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Bible Study Title: [what is justification] Dikaiosyne Theou (The Righteousness of God) [...] In the interpretation of the theme righteousness of God, the problem begins when one considers the meaning of words. Words neither exist by themselves without a context, nor are texts written as free-floating packages of meaning without a historical basis or a place in their cultural milieu. The language Paul used was Greek, but as a Jew he participated in a culture that was Hebrew as well as Greco-Roman. Since Paul quotes passages of the OT throughout his letters, one must understand Paul as writing within the tradition of the Hebrew Bible. By reason of Paul’s frequent use of the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Bible, the same concepts in the LXX should be given due consideration. In English translation the words righteousness or justification are used to translate the Greek dikaiosyne. These words may or may not connote the same meaning as the Greek term. [...] The common Hebrew word for righteousness is sedeq or its feminine form sedaqa which occurs in the OT 117 and 115 times respectively. The Hebrew meaning of justice means more than the classical Greek idea of giving to every one their due. Usually the word suggests Yahweh’s saving acts as evidence of God’s faithfulness to the covenant [friendship/alliance]. For this meaning of righteousness of God, dikaiosyne is not as flexible as the Hebrew word. In the Tannaitic literature of rabbinic Judaism there was a theological and semantic shift restricting sedeq and sedaqa to proper behavior, with sedaqa being used primarily for almsgiving (Przybylski, 75). God’s righteousness was increasingly understood as God’s willingness to protect and provide for the poor. This association was already present within the Hebrew Bible; for example: “They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever” (Ps 112:9). [...] The richness of the Hebrew usage is generally well reproduced in the LXX (Quell). Of the relatively few instances in which sedeq, sedaqa and saddîq are not translated by dikai– words, eleemosyne and eleos (“alms,” “mercy”) are employed for sedaqa (cf. LXX Is 1:27; Ziesler, 59–60). [...] In the Western Roman Empire, the Old Latin versions of the NT displaced the Greek NT, and Paul was consequently understood via the Latin translation. The Old Latin and later Latin Vulgate rendered dikaiosyne by iustitia (“justice”). The legal connotation of this term in Roman Law was superimposed upon the word dikaiosyne which Paul had employed. The Roman legal understanding of justice was in a distributive sense: to give to each their due, the bestowal of rewards and punishments according to merit. The OT sense of righteousness as grounded in covenantal relationship was weakened, and its place was taken by the courtroom image of the sinner before God’s tribunal. Although righteousness in the OT had a legal aspect, it was that of a litigant being adjudged righteous by God before their enemies. The biblical image of the covenant between God and humanity faded into the background, while the Latin context called to mind stark legal realities of the court. The shift in language from Hebrew to Greek to Latin resulted in an alteration in theological content as the words that were employed either overlaid the earlier meaning or signified something new in the receptor language. [...] Modern English partakes of a double portion of Indo-European languages: a Germanic base from Anglo-Saxon as well as Latinate words from the Norman Conquest. Because of this characteristic of English, one can say either “to be righteous” (from the Anglo-Saxon verb rightwisen meaning “to make right, to rightwise”), or “to be justified” (a verbal form derived from ius, iuris and iustitia meaning “to be declared just”). The semantic ranges of the two are not identical. [...] The gods of the Greco-Roman pantheon were thought to be subject to forces beyond their control. This understanding later degenerated into a sort of inexorable fate to which even the gods were subject . The Hellenistic theory of universal law meant that both the gods and humanity had to comply with these overarching norms in order to be righteous. Giving others their due was the basis of righteousness; one acted in accordance with a norm (Plato). In Greek thought, righteousness was a virtue. According to Aristotle, righteousness was the correct functioning of all the virtues. In Roman Civil Law, justice (iustitia) was done when one acted toward another in accordance with one’s respective status established by tradition and the Roman legal corpus. [...] While the OT uses righteousness terminology in numerous contexts involving all areas of life, the touchstone of righteousness is Israel’s covenantal relationship with Yahweh. It is based on the standard of God’s covenant faithfulness. Righteousness is not primarily an ethical quality; rather it characterizes the character or action of God who deals rightly within a covenant relationship and who established how others are to act within that relationship. “Shall not the judge of all the earth do what is right?” (Gen 18:25). The covenant faithfulness of God, the righteousness of God, is shown by Yahweh’s saving acts. This salvation is variously experienced as Israel’s victory over enemies, or personal vindication of one’s innocence before God in the presence of one’s enemies ... In the classical prophets of the eighth century, there is a greater emphasis on the juridical and ethical views of sedeq Amos, on behalf of the poor, associates righteousness with doing justice (Amos 5:7, 24; 6:12). Corrupt judges who do not judge rightly do not reflect the righteousness of the covenant relationship. Their oppression of the poor is the antithesis of righteousness. Hosea, emphasizing divine love, links righteousness with loving-kindness and mercy as well as justice (Hos 2:19; 10:12). [...] The Hellenistic idea of righteousness as a virtue, a meeting of the norm, was replaced with the idea of meeting God’s claim in this covenant relationship (Schrenk). Thus the semantic range for dikaios in LXX Greek was enlarged due to the influence of the Hebrew background. In fourteen instances the Hebrew word sedaqa which could have been translated by dikaiosyne, was rendered by eleemosyne (meaning “pity,” “mercy”; e.g., Is 1:27; 59:16; Ps 34 [35]: 24). This added emotional element also limited the semantic value of dikaiosyne in later Judaism to almsgiving. [...] In the apocryphal works there is an increasing interest in good works and the merits of the righteous. Tobit’s farewell advice to his son Tobias portrays charity (eleemosyne) as bringing safety rather than fulfilling the prayers of the poor: “For charity delivers from death and keeps you from entering the darkness” (Tob 4:10). [...] In the documents from Qumran we find references to God’s righteousness providing salvation and forgiveness. “And when I stumble, the mercies of God are always my salvation. When I stagger because of the evil of my flesh, my justification is in the righteousness of God which exists forever” (1QS 11:12). In the Thanksgiving Psalm, the righteousness of God shows God’s faithfulness to the community: “You forgive the unjust and purify people from guilt by your righteousness” (sedaqa 1QH 4:37). [...] The noun “righteousness” (dikaiosyne), its related adjective “righteous” (dikaios), and the verb “to justify,” “to pronounce/treat as righteous” or “put right” (dikaioo) are found in the Pauline writings over 100 times. The sheer volume of occurrences in their various usages and meanings indicates the central place they had in the theology of the apostle. [...] A distinctive usage is found where Paul states that righteousness in believers is the result of a word, or declaration, of God. In Romans 4, where Paul interprets Abraham’s relationship with God as a scriptural foundation for his understanding of believers’ “justification by faith” (explained in Rom 1–3), righteousness is said to be “reckoned to” (RSV) or “credited to” (NIV) Abraham by God on the basis of Abraham’s believing/trusting in God (Rom 4:3, 5, 6, 9, 11, 22), rather than on the basis of his works. In Galatians 3:6 Abraham’s faith in God is “reckoned to him as righteousness.” Here, Abraham’s trusting submission to God is evaluated as “righteousness.” [...] Closely related are those usages where righteousness is stated to be a gift of God reigning in the believer (Rom 5:17, 21). Here it is seen as a new reality which dominates or directs the life in Christ (cf. Rom 8:10). According to Galatians 2:21, this righteousness results from God’s grace, for if it were possible to achieve it via obedience to the Law, Christ’s death would have been in vain. In Galatians 3:21 righteousness (in us, or as our new situation “in Christ”) is equated with life, which the Law is powerless to produce. [...] Only the [faith] leads to life, to salvation. Philippians 3:9 speaks of the righteousness that results from faith in Jesus, rather than “my own righteousness” based on Law. This righteousness by faith is of course the righteousness from God, “which depends on faith.” This conviction is affirmed by Paul in contrast to his own former experience where, on the basis of Law-based righteousness, he judged himself as “blameless” (Phil 3:6). Such moral perfectionism as that which Paul had by pedigree and personal endeavor does not, however, bring one into right relationship with God. According to Titus 3:5 believers are saved, not because of deeds done in righteousness (here righteousness means “legal obedience”), but by God’s merciful, atoning work in Christ. [...] What is clearly in view here is the expected result of life lived in relationship with Christ, right living that is in keeping with God’s purposes. Righteousness (together with peace and joy) is that which marks the believer’s relationship with others (rather than judging or offending others) and is the result of God’s reign. This view of righteousness is expanded in a number of Pauline passages. In 2 Corinthians 6:7, 14 it is given as a mark of the Christian life (acting rightly, justly, morally), in contrast with evil, falsehood, inequality (see Ethics). Righteousness is that quality of life which bears fruit in generous giving (2 Cor 9:10) or in purity and blamelessness (Phil 1:11). In Ephesians 4:24 righteousness is paired with holiness as resembling God, in contrast to corrupt, deceitful living. It is one of the marks of those who are “children of light” in distinction from those who perform “unfruitful works of darkness” (Eph 5:9). In the Pastorals there are the exhortations to “aim at righteousness” (1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim 2:22) and to receive “training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3:16); the context is clearly that of moral, ethical living. Finally, on the basis of faithful service, “the crown of righteousness” is granted at the eschatological judgment by God, “the righteous judge” (2 Tim 4:8). [...] Paul’s conviction (Rom 5:19) that Christ’s obedience to God (in contrast to Adam’s disobedience) will result in “many being made righteous” must be understood within the context of God’s Law, which reveals the righteous purposes of God. In terms of God’s will for humanity, the goal of God’s work in Christ is to transform humans into those who are righteous, whose lives are aligned with God’s purposes, and who, therefore, are in conformity with the image of Christ (2 Cor 3:18). [...] The verbal form of the noun righteousness, (dikaioo “to justify” RSV, NIV, NEB; “to put right” TEV) is used almost always to describe that divine action which affects the sinner in such a way that the relation with God is altered or transformed (either ontologically, as a change in nature; or positionally, resulting from a judicial act; or relationally, as one who was alienated and is now reconciled [see 3 below]). Everywhere this action of God, emerging from his nature as the righteous one, is seen as an act of grace and takes place in the context of the exercise of faith, or trust or believing in Jesus. [...] A. E. McGrath’s study of the history of the doctrine of justification is instructive for discerning some of the reasons why the West has understood Paul’s theology of God’s saving action in Christ largely in terms of justification rather than relying on the varied richness of the biblical understanding of salvation in Christ. Several complex reasons for this include the interest in Paul evidenced by the rise in Pauline scholarship during the theological renaissance of the twelfth century, especially the use of Pauline commentaries as vehicles of theological speculation. Coupled with this, the Western church had a high regard for classical jurisprudence, which made possible the semantic relationship between iustitia (justice) and iustificatio (justification), and allowed theologians of High Scholasticism to find in the cognate concept of justification a means of rationalizing the divine dispensation toward humankind in terms of justice. Luther interpreted the scholastics as understanding the righteousness of God as that by which God punishes sinners (WA 54.185.18–20). Therefore, Luther could not see how the gospel revealing the righteousness of God could be “good news.” Luther’s “discovery” of the free imparting of the righteousness of God to believers is instructive in explaining why the Reformation came to be perceived as inextricably linked with the doctrine of justification. [...] In the East Paul’s concept of the righteousness of God and the justification of the sinner was not a prominent means for understanding God’s saving acts in Jesus Christ. J. Reumann notes that the apostolic fathers maintain the biblical view of righteousness as what God does, but they show a greater interest in the human response. Rather than giving importance to the righteousness of God and justification, Eastern Christianity emphasized the divine economy and the condescension of the Son, which led to human participation in the divine nature understood as deification (rather than justification). McGrath sees the theological differences between East and West as due to their different understandings of the work of the Holy Spirit: the West tended to subordinate the work of the Holy Spirit to the concept of grace interposed between God and humanity; the Eastern church holds to the immediacy of the divine and one’s direct encounter with the Holy Spirit expressed as deification. With this emphasis it is natural that the Eastern Church did not evidence the Western commitment to justification as the fundamental soteriological metaphor. [...] In the Latin fathers and Origen, the righteousness of God is understood as distributive justice: God gives to all their due, rewarding the good and punishing the wicked. The Reformers turned to Augustine for his views on the righteousness of God. ... Augustine thought the righteousness of God was not the righteousness characterizing God’s nature, but rather that by which God justifies sinners. His idea of faith involved an intellectual aspect: to believe is to affirm in thought. Augustine coupled faith with love (Augustine Serm. 90.6; 93.5; Ep. 183.1.3). The love of God is the theme dominating his view of justification, whereas the Reformers would coin the slogan sola fide (“by faith alone”) to characterize justification and their understanding of the righteousness of God. In his work On the Trinity, Augustine makes the statement that true justifying faith is accompanied by love (De Trin. 15.18.32). [...] Generally the Reformers and their theological heirs have interpreted the righteousness of God as a so-called objective genitive (see 1 above) in all instances in Paul’s writings, with the possible exceptions of Romans 3:5, 25, 26. The righteousness of God was understood from the viewpoint of the individual, as that righteousness which God gives to people, and on the basis of which the sinner is approved by God. The theocentric OT meaning of the righteousness of God in the sphere of covenant relationship was displaced by an anthropocentric focus. The reformers and their successors often interpreted the righteousness of God from the human aspect because they had replaced the biblical basis of covenant relationship with the Hellenistic theory of universal law which both God and humanity had to fulfill in order to be regarded as righteous. The emphasis on the individual under universal law rather than in covenant relationship contributed to the later “legal fiction” theory whereby those who believe in Jesus are justified, deemed righteous, even though they are not actually righteous. In this view faith in Jesus takes the place of actual righteousness. [...] For Luther works are the result of the righteousness given by God. Sanctification is a process that will not be consummated in this life. Luther clearly separated justification from regeneration and sanctification. This perspective gave rise to the understanding of justification as a new status before God: “Thus in ourselves we are sinners, and yet through faith we are righteous by God’s imputation. For we believe Him who promises to free us, and in the meantime we strive that sin may not rule over us but that we may withstand it until He takes it from us” [...] Calvin in his Commentary on Romans presents his understanding of the righteousness of God in Romans 1:17 as that which is approved before God’s tribunal. Calvin associated sanctification with justification and described sanctification in terms of being in Christ. According to Calvin, God communicates his righteousness to us. In a nearly mystical sense, through faith Jesus communicates himself to those who believe. Works have no place in the justification of sinners. Calvin refutes the notion of a fiction involved in the justification of sinners. God provides all that is necessary. He cautions not to understand righteousness as a quality; we are righteous only in so far as Christ reconciles the Father to us. Calvin, more so than Luther, emphasizes the relational aspect of the righteousness of God. Luther’s view of the righteousness of God seems to contain the aspect of acquittal. Calvin emphasizes the marvelous nature of the communication, or imparting, of God’s righteousness to us. [...] Just as the Western Church experienced the scholasticism of the twelfth century, Protestant Orthodoxy shifted from Calvin’s christological emphasis to other matters, such as predestination, federal theology and the perseverance of the saints. Lutheranism shifted its emphasis from justification of sinners and the righteousness of God to deal with these developments within the Reformed camp. The Pietist movement within Lutheranism was a reaction against a strictly forensic understanding of righteousness. The pastoral aspects of Pietism later influenced Lutheranism to emphasize practical aspects of righteousness, reflecting an interest in promoting personal piety. John Wesley argued for the Pietist position in his emphasis on personal righteousness subsequent to justification. In his sermon on “The Lord Our Righteousness” he adheres to imputation but understands the Holy Spirit to have a sanctifying aspect upon the believer [imputed and imparted]. The believer’s basis of justification is the righteousness of Christ “implanted in everyone in whom God has imputed it.” He maintains there is no true faith —justifying faith —which does not have the righteousness of Christ for its object. Wesley sees faith in Jesus’ death, and hence the imputation of his righteousness, as the cause, end and middle term of salvation. [...] Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: A Pole, Liberator, TooConservative (#0)
The above was not a later realization by Wesley. It was also embraced in the theology of Luther and Calvin. The Westminster Confession shows this: Chapter XIII Of Sanctification I. They, who are once effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart, and a new spirit created in them, are further sanctified, really and personally, through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection,[1] by His Word and Spirit dwelling in them:[2] the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed,[3] and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified;[4] and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces,[5] to the practice of true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.[6] II. This sanctification is throughout, in the whole man;[7] yet imperfect in this life, there abiding still some remnants of corruption in every part;[8] whence arises a continual and irreconcilable war, the flesh lusting against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh.[9] III. In which war, although the remaining corruption, for a time, may much prevail;[10] yet, through the continual supply of strength from the sanctifying Spirit of Christ, the regenerate part does overcome;[11] and so, the saints grow in grace,[12] perfecting holiness in the fear of God.[13] Chapter XIV Of Saving Faith I. The grace of faith, whereby the elect are enabled to believe to the saving of their souls,[1] is the work of the Spirit of Christ in their hearts,[2] and is ordinarily wrought by the ministry of the Word,[3] by which also, and by the administration of the sacraments, and prayer, it is increased and strengthened.[4] II. By this faith, a Christian believes to be true whatsoever is revealed in the Word, for the authority of God Himself speaking therein;[5] and acts differently upon that which each particular passage thereof contains; yielding obedience to the commands,[6] trembling at the threatenings,[7] and embracing the promises of God for this life, and that which is to come.[8] But the principal acts of saving faith are accepting, receiving, and resting upon Christ alone for justification, sanctification, and eternal life, by virtue of the covenant of grace.[9] III. This faith is different in degrees, weak or strong;[10] may often and many ways assailed, and weakened, but gets the victory:[11] growing up in many to the attainment of a full assurance, through Christ,[12] who is both the author and finisher of our faith.[13] There are textual proofs in footnotes at the links Then of course Luther's introduction to Romans. Faith is a living, bold trust in God’s grace, so certain of God’s favor that it would risk death a thousand times trusting in it. Such confidence and knowledge of God’s grace makes you happy, joyful and bold in your relationship to God and all creatures. The Holy Spirit makes this happen through faith. Because of it, you freely, willingly and joyfully do good to everyone, serve everyone, suffer all kinds of things, love and praise the God who has shown you such grace. Thus, it is just as impossible to separate faith and works as it is to separate heat and light from fire! Therefore, watch out for your own false ideas and guard against good-for-nothing gossips, who think they’re smart enough to define faith and works, but really are the greatest of fools. Ask God to work faith in you, or you will remain forever without faith, no matter what you wish, say or can do.
Brutha, I'd read your breakdown a bit earlier...Thanks for doing so. I've bookmarked it. There was so much to consider, reminders and reinforcement and dynamics that maybe we (I) don't even realize of how our faith has been playing out. Also worth noting.
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