Scripture: Galatians 2:16 (the Common English Bible)
However, we know that a person isn’t made righteous by the works of the Law but rather through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. We ourselves believed in Christ Jesus so that we could be made righteous by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the Law—because no one will be made righteous by the works of the Law.
Thought for the Day: Some of you who have read my blog on a regular basis will have heard me say this before, but here the Common English Bible (a recent translation) gets it right… in my opinion. Paul writes that we are made righteous “through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.” In other translations, it reads “through faith in Jesus Christ.” This is one of those places were translating a word from the original Greek can be expressed in more than one way: faith in -or- faithfulness of. So scholars ask the question: How do we understand that phrase in Paul’s larger theology and Christology. For Paul, it is all about the gracious activity of God revealed in Jesus Christ. We did not earn it or make it happen ourselves. For that reason, I believe the Common English Bible’s translation is the better one. I do so because of how I see people twist the idea of faith into a measuring stick. For many people, faith has become a work. They create guidelines, specific rules and other stipulations on what makes for real faith. The moment that occurs, we have gone down the slippery-slope that always concerned Paul. Our life of faithfulness should resemble the life of Jesus, but our faith is not a switch by which we turn on God’s desire to create a right relationship with us. In the same way that some folks want rules following or ritual practices to be the defining characteristics of faithfulness, Paul points to grace and nothing else. At the end of the day, I am thankful that I find myself in a right and healthy relationship because of what the faithfulness of Christ has shown me. For my faithfulness, at times, is a mess and not capable of creating much at all.
Prayer: It is your grace, O Lord, and nothing else! It is your self-sacrificing love made real in the faithfulness of Jesus that has set me free from fear and anxiety. Amen.
THANKS
To Everyone Who Helped
With the Garage Sale
