Friday, August 23, 2019

THE NET BIBLE: SUBTLE DIVERSION FROM ORTHODOXY


As the Preacher declared, “of making many books there is no end” (Ecclesiastes 12:12 ). That’s certainly true of the making of Bibles. One suspects that since the Bible is a perennial best seller, a new crop of them is certain to come out in time for Christmas.

But the NET Bible[1] is not just another modern translation like all the others. The NET’s translation of four verses in Paul’s epistles radically alters a cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith: the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8).

Here are the verses, first in the NET Bible and then the NASB. The troublesome phrase is in bold print in the NET and underlined in the NASB.

Romans 3:21-22
But now apart from the law the righteousness of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been disclosed – namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction . . .

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;

Galatians 2:16
yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. 

nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

Galatians 2:20
I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Philippians 3:9
and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ's faithfulness--a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ's faithfulness

and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith ...

Now the word translated faith in the NASB (and nearly every other version) and faithfulness in the NET is the word pistos. It can mean either faith or faithfulness, but the context in the above verses clearly demands the former.[2] Paul’s whole argument is a contrast between works of the law and faith in Christ for salvation. The actor in each verse is the believer. But the NET translators shift the subject from the individual believer to Christ, saying we are justified by Christ’s faithfulness, rather than our faith in Christ. Paul illustrated the principle of faith in Romans 4 when he referred to Abraham’s faith in God’s promise:

What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Romans 4:1-3 NASB)

Paul’s argument in Galatians is equally clear. How could anyone miss Paul’s emphasis on individual faith – as opposed to works – in the following verses?

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith—just as Abraham "believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"? Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:2-9 ESV bold print added)
  
In light of Paul’s consistent emphasis on simple faith as the means of receiving salvation, it is difficult to understand the mindset of the translators who changed it. Their translation takes the believer out of the equation. Paul is dealing with the very question the Philippian jailer cried out to Paul and Silas: “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And Paul’s answer, of course, was, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:30-31) Paul proclaimed that it was and is through faith in Jesus Christ that one receives salvation.

The same Greek phrase used in the verses in question – dia pisteos – is used nine times in the New Testament, all in Paul’s writings, and the NET translators render it “by faith” or “through faith” in six of the nine! There is no justifiable reason to change it in the verses in question.[3]

Galatians 2:20 has rather complex syntax, but there is absolutely no justification for adding “because of” in that verse. William Hendriksen explained that Paul was posing a riddle of personal salvation. I have modified his presentation only slightly:

The Riddle Propounded: In Christ I am crucified.
The Riddle Intensified: But I live.
The Riddle Clarified: Yet not I, but Christ lives in me.
The Riddle Explained: And that (life) which I now live in flesh, I live in faith – the faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me.

It’s not hard to see Paul’s logic in this verse. So why didn’t the NET translators see it? Their translation obliterates the central point of this verse and the whole of Galatians! Their “because of” is totally unjustified in the grammatical context. J. B. Lightfoot pointed out that in faith is “the atmosphere, as it were, which he (Paul) breathes in this new spiritual life.”

The NET translators boldly dismiss previous translations as simply carrying on the tradition of previous translators and theologians. In that company of translators who, over the centuries got it wrong (according to the NET translators) were Jerome, Martin Luther, William Tyndale, Giovanni Diodati, Giovanni Luzzi, the Hampton Court scholars of the KJV, and countless modern translators throughout the world!

The four verses examined in this article may seem insignificant, but they represent a startling departure from accepted principles of translation and they introduce a bizarre new idea of salvation, one not hinted at in the context.

More problems with the NET Bible are brought to light by Michael Marlow in his excellent review at: http://www.bible-researcher.com/net.html   It should also be mentioned that the International Standard Version, completed in 2011, takes similar liberties with the text, translating the four verses in the same manner as the NET, but substituting “Messiah” for Christ.



[1] The name is a play on New English Translation and “NET” as online Bible.
[2] The difference is the same as when we urge someone to “keep the faith,” as opposed to when a lawyer accuses a party of failing to “keep faith” in a contract. The first refers to the object of one’s belief, and the latter to faithfulness in carrying out the terms of an agreement. Context is everything!
[3] The genitive case of the noun used in the three verses under discussion is the objective genitive, properly understood in context as referring to Jesus Christ as the object of faith. A. T. Robertson gives numerous examples of the objective genitive in similar phrases in the NT, e.g. Mark 11:22 (“faith in God” which Robertson compares with Romans 3:22); John 17:2 (“over all flesh”); 1 Corinthians 8:7 (“consciousness about the idol”). These and many others illustrate the vast flexibility of the objective genitive.

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