Nida: the one work of faith

Friday, May 14, 2010
    Feast of Matthias the Apostle
Meditation:
    “See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright—but the righteous will live by his faith...”
    —Habakkuk 2:4 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In Romans 1:17, we are accustomed to find the words, “The just shall live by faith.” This declaration has been a clarion call to faith and has been the text for many a sermon on the necessity of continued faith throughout life. It is true that this verse may have this meaning, but it is more probable that it means, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.” This is in keeping with the whole emphasis of Paul throughout Romans, which has as its theme “justification by faith” (Romans 5:1). Paul does not present two themes in Romans: the one, “living by faith,” and the other, “justification by faith.” His purpose was to emphasize one great primary truth of Christian doctrine: the righteousness which comes by faith in God. It is a kind of imputed righteousness, which has its origin in the grace of God and its response in the faith of man. Not only is this translation more in keeping with the Pauline context, but it is more faithful to the Hebrew of Habakkuk 2:4, of which it is a quotation.
    ... Eugene A. Nida (b. 1914), God’s Word in Man’s Language, Harper, 1952, p. 73 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have shown the world how to live! CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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