Response to Romans: An Introduction

 

Response to Romans is a work in progress.  I chose to challenge Romans because it is generally considered Paul's best and fullest argument for the gospel vis a vis observance of God's commandments, i.e., the Law.  

 

As for myself, I am not so impressed by Paul, neither his arguments nor his self-proclaimed credentials.  Among other defects, his misuse of quotations from Scripture weaken the force of his arguments.  Here are a few examples not discussed later:

(1)  Paul takes Hosea's prophetic words concerning the northern kingdom of Israel and applies them to Gentiles (Romans 10:24-26; cf. Hosea 2:23, 1:10)

(2)  Paul applies a quotation from Psalm 69 to Israel in general, even though the original reference is to David's personal enemies (Romans 11:9-10; cf. Psalm 69:23-24 MT).

(3)  Paul conflates two verses from Isaiah (Romans 9:33; cf. Isaiah 8:14, 28:16), neither of which addresses the issue of faith versus works which Paul has in mind (cf. Romans 9:30-32).

(4)  Paul completely mangles a quotation from Deuteronomy (Romans 11:8; cf. Deut. 29:3 MT with a phrase inserted from Isaiah 29:10), to such an extent that its original function is unrecognizable.  Moses is introducing a renewal of the covenant with a new generation of Israel , a generation which has remained faithful to God (cf. Deut. 4:4), but which has not yet been given "a heart to understand, eyes to see and ears to hear."

 

Paul writes of his background, "I am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin." (Romans 11:1)  Elsewhere he expands on these credentials: "[I was] circumcised on the eighth day, of the race of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrew [parents]; as to the Law, a Pharisee; ... as to righteousness in the Law, faultless" (Philippians 3:5); "[I had] progressed in Judaism beyond many contemporaries in my race, [and was] extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:14).  The author of Acts has Paul claim that he received his training "at the feet of Gamaliel...according to the exactness of the Law of our fathers." (Acts 22:3)

 

For all his braggadocio, Paul betrays a stunning lack of appreciation for the heritage of Israel.  I do not mean that he is incapable of lauding the place of Israel in sacred history (cf. Romans 9:4-5).  Rather he appears unacquainted with his own literary and oral traditions, in which God's kindness (chesed) toward Israel overcomes all the failings of the human partner in the covenant, in which prayer and repentance bring Israel into God's favor and forgiveness, in which the Sabbath is celebrated as a delight and Zion is "perfect in beauty" (Psalm 50:2), and in which Israel knows God so intimately that the prophet Zephaniah can say to his people: "The Lord your God is within you, He is mighty to save, He will delight in you with joy, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." (Zeph. 3:17)  Who needs more than this?

 

Righteousness By Faith

 

Romans 1:17

For a righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel by faith to faith [ek pisteos eis pistin], as it is written: "But the righteous will live by faith [ek pisteos]." (cf. Habakkuk 2:4)

 

Here Paul introduces one of the main themes of his letter to the church at Rome, namely righteousness by faith alone.  Later, in chapter 3, he will further define this righteousness as obtained:

1. without observing the Law (3:21, 28);

2. only through belief in Jesus Christ (3:22).

This way of righteousness, he claims, was taught (witnessed) by both the Law and the Prophets (3:21).

 

Presumably the verse from the prophet Habakkuk is one of the teachings Paul has in mind.  Paul uses this incomplete quotation twice in his letters, here and also in Galatians. The latter passage reads:

 

Galatians 3:11-12

That by [the] Law no man is justified before God is clear, because "the righteous will live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:4)  And the Law is not of faith, but "the man who does them (God's decrees and laws) will live by them." (Leviticus 18:5)

 

What a strange conclusion!  The natural way to juxtapose the similar statements in Leviticus and Habakkuk would be to say that the Law is of faith, that doing God's decrees and laws is an expression of the "faith" of a righteous man.  Paul makes the same dubious distinction in Romans chapter 10, where Leviticus 18:5 is set against a twisted paraphrase of Deuteronomy 30:12ff.

Habakkuk 2:4 does not say, "the righteous will live by faith," but "the righteous will live by his faith."[i]   While this may seem like a trivial point, it is related to another problem which is not so trivial: "faith" is probably not the best translation of the Hebrew term (be'emunato, a variation of emunah) used in Habakkuk 2:4.  The prophet Habakkuk is concerned with a person's moral character, not his belief system.  In other texts the same word is rendered as faithfulness, fidelity, integrity, trustworthiness, truth, steadfastness, etc.  I have provided numerous examples from an evangelical Christian translation in the Appendix.  Particularly instructive is a passage from Psalm 119:

I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on your rules.

I hold fast to your decrees.... I run in the path of your commandments....

(Psalm 119:30-32)

The way of truth (emunah) is equivalent to observing the rules, decrees, and commandments of the Law.  Likewise, in the verse from Habakkuk we may presume that both the righteous and the faithful are defined by their commitment (fidelity) to the covenant, the Law.

 

In the Talmud, when the rabbis sought one principle that would represent the entire set of commandments--the traditional number is 613--their answer was this same verse. [ii]  In no way did they intend to invalidate the commandments.  They sought a principle that would represent, not replace, the commandments.  What is the Torah's teaching all about?  Integrity in daily life, faithfulness to a covenant, trustworthiness in service to God. 

 

Appendix: Faith or Faithfulness?

To limit the number of examples I have chosen three of the closest forms of the word: be'emunato (in his faithfulness), be'emunah (in faithfulness), and be'emunatam (in their faithfulness).  All quotations are taken from the New International Version (NIV).

 

A.  be'emunato

Habakkuk 2:4

See, he is puffed up; his desires are not upright--but the righteous will live by his faith (Or faithfulness). (NIV)

Psalm 96:13b

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

 

B.  be'emunah

Isaiah 59:4

No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case with integrity.

Hosea 2:22 [2:20] 

I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD.

Psalm 33:4

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.

2 Kings 22:7

But they need not account for the money entrusted to them, because they are acting faithfully.

1 Chronicles 9:26; cf. 9:31

But the four principal gatekeepers, who were Levites, were entrusted with the responsibility for the rooms and treasuries in the house of God.

2 Chronicles 19:9

He gave them these orders: "You must serve faithfully and wholeheartedly in the fear of the LORD."

2 Chronicles 31:12a; cf. 31:15

Then they faithfully brought in the contributions, tithes and dedicated gifts….

2 Chronicles 34:12a (be'emunah)

The men did the work faithfully….

 

C. be'emunatam

I Chronicles 9:22b (be'emunatam)

…the gatekeepers had been assigned to their positions of trust by David and Samuel the seer.

2 Chronicles 31:18b

…for they were faithful in consecrating themselves.

 

Notes