Justification by Faith, Christian Liberty, and Unity in Christ

Why this matters

Romans, Galatians, and 1–2 Corinthians are not a pile of disconnected doctrines; they are a single pastoral strategy for forming one reconciled people out of Jews and Gentiles. Paul argues that humans are justified (declared in the right) by faith in the crucified-and-risen Messiah, that such grace creates freedom (Christian liberty) empowered by the Spirit, and that this freedom must be constrained by love to build unity in Christ. Hold these three together and Paul’s letters will cohere; separate them and they distort (Dunn, 1998; Wright, 2013; Moo, 2018; Schreiner, 2018; Barclay, 2015; Hays, 2002; Fee, 2014; Garland, 2003).

Learning outcomes

By the end of this article, you will be able to:

1. Define justification in Paul, explain its forensic (lawcourt) and participatory (union-with-Christ) dimensions, and show how it arises from God’s gift rather than “works of the law.”

2. Describe Christian liberty as freedom for love—Spirit-empowered, cross-shaped self-limitation that serves others—and apply Paul’s ethics in Romans 14–15 and 1 Corinthians 8–10.

3. Articulate how justification and liberty generate unity across ethnic, social, and status boundaries (Gal 3:28; Rom 14–15; 1 Cor 12–13), including table fellowship and the collection for Jerusalem.

4. Navigate major scholarly debates (e.g., pistis Christou; “works of the law”; New Perspective) without losing the pastoral thrust of the letters.

5. Use a reading toolbox to connect Romans 3–5; Galatians 2–5; 1 Corinthians 8–10; 12–13 in exegesis and ministry.

1) One braided cord: how the three themes fit

Paul’s theology in these letters can be pictured as a braid:

• Justification: God’s righteous, covenant-keeping verdict now pronounced over the ungodly who entrust themselves to Jesus the Messiah (Rom 3:21–26; 5:1).

• Liberty: That verdict liberates from sin’s tyranny and from boundary-marking claims of the Mosaic law as identity badge; freedom is real but not self-referential—it is enacted by the Spirit and expresses itself as love (Gal 5:1, 13–25; Rom 8).

• Unity: Grace and Spirit-freedom re-compose a people across Jew/Gentile, slave/free, male/female lines into one body (Gal 3:28; 1 Cor 12), practically displayed at tables, in gathered worship, and in mutual care (Rom 14–15; 1 Cor 11–13; 16; 2 Cor 8–9).

Cut any strand and the others fray.

2) Justification by faith: what Paul claims and why it matters

2.1 The human predicament and God’s righteous action

Romans 1:18–3:20 indicts Gentiles and Jews alike under sin’s power; no one can secure a righteous verdict by works of the law (Rom 3:9–20). Into this dead end, “now” (νυνί) comes God’s righteousness (dikaiosynē theou)—his covenant-faithful saving action—manifested apart from the law yet witnessed by the Law and the Prophets (3:21), through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ and received by faith (3:22–26) (Moo, 2018; Wright, 2013; Hays, 2002).

Paul’s lawcourt metaphor is decisive: God is the righteous judge who justifies (declares in the right) the ungodly because Christ’s death is a hilastērion—a mercy-seat/atoning event that deals with sin and publicly vindicates God’s justice while showing mercy (Rom 3:25–26) (Moo, 2018; Schreiner, 2018).

2.2 “Works of the law”: badges or moral striving?

What are “works of the law” (ἔργα νόμου)? Older readings took them as any human works (good deeds). The New Perspective (e.g., Dunn, Wright) argued Paul primarily opposes ethnic boundary markers (circumcision, food laws, calendar) used to exclude Gentiles (Dunn, 1998; Wright, 2013). Most scholars today hold a both/and: in context, boundary badges are central (Gal 2–3; Rom 3:27–30), but Paul’s argument also expands to human self-reliance wherever it seeks a righteous standing apart from Christ (Moo, 2018; Schreiner, 2018; Barclay, 2015). Either way, the verdict stands: justification is by grace and through faith, not by performing Torah or any self-produced capital.

2.3 Pistis Christou: faith in Christ or Christ’s faithfulness?

The Greek phrase pistis Christou (Gal 2:16; Rom 3:22) can mean “faith in Christ” (objective genitive) or “the faithfulness of Christ” (subjective genitive). Hays (2002) argues persuasively for Christ’s faithful obedience (subjective) culminating in the cross; Moo (2018) and Schreiner (2018) defend believers’ faith in Christ. Theologically, Romans 3:21–26 and Galatians 2–3 hold both: Jesus’s faithful obedience is the ground, and our faith is the means by which his saving work is applied. Do not play them off; read them together (Hays, 2002; Moo, 2018; Schreiner, 2018).

2.4 Abraham and the shape of faith

Paul’s exemplar is Abraham (Rom 4; Gal 3). Before circumcision, Abraham trusted God’s promise; “it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Gen 15:6). Thus he is father of all who believe, Jew or Gentile, and the blessing promised to the nations arrives in Christ (Gal 3:8–9). Faith is not a meritorious work; it is receptive trust that welcomes the divine gift (Barclay, 2015; Dunn, 1998).

2.5 Forensic and participatory: one reality, two angles

Justification is a forensic verdict—God declares sinners to be in the right now (Rom 5:1). But for Paul the verdict is inseparable from participation in Christ: those justified are baptized into Christ’s death and life (Rom 6:1–11), become new creation (2 Cor 5:17, 21), and receive the Spirit (Gal 3:2–5; Rom 8). The lawcourt and union metaphors coinhere: the judge’s verdict creates a people joined to the Messiah (Wright, 2013; Dunn, 1998; Moo, 2018).

2.6 Present and future

Paul speaks of justification in the present (“having been justified, we have peace,” Rom 5:1) and also frames a final judgment “according to works” (Rom 2:6–16; 14:10–12; 2 Cor 5:10). This is not a second track of salvation; it is the public confirmation of God’s present verdict by the Spirit-produced life of believers (Rom 8:1–11; Gal 5:5–6, 22–25). The root is grace; the fruit testifies to it (Schreiner, 2018; Barclay, 2015).

Student note: If your reading of justification does not lead to Spirit-shaped love and a hospitable shared table (Rom 14–15; Gal 2), you have missed Paul.

3) Christian liberty: freedom for love

3.1 Freedom defined

“For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1). Freedom, for Paul, is liberation from the enslaving powers of sin and the condemning function of the law (Rom 6–8; Gal 3–5), and liberation for a life of love empowered by the Spirit: “through love serve one another” (Gal 5:13). Christian liberty is not self-sovereignty; it is Spirit-energized capacity to will the good of the other (Barclay, 2015; Dunn, 1998).

3.2 Flesh vs. Spirit

Galatians 5 contrasts “works of the flesh” (self-protective patterns) with the “fruit of the Spirit” (love, joy, peace…). Those led by the Spirit are not under the law (5:18) because the Spirit fulfills the law’s aim—love (5:14, 22–23; cf. Rom 8:3–4). Liberty is not antinomian; it surpasses legalism by exceeding it in love (Dunn, 1998; Schreiner, 2018).

3.3 Rights we refuse: 1 Corinthians 8–10

At Corinth, some exercised “knowledge” that idols are nothing, asserting a “right” to eat idol-meat. Paul agrees on the theology but rebukes the ethic: knowledge puffs up; love builds up (8:1–3). He models self-limitation: although he has a right to support, he foregoes it to avoid hindering the gospel (ch. 9). He commands flee idolatry (10:14–22), then returns to conscience: “All things are lawful,” but not all edify; seek the other’s advantage (10:23–33). Christian liberty is “I can” harnessed by “I may not, for your sake.” (Fee, 2014; Garland, 2003).

3.4 Disputable matters and mutual welcome: Romans 14–15

Rome’s mixed house-churches disputed diet and days. Paul’s solution is not to force uniformity, but to pursue mutual welcome (Rom 14:1; 15:7). The strong must not despise the weak; the weak must not judge the strong. Do what leads to peace and edification; do not destroy the work of God over food (14:19–20). Christ did not please himself (15:1–3). Liberty is cruciform: it gladly yields preferences to build one body (Moo, 2018; Schreiner, 2018; Wright, 2013).

3.5 Freedom and the body

Liberty also governs the body: sexual conduct (1 Cor 6:12–20). “All things are lawful” does not sanction porneia; the body is for the Lord and a temple of the Spirit. Christian freedom is embodied holiness under the lordship of Christ (Fee, 2014; Garland, 2003).

4) Unity in Christ: one body, many members

4.1 Jew and Gentile at one table

Justification by faith levels boasting (Rom 3:27–30) and creates a single family in which there is “no distinction” (Rom 10:12). Paul fights for table fellowship (Gal 2:11–14): when Peter withdrew from eating with Gentiles, he “was not walking straight with the truth of the gospel.” Table is theological space. Romans 14–15 turns the same screw: welcome one another as Christ welcomed you (15:7). Unity is received (from Christ) and practiced (in meals) (Wright, 2013; Dunn, 1998; Moo, 2018).

4.2 One body, many gifts (1 Corinthians 12–13; Romans 12)

The Spirit baptizes believers into one body; varieties of gifts and roles are given “for the common good” (1 Cor 12:7, 12–27). The “more excellent way”—love—is the indispensable ethic (1 Cor 13). Romans 12 reiterates: one body with many members, differing gifts exercised soberly and mutually (Fee, 2014; Garland, 2003; Moo, 2018).

4.3 The Lord’s Supper and social repair

At Corinth, the Lord’s Supper exposed class fracture—the wealthy humiliated the poor (1 Cor 11:17–34). Paul insists the meal discerns the body as a social reality: devotion to the crucified Lord is provable by waiting for one another and sharing. Unity is not sentiment; it is redistributed time, attention, and resources (Fee, 2014; Garland, 2003).

4.4 The collection for Jerusalem (2 Cor 8–9; Rom 15)

Paul’s collection for the poor in Jerusalem enacts Jew–Gentile solidarity. Grace becomes gift that reweaves economics—Macedonian generosity in poverty; Corinthian zeal finished; Rome enlisted for prayer (2 Cor 8–9; Rom 15:25–33). Unity is relational and material (Barclay, 2015; Wright, 2013; Dunn, 1998).

5) Worked exegesis: three anchor texts

5.1 Galatians 2:15–21 — The truth of the gospel at the table

• Context: Peter’s withdrawal from Gentile tables in Antioch.

• Argument: “A person is not justified by works of the law but through [the faithfulness of] Jesus Christ” (2:16). To rebuild Torah-boundary lines as belonging criteria is to nullify grace (2:21).

• Participation: “I have been crucified with Christ… Christ lives in me” (2:19–20). Justification’s verdict joins the believer to the Messiah’s death-and-life; table practice must mirror this reality (Hays, 2002; Dunn, 1998; Barclay, 2015).

5.2 Romans 3:21–26; 5:1–11 — Verdict and its fruit

• Now-event: God’s righteousness is manifested apart from the law, through Jesus, for all who believe; God is both just and justifier (3:21–26).

• Peace and hope: “Having been justified… we have peace with God,” we boast in hope, and God’s love is “poured out through the Holy Spirit” (5:1–5).

• Pastoral thrust: Assurance rests on Christ’s death for the ungodly and reconciliation, generating endurance in suffering and love in community (Moo, 2018; Schreiner, 2018).

5.3 1 Corinthians 8:1–11:1 — Free enough to restrain freedom

• Knowledge vs. love: Knowledge is right about idols but wrong when it wounds consciences (8:1–13).

• Paul’s model (ch. 9): He relinquishes rights (support, marriage) to win more; he becomes “all things to all people” without compromising holiness.

• Discernment (10:14–33): Flee idolatry; then exercise freedom for edification and God’s glory; seek the advantage of many—and, climactically, “imitate me as I imitate Christ” (11:1). Freedom walks the way of the cross (Fee, 2014; Garland, 2003).

6) Debates and balances

• Is justification purely “forensic”?
  Balance: It is judicial in metaphor yet generative in effect: those declared right are incorporated into Christ and indwelt by the Spirit. Keep verdict and participation together (Wright, 2013; Dunn, 1998; Moo, 2018).

• Is “works of the law” only ethnic badges?
  Balance: In Galatians/Romans the badge issue is front and center, but Paul also undercuts any human basis for boasting. The line of exclusion may be ethnic, the instinct universal (Dunn, 1998; Moo, 2018; Barclay, 2015).

• Does liberty cancel law?
  Balance: Liberty fulfills the law’s aim (love) by the Spirit (Gal 5:14, 22–23; Rom 8:4); it cancels condemnation, not holiness (Schreiner, 2018; Dunn, 1998).

• Unity at what cost?
  Balance: Paul refuses unity that denies the gospel (Gal 2) but insists on unity that welcomes difference on secondary matters (Rom 14–15). The gospel rules the table, and love rules preferences (Wright, 2013; Moo, 2018).

7) Reading toolbox (for exegesis and ministry)

1. Track boast language (Rom 3:27; 5:2–3; 15:17; 1 Cor 1:29–31): in Christ, boasting shifts from self to grace, shaping posture in disputes.

2. Diagram the argument in Rom 3:21–26 (who acts? what ground? what means? what result?). Do the same in Gal 2:15–21.

3. Mark conscience dynamics (Rom 14; 1 Cor 8–10): Who is “weak” or “strong”? What is edifying here?

4. Spot “for the sake of” logic: Paul repeatedly yields rights for the sake of the gospel/church (1 Cor 8–10; Rom 14–15).

5. Link doctrine and table: Whenever justification appears, ask how meals, money, and mutuality are being re-described (Gal 2; Rom 14–15; 2 Cor 8–9).

6. Hear the Spirit: Liberty and unity are Spirit-fruit (Gal 5; Rom 8; 1 Cor 12–13). Look for “by the Spirit,” “in the Lord,” “for the body.”

8) Common pitfalls (and better paths)

• Pitfall: Treat justification as a private ticket to heaven.
  Better: It is God’s public covenant verdict creating a reconciled people now (Wright, 2013; Moo, 2018).

• Pitfall: Use liberty to mock scruples.
  Better: Liberty yields for the vulnerable; knowledge bows to love (1 Cor 8–10) (Fee, 2014; Garland, 2003).

• Pitfall: Confuse gospel essentials with disputable matters.
  Better: Hold the line where the gospel is at stake (Gal 2), and welcome differences where it is not (Rom 14–15) (Moo, 2018).

• Pitfall: Abstract “unity” into slogans.
  Better: Practice table inclusion, economic solidarity, and gift-sharing (1 Cor 11–12; 2 Cor 8–9) (Barclay, 2015; Dunn, 1998).

• Pitfall: Oppose forensic and participatory readings.
  Better: Let verdict and union mutually illuminate (Wright, 2013; Dunn, 1998).

9) Practice exercises (interpretive competence)

1. Galatians 2:11–21 (Table and Truth). In ~500 words, show how Paul’s doctrine of justification controls table behavior. Integrate the pistis Christou issue briefly and conclude with one pastoral implication for church meals today (Hays, 2002; Dunn, 1998; Barclay, 2015).

2. Romans 14–15 (Welcome). In ~500 words, identify (a) the disputed issues, (b) the identities of “weak” and “strong,” (c) Paul’s four primary imperatives, and (d) how Christ’s example (15:1–7) grounds the ethic (Moo, 2018; Schreiner, 2018; Wright, 2013).

3. 1 Corinthians 8–10 (Rights and Idols). In ~600 words, trace Paul’s flow: knowledge → love → Paul’s self-denial → idolatry warning → conscience guidance → imitation of Christ. Apply to a modern “gray area” where liberty might harm unity (Fee, 2014; Garland, 2003).

4. Romans 3:21–26 (Mapping the Gospel). In ~400 words, outline the text’s actors (God/Christ/believer), key terms (righteousness, redemption, propitiation/mercy-seat, faith), and the “so that” of verse 26. Explain how God stays just while justifying (Moo, 2018; Schreiner, 2018).

10) Review questions (exam prep)

1. Define justification in Paul with reference to Romans 3–5 and Galatians 2–3. How do verdict and union relate?

2. Explain Christian liberty using Galatians 5, Romans 14–15, and 1 Corinthians 8–10. Why is love the criterion of freedom?

3. “Unity in Christ” in Paul is materially and socially visible. Argue this thesis from 1 Cor 11–13 and 2 Cor 8–9.

4. Evaluate the claim that “works of the law” are merely ethnic badges. What difference does your answer make for reading Galatians?

5. How does the collection for Jerusalem advance Paul’s theology of grace and unity? Tie to Romans 15.

References (APA)

Barclay, J. M. G. (2015). Paul and the gift. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Dunn, J. D. G. (1998). The theology of Paul the apostle. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Fee, G. D. (2014). The first epistle to the Corinthians (Rev. ed., NICNT). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Garland, D. E. (2003). 1 Corinthians (BECNT). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Hays, R. B. (2002). The faith of Jesus Christ: The narrative substructure of Galatians 3:1–4:11 (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Moo, D. J. (2018). The epistle to the Romans (2nd ed., NICNT). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.

Schreiner, T. R. (2018). Romans (2nd ed., BECNT). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Wright, N. T. (2013). Paul and the faithfulness of God (Vols. 1–2). Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press.

Closing encouragement

When you read Paul this week, keep a triple lens on your desk:

• Verdict: God justifies the ungodly through Jesus—no boasting.

• Freedom: The Spirit liberates you to love, not to self-assert.

• Unity: Grace re-seats us at one table; we welcome one another as Christ welcomed us.

Run Romans, Galatians, and 1–2 Corinthians through that lens, and you’ll see Paul’s pastoral genius: a doctrine that makes a people, a freedom that serves, and a unity that preaches.