Justification and nature, again

There does appear to be a positive connection between justification and nature in Galatians 2. It’s elusive, but it seems to be there.

In verse 17, Paul argues that those who seek justification in Christ cannot be found sinners without implying that Christ Himself is a minister of sin. Me genoito !

“We” in verse 17 is, I suggest, “we Jews,” the same identified as “Jews by nature” in verse 15.

Jews are “by nature” distinct from Gentile sinners, who are, implicitly, sinners by nature . If Jews seek justification in Christ but instead become “sinners,” then Christ is a minister of sin, mediating sin to people who are not “naturally” sinners.

If we flip this upside down, we get this: Jesus is a mediator not of sin but of righteousness. By believing in Him, sinners are declared right with God. If a Gentile who is a sinner “by nature” seeks justification in Christ, He is no longer a sinner but righteous. You could say that justification cancels nature; his nature as sinner once determined him, but now something else, righteousness, determines him. Or, you could say that justification confers a new nature; he is no longer “sinner” but “righteous.”

In Paul’s terminology, that would seem to be not merely a change of “status” but a change of “nature.” These are not the terms of later debates about justification, in which Catholics say that justification changes nature and Protestants say that justification changes only status. If “being Jew” are “being Gentile sinner” are “natures,” though, then justification is a change of nature by being a change of status.