Edgework

For a long time now, I have been perplexed by what is meant in Christian circles when we speak about the nature of the “good news” we have to share with the world. As a youngster I seriously questioned the assertions of a missionary who had told a recent convert that his father, who had died before he got there with the good news, would be eternally tormented in hell. Somehow I knew as a 12-year-old that a piece of the puzzle was missing somewhere.

Later in life I remember reflecting on the “bad news, good news, bad news” message the church was proclaiming. The bad news: the whole world was damned. The good news: there is a way of escape if one acts in time. The bad news: most who hear the news will not act in time and those who never hear remain damned anyway. I was asked to accept this logic because it was biblical.

In recent times I have been re-reading the Bible for further clarity around the question of what the “good news” really is. With the help of some contemporary theologians like Thomas N. Finger and John E. Toews, I am making some amazing discoveries. Come with me for a minute to the biblical text used most frequently to support the “bad news, good news, bad news” scenario – Romans 3:21-26. This text is used as the ultimate defense for the argument that nothing salvific actually happens until persons have faith to believe that Jesus died for them. Of course there are other passages to be considered with reference to this question, but for now I want to share an alternative reading of this text.

Through my new set of lenses I have come to understand how profound the good news actually is. As John E. Toews says in the Believers Church Commentary on Romans, “An alternative interpretation sees the thrust of the text as the revelation of God’s end-time righteousness, which is effected through the faithfulness of Messiah Jesus” (p. 100). First we should note that while the Hebrew word “tsedeg,” translated as “righteousness,” can be understood as a precise standard, most fundamentally it is a relational term. Thus human righteousness is not based on perfect adherence to a set of laws, but adherence to a relationship. For example, living by the Ten Commandments in the Old Testament is first and foremost an expression of a covenant relationship (Exodus 20:2). Secondly, the Hebrew word “aman,” often translated as “faith” is also a relational term. Thomas Finger notes in Christian Theology, Volume II that, “…aman means to consider something or someone as reliable, hence to entrust oneself or commit oneself to them” (p. 178). Furthermore, he notes that this term is most often attributed to God in the sense that he is ultimately “faithful” in all he does.

With these understandings in mind, we can begin reading the text in question as follows: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law…the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus for all who believe. As a matter of fact, the KJV uses the phrase, by the faith of Jesus Christ, a more accurate reading than that of later translations more attuned to standard Protestant theology.

Let’s get a little technical here along with Toews. “The preposition “through” is followed by the genitive form of “faith” which in turn is followed by “Messiah Jesus.” The genitive may be translated as “faith in MessiahJesus” (an objective genitive) or the “faith of Messiah Jesus” (a subjective genitive).” Toews goes on to suggest that the natural reading is the latter, as the KJV has it. “The object of the revelation is explained in a purpose clause, to all the ones believing.” To use the first reading, “faith in Jesus,” would create a repetition that is both unnatural and unnecessary.

Seen in this light, this whole passage is basically a vindication of God. Throughout the first eleven chapters of Romans, Paul is answering the charge from Jewish believers that, according to Paul’s message, God could be charged with unfaithfulness. “Has God forgotten about his promises made to his chosen people, Israel? Is He going back on his promises and so proving to be unrighteous?” Paul is simply saying that God has demonstrated his righteousness through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. Those who believe this find themselves caught up in a faithful response to this faithfulness of Jesus Christ. No, they are not made “perfect,” but they have begun to participate intentionally in the “already, but not yet” dynamics of God’s kingdom. With this new light we now go on to read Romans 5:1 as follows: Therefore, since we are justified by the faithfulness of our Lord Jesus Christ, we have peace with God.

All this to find the missing piece of the puzzle that actually makes the gospel “good news.” The good news is not so much that we have a chance to escape damnation through some mental gymnastics that most people in the world will not perform. The good news is that God has shown his righteousness by an act of faithfulness in sending Jesus to dwell among us and faithfully fulfill his mission. By his life, death and resurrection, Jesus has defeated the powers of sin and opened the way for the will of God to be fully implemented in our lives and indeed in the whole world. Accepting this good news catches us up in this stream of God’s faithfulness that will be reflected in our own faithfulness to God.

This understanding squares well with 2 Corinthians 5:19: “…that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.” Seen through this lens, the gospel is good news – pure and simple. It is the good news proclaimed throughout the book of Acts: “God has acted to reconcile the world to himself. Believe this good news and find yourself caught up in it!”