Back from Bulgaria. Great holiday!Play a game with me. Look at these options. Do you prefer:
a. i. to do a hard task by yourself (to prove a point)
ii. have a hard task done for you (and you can’t do it!)
b. i. do what you think is best
ii. do what you’re told by another
c. i. accept a gift with no strings attached
ii. accept a gift that you are to use for a purpose
Each of these goes with different types of personality. My observation is that the ones most people struggle with are b.ii or c.ii. Which is tough; because the Gospel message in Jesus is that God brings us into eternal life and to be part of His Kingdom through Jesus Christ in sequence of a.ii, c.ii and b.ii.
So, I'm convinced. Not just culture and context, but the way your personality is shaped will itself shape your preferred way of thinking about God. It takes real effort to hear instead what the Bible says. Literal translations of the Bible into English are not always the easiest to understand! On the other hand, paraphrases can give a smoother reading but betray a particular interpretation, losing subtle points. Romans 3.21-26 is a case in point. Practically all the English translations are paraphrases. In this passage, how you translate two Greek words critically influences your reading and understanding. You can have either justice or righteousness. And you can have any of faith in Jesus, faith of Jesus or faithfulness of Jesus. Here it is as rendered in Young’s Literal Translation (1862), which I like a lot:
And now apart from law hath the righteousness of God been manifested, testified to by the law and the prophets, and the righteousness of God {is} through the faith of Jesus Christ to all, and upon all those believing --for there is no difference, for all did sin, and are come short of the glory of God-- being declared righteous freely by His grace through the redemption that {is} in Christ Jesus, whom God did set forth a mercy seat, through the faith in his blood, for the shewing forth of His righteousness, because of the passing over of the bygone sins in the forbearance of God-- for the shewing forth of His righteousness in the present time, for His being righteous, and declaring him righteous who {is} of the faith of Jesus.
Think about it. God is serious about getting us into the life of Jesus. Into His faith. The justice / righteousness of God made manifest when God’s Kingdom comes, together with the joy and peace the disciple experiences. This is the marvelous reality that Jesus Christ calls us into.
