You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth.
11 But [de] that [hoti] no man [oudeis] is
justified [dikaioo] by [en] the law [nomos] in the
sight [para] of God, [theos] it is evident: [delos] for,
[hoti] The just [dikaios] shall live [zao] by [ek] faith. [pistis] KJV-Interlinear
11 Now that
no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, " The righteous
man shall live by faith. " NASB
Quoting from the Old Testament again, Hab. 2:4, Paul herein again states and confirms his argument that no person can be justified by the law, but that there is only one way of justification, and that way is by means of faith and faith alone.
Justification occurs in two phases. The first phase is of course salvation, wherein when you believe in Christ then you are saved and bound for heaven instead of the Lake of Fire. This takes but a moment in time.
The second aspect of justification is the spiritual edification or structure that is constructed within your soul, as God through doctrine and the spiritual life, brings you to a point of completion. This takes the rest of your life.
Salvation is not your completion, it is merely a new birth, thus it is said when you believe in Christ, that you are born again.
And it should be obvious that when you are born, the next aspect of your life is to grow up. This is true for your physical life and it is true with your spiritual life. Birth takes a very short time. The rest of your life takes years and years and years.
No one is born complete.
After you have been born, you have to learn how to speak and to read and write and think and on and on. The spiritual life is the same.
Granted you may know a great deal of biblical information, even the complete stories that are in the bible prior to being saved, but when you are saved, even at an older age, your spiritual life is just getting started. That knowledge in your mind is academic knowledge, not spiritual edification. And spiritual edification takes time and the reconstruction of all of that knowledge in your soul in a spiritual form with spiritual results.
Faith is the key. Faith is Gods work within you, not your work within yourself.
The Law represents the energy of ones own effort for oneself, hoping that God will approve of your own efforts. But not so. Works lead to nothing.
Faith is the one and only mechanism of functioning and advancing within Gods plan, and ones own spiritual life.
