In his letters to the Galatians and the Romans, the apostle Paul argues that people are justified “by Christ faith” and not “by Torah-works.” Long and varied have been the debates in Pauline scholarship surrounding the phrases pistis Christou and erga nomou. One of the issues that bears on the debate concerns whether Paul intends the dichotomy to differentiate two human activities (e.g., doing the works of the law versus believing in Christ) or a divine act and human activity (e.g., God’s gift of faith versus human performance of the law). This question, it would seem, has a clear answer grounded in Paul’s own grammar. Paul’s dichotomy between pistis Christou and erga nomou distinguishes neither two human activities nor a divine and human act; rather, Paul draws a distinction between two alleged acts of God. This can be demonstrated quite simply. First, God is the subject of the verbal action “to justify” (dikaioun). Though the verb is passive in the key texts, Paul’s overall usage makes clear that God is the subject and agent in the action of justifying. Second, the prepositional phrases in which pistis Christou and erga nomou occur mark these as instruments of the divine act of justifying. The common translation of these prepositions (ek and dia) as “by” risks obscuring their instrumental force since “by” can be easily understood to denote basis rather than means. A less problematic translation would render the relevant prepositions with “through”: God justifies his people through Christ-faith, not Torah-works. In light of these observations, pistis Christou and erga nomou turn out, on careful examination, to be presented by Paul as potential or alleged instruments in the hands of the justifying God. He argues against the contention that the Torah is God’s gracious means by which he will overcome sin with its effects and inaugurate the age of his justice. Paul claims God has, in fact, acted through the event of Christ-faith to effect justice and put an end to the reign of sin and death.