faith for faith

For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake (Phil. 1:29).

The phrase, "faith for faith," is taken directly from the translation of Rm. 1:17 by the English Standard Version, expressly, "For in it [that is, the Gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith." I say, "translation," but I mean more "interpretation" for, though the literal interpretation of the passage is "faith to faith," I am thinking (though I am unsure of this) that the translators of the ESV are picking up on part of what the apostle is doing with this phrase, namely using it as an inclusio to bracket with Rm. 3:21, 22 the section of the epistle from Rm. 1:18-3:20. [An "inclusio," is a literary device used to set apart a particular section of literature, bracketing it with common phrases.]
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This is a post that I have meaning to write since the launch of the new site, but, for various reasons (few of which are good), I have waited till now to explain the reasons for the name of this site. And though I am sure there will be the usual naysayers who will think that “faithforfaith.org” was the only available address left at the time to replace the difficult-for-our-English-speaking-brethren “xpistou.com,” I hope that through this post you might see the significance behind the name.

The phrase, “faith for faith,” is taken directly from the translation of Rm. 1:17 by the English Standard Version, expressly, “For in it [that is, the Gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith.” I say, “translation,” but I mean more “interpretation” for, though the literal interpretation of the passage is “faith to faith,” I am thinking (though I am unsure of this) that the translators of the ESV are picking up on part of what the apostle is doing with this phrase, namely using it as an inclusio to bracket with Rm. 3:21, 22 the section of the epistle from Rm. 1:18-3:20. [An "inclusio," is a literary device used to set apart a particular section of literature, bracketing it with common phrases.]

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All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all, despite their connection with Jesus Christ, continue to sin and to fall short of the glory of God. This is not surprising to us, for we who are in Christ are continually commanded to forsake our flesh and to turn away from our sinful passions and to turn to our Advocate and our Righteousness for forgiveness when we do fall into various sins. We know full well that our salvation is not of ourselves and that our righteousness is not our own, yet at times when we do sin, the Adversary swoops in and attempts to place on us again a burden we were never meant to bear. It is in times such as these that we, instead of falling and immediately running back into our Father’s arms, are convinced that our shame is too great, and we sulk in our sin for days and weeks. We feel that are communion with God is severed, and we feel more like sons of the devil than like sons of God. In these times, we must be all the more vigilant to place upon our heads the Helmet of the Gospel that declares to us afresh that we are clothed with an alien Righteousness and have unbroken communion with the Father through our perfect Mediator, Jesus Christ. The Adversary wishes us to think that we are cut off from God because our failings; we should not give him the pleasure of such a victory.

The great theologians of centuries past were correct when they saw in the Scriptures two covenants–the Covenant of Works and the Covenant of Grace. Both have existed since before the fall of man in the Garden, and both continue to exist to this day. Moses, after writing of both covenants in the historical account of Adam’s Transgression of the Commandment and the Promise of a Crusher of the Serpent’s head, continues to write of both after he has received from Yahweh the Law. Concerning this, the apostle Paul writes in Romans 10, “For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them” (v. 10:5). This is, by Moses, the acknowledgement of the perpetuation of the Covenant of Works, viz. that he who obeys the Law will be declared “just” by the Law. However, since it is made quite clear by the apostle in the preceding chapters of his letter that no one has kept the Law, the apostle appeals to Moses’ appeal to the Righteousness that comes by faith. For Moses writes and the apostle adds:

But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (i.e. to bring Christ down) or “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (i.e. to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (i.e. the word of faith that we proclaim) (vv. 10:6-8). 

The apostle’s appeal to the revelation given to Moses demonstrates that there are, even now, two methods to approach Jesus Christ (i.e. God) and his righteousness. The first way is the way of works. This method is a declaration by the heart that one will pull himself up by his own boot straps and rise to meet God halfway. It is rule keeping that manifests itself in self-righteousness based upon tithing, wearing nice suits on Sundays, and not being a drain on the government as other low-lifes are. These might acknowledge with their lips that Jesus Christ is God and that he came down to Earth and dwelt among men and died and rose up from the dead, but they do not base their righteousness upon him. They instead look to themselves and their own law-keeping and think that they are right with God simply because ten percent of their gross income goes to the local church.

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Whether you knew it or not, the greatest truth in the world lies in Romans 10:4, namely “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” This statement is the very core of the Gospel, and it is a condensed version of the already condensed declaration of the Gospel by the apostle in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Though these two verses arrive to these declarations from different paths in different contexts, their conclusion is singular: To the one who believes, Christ is his righteousness. There is no greater truth than this, and to miss this truth is to miss the Gospel.

I emphasize these points that this truth is the greatest of all truths and it is the very core of the Gospel because I wonder how many in our churches who claim to have submitted to the Gospel can articulate this truth. This truth is not something that is merely nice to know about or is some meat that one learns later in one’s life as a Christian, but it is essential to one’s salvation. For in the verses preceding this declaration, the apostle writes, “I bear them [the Israelites] witness that they have a zeal for God but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness” (vv. 2, 3). In the case of the Israelites (consequently, as it is with all people) their ignorance of the righteousness of God manifested in the work of Christ imputed to those who believe in him led them to establish their own righteousness. In other words, their disregard for the gift of Christ’s righteousness led them to a salvation by deeds, which is no salvation at all.

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