Thursday, August 21, 2014

So Which is It?

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Thursday, August 21, 2014
Jeff Lampl


 

“a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.”               Galatians 2:16 (NIV2011)

“a person isn’t made righteous by the works of the Law but rather through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. We ourselves believed in Christ Jesus so that we could be made righteous by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the Law—because no one will be made righteous by the works of the Law.”
                            Galatians 2:16 (CEB)

Which translation and which picture describe your experience as a believer? 

One picture is that of peaceful confidence in God.  The other pictures the risky action of take a leap or leaps of faith.  One restful, the other effortful.  One “lets go and lets God”, the other strives. 

Each translation above is grammatically correct, yet each takes us into different trajectories, each of which can be both bad and good.   It’s good to know that the faithfulness of Jesus Christ is your salvation.  It’s bad if it becomes presumption. It’s good to direct all your efforts to serving the Lord with all your heart, mind, strength, sweat and effort.  It’s bad if it becomes a fitful striving.

Which picture and translation best describes your experience of the Christian Life?  Which picture/translation are you right now most in need of?


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