by Ken Rank
I am growing increasingly fascinated at the depths to which our modern culture will go in order to mold the paradigm through which we read Scripture. Certain words and phrases have meanings today that are somewhat evolved from what they meant in the past. At the time the KJV was translated, for example, the word prevent meant “to go before,” whereas today it means “to keep from happening.” Adoption is another word that has a meaning today that is not in line with the concept it originally carried in Scripture. Today, adoption is taking in a child and making it as your own; in the days of old, adoption was more in line with the idea of joining a family for the purpose of doing the work of that family. Samuel was born an Ephraimite, yet he was offered to the Lord and thus taken in by Eli and trained to do the work of Eli, who was a Levite. Samuel, an Ephraimite, was a priest by adoption.
Recently I have begun to key in on another word, righteousness. The church treats the word righteousness as meaning to be justified, pardoned, or made whole through the work of Messiah. Incredibly, this isn’t close to the meaning of the word. Let’s go ahead and define this word….
The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, which standardized modern English, used both cultural understanding and definitions as understood in the bible in that day as the basis for defining words. Its entry for righteousness was “Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.” I want to key in on the idea of “conforming to divine law” because the modern online Webster’s defines righteousness as “acting in accord with divine or moral law.” There it is again; so to confirm this I went to the Thayer Greek Lexicon to define the underlying Greek word dikaios, and Thayer defines that word as “righteous, observing divine laws; in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God.” I think what is becoming very clear is that righteousness is dealing with obedience to God’s instructions, His commandments, His Law (Torah).
The implications here are rather amazing. To go back now with this definition and read much of the “NT” and see how the context of some verses change is nothing short of remarkable, especially considering how anti-law the church at least claims to be. I say that because while they say one thing, they do indeed follow most, although certainly not all, commands that are applicable today. Here is an example of how context changes things dramatically:
Luke 5:32, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (KJV)
Ironically, as I scan many Christian commentaries on this verse, they all seem to unknowingly contradict themselves. Most consider the “righteous” in this statement to be the self-righteous, yet it says Yeshua wasn’t coming for righteous but rather for the sinner. Isn’t self-righteousness sin? Why wouldn’t they need him to come to them as well? If we instead use the definition of righteousness as used in the 1828 Webster’s, the Modern online Webster’s, and Thayer’s definition of the underlying Greek, then what is being said in this verse changes dramatically. But before I share it, let’s define sin:
1 John 3:4, “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (KJV)
The word for “transgresses the law” is anomia; it actually means “to be without Law.” So sin is living outside or being without Torah, the Law. And righteousness is conforming to divine law. When we put these together, Luke 5:32 becomes in my own paraphrase: “I have not come to call those who are already living according to Torah, but rather to call those who are living outside of Torah to repent, or return to it.”
This is literally the opposite of how this verse would generally be taught, but I have not stretched anything here. Sin is living outside of Torah, transgressing or breaking commandments. And righteousness is following the commandments. So to live righteously is to live in obedience. Yeshua said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) This stands in harmony with many verses like Titus 2:12 which says in part, “live righteously.” Indeed, come in faith and then live righteously.
May your walk be a righteous one!
Ken
Recently I have begun to key in on another word, righteousness. The church treats the word righteousness as meaning to be justified, pardoned, or made whole through the work of Messiah. Incredibly, this isn’t close to the meaning of the word. Let’s go ahead and define this word….
The 1828 Webster’s Dictionary, which standardized modern English, used both cultural understanding and definitions as understood in the bible in that day as the basis for defining words. Its entry for righteousness was “Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.” I want to key in on the idea of “conforming to divine law” because the modern online Webster’s defines righteousness as “acting in accord with divine or moral law.” There it is again; so to confirm this I went to the Thayer Greek Lexicon to define the underlying Greek word dikaios, and Thayer defines that word as “righteous, observing divine laws; in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God.” I think what is becoming very clear is that righteousness is dealing with obedience to God’s instructions, His commandments, His Law (Torah).
The implications here are rather amazing. To go back now with this definition and read much of the “NT” and see how the context of some verses change is nothing short of remarkable, especially considering how anti-law the church at least claims to be. I say that because while they say one thing, they do indeed follow most, although certainly not all, commands that are applicable today. Here is an example of how context changes things dramatically:
Luke 5:32, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (KJV)
Ironically, as I scan many Christian commentaries on this verse, they all seem to unknowingly contradict themselves. Most consider the “righteous” in this statement to be the self-righteous, yet it says Yeshua wasn’t coming for righteous but rather for the sinner. Isn’t self-righteousness sin? Why wouldn’t they need him to come to them as well? If we instead use the definition of righteousness as used in the 1828 Webster’s, the Modern online Webster’s, and Thayer’s definition of the underlying Greek, then what is being said in this verse changes dramatically. But before I share it, let’s define sin:
1 John 3:4, “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (KJV)
The word for “transgresses the law” is anomia; it actually means “to be without Law.” So sin is living outside or being without Torah, the Law. And righteousness is conforming to divine law. When we put these together, Luke 5:32 becomes in my own paraphrase: “I have not come to call those who are already living according to Torah, but rather to call those who are living outside of Torah to repent, or return to it.”
This is literally the opposite of how this verse would generally be taught, but I have not stretched anything here. Sin is living outside of Torah, transgressing or breaking commandments. And righteousness is following the commandments. So to live righteously is to live in obedience. Yeshua said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) This stands in harmony with many verses like Titus 2:12 which says in part, “live righteously.” Indeed, come in faith and then live righteously.
May your walk be a righteous one!
Ken
