Galatians 3:11-12

The failure of the Law to justify is further established by a comparison of Habakkuk 2:4 with Leviticus 18:5 : the latter embodies the spirit of the Law: for it demands obedience as a necessary condition antecedent to the gift of life from God (cf. Romans 10:5). The prophet on the contrary makes life dependent upon faith. By thus substituting faith for obedience he virtually supersedes the existing Law, and establishes a new criterion, which takes account of the state of heart instead of the outward life (cf. Romans 1:17). The same passage is adduced in Hebrews 10:38 in proof of the vital importance of faith. All three writers agree in basing true religion upon heartfelt trust in God: but whereas the Epistle to the Hebrews regards faith from the same standpoint as the Hebrew prophet, and identifies it with the steadfast loyalty to an unseen God which supports the believer under manifold trials, Paul here limits his view to the faith which prompts the convert to embrace Christ. Regarding it therefore from a purely Christian standpoint, he embodies in his conception the new revelation of the Father's character made in Christ. The faith which he has in mind is justifying faith, the faith in God's pitying love which assures a repentant sinner of forgiveness and merciful acceptance in spite of a guilty past.