This passage contrasts the past/present with the New (Messianic) Age that has been inaugurated by the Resurrection of Jesus the Messiah, "But now..."
In this New Age, the Righteousness of God - his saving justice, his covental faithfulness - is demonstrated not by our faith but by the faithfulness of the Messiah who was "obedient unto death on a cross" (Phil 2) thus providing a sacrifice of atonement.
This is why speaking of justification by faith, while true, can be misleading. We are justified by the grace of God and by the faithfulness of the Messiah. We receive this gift by faith. The sign that we have received this justification is faith it is not the cause of the justification.
So it is better to say, justified by grace through faith, or justified witnessed to by faith.
This avoids the unnecessary debate over whether "faith" is a meritorius work. Of course it is not; it is nothing more, nothing less, than a response to God's gracious gift.
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Hi Stephen, is not faith also a gift from God, and "works" the proof of having received the gift? For the "works" are done in the gift of faith, no?
ReplyDeleteI agree Stephen, it is all about, and because of the 'faithfulness of Christ (Messiah)' that we can have relationship with God ... however our response still has the power to dictate our destiny no?? If we choose to disregard Jesus then we sign our eternal death warrant dont we??? Regards Karen
ReplyDeletePaul's major framework is eschatology - in Adam v in Christ (old/new; death/life; works/faith). It is possible to speak of works (good deeds) in Christ, but to avoid confusion I prefer to use Paul's term fruit (7:4, Gal 5:22) to characterise the Christian life. Then it is clear both the source and enabling of the fruit/work. Certainly, one needs to chose between death and life, ie, for Christ, but I would not normally characterise that as dictating our destiny. Our destiny is not something we control. It is God who ensures that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus (8:1-4). Will we accept the detiny God has offered us or will we try (and fail) to create our own destiny?
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