Misquotes: "Shall he find [the] faith on the
earth?"
(Editorial - January 2002)
Luke 18:1-8 records the parable of the "Importunate Widow," sometimes called the parable of the "Unjust Judge." We’re told the lesson of the parable is: "Men ought always to pray, and not to faint." In his wrap-up of the message, the Lord provides a warning: "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
The lesson seems clear enough: we ought continually to pray for the kingdom when God will avenge "His own elect." We should not flag in our prayers because the time seems long, but we should maintain the intensity of our desire for that glorious day.
The faith, the truth
Some students have noted, however, that "faith" in Luke 18:8 is
preceded in the original Greek by the definite article "the." They have
taken from this that Christ is warning us "the faith," as a system of
right Bible teaching, may well be lost in the last days before his coming.
Thus convinced there will be a latter-day falling away from "the Truth," they are hypercritical of any variation from what is, in their opinion, correct Bible teaching. They will vigorously attack the variant idea and accuse those who hold it as a false teacher in our midst.
Such a view is not a correct understanding of Christ’s words.
Context, not definite article, determines
meaning
The Englishman’s Greek Concordance provides a convenient means of
surveying the more than 240 New Testament occurrences of pistis (the Greek word
translated "faith" in Luke 18:8). Upon doing so, we find there are many
times when pistis is preceded by "the" in the Greek when it
clearly means an attitude of complete confidence in the promises of God.
For example, throughout Romans 4, Abraham’s "faith (pistis)," his attitude of heart, is frequently preceded by "the" in the Greek: "To him that believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his [the] faith is counted for righteousness…being not weak in [the] faith, he considered not his own body now dead…he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief: but was strong in [the] faith giving glory to God; and being fully persuaded that, what he had promised he was able also to perform" (Rom. 4:5,19-21, note also vv. 9,11,12,14). Here is the classic definition of "faith" (pistis) as an attitude of mind which is "fully persuaded" God will keep promise.
Another example of this usage is found in Luke 18 itself. The blind man would not stop calling out, "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me." He was fully persuaded in the power and mercy of Christ, so the Lord stopped and "said unto him, ‘Receive thy sight: thy [the] faith (pistis) hath saved thee’" (Luke 18:42). Clearly, pistis with the definite article here refers to the man’s conviction of heart, and not to a systematic understanding of the first principles,
There are also many examples where "the faith (pistis)" refers to "the truth" as a system of correct teaching: Timothy is Paul’s "own son in the faith;" "holding the mystery of the faith;" "some shall depart from the faith" (I Tim. 1:2; 3:9; 4:1). The context makes clear Paul here alludes to the first principles of the Gospel – "the truth" as we would put it.
The use of pistis is thus determined by the context, not by the presence or absence of the definite article ("the"). As has been said before, the three keys to right Bible understanding are "context, context, context."
Context of Luke 18
In Luke 17:22, Jesus turns from the Pharisees and "said unto the
disciples" (Luke 17:22). This discourse to his disciples continues through the
rest of Luke 17 and into chapter 18 as indicated by the words: "And he spake a
parable unto them [the disciples] to this end, that men ought always to pray…"
(Luke 18:1). The exhortation continues through Luke 18:8 when it concludes with: "Nevertheless
when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?"
The discourse began with, "The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it," and continues with warnings of the suddenness of Christ’s return. Everything will be going along in the ebb and flow of daily life: "They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day…they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day…he which shall be on the housetop, and his stuff in the house…he that is in the field let him not turn back…in that night there shall be two men in one bed…two women shall be grinding together…two men shall be in the field" (Luke 17:27,28,31,34-36). Everything will appear normal until the Lord will come "speedily" (Luke 18:8).
The context makes clear the point of the parable: We pray for the Lord’s coming, but when he does not come, we may grow faint in our desire and become so absorbed in our everyday lives that we may lose our passionate desire for his return. When the Lord comes after so long a time, will he find among his disciples the urgent faith of the importunate widow?
A similar warning is given in a similar context in Luke 21: "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares" (Luke 21:34).
Here is the great warning for the last days: beware lest we lose a passionate desire for the Lord’s return; beware that our prayers lose their urgency; beware lest the cares of this life absorb us.
Danger of wrong view
Now there is no doubt as to the importance of maintaining "the faith"
-- the first principles of scripture revelation. Without "the truth," we
simply drift in a milieu of religious error which drowns our hope in the promises and our
steadfast belief in the true Jesus Christ. But a view that a latter-day falling away is
inevitable in the household can do a great deal of harm.
For example, we may not make reasonable decisions regarding the current unity effort. If our own coined phrases regarding the atonement are not used, we may quickly reject a correct point of view simply because it is expressed in different terms from our own. On other matters, we may promote schism as we refuse to consider any view but our own on prophecy or the creation of the earth.
If we are convinced error and apostasy is inevitable in the brotherhood at this time, it becomes very difficult for us to relax and love our brethren. It also is difficult to humbly think of others as our betters if we must examine every statement they make as possibly harboring error. In fact, we may so doggedly hound those with whom we differ that we, in effect, bite and devour one another.
No good comes from misreading the message of Christ. He is not warning us about a latter-day falling away. He is warning us about the danger of losing our urgent desire for his coming to judge the world in righteousness. And for those of us in more affluent countries, the Lord knows that is precisely the exhortation we need.
North American Statement of Understanding
The NASU has now been mailed to all North American Christadelphian ecclesias. If you
do not have a copy, you can obtain one from: Markham and Eglinton, P.O., Box 90525,
Toronto, ON, Canada M1J 3N7 or info@NASU.ca or contact
one of the steering committee members who are: in Toronto, ON – Bre. Ken Curry, Don
Davies, Rod Ghent, George Jackson, Ron Waye; In Guelph, ON - Bre. Don Elliott, Doug
Finlay, Ian McPhee; in Brantford ON - Bre. Colin Badger, Andrew Pearse; in Hamilton, ON
– Bro. Ian Finlay; in Indiana - Bro. Noel Peare; in Illinois – Bro. Paul Zilmer;
in Virginia – Bre. Ron McPhee, Bill Yake
Don Styles