The Just Shall Live by Faith Alone: A Fulfilled-Covenant Perspective

The Just Shall Live by Faith Alone: A Fulfilled-Covenant Perspective


Three times in the New Testament, the phrase “The just shall live by faith” is quoted—Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. All three cite Habakkuk 2:4, but each applies it with different nuance. These verses speak not of a general principle of ethics or perseverance, but of a radical transition from the Old Covenant system to the New Covenant life of the Spirit.




1. Romans 1:17 – Faith as the Covenant Marker


"For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written: 'The just shall live by faith.'"



In Romans, Paul is laying the foundation for a new kind of righteousness—God's covenant faithfulness now revealed apart from the Law. Righteousness isn't about moral perfection but about being declared in right standing in the New Covenant community.


Paul's use of Habakkuk here affirms that justification (being “just”) is no longer tied to Torah observance but to faith alone—faith in Christ's finished work. Under Full Preterism, this declaration is not awaiting some future event. It was completed in the first-century parousia and judgment against the old covenant world (AD 70), confirming that righteousness is now fully accessed by faith without law.



2. Galatians 3:11 – Faith Over Law


"But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'The just shall live by faith.'"


Galatians is Paul’s defense of freedom from the Mosaic Law. He appeals again to Habakkuk, making a stark contrast: life and justification do not come from Torah obedience, but through faith alone.


Paul’s warning is urgent—those clinging to the Law were aligning themselves with a system that was soon to be judged and removed. In this view, “life” is not just spiritual vitality, but participation in the new age of the Spirit, the age that fully dawned at the destruction of the temple.


Galatians 3:11, then, is a call to abandon the fading shadow (the Law) and embrace the resurrected, glorified reality of the New Covenant—a reality that is now fully present.



3. Hebrews 10:38 – Faith in the Face of Judgment


"Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."


Hebrews is written to Jews tempted to return to the temple system. The author quotes Habakkuk in a context of impending judgment (cf. Heb 10:25, 27, 37). The warning is clear: to “shrink back” to the Old Covenant is to reject the New.


The “coming one” in verse 37 ("He who is coming will come and will not delay") is not a far-off second coming, but Christ’s 70 AD judgment on Jerusalem—the vindication of the New Covenant and destruction of the Old.


Thus, living “by faith” means remaining in Christ, trusting His priesthood and finished work rather than reverting to temple sacrifices. The faithful remnant lived and endured through the end of the age, and now, that age is over. The just do live—not by rituals or performance—but by faith alone in a finished covenant.



Conclusion


These three verses are not merely repetitive slogans. Together, they form a powerful testimony: faith alone was always the true mark of righteousness, and now, in the fully arrived New Covenant age, it is the only way to live.


The “just shall live by faith” is no longer a future hope or struggle—it is a present reality. The just are alive. The Law is gone. The judgment is past. The temple is no more. Christ reigns. And we live—not by sight , not by Law, but by the Spirit of faith.

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