Habakkuk 2:4 is quoted in three places in the New Testament. It is quoted in Romans 1:17, Hebrews 10:38, as well as in Galatians 3:11. In these instances, the author uses this as support for his teaching that the “just shall live by faith,” or that those who are justified are justified by faith alone. The question arises as to whether this is a legitimate usage of Habakkuk 2:4.
When the the apostle is speaking of a particular word, which (in Habakkuk) can be translated “faithfulness” as it is in the NIV, that means that the just person shall live by his “faithfulness” in the midst of the coming Chaldean destruction of Jerusalem.
But we ask, how can faithfulness in the midst of a Chaldean invasion be the same as the salvation of grace by faith as it is used to support by Paul in the New Testament?
Setting the Perspective with John Calvin and John Owen
In wrestling with this issue, even the reformer, John Calvin, recognized the peril. He writes,
Paul seems to have misapplied the Prophet’s words, and to have used them beyond what they import; for the Prophet speaks here of the state of the present life, and he has not previously spoken of the celestial life, but exhorted as we have seen, the faithful to patience, and at the same testified that God would be their deliverer; and now he adds, the just shall live by faith, though he may be destitute of all help, and though he may be exposed to all the assault of fortune, and of the wicked, and of the devil. What has this to do, some one may say, with the eternal salvation of the soul?
The issue of the New Testament usage of the Old Testament is an issue involving a lot of theology. In this instance, the issue seems to intermingle with law and grace, or how the two relate. John Owen preached on the difference between a covenant of works and a covenant of grace. He believed that the law of Moses was a covenant of works but that the covenant of grace was throughout the Old Testament as well. So, the issue of whether Habakkuk could be addressing a “covenant of grace” [via Paul’s interpretation] or a “covenant of works” can be somewhat resolved under a reformed persuasion, but for my purposes here, they serve to voice the tension inherent in this text.
Habakkuk 2:4 in Context
The passage in Habakkuk 2:4 is talking about the coming of the Chaldean onslaught by living in contrast to the Chaldeans. The mind of the proud is “puffed up.” His mind “is not right within him.” In contrast to the Chaldean, the just ones living in Judea shall live by his faith or faithfulness. Surrounding Habakkuk 2:4 are the preceding verses in chapter one as well as chapter two which discuss the vanity and foolishness of the Chaldean vainglory. Neither their ways nor their minds are right. This brief section at the beginning of Habakkuk 2 is a pause where Habakkuk looks to God and receives his answer. The principle is that the just person living in Judah shall live by his faithfulness. I think that faithfulness and faith can be interchangeable concepts because faith always leads to faithfulness in the Old and New Testaments. Faith in Yahweh or the Lord always leads to obedient living. Paul uses Abraham as a prime example of this in Romans 4 as well as in Galatians 3.
How it all Comes Together
This is on a parallel with the call of salvation by faith apart from works which Paul expounds on in Romans and Galatians. It is not exclusive. They are very much the same principles in different contexts. M.A. Seifrid writes,
In interpreting this Scripture as speaking of the faith of the righteous one, Paul underscores the way in which Habbakuk’s vision contains a call to faith. Over against the ‘proud one’ who relies upon wealth and earthly goods (whose ‘spirit is not right within him’) stands the ‘righteous one’ who waits for the salvation promised in the vision (Hab. 2:1–4, 5–20). To this one who believes, and this one alone, God grants ‘life’. The prophetic call for faith is the same as the call of the gospel, in which the vision of salvation has come to fulfilment.
We could say that the vision of Habakkuk and the teaching of Paul the Apostle is therefore the same principle in a different context. Both require faith as the definition of the one who is just, but one context is in regards to faith in the midst of the coming Chaldean invasion and destruction of Jerusalem, and the latter is in regards to salvation by faith and not works. Both requires faith to define the just, but faith in regards to what? It could be in relation to both a coming territorial onslaught or in regards to the coming onslaught of God’s wrath which would come upon all of us if we did not repent. Either way, the just shall live by faith.
Conclusion
But there is an even more clear way to resolve this tension and make it applicable to us. The real common denominator of this Old Testament text and the three New Testament uses of this is this: God is only pleased with the one who lives by his faith. That is clear in Habakkuk were he says “the soul of the proud is not right within him, but the righteous will live by his faith.” In Hebrews, which was not written by Paul, the object is still the same. The author argues that God is only pleased with those who have or maintain faith. Paul certainly had that in mind as well in his two different uses in Romans and Galatians.
Though the object of this faith is different in a sense as well. Habakkuk speaks of faithfulness to Yahweh, the God of Israel. Paul speaks of faith in Jesus Christ as the satisfaction of God’s holy demands and the means of our justification in His sight. Either way, faith pleases God. The principle is a theological axiom. People get it. All the time today, people are heard saying “believe in yourself,” or “just have faith. It will work out.” Whether you believe it makes you right with God is another matter, but faith is a big deal for “religious people.” God has to be the object. Of course there is a difference between true faith in Christ or selfish types of faith even with a religious facade. Galatians and Romans speak of faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. The Old Testament believer learned of the faith that he must place in Yahweh for deliverance and provision for the future satisfaction of God’s demands. These concepts unite under the heading of biblical faith. And in the person of Jesus Christ, we find the exact image and likeness of the Old Testament Yahweh (Col. 1:15).
Bibliography
Calvin, John. Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets, Vol. IV. Translated by John Owen. Baker Books: Grand Rapids, MI, 2003.
Green, B. G. “Covenant and Commandment: Works, Obedience and Faithfulness in the Christian Life.” D. A. Carson, Ed. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014.
Seifrid, M. A. “Christ, Our Righteousness: Paul’s Theology of Justification.” D. A. Carson, Ed. England: Apollos, 2000.
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