Does the Old Testament Teach Justification by Faith Alone?
God’s Grace and Mercy
Does the Old Testament teach justification by faith alone? We certainly don’t find the explicit teaching on the doctrine that is present in the New Testament. In one sense this isn’t surprising since the New Testament represents the climax of divine revelation and provides a clarity that isn’t found in the Old Testament witness. We can say, however, that the Old Testament features the grace of God and that a careful reading shows that human beings are rightly related to God by faith.
The Lord called Abram who lived in Ur of the Chaldeans out of idolatry, away from the worship of other gods (Josh. 24:2–3). Abram wasn’t summoned because he was particularly virtuous but on account of God’s gracious purposes, because of the Lord’s great mercy and love. The covenant established with Abraham was passed down and ratified with Isaac and Jacob, and neither of them, particularly Jacob, distinguished themselves with their moral integrity. Similarly, Yahweh freed Israel from Egyptian slavery, and the behavior of the people in the wilderness indicates that their redemption should not be ascribed to their moral virtue. And so it goes throughout the Old Testament from the time of the judges to the Assyrian (722 BC) and Babylonian (586 BC) exiles. Yahweh judges Israel for its sin, but he doesn’t abandon them as his people, and despite their recalcitrance and disobedience he promises to make a new covenant with them (e.g., Jer. 31:31–34) and to put his law on their hearts. Israel isn’t abandoned even though they have worshiped and served other gods repeatedly. Israel’s relationship with the Lord is founded on his grace and mercy, not on the goodness and righteousness of the chosen people.
Two Fundamental Texts
It should prove helpful to take some samplings from the Old Testament to see how righteousness is understood, and the two texts I want to consider first are Genesis 15:6 and Habakkuk 2:4. The selection is obviously influenced by the New Testament, and there are some who would express reservations for this reason. I suggest, however, that concentrating on these two texts is not arbitrary but what all those who believe in the inspiration and authority of the Scriptures should do. To put it another way, a canonical reading of the whole Bible is imperative for Christian interpreters, for those who subscribe to the notion that the Scriptures are the word of God. Or as Christians of previous generations said, “Scripture interprets Scripture.” We recognize that Genesis 15:6 and Habakkuk 2:4 are fundamental to reading the whole counsel of God, including the Old Testament, because the New Testament writers cite these texts to defend the notion of justification by faith.
Justification
Thomas R. Schreiner, Graham A. Cole, Oren R. Martin
In this addition to the Short Studies in Systematic Theology series, Thomas R. Schreiner examines the biblical and historical background of the doctrine of justification.
Paul discusses Abraham and Genesis 15:6 in support of justification by faith in Galatians 3:6 and Romans 4:3. In fact, Paul keeps returning to Genesis 15:6 in his discussion in Romans 4, and thus he cites it in Romans 4:9 and returns to it again in Romans 4:22. We remember, of course, that James also calls upon Genesis 15:6 in James 2:23, and he seems to use it in a way that differs quite dramatically from Paul. I will return to James at a later point in this book and will argue that there isn’t a disjunction between Paul and James. At this juncture the Pauline use of the text is at the forefront of our discussion. I will also consider Habakkuk 2:4, which Paul cites in Romans 1:17 and Galatians 3:11. Both of these verses are key texts where righteousness by faith is defended. Interestingly, the author of Hebrews also calls on the same text (Heb. 10:38) as he is about to launch into the great faith chapter in Hebrews 11.
My focus here isn’t on the exposition of these texts in Paul and Hebrews. Instead, their citation of Genesis 15:6 and Habakkuk 2:4 sends us back to these verses in their Old Testament contexts. We want to get a taste of what is going on in both Genesis and Habakkuk, for in saying that we read canonically we are not saying that we don’t read contextually. A canonical reading doesn’t mean that we ignore or extinguish the voice of the texts in their historical setting. No, we read canonically and historically—both in terms of the whole biblical witness and in terms of the original authors. These two reading strategies should not be set against one another. Together they enrich and deepen our understanding of the biblical text. The scholarly practice of having Old Testament scholars and New Testament scholars, which makes sense given the enormity of the task in interpreting these bodies of literature, has sometimes blinded us to the unity of the Bible, to the need to read both historically and canonically.
Genesis 15:6
We begin with Genesis 15:6. In Genesis 12:1–3 Yahweh promised Abram land, offspring, and universal blessing. By Genesis 15 some years had passed, and Abram didn’t enjoy any of these promises. He didn’t possess any of the land of Canaan, nor had the blessing been extended to the entire world. The latter isn’t surprising, of course, since it takes time for blessing to reach the ends of the earth. Most disturbing to Abram was that he didn’t have any offspring though the Lord had promised such. Genesis 15 opens with Yahweh promising Abram a great reward, but Abram, perhaps a bit cynically, has questions about the reward since he didn’t have any offspring and his heir would be his servant Eliezer. Yahweh pledges to Abram that a flesh-and-blood son will be his heir, one who comes from his own body. But then the text turns to warp speed because the promise of offspring is maximized to an astonishing degree. The Lord commands Abram to go outside and to count the stars by scanning the night sky, promising Abram that his offspring will be as numerous as the stars. Perhaps the story is routine and familiar to us, but it is truly quite staggering. Abram was worried about having one son, and suddenly Yahweh tells him that he will have countless children, far beyond what he could ever ask or think. We must also recognize that Abram was quite discouraged, and thus he could have easily doubted the promise given. If the first stage of the promise hadn’t even happened (having even one son that was his own), how could he possibly believe that he would have innumerable children? Still, Abram put his faith in the promises of God, and as Genesis 15:6 says, “He believed the Lord,” and as a consequence Yahweh “counted it to him as righteousness.”
True faith always changes one’s life, sometimes in remarkably dramatic ways.
Paul’s reading of this text is on target. Abram didn’t do anything here to be counted as righteous. He was completely helpless in terms of fulfilling the promise since he was an old man with a wife who was infertile. Abram was counted as righteous not because he obeyed God but because he trusted God, not because of what he achieved but because of what he believed, not because he worked for God but because he rested in God’s promise. Nor would it be fitting to place the emphasis on faith, as if Abram was remarkably noble. Abram was righteous because he looked away from himself and his capacities and put his faith in the miraculous word of promise. Abram’s faith was counted as righteousness because of the object of his faith, because his faith was in the one true God “who works for those who wait for him” (Isa. 64:4 NRSV).
An objection could be raised about the emphasis on Genesis 15:6. Didn’t Abram obey the Lord and leave his homeland (Gen. 12:1–4) before the events described in Genesis 15? Isn’t there a sense, then, in which Abram’s obedience preceded his faith? Certainly Abram obeyed the Lord in Genesis 12 by trekking to the land of promise. A canonical reading, however, provides us with an illuminating commentary on what occurred. The author of Hebrews remarks, “By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance” (Heb. 11:8). Abram’s obedience flowed from and had its origin in his faith. We could say that faith was the root and obedience was the fruit. Does the author of Hebrews distort Genesis 12? Does he impose an alien interpretation on the narrative? Absolutely not. His construal of the account makes excellent sense. What motivated Abram to leave his homeland and family to reside in a land that he had never seen? He would not have left his homeland for a place he had never seen, and perhaps had never heard of, if he didn’t rely on the promise of God, believing that he would receive what was pledged. We see here as well a close bond and tie between faith and obedience, and such a connection is forged often in the scriptural witness. Justification is by faith, even by faith alone, but that faith is never alone. True faith always changes one’s life, sometimes in remarkably dramatic ways.
Habakkuk 2:4
The other text we want to think about is Habakkuk 2:4. A brief summary of Habakkuk will help us integrate the text into its contextual frame. The book opens with Habakkuk lamenting the evil and lawlessness of the nation of Judah, as he wonders how God can tolerate such wickedness. The Lord responds with the promise that he will judge his people and the means of judgment will be the terrifying military power of Babylon. But this plunges Habakkuk into another dilemma because he wonders how the Lord can use a nation that is even more wicked than Judah as the agent of judgment. The Lord doesn’t answer every question, but he assures Habakkuk that Babylon will be judged as well, that its wickedness will not be forgotten or ignored, that its day of reckoning is also coming. In the midst of these declarations of judgment, we read, “The righteous shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4).
Before I comment further on this famous verse, we should consider the role that chapter 3 plays in Habakkuk. Here we have a psalm, which is also described as Habakkuk’s prayer. We don’t have space to consider the text in detail, but the imagery recalls Israel’s exodus from Egypt and its triumph over enemies in days of old. The Lord’s glory, power, and deliverance for his people are recounted, and the purpose is to ask God, in a day of judgment and wrath, to show mercy and renew his people again (Hab. 3:2). Just as the Lord bestowed mercy on the people in the past, Habakkuk pleads for him to do it again. The salvation and deliverance that Israel once enjoyed will be given to the nation again, but first judgment will come and devastate the people of God. Nevertheless, that’s not the last word. What is true of the crops and herds will be true of Israel. The beautiful blossoms of the fig tree won’t bud and flower; grapes and wine won’t be harvested; food and olives will be scarce; and the flocks and herds will be insufficient. All of this paints the immediate future of Israel since they did not bear fruit but gave themselves over to evil. Still, Habakkuk trusts that the Lord will show mercy in the end and that the nation will be delivered and saved, triumphing over its foes (Hab. 3:18–19).
The prayer of Habakkuk assists us in interpreting Habakkuk 2:4. Those who are righteous believe that the Lord will ultimately save his people. Even though judgment is coming on the nation, even though there is no human reason to believe in a future for Israel since Israel has violated the law (Hab. 1:4), the righteous believe and trust that the Lord will show mercy and deliver his people as he did at the exodus, as he did in previous battles in Israel’s history. Many scholars argue that the Hebrew word for faith (emunah) here should be translated as “faithfulness” rather than “faith,” raising questions about whether Paul and the author of Hebrews appropriated this text in a way that fits the original context. I have already noted that there is an organic relationship between faith and obedience, between trusting God and living a life pleasing to him. Thus, we should not drive a hard wedge between faith and obedience. At the same time, the story of Habakkuk supports the reading of Paul and the author of Hebrews. Israel would not be rescued because of its goodness; it had failed miserably. But those who are righteous, those who belong to God, believe that the Lord will show mercy as he has in the past. He will save Israel, not because it is good but because he is so gracious.
This article is adapted from Justification: An Introduction by Thomas R. Schreiner.
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