Covenant Membership: A Matter of Justification

Romans 3:28: "For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."

This verse comes as part of the primary argument of the book of Romans, the main point being that justification is not a matter of ethnic distinction or even religious rites.  On the contrary, justification is a matter of faith, more directly, faith in Christ Jesus.  And while justification is one of the major considerations of Paul, and through Paul the Holy Spirit, it can be easily misconceived as something other than to what Paul is referring.  Because of this, a brief note about justification is in order.

For starters, justification is a dense word dealing with the legal tenders of humans, but it can be reduced to a single phrase: covenant membership.  In this way, justification means covenant covenant membership.  So, the major argument of Romans is a matter of what makes someone a member of the covenant of Christ.  In this, then, 'works of the law' refers not to works-based-righteousness; it refers to what makes someone a member of the covenant.  In other words, 'works of the law' is synonymous with circumcision and other Israelite rites.  This alludes to the juxtaposition present in this verse, arming justification by faith with justification by works of the law.

This is still so relevant to Christians today.  We often consider our faithfulness to the covenants of God as a matter of things we do or have done, as in, if I go to church and know the right Scriptures then I will prove me as a member of the covenant of Christ.  But Paul, and the Holy Spirit that inspired this passage, is saying something different altogether.  No longer is covenant membership a matter of 'works of the law' a.k.a. circumcision.  Now justification is a matter of faith alone; faith in Christ Jesus.  In this way, the covenant and its promises have been opened and made available to all those who have faith.  And as a gentile Christian all I can say is: "Amen!"