Habakkuk 2:4

Behold his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him;

but the righteous shall live by his faith. [ESV]

Many of us are familiar with Paul’s use of these words from Habakkuk and how they form the core of our doctrine of justification by faith.  But after exploring the original utterance of these words, we may arrive at a deeper appreciation of this doctrine and may become more sensitive to how we are prone to stray from a pure faith in Christ alone as the basis of our fellowship with God.

The prophetic word of Habakkuk enables us to see the remarkable dichotomy of walking by faith and walking by our own strength.  Our culture is known for its lauding of those who can “pull themselves up by their own bootstraps” and make a name for themselves despite humble beginnings.  So, it has become a part of the fabric of our society to value those who rely on their own capacity and limited resources to climb the proverbial ladder.  However, this self-reliance is not likewise esteemed in Scripture.  Why not?  It is because self-reliance, either subtly or defiantly, seeks to take away the glory, power, and honor that alone belong to the Lord.  Apart from him we can do nothing; apart from him, in fact, we are non-existent. 

Unfortunately, our flesh is not ready to fully concede this fact, so we must continually be mindful of ways in which we turn to our own faculties to define our relationship with God.  The fundamental problem is that our arrogance and self-reliance are what initially created a rift in our relationship with God, so it is utterly foolish to try to mend the relationship with that same self-reliance.  Two wrongs do not make us right with God.  It is not through benevolent offering of our time or our money or our abilities that we can be on good terms with God.  Not only is such ambition ineffective in bringing us into fellowship with God, it actually further accentuates our enmity with him and his eternal purpose of magnifying his name among the nations.  For the one who looks to himself, Habakkuk declares, “His soul is puffed up.  It is not upright within him.”

But thanks be to our merciful and wise God, for he has made a way to restore our relationship with him that simultaneously highlights not our glory but his.  This way is the person and work of Jesus Christ and through faith in him we can indeed live!