In Romans 3:21-22, the apostle Paul writes, “But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” (NRSV)
Biblical scholars will tell you that when translating this passage from Greek into English, there are two, equally correct options. The way almost all Biblical translations present it is, “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ…” However, an equally valid translation would read, “the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ…”
In the first translation Jesus is made the object of faith. We place our trust in Jesus since Jesus has already done all the heavy lifting on our behalf, i.e. dying for our sins, being raised from the dead, and sitting at the right of God. We make Jesus the object of our adoration. We strive to join him on his throne through obeying a set of rules governing our behavior. Rules which are filtered heavily through those in control of our churches.
In the second translation, however, Jesus becomes the subject of our faith. He is the true model of how one lives life in right relationship to God. Here, Jesus is transformed from merely the source of our adoration into the one who shows us how to live in relationship with God and with one another. This view of Jesus empowers us to love all unconditionally and to liberate all to live fully in and by that love. When we seek to live out the faith of Jesus we imitate him as we live out all aspects of our lives.
The Jesus Way focuses on Jesus as the subject and model of our faith. What does it mean to love and live like Jesus did? What are the implications of living by the faith of Jesus on those who constitute the constellation of relationships around each of us? What difference would it make in our world? What kind of impact would a groundswell of men devoted to living the Jesus Way have on their family? church? community? and world?
Join us to find how Jesus is calling you to live life his way.