Tag-Archive for » faith «

Hebrew Accounting

Monday, June 17th, 2013 | Author:

Moreover, they did not require an accounting from the men into whose hand they gave the money to pay to those who did the work, for they dealt faithfully.  2 Kings 12:15  NASB

Dealt faithfully – Perhaps you’ve noticed some very odd things about the Hebrew community of Torah; things that seem unimaginable in our culture.  For example, we never read about jails or policemen or family courts.  We don’t read about kosher groceries as opposed to other choices.  And in this verse, we discover something else that seems unimaginable to us.  There is no ledger accounting for donations.  Why?  The answer is the same for all these odd circumstances.  ‘Emunah.  “’emunah coveys the idea of inner stability, integrity, conscientiousness, cleanliness, which is essential for any responsible service.”[1]  We recognize this in the word derivatives like ‘amen and ‘emet, but we might not associate the concept with cleanliness and accounting.  In Hebrew, faith is seen in action and that action is based on the certainty of God’s words.  In other words, if God says it, I do it.  That is the Hebrew idea of faith.  It is not cognitive rational explanation, a sequence of creedal affirmations or the arrangement of theological categories.  Faith is doing what God asks and expects.  When I do what God asks, I have faith (I am faithful).  When I do not do what God asks, I do not have faith (I am unfaithful).  Therefore, it is fairly easy to determine if a man or woman has faith in God.  What do they do?  Do they act according to God’s instructions or not?  If they do, they are faithful.  If they don’t, they aren’t.

And it doesn’t much matter what they say about it.

This statement in 2 Kings helps us see the practical outworking of ‘emunah.  It wasn’t necessary to ask for an accounting of the donations because these men were known for their faithfulness.  They had acted according to God’s instructions in the past and their reputations made further calculations unnecessary.  God was their accountant.  Other men simply recognized this.

Do you think we could say the same thing about ourselves?  Is God our chef?  Is He our housecleaner?  Is He our landlord, our investment broker, our teacher?  All of these roles display ‘emunah if they are in alignment with His words.  When others observe our lives, do they see faithfulness in us – a faithfulness that is easily recognizable as God’s hands and feet in the world?  Are our actions distinctively different from the culture that cares nothing about God’s purposes?  Or do we look the same with a few religious stickers over our lives?

Topical Index:  ‘emunah, faith, certainty, 2 Kings 12:15, ‘aman

 

[1] Jepsen, ‘aman, TDOT, Vol. 1, p. 317.

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , ,  | 4 Comments

Is This Faith?

Thursday, June 06th, 2013 | Author:

I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs.  Luke 11:8 NASB

Persistence – What does it mean to have faith?  For most of us, it means to believe certain things, to have a statement of faith, to confess certain doctrines as truth.  Sometimes it also means to act in certain ways, to go to church, to say certain prayers.  Yeshua told a parable about faith one time, but His little story paints a very different picture.

Brad Young explains the parable of the “Contemptible Friend” in his excellent book, The Parables: Jewish Tradition and Christian Interpretation.  He notices that the Greek word translated “persistence” is anaideia.  “Probably the Hebrew word that best translates the Greek term anaideia is a form of the word chutzpah. . . In current English, perhaps ‘raw nerve’ would be a better definition.  ‘Chutzpah’ means ‘brazen tenacity’ or ‘bold perseverance.’  ‘Relentless diligence’ or even ‘impudence’ is very near the meaning. . . The conclusion is almost inescapable. . . Does Jesus define faith as determined nerve?”[1]

Young is right.  Our view of faith is anemic, cognitive, antiseptic verbal vomit.  Yeshua’s view of faith is dogged persistence and unrelenting determination.  His view of faith is Jacob at Jabbok, Elijah on Mount Carmel and Paul’s thrice-pled prayer.  Faith is never letting go no matter what.  It has far less to do with what I believe than it does with what I do.  In fact, I might even suggest that biblical faith is most effective when I am intellectually convinced that what I am about to do is impossible.  At the edge of the Sea of Reeds, faith is lifting up my hands.  At Jericho, it is walking in silence.  In front of Nebuchadnezzar’s oven, it is declaring my resolve.  In a Jewish village, it is willingly bearing the shame of pregnancy.  “This is impossible” – and that’s why I do it.

A friend comes to the door in the middle of the night.  You don’t care about his problem.  You turn your back on all social propriety and expectations.  But he just won’t quit!  Just like that judge, you finally give in because he won’t stop annoying you.  How many of us won’t give up annoying God until He delivers!  How many of us won’t let go until He blesses?  Too few warriors, too many wimps.  Cowering under theological bed sheets, we are afraid to require God to deliver.  Moses wasn’t.  “You can’t do this, Lord, or the world will think You are nothing but a tyrant.”  That takes real cojones.  Chutzpah.

There is no “Jesus meek and mild.”  Read the stories again.  The man of faith was as brazen as they get.  The Messianic secret?  You have to be kidding.  Everywhere you look He is shouting, “Don’t you see what God is doing here?”  Do we?  Is your theology preventing you from having faith?  Go ahead, translate that to Hebrew!

Topical Index: faith, perseverance, anaideia, chutzpah, Luke 11:8, Brad Young

 

[1] Brad Young, The Parables, p. 50.

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , ,  | 42 Comments

Harder

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013 | Author:

pray without ceasing  1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pray – “But have you really prayed about it?”  That’s what the woman said when the discussion turned toward prayer about possible choices ahead.  “I’ve prayed about this, but I just don’t know what God wants me to do.”  Answer:  “But have you really, really prayed about it?”  Implication:  if you want an answer from God you have to demonstrate your 100% trust.  You have to work up the emotions, grasp for that last little bit of belief and make sure there is not one shred of doubt anywhere in your mind.  You have to prove to God that you are worth answering.

This is “faith in the bottle” prayer.  In order to get God to answer, we are required to make sure the bottle is completely full of “faith.”  If there is any space inside the bottle where “not believing” still finds room, then God isn’t obligated to answer us.  We show ourselves to be less than worthy.  Our job is to remove any possibility of doubt and then God must answer.  “The prayer of a righteous man” and all that.  Pray harder becomes the equivalent of work harder.  You want that reward?  Work harder.  Expend more effort.  Put in more hours.  Make it happen!  You want God’s answer?  Employ the same technique in the spiritual realm.  After all, God’s goodies sometimes have to be pried from His hand.

When I put it as crassly as this, we reject the idea.  But think about our actual behavior.  Isn’t this far too often the way we approach needed answers from God?  Don’t we act as if God must be cajoled into giving us direction and the way to do this is to prove our worthiness?  Pray harder becomes our SOP.

All of this implies that faith is like a substance.  I can accumulate more of it by performing certain acquisition rituals.  When I have enough in the bottle, God will give me what I want.  But the Hebrew idea of faith is a verb.  And a “verb” can’t be accumulated.  I am either doing the action or not doing the action.  I am either exercising faithfulness or I am not.  Exercising faithfulness does not depend on how I feel or what I think.  It is only a matter of doing what God asks.  God asks me to pray.  I pray.  I beseech Him.  It doesn’t matter if I doubt (remember that the word does not exist in Hebrew).  It only matters that I speak with Him about my concerns.  And then I remember what the rabbis prayed.  “Lord, give me a heart malleable enough to be content with whatever you bring into my life.  I know Your goodness.  Raba emunatecha.”

When the lady said, “But have you really prayed about it?” the other person replied, “Yes, I have, but lots of times life just happens anyway.”  Pray and be content.

Topical Index:  pray, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, faith, contentment

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , ,  | 33 Comments

A Kingdom of Beggars

Thursday, December 20th, 2012 | Author:

 Listen, my beloved brethren:  did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?  James 2:5  NASB

Poor – James was only kidding, right?  Who could really imagine that God chose the poor?  Especially when these days everyone seems to think that God wants us all to be rich – or at least sufficient.  It’s OK for God to choose the poor to be rich in faith.  That’s a good thing.  But that part about “heirs of the kingdom” is a bit too much, don’t you think?  Where is the room for those of us who are quite a few steps above the “poor”?  Oh, now I see.  God chose the poor but that doesn’t mean He excluded the rich.  It’s just that the rich chose God.

James uses a pretty severe word here.  It is ptochoi, the same word Yeshua uses in the opening Beatitude.  It is a particular kind of poor – the poor who are beggars.  Not the one-day-at-a-time workers.  Not the paycheck-to-paycheck types.  Not even the welfare recipients.  No, this word is about those who have no place, no one and nothing.  These are the people of the gutter, the squatter camp victims, the refugees, the homeless.  God chose these.   We can imagine why.  God chose them because He is great in compassion.  After all, that’s the very first Hebrew word YHWH uses to describe Himself in Exodus 34:6.  We have compassion for the poor too.  Maybe not as much as God has, but they are still on our sympathy list.  It’s just that quite often we are a bit higher on that list than these.  Mind you, we don’t exclude them.  We are happy to keep them on the list as long as that doesn’t push us off the list.  So we tend to read James’ exhortation as an additional space for the poor, not as an exclusive space for the poor.  But I wonder if James would agree.

The Scriptures are pretty harsh about riches.  Only rarely do they even suggest that riches can be used for the Kingdom.  Most of the time, riches interfere with Kingdom pursuits.  Oh, and by the way, rich doesn’t usually mean millionaire.  To be rich in biblical terms is only to be a few steps above the daily concern for food and shelter.  And my guess is that by nearly any world standard, most of us are far above that line.  Perhaps that’s why I think it is so important to spend time among the poor.  And I don’t mean a nice, short visit.  How can I appreciate the blessings God has given me if I have not experienced His choosing the poor?  How will I know what it means to be rich in faith if I am always taking care of myself with my own provisions?  I think understanding what James says is like contemplating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Experience is required!

Ah, but you will say, “How can I do this?  I can’t leave everything and go live with the victims of the world? [Well, actually, you could, but it isn’t very appealing] I have responsibilities.  What can I really do?”  It seems to me the answer is “whatever you can while you are looking for greater opportunities.”  According to James, we have a lot to learn from those God chooses.  We better get started.

Topical Index:  poor, ptochoi, rich, James 2:5, faith

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , ,  | 20 Comments

Grammatical Theology

Sunday, December 09th, 2012 | Author:

Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.  Habakkuk 2:4  ESV

By his faith – Paul made this verse one of the most important citations in the New Testament when he quoted the prophet Habakkuk as the summary of the letter to the Romans (Romans 1:17).  This statement has become the centerpiece of Christian thinking about grace (and, of course, it is also at the heart of Jewish thinking about grace which is why Paul used it).  But what it actually says isn’t quite so obvious, unless we read the Hebrew text first.

Here’s the problem.  The Hebrew text literally says, “and the righteous by his faith shall live.”  But without intonation and punctuation, we might read this in two different ways.  It could mean that the righteous man will live by faith, that is, he will operate in the world on the basis of trust, or it could mean that as a result of his faith the righteous man will live, that is, he will continue to exist because he acts righteously.  English translations assume one view or the other, so they aren’t much help.  And the Greek text doesn’t help us much either since the LXX translates Habakkuk’s Hebrew as “but the righteous will live by my faithfulness.”  Tim Hegg attempts to clear up this confusion when he says, v’tzadik b’emunato yicheyih [the Hebrew transliterated] in which the bet [the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet] functions to identify the means by which the righteous shall live. . . . Thus Paul understands the construction of the Hebrew text to be teaching that Israel, soon to be defeated by her enemies, has the choice of relying upon herself (proud, puffed up) or trusting in God.  The one who is righteous will trust in God.  Out of this trust the righteous one will live, that is, be preserved.  The text clearly teaches that the one who is righteous lives on the basis of faith. Faith is the means by which the righteous draw near to God and find in Him a safe refuge.”[1]

What does this mean for us?  It means that the second of the two possible meanings is supported by the Hebrew text.  That is to say, the one who trusts in God and acts according to that trust will be preserved – and this is what the Hebraic idea of faith is all about!  Faith is not something that I have in my heart (or head), a sort of spiritual formula that allows me access to God.  Faith is the result of living by God’s instructions regardless of my circumstances.  For example, Daniel exhibited Hebrew faith when he refused to eat the king’s food even in captivity and when he continued to pray each day in spite of the king’s edict.  Daniel was preserved because he acts according to God’s will.  Faith was his trust to live in a particular way regardless of the outcome.

In Western thinking, faith is often defined as a certain set of theological beliefs or as a particular special relationship.  This is static.  It is as if “faith” were some sort of possession that I acquire.  But in Hebrew, faith is the result of what I do, not the prize I put on the shelf.  I have faith only when I am living in a certain way, walking in a certain path.  Yeshua could say to Peter when he began to sink in the water, “What happened to your faith?”  He didn’t mean, “Have you changed your mind?”  He meant, “Why did you stop walking?”

The righteous live because they trust YHWH.  They rely on Him.  They count on Him no matter what.  Oh, by the way, reliability is the proper definition of the Hebrew word emunah, a word that carries the ideas of both “faith” and “truth.”

So, today, how’s your faith?  It’s easy to tell.  Just look at what you’re doing and ask if it reflects relying on God no matter what.

Topical Index: faith, emunah, Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17

 

[1] Tim Hegg, The Letter Writer, pp. 99-100, footnote 207.

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , ,  | 3 Comments

Visible Belief

Thursday, December 06th, 2012 | Author:

And Yeshua seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.”  Mark 2:5  (Tim Hegg translation)

Seeing – “The very fact that Yeshua is described as ‘seeing their faith’ is indicative of how the Apostles defined faith.  Faith simply could not exist as a hidden thought in the heart.  Believing and the fruits of belief were so inextricably bound together that neither could exist apart from the other.”[1]

Today we have lost sight of this fundamental element of the Hebrew worldview.  Today, under the influence of Greek philosophy, we routinely think of faith as cognitive.  We translate the words with English concepts like “confident assurance” or “conviction” or “inner security.”  We have internalized faith.  As a result, faith is no longer primarily found in the realm of observable behavior.  It is now a matter of the heart, so much so that the popular culture has allowed faith to become “whatever your heart tells you.”  On that basis, what I believe is just fine for me but I have no “right” to require the same inner conviction of anyone else.  Faith isn’t simply internal.  It is now entirely private.

We must recover the meaning Yeshua attached to faith.  To do that, we need to ask, “What did He see?”  And the answer is obvious.  He saw men who were willing to step forward simply on their hope and trust in this man of God.  He saw one man stand up.  He saw compassion for someone in need.  He saw a willingness to go to any lengths in order to gain access to grace.  He saw actions!

None of us would deny that Hebrew faith is found in demonstrable action.  But we are still ambivalent about the further implication.  Hegg puts it like this, “A life of obedience to the Torah is a life of faith, because obedience flows out of faith and is the only true proof of its existence.  Genuine faith never remains as a thought in the soul or heart.  It always manifests itself through obedient life-action.”[2]  We agree (a cognitive endorsement?) that faith is about what we do, but we hesitate to take the next step:  faith does not exist where there is no life transforming obedience.  To claim to have faith and, at the same time, refuse to obey Torah is a sheer contradiction.  From an Hebraic point of view, it is complete and utter nonsense.  Faith is the actions of obedience, and in Hebrew thought, the actions of obedience are found in Torah.  WYSIWYG – What You See Is What You Get.  If you don’t see Torah-based living, then you don’t have Hebrew-based faith.

I know this bites!  It bites me.  It confronts me.  It forces me to look once more at Torah and ask why I think that some of my actions are not subject to its standard.  It forces me to ask if I really exhibit faith when I struggle to submit, when I act in opposition to what God has revealed in His instructions.  It causes me to question my own estimation of my faith.  God is gracious.  He has still allowed me time to deal with all this.  But do I not presume on His graciousness when I continue to demand my own ways?  Am I not in peril for my life here and in the olam ha’ba if I do not face my own rebellion and forsake it?  How can I claim that I have faith in the One true God of Israel if there are facets of my life that I will not, have not, cannot seem to submit to Him?

Hebrew faith scares me to death.  It’s so much easier to be Greek.

Topical Index:  faith, aman, Mark 2:5, pistis


[1] Tim Hegg, The Letter Writer, p. xxii.

[2] Ibid., p. xxiii.

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , ,  | 55 Comments

Utter Confusion

Friday, November 23rd, 2012 | Author:

But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?  James 2:20  NASB

You foolish fellow – Oswald Chambers’ devotional for October 28 makes an astounding statement.  “I am not saved by believing; I realize that I am saved by believing.  It is not repentance that saves me, repentance is a sign that I realize what God has done in Christ Jesus.”

Read that again!  Chambers wasn’t part of the contemporary “Hebrew roots” movement, but he understood Scripture.  I don’t “earn” my salvation because I believe.  God alone accomplishes my salvation through the manifestation of His Son and the atonement brought about by the sacrifice of the Lamb.  When I believe, I simply acknowledge that I now understand what God has already done.  Of course, to understand is the Hebrew equivalent of transforming my actions in accordance with my acknowledgment.  Until and unless my life changes as a result of this realization, I do not believe.  Believing is not a function of my saying something.  It is the acknowledgment seen in my doing something.  In Hebrew thought, to hear is to obey.  And in Hebrew thought, to believe is to do.

Now you know why the Hebraic consciousness of James draws the conclusion that if you do not do what God demands, then you do not believe.  Faith is living according to the insight that God has saved you.  Faith is doing what God asks because He has already shown favor toward you.  If I say that I have faith in YHWH, then I am saying that I live according to His commands.  If I do not live according to His commands, then in Hebrew thought I do not have faith.

This seems so patently obvious to James that he calls anyone who does not see the absolute unity of faith and “works” (actions) as “foolish.”  The word in Greek is kenos.  It literally means “empty,” and is found in the New Testament in phrases such as “empty words,” or “empty deceit.”  It implies something vain, useless and ineffective.  But it does not mean “stupid.”  “Foolish” always has moral connotation in Scripture.  Very clever, very intelligent men can still be fools if their lives do not live up to the standard of God’s holiness.  And this is James’ point.  The reason this fellow is foolish is that he attempts to draw a distinction between “faith” and “works,” a distinction that does not exist in Hebrew thought.

Notice how James introduces this idea.  In the prior verse he says, “You believe that God is one.  You do well;  . . .”  The unity of God is the foundation of James’ argument.  God is not divided between belief and action, faith and works.  So how can we even think that such a division exists in our lives as followers?  That would be kene – empty.  As Chambers says, “It is not Christ for me unless I am determined to have Christ formed in me.”

Topical Index: faith, works, law, grace, unity, James 2:20

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , , ,  | 15 Comments

What Does Not Exist (2)

Tuesday, October 30th, 2012 | Author:

And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith, and do not doubt, you shall not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it shall happen.”  Matthew 21:21  NASB

Doubt –  “The attitude which the NT expresses by diakrinesthai in the sense ‘to doubt’ is seen in prayer and action, not in reflective thought. . . . In Mk.11:23; Mt. 21:21 man has the promise of God and he clings to it when he speaks the word of faith to God, or to the mountain.  But he still thinks it impossible, or at least not certain, that what he says should be done.”[1]

When the New Testament speaks about doubt or about the double-minded man, it is not speaking about cognition.  Doubt is not an issue in my mind.  Notice that Büchsel writes, “But he still thinks it impossible.”  What I think about God’s promise is irrelevant.  Cognitive doubt plays no role in the biblical texts.  What matters is what I do with what God promises!  As long as I act on the basis of God’s word, it doesn’t matter if I still think such actions are nonsense, impossible, contradictory or useless.  I can have all the cognitive doubts in the world and still have faith because I did what God said to do.

It is extremely unfortunate that we have confused the Greek idea of cognitive doubt with the Hebrew idea of failure to act.  It’s not surprising, however.  In our Western world, doubt has become a matter of mental disassociation.  Since the Greek paradigm places primary emphasis on rational consistency, doubt is viewed as a breakdown in the thought process, particularly with regard to the objective of logical certainty.  In other words, in our culture, doubt is the expression of a lack of absolute confidence, of resolute conviction.  In the Greek paradigm, faith is the equivalent of “confident assurance,”[2] a mental state that admits no lingering questions.  Therefore, doubt is, by definition, the opposite of faith.  With this definition, if I have doubts, I cannot have faith.  The process of believing becomes an entirely inner struggle of the mind.

But this is not true in Hebraic thought.  In the Hebraic worldview, the sure sign of doubt is not my mental struggle with the impossibility of the assertion.  The sure sign of doubt is my refusal to act.  “I believe; help my unbelief” makes perfect sense in Hebrew but is incomprehensible in Greek.  Logical certainty is not necessary in order to believe in the Hebraic world.  In the Hebraic world, evidence does not demand a verdict.  In the Hebraic world, the process of believing is much more like learning to swim.  Hold your breath and jump in the water – and see how you like it.  Your mind might be screaming that floating is impossible.  You weigh more than water.  Your mind tells you that you won’t be able to breathe.  Your mind is shouting, “Danger!”  But you can’t learn to swim by thinking about it.  You have to get in the water.  You must do before you decide.

Topical Index: doubt, diakrino, Matthew 21:21, faith


[1] Büchsel, diakrino, TDNT, Vol. III, p. 947.

[2] See the NASB and NIV translations of Hebrews 11:1

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , ,  | 12 Comments

The Guarantee

Friday, August 31st, 2012 | Author:

And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith, for truly I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you shall say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it shall move; and nothing shall be impossible to you.”  Matthew 17:20 NASB

Impossible – Wouldn’t it be nice to have faith like this?  We could fix all our problems in life.  We could right all the wrongs just as easily as moving mountains.  Isn’t this what Yeshua guarantees to those who really believe?  Of course, if that’s the way we read this verse, then it is certainly a condemnation of most of us.  We don’t have any excuses except lack of faith.  But if you say this isn’t what He meant, then you’ll have a lot of gymnastics to perform about the plain meaning of the text.  How do we resolve this dilemma?

Perhaps we can take a hint from something Adin Steinsaltz says.  “What we perceive as the dichotomy between ‘matters of faith’ and ‘indisputable facts’ has less to do with rationality than with what is socially acceptable within our particular society, social group, and historical age.  What ‘everybody knows’ is something that we do not feel obligated to prove to ourselves.  For the same reason, those things that are not a part of our accepted wisdom are left to the believer.”[1]

Steinsaltz’s insight can be applied to Yeshua’s teaching.  The words “impossible” and “faith” were what “everyone knew” in that culture.  They required no further detailed explanation.  These terms do not fit our definitions of “impossible” and “faith.”  It is quite unlikely that anyone listening to Yeshua thought about the impossibility of changing lead into gold or traveling faster than the speed of light.  It is just as unlikely that His audience thought of faith in terms of the Apostle’s Creed or the evangelical Sinner’s Prayer.  In order to understand what this text means, we must first ask ourselves what these people would have considered “impossible” and what they would have understood as “faith.”

When we pay attention to the culture, we realize that Yeshua’s statement is a rabbinic technique called kal vechomer (from light to heavy).  Yeshua is not teaching that anything you wish to do you will be able to do if you have faith.  He is comparing two kinds of “faith.”  The context of this statement is the failure of His disciples to exorcise the demon from the boy.  This failure leads to an obvious question.  “Why couldn’t we remove the demon?” Yeshua’s comment is about the mistaken conclusion that super-faith is somehow different than ordinary faith.  What He says in essence is that even the “smallest” faith is sufficient if used by God.  The comparison with impossible things reflects a rabbinic view that extraordinary works of the Spirit can be accomplished through the most ordinary believers.  The example of moving mountains is not to suggest that any kind of physically impossible act may be done through some spiritual means but rather to teach that even the most insignificant faith is more than enough for God.  Yeshua’s statement is rabbinic hyperbole aimed at teaching His disciples not to consider their failures to accomplish their own goals as grounds for questioning their relationship with God.  “Faith is not a measureable commodity but a relationship, and what achieves results through prayer is not a superior ‘quantity’ of faith but the unlimited power of God on which faith, any faith, can draw.”[2]

Topical Index:  faith, impossible, Matthew 17:20


[1] Adin Steinsaltz, Simple Words, p. 69.

[2] R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew, NICNT, pp. 662-663.

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , ,  | 4 Comments

Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Missing (Greek) Word – Part 2.

Thursday, August 09th, 2012 | Author:

Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. (Rom. 3:27-28, ESV).

Works - I know.  I’ve put two verses for consideration today, rather than the single verse, but I could not find a meaningful way to separate them in order to follow Sha’ul’s logic.  Remember, he has already stated that doing what Torah says is not just a good idea, but the whole concept of justification is wrapped up in the idea.  Just as James also wrote.

And so when he comes to his famous statement, “justified by faith,” you will notice that the word “alone” is missing.  And it is missing for a reason, which Sha’ul has already explained in verse 27.  “No boasting” he proclaims, loudly and clearly.  No boasting because it is excluded.  On what basis?  By a law of “works,” one that can apparently be used as if they earned us some position with YHWH?  No, Shau’l says.  Can’t do that.  That would allow boasting, and there is no boasting allowed here.  As he wrote to the Ephesians, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast? (Eph. 2:8-9).

To avoid boasting, however, Sha’ul has given two interpretations of Torah – one of works, the other of faith.  And it is the Torah of faith that excludes boasting.  Consider the way in which he strings the word “faith” together in the text above.  Did he have two different ideas of the word “faith” in mind?  If so, he forgot to tell his readers he had shifted gear in the space of just a few words.  Sha’ul, however, never appears to be that lazy with his words or the ideas he was attempting to convey.  “The Torah of faith” and “justified by faith.”  That’s how Sha’ul framed his presentation of justification.

But now you see while Sha’ul did not use the word “alone.”  He didn’t need to.  In his view, faith is not “alone.”  Torah- keeping is the absolutely essential part of justification, without which there is no justification before God.  In case his readers missed his point, Sha’ul backs it up with, “Do we then overthrow the law by this faith? By no means! On the contrary, we uphold the law” (Rom 3:31).

The idea of “faith alone” is unfortunately the mantra of those who deny Torah.  Luther was right to disagree with indulgences; he was wrong in the way he explained justification that does not allow boasting.  If he had stuck with Sha’ul and not tried to add the word “alone” where it did not belong, people today would have one less excuse for putting Torah aside.

Topical Index: faith, alone, Romans 3:27-28, works

Ian Hodge

Category: Today's Word  | Tags: , , , ,  | 21 Comments
« Previous Entries