Galatians 2:15 (DRB)

Passage

We by nature are Jews: and not of the Gentiles, sinners.

Nearby Context

Galatians 2:13 And to his dissimulation the rest of the Jews consented: so that Barnabas also was led by them into that dissimulation.

Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly unto the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all: If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of the Gentiles and not as the Jews do, how dost thou compel the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

Galatians 2:15 We by nature are Jews: and not of the Gentiles, sinners.

Galatians 2:16 But knowing that man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we also believe in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.

Galatians 2:17 But if, while we seek to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ then the minister of sin? God forbid!

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "nature", "jews", "gentiles", and "sinners". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "nature" and "jews", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "But when I saw that they walked..." into verse 16's "But knowing that man is not justified...", so "nature" and "jews" belong inside that flow. In Galatians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "nature" and "jews" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.