Notes of Faith September 12, 2022
Knowing and Becoming One with God through Jesus Christ
How does “faith” in the Old Testament compare with “faith” in the New Testament? I am afraid the differences have been exaggerated and blown out of proportion. There is a popular myth that has gone around for a long time to this effect:
Old Testament = law and works New Testament = grace and faith
This overly simplistic formulation has perpetuated the bad habit of treating the Old Testament as the “bad news” compared to the “good news” of the New Testament. But the apostle Paul had no such attitude toward the Old Testament. When he reminded Timothy that all Scripture is inspired and useful (now and forevermore), he was talking about the Old Testament (2 Timothy 3:16). Keep in mind, too, that Jesus was clear that He did not want to be seen as undermining the Old Testament; rather, He came to fulfill it, to bring it to its climax, to see it valued and maximized to the fullest (Matthew 5:17). In the book of Hebrews, in the famous chapter on “faith,” the author tries to inspire Christians by appealing to the “faith” of the great patriarchs, matriarchs, and leaders from the Old Testament: Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, David, Samuel:
They were commended for their faith. — Hebrews 11:39
Their faith should be a model for our faith.
To have faith is to live by faith
Faith Deepened in Jesus
Faith is not new with Jesus and the New Testament. Israel was called to have faith in YHWH. This is obvious from even a cursory reading of the Old Testament. But then what do we make of Paul talking to the Galatians about the coming of “faith”?
But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian [which is the law]. — Galatians 3:25 NET; see also Galatians 3:23
In the context of Galatians 3:1–4:7, Paul was clearly talking about the coming of Jesus. So why use the word “faith” (pistis) here? Paul sometimes used “faith” (pistis) as a shorthand way of talking about a personal, covenantal relationship with God. The fact of the relationship was not new, but the nature of the relationship had changed with the coming of Jesus. If, formerly, the law had been the primary means by which Israel had faith in God and trusted Him, something new came in the first century — the Messiah. Before, Torah was the means by which Israel trusted and obeyed God, now it would be through Jesus. In a way, Jesus became a new Torah, a new Law, hence Paul’s reference to the “law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). This does not mean that Christ brought some new set of rules but rather expresses that
He embodies the living link between God and His people and shows them the way to live lives pleasing to God in His own self, especially as demonstrated by His love.
Now, this was not meant to cancel out the faith of Israel but rather to deepen it. We find a helpful reflection of this in the Gospel of John:
The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. — John 1:17
John was comparing law and grace/truth, but not to treat one as bad (law) and the other as good (grace). Rather, the law was “good news” for God’s people, but the new way of relating to God in Jesus was even greater (see Matthew 12:6).
Faith in Christ Alive in Me
We would be mistaken to believe that “faith” for Paul was simply about believing doctrines and singing hymns, even hymns to Christ. Faith begins with death. Not just any kind of death, but more specifically crucifixion:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. — Galatians 2:20 NIV
Christian faith is not just gaining (e.g., life, love, Jesus), but also losing — losing one’s own life (Luke 9:24; 17:33). Later, in Galatians, Paul describes this self-death as being crucified to the world (Galatians 6:14). The “I” who no longer lives is the “I” corrupted by sin (Galatians 5:24). To purge that “I” is a great blessing, but you also lose the “I” who accrues power and status to bring self-importance, and that is hard. Your identity becomes absorbed into the resurrection life of Christ, but forever your “faith” will mean you are dependent on the life and name of Jesus Christ.
Think of it this way — my kids (ages fifteen and under) do not have travel IDs. When we fly domestically, their legal identity is connected to mine. Their job in the airport is to stick close to me, because legally they have no recognized identity apart from me. My personal ID includes them, because legally they belong to me. So it is for those who surrender their “I” to become one with Christ by faith. “Faith” means living in a state of dependence on Jesus for life and identity (see Galatians 3:26). To be a part of the “household of faith,” as Paul puts it (Galatians 6:10), is to stick close to Jesus, because without Him we are nothing, without Him we are dead to God and alive to sin. But unlike the analogy with my kids, we don’t have to worry about “losing” Jesus in the airport. He is always with us; He is alive within us and we live by faith in Him. This faith is not theoretical, nor purely cognitive, nor “religious” in a Sunday morning kind of way. It is like walking around attached to a heart or lung machine. It is a part of life, no matter where we go or what we do — whether we are sleeping, working, eating, or playing.
To have faith is to live by faith, to live with Jesus alive in me.
Excerpted from 15 New Testament Words of Life by Nijay K. Gupta, copyright Nijay K. Gupta.
Our lives are given direction, and principles of truth to apply to ourselves from both the Old and New Testaments. Read and study both for more than history, or reading a good book. The Scriptures are given to all who will listen to the Word of God and respond in believing faith that they might be saved. Pray that God might give you the gift of faith to believe and that the Holy Spirit give you understanding of all that God says in His Word! “To the Jew first, and then to the Gentile”
Pastor Dale