirements, like certain rituals or moral achievements, to feel secure. But Paul is clear: adding anything to faith turns grace into works, and we fall from grace (Galatians 5:4). Justification is God’s act of declaring us righteous the moment we trust Christ. It is complete and instantaneous.
This truth should bring deep assurance. If your standing with God depended on your performance, you would always wonder if you had done enough. But because it rests on Christ’s finished work, you can have confidence. As Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”