Small Additions (2)
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17 NASB
The/man – Now that we’ve taken a longer look at the addition of the definite article, we need to pay attention to the addition of the word “man” in the citation from Habakkuk. Some time ago we examined the alternative translations of the verse from the prophet (CLICK HERE). The Hebrew text suggests that the appropriate translation of Habakkuk is “But the righteous will live because of acting on the basis of trust [in God].” In other words, the verse doesn’t say that faith will save us from some spiritual eternal damnation. It doesn’t say that if you believe certain claims and creeds, you won’t go to hell. It says that the righteous continue to exist because they trust God and act accordingly.
Once we clear this up, we can see that the addition of “man” to the citation from Habakkuk in Paul’s Greek text shifts the focus from the collective to the individual. That is a very non-Hebraic move. Hebraic thought is not focused on the individual but rather on the collective, the communal. And frankly, shifting the thought to the individual forces us into a second move. You see, if Paul is really saying that the good news supports the prophet’s claim that each and every person who is righteous will live by faith, then it would appear that the person’s righteousness didn’t come by the way he or she lived. It was present before living by faith. Righteousness results in living by faith. This is the opposite of the claim that living by trust (faith) is righteousness. In this view, Paul would be aligned with Luther. God supplies alien righteousness. He imputes it to us since we are incapable of any spiritually worthy act in our natural, sinful state. And after we have been made righteous, then we can live by faith.
But if we read Habakkuk according to the Hebraic context, we find a different view. Our choices to trust God and live accordingly are our righteousness. We participate in the relationship of faith because of what we do. It is up to us to act in accordance with God’s instructions. God does not compel us nor does He alter our yetzer ha’ra so that we somehow become instantly acceptable. He forgives in order that we might shed the burden of guilt and live according to His desires.
Just one more thing. If Paul were speaking about each individual, then his claim is patently false in this world for the righteous do not always live. In fact, in most examples from the nightmare of history, righteous men and women die. To claim otherwise forces us to view Paul’s assertion as if it were not about existence here and now on this earth but rather about a heavenly realm free from the pain of earthly existence. In other words, Paul’s claim becomes a statement about getting to heaven. But if Hebraic thought is collective, then “the righteous” doesn’t mean you or me. It means the entire remnant seen as a single entity. And it does survive on earth even if you and I die.
What is the lesson here? A few small additions, perhaps even unnoticed by most, have subtle far-reaching implications. “Study to show yourself approved” might require a bit more care.
Topical Index: man, righteousness, Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, faith
The collective is made up of individuals, of which you and I are one.
~ For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW TO ME, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL GIVE PRAISE TO GOD.” So then each one of us will give an account (of himself) to God ~
Births, (even regenerative “new births”) are one at a time.
I am slowly lining up here. “Righteousness RESULTS in living by faith”. “He forgives IN ORDER that we might shed the burden of guilt and live according to His desires.” “(The remnant) does survive on earth even if you and I die.”
As I get older and have actually experienced a taste of salvation, I have started running into some surprises. The first is that salvation from sin through repentance FREES me in the here-and-now to LIVE IN LOVE. I was not free to follow the claims of love when I was bound in sin. I could not obey the Law when I was still breaking it. Duh. Freedom is about being able to OBEY. Halleluah!
The second big surprise is that huge emphasis on community; family; even HIS DESIRES: that spotlight always on others. In the flesh that looks like the END OF ME. My eyes of flesh were not able to even imagine where me-the-individual fit into such a paradigm. Standing on the outside of Torah looking in, it just looks like a snow job.
BUT, but. When my family fell apart, as a child, I experienced a profound desperation. When things were going well, as a child, I was naturally focused on myself, even as I sought to please, it was so “I” could earn some space and value. All that changed overnight for me. I woke up terrified that my FAMILY would disintegrate. They did. It was awful. The experience of it was that I felt LOST. When I fell in love, and when I had children, I had hard choices to make. To stay faithful to my love, to STAY TOGETHER, I had to make choices that put me in a hard place, PERSONALLY. I had to choose love first. When I got pregnant, I had to choose again. The odds looked impossible, even from the standpoint of the child. I had to choose the theoretical (because the actual looked so unlikely!) right for my family extension over what looked sensible for everyone already existing, and even for that child’s existence. It got worse. I had to stand and say, “No, the family has to stay together”. Five kids later, the world thought I was certifiable.
I would do it all over. I honored my heart in its love. Those amazing children gave me everything I fell in love with, but never got to touch. The fact they exist in this world is enough to take my breath away. I would throw myself on a railroad track for any of them today. My life looks positively lousy, no matter what God ends up accomplishing through me, if I could go knowing they are there.
My life isn’t about me because it is about SO MUCH MORE than me. I am PRIVILEGED to be inducted into the single most elite force this world will ever see; the most choice and select and bonded band of brothers (sic) that will ever pledge their lives, their families and their fortunes. I am so much MORE than me because I am His. My life now has a value far beyond what “I” could ever achieve in the flesh, because it is now about turning the fortunes for a cosmic scale operation; about being maximally effective far beyond my capacity. It is about love. Halleluah!
Love these two posts on righteousness, Skip. But I have a question on these two lines from above post: “Righteousness results in living by faith. This is the opposite of the claim that living by trust (faith) is righteousness.”
Here is my question: To the ancient Hebrews, the thought of a man would equate to the word/action of a man, so why the differentiation between what a man thinks (faithful thoughts) and what he does (faithful action)? I studied the Hebrew word DABAR, which equates to the spoken or unspoken word of God or a person. We see this connection between thought and action in this verse: “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matt 5:28). I “get it” that it boils down to how we act, but is there a huge distinction between “We are righteous because we trust God” or “We are righteous when we trust God”?
Abraham was considered “righteous” because of his trust in God. He was completely imperfect in his actions, but he was considered righteous because he trusted God’s character and trustworthiness in the Isaac event. He believed that God would raise (or save) his son Isaac from the dead because God had resurrected His own Son (see Galatians 3:8…”the Scripture announced the gospel IN ADVANCE to Abraham”). This is an amazing revelation about God’s revelation to Abraham! God showed Abraham the gospel of Christ. And what is the gospel? Paul defines it in 1 Cor 15: “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” God showed Abraham, through the Torah (“Scripture” in Gal. 3:8) in some vision (“foresaw” in Galatians 3:8 indicates a vision) that Jesus died and was raised from the dead. And then when tested with Isaac, Abraham trusted the character of God–that if God could raise His own son, He could raise Abraham’s son from the dead too. God did not show Abraham a vision that his own son would be spared, but He showed him that He could resurrect Jesus. That is where the leap of faith (trust) came in. Abraham had to trust that God was capable of raising the dead and that He would do it for Abraham. Notice Abraham’s confidence BEFORE he goes to the altar with Isaac: “‘Stay here with the donkey,’ Abraham told the servants. ‘The boy and I will travel a little farther. We will worship there, and then we will come right back'” (Gn. 22:5). He TRUSTED that he and his son would return alive!
My point is this: It was Abraham’s TRUST that God counted as righteous. Does Abraham ACT according to that trust? Yes. But the two seem to be merged. It takes the right thought to cause the right action. Biblically, the thought of a man seems very interconnected with his action. Our thoughts reflect our character. Can we transform our thoughts from ungodly thoughts to godly action? Absolutely. And maybe that is your distinction–the space between what we THINK and what we actually DO.
Would love your thoughts, Skip.
Blessings,
Gaynor
Gaynor,
I acknowledge the differentiation you illustrate. I still don’t see any evidence that people were disciplined or judged based on their thoughts alone. Deliberation of judgement was always pronounced and executed based on the actions of the individuals. Right?
If that’s the case, it seems the differentiation between thought/belief of our modern beliefs and the Hebrew understanding of faith is the working of the yetzer haTov and the yetzer haRa. The thoughts arise within and then we decide between the haTov and the haRa, thus mastering it and resulting in righteousness or not and resulting in sin. Free will is sustained with the continuing choice of choosing life or death. When we choose life, that is, walking and reflecting Torah, righteousness is observed as evidence of the actions that give flesh to the thoughts. The Word became flesh. The Father, in the beginning, had an amazing plan of action. You want to see what it looks like? Yeshua fleshed it out. Yeshua put flesh and blood, action in accordance with the Word, Torah, in practice. If you see Yeshua, then you’ve seen the heart and word of the Father, in the flesh. How? Why? As the Father’s only begotten Son, Yeshua always chose to act on the yetzer haTov.
As to looking lustfully with our hearts, are there any written occurrences that show someone was punished, judged or executed for their thoughts? I only recall instances when someone was “caught in the act of adultery.” Visible, observable, verifiable actions.
I think the difference you are attempting to separate comes from a foundational Greek philosophical based theology as opposed to a Hebrew based interpretation. The Greeks thought, the Hebrews did.
Hope that made some sense. I’m kinda tired from remodeling my house, a ton of antibiotics in my system and from not using my brain much these past few weeks! 🙂
Michael, yes, this makes clear sense. Thank you so much for your time to explain. Blessings to you, Gaynor
Could you please answer this question for me … does righteousness result in faith or does faith result in righteousness?
bls
jeff
Yes
Yes! I love your answer Skip.
R = F then F = R
It’s the principal of equivalence or transitive law of logic and math!
Yes, math can reveal elegantly. I love it! And a delightful sense of humor sometimes revealed in it.
“translation of Habakkuk is “But the righteous will live because of acting on the basis of trust [in God].” ”
This has to start with a good/close relationship with YHWH/ABBA, and with knowledge of the Torah to be firstly righteous and then to walk/act out our faith/trust/obedience in His ways. It’s not our individual righteousness, in ourselves, in our own confidence (leads to pride), nor in some man-made gods.
“It says that the righteous continue to exist because they trust God and act accordingly.” “Righteousness results in living by faith” in YHWH, the only Elohim
worthy of our adoration and thanksgiving, thus, righteousness lives on, corporately.
Thought-provoking and edifying TW.