Rescuing Paul (2)

Then he believed in the Lord; and He [a]credited it to him as righteousness.  Genesis 15:6  NASB Credited – You see that little footnote before the word “credited’?  In the margin of the NASB you’ll find “or imputed.” Now that’s a problem.  Why?  Because the word “imputed,” like the word “credited,” strongly suggests some sort of divine accounting,…

Rescuing Paul (1)

Then he believed in the Lord; and He [a]credited it to him as righteousness.  Genesis 15:6  NASB Believed – As you know, Paul cites this verse from Genesis to justify his claim that Abraham was not considered righteous due to his own efforts but rather by the free act of God.  He uses this citation in Romans…

Read Carefully

Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins. Ecclesiastes 7:20 Righteous – What do you think about this verse?  Does it say that everyone is unrighteous?  Does it claim that everyone is fallen?  Go back and take a careful look.  Doesn’t it suggest that there is no righteous…

Merit Badge

And because he put his trust in YHWH, He reckoned it to his merit. Genesis 15:6 (JPS translation) To – Yesterday we looked at the passage in Deuteronomy that suggests our meritorious deeds matter.  We discovered that tsedaqah (righteousness) is a very old expression of God’s accounting.  But one further point must be made.  In…

Meritorious Behavior

It will be therefore to our merit before YHWH Eloheinu to observe faithfully this whole instruction, as He has commanded us. Deuteronomy 6:24 (JPS translation with name corrections) Merit – After the Reformation, verses like this one are difficult to integrate.  Perhaps that’s one of the reasons that Christianity created the chasm between the “old”…