Two words come together like a perfect marriage: Righteousness and Faith. Because both are a running motif through Scripture, they’re the basis for a relationship with God. One could argue that they’re crucial for a relationship with each other.
In regards to righteousness the Old Testament views it as twins to Justice; they’re often seen together. One might say the role of righteousness is to bring justice or to make the wrong right. In the New Testament, Righteousness and Justice are born out of the same Greek word. Anytime you’re reading the New Testament and come across “righteousness,” you can substitute it for “justice” and you won’t be wrong. In regards to faith, it may be the foundation of our relationship with God (Heb. 11:6). The unseen God calls us to see him which forces us to view him and this world through an invisible prism or reality. Thus, we read, “the righteous will live by faith.”
Surfacing four times in Scripture, first in the Old Testament and three times in the New Testament, God beckons his righteous ones to live their lives out in faith. Let’s take a look at each time “the righteous will live by faith” appears in Scripture.
● Habakkuk 2:4 When the prophet Habakkuk steps onto the stage, King Josiah has been killed in battle and his evil son, Jehoiakim, begins an eleven year policy of reversing all the reforms of his father. The gains under Josiah are quickly lost. In Habakkuk’s complaint to God, “justice never prevails (while) the wicked hem in the righteous” (1:4). Essentially, Habakkuk asks God, “What are you going to do about the injustice in Judah?” God’s answer was beyond belief (1:5-6), as he was cultivating the Babylonians, raising them up to punish Judah for their sins. Such a move even surprised the prophet as he stood before the Lord in disbelief. Then came God’s comfort, “the righteous will live by his faith.” When the political forces, even fueled by God’s will, bring destruction and death on your own nation so that the temple is razed and citizens are taken away in captivity, those who continue to trust God are the righteous and their faith will be rewarded. As Peter might say, “Where will we go? God has the words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:68).
● Galatians 3:11 In one of his first written epistles, if not the very first one, Paul combats the false teaching that circumcision is necessary for salvation, or that law-keeping is a prerequisite for Kingdom entrance. Not only does Paul question their legalistic logic as it misaligns with their experience (3:1-5), but he also points to Scripture: Abraham’s faith made him righteous (Gen. 15:6; Gal. 3:6-7), not his law-keeping or his circumcision. To drive his point home, Paul goes to Deuteronomy where those who live under law are under a curse (27:26) because the law is about performance where, when properly graded, we’re deemed a failure. Instead, quoting from Habakkuk, righteousness is about faith. For the Galatians once they embraced circumcision and rule-keeping as a mandate to justify themselves before God, they stopped living by faith.
● Romans 1:17 Underscoring the saving power of the Gospel (1:16), as God reveals his righteousness, Paul links righteousness and faith together in the Habakkuk verse. If Romans was written to a church struggling to keep the Jewish and Gentiles Christians together and unified, then the focus of the gospel’s power is about ethnic diversity in the church. Salvation is for everyone who believes and the Christian life is one rooted in faith from beginning to end. So Paul’s concern is not about how righteous people live, which is Habakkuk’s concern, but on how sinful people become righteous regardless of ethnic background.
● Hebrews 10:38 For fear of the faithful shrinking back from their faith, the Hebrews writer offers a homily of encouragment (13:22) to keep them on track. As the writer nears the end of a section by recalling earlier days when this community of believers stood their ground in faith, he worries they will throw it all away (10:32-36). So to build a bridge that leads to a discussion of faith for those who endured (11:1-4), the writer quotes from Isaiah and Habakkuk. Isaiah 26:20-21 has messianic overtones and quoting it here may reference the Second Coming. Attaching Habakkuk 2:4 to Isaiah means that the righteous ones continue to persevere, patiently waiting for God to act for the good of his people. Specifically, believing Jesus will return one day, even if he delays or difficult days lie ahead, they continue to live, act and walk in faith.
So we find ourselves as the “righteous living by faith,” and wherever our journey is taking us at the time depends on how we view faith. If our national, political infrastructure falls apart, or we fear it’s falling apart, then we trust God to hold us together (Hab. 2:4). If we reject the tallying of rule-keeping as a means for salvation and accept righteousness on faith, then we trust God to save us, not ourselves (Gal. 3:11). If we give our sinful life over to God then he’ll make us righteous (Rom 1:17). If we continue to endure hardship in faith while awaiting his return then we live in faith (Heb. 10:38).
Soli Deo Gloria!
(i.e., only God is glorified!)