I've been taking some classes and having to write discussion forum posts. Since I haven't really had the opportunity to post as much lately I've decided to adjust my forum posts and post them here for discussion, as well.
Recently I had to explore Paul's treatment of justification by faith in Romans 3:21 - 4:25. Below you'll find my forum post.
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Paul starts with the thesis that the righteousness of God does not now, nor has it ever, come from obedience to the law, and this can be found throughout the Torah and the Prophetic writings. Moo says that “Christ’s coming announces a decisive shift in salvation history,”[1] but it would seem that Paul’s wording would indicate that this has always been the case, even if some misunderstood why they were being graced with their salvation. The argument Paul is making is that faith has always been what moves the needle for God. Paul goes on to give the example of Abraham being declared righteous due to his allegiance to God. Before he was given the sign of the outward circumcision (Gen 17:10), he had already circumcised his heart and God had already decided to give him the grace of covenanting with him (Gen 15). Paul provides further evidence of righteousness being declared upon the unrighteous when he quotes from Psalms 32:1-2, showing that God is able to forgive and cover sins, and this is not based on a sacrificial covering.
So, with faith being the means of salvation, even from the beginning of God’s covenant with Israel,[2] it is imperative that we have a proper, contextual understanding of faith in order to understand how Paul gets to this conclusion. Faith is something that has had a bit of a change in definition since Paul would have written Romans. Matthew W. Bates says of the word faith, “the Greek word pistis, generally rendered “faith” or “belief”, as it pertains to Christian salvation, quite simply has little correlation with “faith” and “belief” as these words are generally understood and used in contemporary Christian culture, and much to do with allegiance.”[3]
Allegiance, like belief, is an inward action and not an outward action; however, unlike the current understanding of belief, allegiance is an inward action which produces outward actions. If we allow ourselves to understand faith to mean something closer to allegiance then we’re not confused when we read James say, “faith without works is dead” (Jas 2:20). In this way, we can erase the tension that some see between Paul and James. James is speaking of this same allegiance, and an allegiance that doesn’t show itself in action is no allegiance at all. Therefore, allegiance, without works, is dead.
[1] Douglas J. Moo. 2000. The NIV Commentary: Romans. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 126.
[2] N.T. Wright. 2009. Justification: God’s Plan & Paul’s Vision. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 202.
[3] Matthew W. Bates. 2017. Salvation by Allegiance Alone: Rethinking Faith, Works, and the Gospel of Jesus the King. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 15
