We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.
Now you be good.
I’d rather be right than good.
Behave yourself!
You don’t want me to have any fun.
How sad that we trivialize moral behavior by talking about being good in these terms. As Lutheran Christians we trend away from a simplistic understanding of good and evil. We recognize that evil is not merely a matter of being naughty. And we believe, as Jesus said, “Only God is good.”
So I’m a bit intrigued by Paul’s differentiation between himself, Peter, and Barnabas as Jews, and “not Gentile sinners.” “Sinners” in this context reflects a traditional Jewish way of distinguishing Gentiles, but Paul redefines and universalizes the term. He is not name-calling, for we all need God’s grace. Truth is, we’re all sinners.
But there is also a delightful irony here. When Paul says, “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners,” he is employing irony. The Jews, despite their privileged position under the covenant, also fall short and need the same justification through Christ as the Gentiles do. His ultimate point is that no one—Jew or Gentile—is justified by works of the law but only through faith in Christ.
No amount of law-keeping or good-being will avail before God. We’ll never find our place in the kingdom of God by any means other than faith in Christ.
I’ve been giving faith some thought lately. Mine wavers from bright hot to cold dark. Sometimes I’m strong in my beliefs and have few questions or doubts. Other times, the tiniest doubt can upend my confidence. But faith itself is not the point. The point is what is our faith in? In what or whom do we believe? It’s not a matter of having strong faith. It’s a matter of having a strong savior. It’s not our strength that connects us to God’s promises, but God’s faithfulness that gives us strength.
Paul will, in other places, make it clear that we are all sinners in need of God’s forgiveness and grace. He will also make it clear that God is the author of our faith; it’s his gift to us by the Holy Spirit. If we ask how good we must be to please God, to be saved, or to qualify for his love, the goal is far too high. If we ask how good, faithful, gracious and loving God is, we will also never fathom the height, depth, breadth, and length of those qualities.
We must ever keep that in mind.
David Bahn - Reflections 
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