Bible verses about "independence" | Moffatt

³⁵ As he approached Jericho, it chanced that a blind man was seated beside the road begging. ³⁶ When he heard the crowd passing he inquired what was the matter, ³⁷ and they told him that Jesus the Nazarene was going by. ³⁸ So he shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!" ³⁹ The people in front checked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, "Son of David, have pity on me!" ⁴⁰ So Jesus stopped and ordered them to bring him, and asked him when he approached, ⁴¹ "What do you want me to do for you?" "Lord," he said, "I want to regain my sight." ⁴² And Jesus said to him, "Regain your sight, your faith has made you well." ⁴³ Instantly he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people gave praise to God when they saw this.

¹ But if so, what can we say about Abraham, our forefather by natural descent? ² This, that if 'Abraham was justified on the score of what he did,' he has something to be proud of. But not to be proud of before God. ³ For what does scripture say? Abraham believed God and this was counted to him as righteousness. ⁴ Now a worker has his wage counted to him as a due, not as a favour; ⁵ but a man who instead of 'working' believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, has his faith counted as righteousness. ⁶ Just as David himself describes the bliss of the man who has righteousness counted to him by God apart from what he does — ⁷ Blessed are they whose breaches of the Law are forgiven, whose sins are covered! ⁸ Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not count to him. ⁹ Now is that description of bliss meant for the circumcised, or for the uncircumcised as well? Abraham's faith, I repeat, was counted to him as righteousness. ¹⁰ In what way? When he was a circumcised man or an uncircumcised man? Not when he was circumcised, but when he was uncircumcised. ¹¹ He only got circumcision as a sign or seal of the righteousness which belonged to his faith as an uncircumcised man. The object of this was to make him the father of all who believe as uncircumcised persons and thus have righteousness counted to them, ¹² as well as a father of those circumcised persons who not only share circumcision but walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had as an uncircumcised man. ¹³ The promise made to Abraham and his offspring that he should inherit the world, did not reach him through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴ For if it is adherents of the Law who are heirs, then faith is empty of all meaning and the promise is void. ¹⁵ (What the Law produces is the Wrath, not the promise of God; where there is no law, there is no transgression either.) ¹⁶ That is why all turns upon faith; it is to make the promise a matter of favour, to make it secure for all the offspring, not simply for those who are adherents of the Law but also for those who share the faith of Abraham — of Abraham who is the father of us all ¹⁷ (as it is written, I have made you a father of many nations). Such a faith implies the presence of the God in whom he believed, a God who makes the dead live and calls into being what does not exist. ¹⁸ For Abraham, when hope was gone, hoped on in faith, and thus became the father of many nations — even as he was told, So numberless shall your offspring be. ¹⁹ His faith never quailed, even when he noted the utter impotence of his own body (for he was about a hundred years old) or the impotence of Sara's womb; ²⁰ no unbelief made him waver about God's promise; his faith won strength as he gave glory to God ²¹ and felt convinced that He was able to do what He had promised. ²² Hence his faith was counted to him as righteousness. ²³ And these words counted to him have not been written for him alone ²⁴ but for our sakes as well; faith will be counted to us as we believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵ Jesus who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised that we might be justified.

⁸ Whoever does not provide for his own relatives and particularly for his own family, has repudiated the faith: he is worse than an infidel.

¹² Not that I have already attained this or am already perfect, but I press forward to appropriate it, because I have been appropriated myself by Christ Jesus.

¹⁷ (The Lord means the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is open freedom.)

¹ with the freedom for which Christ set us free. Make a firm stand then, do not slip into any yoke of servitude.

¹⁶ Live like free men, only do not make your freedom a pretext for misconduct; live like servants of God.