Pursuing Faith - The Just Shall Live By Faith

    “…the just shall live by faith.”

    This statement is made four times in the Bible: Habakkuk 2:4, Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38. It is a statement about how those pursuing righteousness would live – by faith.

    The Old Covenant, the Law of Moses, was exclusively for the Jews and had to be kept perfectly; if they transgressed one part of it they were guilty of all (James 2:10, Galatians 2:10) and would need to make daily sacrifices for atonement. The statement, “the just shall live by faith” spoke/speaks of the New Covenant, established at Jesus’ death (Hebrews 8:7-13; 10:9), a covenant allowing both Jew AND Gentile (Romans 10:11-12, Galatians 3:26-28) who believe that Jesus is the Son of God to have life in His name (John 20:30-31, 1 John 5:13). That is why Habakkuk was told to prophesy of this, that one day the just would live by faith – that time began in the 1^st century and continues today.

    Paul the apostle, a man of Jewish descent, declared that following the Old Law would not justify a man in God’s eyes, but rather a man who had faith and believed in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2, Galatians 2:16). He begged his Hebrew brethren who had become Christians to not return to following the Old Law, but to continue in their faith of Jesus and the gospel message (Hebrews 10:36-39).

    The righteous live by faith because without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6)!

    Faith comes from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). In God’s word we learn that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, that He died for us, and that God has given us instructions that we must obey (John 14:15; 23-24, 1 John 3:23). God’s grace allows we who believe and obey to be saved, to have our sins forgiven, to live righteously before Him, and have hope of eternal life with Him (Ephesians 2:1-10, 1 Peter 1:3-9)! And EVERYONE in the world has this opportunity! EVERYONE can come to God through faith in Jesus!    

    Jesus came to save us, all of us – that’s how much he loves us! – He desires that you will have faith in Him, in who He is, and that you, through that faith will be obedient to God, living just as He lived, in full obedience (Hebrews 5:8-9, 1 Peter 2:18-25)! Believe Him! Believe in Him! Let go of any of your own notions and fully trust and obey God!

    Flee youthful lusts and pursue faith!                                    

    Let us have a heart that speaks as Paul spoke in Galatians 2:20:

“I have been crucified with Christ; 
it is no longer I who live
but Christ lives in me; 
and the life that I now live 
I live by faith in the Son of God, 
who loved me and gave Himself for me.”  
(NKJV)

You can do it! So can I!!

Learning From the Scriptures to be Faithful

     I discovered something interesting while studying for our topic of “pursuing faith." The word ‘faith’ is used 245 times in the Bible, and only 2 of those uses are found in the Old Testament - Deuteronomy 32:21 and Habakkuk 2:4.

    While the word ‘faith’ is not mentioned in the Old Covenant as much as in the New Covenant, what you find within those 39 books is example after example of people who exhibited their faith through their actions! Just as the first century Christians (who did not have a complete Bible as we do now) were encouraged to learn from “the Scriptures” (Old Testament), so can we (see Romans 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:1-11). We can learn how to be faithful by observing the men and women who lived right before God in the Old Testament.

    Noah had never seen or heard of “rain" before God’s warning, let alone a flood of rain, yet he heeded the warning and built the ark according to God’s exact instructions in anticipation of the day God’s word would be fulfilled (Genesis 6-7, Hebrews 11:7).

     Are you willing to follow God’s exact instructions in anticipation of the day God’s word is fulfilled? (Hebrews 11:6, Philippians 3:20-21, 2 Peter 3:10-13)

     Abraham was 100 years old when God blessed Sarah (who was 90 years old) with a child – the son God had promised him beforehand. Some years later God tested Abraham’s faithfulness by requesting that he sacrifice his son. Abraham’s faith was strong to the point of believing that in following through with this sacrifice God would restore his son to him. God saw Abraham’s faith and stayed his hand before the sacrifice happened and provided a ram to sacrifice instead (Genesis 22:1-19, Hebrews 11:17-19).

    Hannah desired a child, a son. She suffered constant provocation from her husband’s other wife, Peninah, who had children causing Hannah to lose her appetite and give in to weeping. Hannah turned to God and promised Him that if He saw fit to bless her with a child that she would give that child back to Him, to serve God all his days. God did see fit to bless Hannah and she dedicated her son Samuel to the Lord (1 Samuel 1). Instead of returning to sadness in giving up her son, Hannah turned to prayer and praise for God granting her petition (1 Samuel 2:1-10) and because of her faith and faithfulness, God blessed Hannah with five more children (1 Samuel 2:18-21).

     Are you willing to sacrifice whatever it takes (desire for more money, unscriptural marriage, sin, lust, etc.) to remain faithful to God?  (1 Timothy 6:7-10, Matthew 19:9, Ephesians 4:20-24, Hebrews 12:1-2) 

    David was chosen by God and anointed as king over Israel, while King Saul was still serving in that capacity. For 14 years David ran for his life, being pursued by King Saul and suffering many hardships because of him. Through this whole time we find David’s faith in God remains strong – some of David’s most encouraging psalms were written during this time period! David’s declarations of faith help us in our walk even today! See 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 Chronicles, and the book of Psalms.

    Job lost all ten of his children, all his property/livestock, and the majority of his servants all on one day. He soon lost his health as well, finding himself covered in painful boils. His wife in her sorrow, only encouraged him to give up, curse God and die (Job 2:9) and his friends were only a comfort to him when they sat silent (Job 2:13, 16:2). Yet “in all this Job did not curse, not charge God with wrong” (Job 1:22) and after God brought him through his sufferings and helped Job realize His strength and power, “the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning” (Job 42:1-17).      

    Are you able to remain faithful to God through hardships of health and difficulties with others? Do you trust Him enough to allow your faith to flourish through trials? (Psalm 34:17-19; 119:67, 1 Peter 5:6-11)

    It is said of Abraham (and could be said of each of the people mentioned) that “…after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise” (Hebrews 6:15).

    Are you willing to patiently endure through whatever sacrifice you need to make, allowing yourself to become even more faithful, even more resolute in your trust, and keep your faith until the very end (1 Peter 1:6-9)?

You can do it! So can I!!

Pursuing Faith

“Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, 
faith, love, peace with those who call 
on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 
(2 Timothy 2:22 NKJV)

    God wants us to pursue faith, to eagerly seek after it and earnestly endeavor to acquire it. So what is it? What is faith?

    Hebrews 11:1 states “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (NKJV) – but what does that mean?

    Simply put, faith gives us confidence in the things we hope for and with faith we are convinced of God – even though we cannot see Him – we firmly believe in His existence, His Son, His truth, His promises, etc .

    We must pursue faith! Without it we cannot live righteously before God – it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6)!

    So how do we get faith?

“So then faith comes by hearing, 
and hearing by the word of God.” 
(Romans 10:17 NKJV)

    The Contemporary English Version says it this way: “No one can have faith without hearing the message about Christ.”

    Faith begins when you hear God’s Word (John 1:1-14) and are receptive to it (Matthew 13:23). Faith, from that point will either grow, if you continue to seek God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:31-33) or grow stagnant, if you let your focus return to the world around you (Matthew 13:20-22). 

       If the Lord wills, over the next few weeks we will take a closer at faith – how to have it, how to maintain it, how to build it up and increase it – so that we, who call on the Lord out of a pure heart, can learn to flee youthful lusts and pursue faith!

     Are you ready to grow your faith – to pursue that end earnestly and eagerly so that you may flourish in it?

You can do it! So can I!!

Pursue Righteousness, Become an Heir of Righteousness

    Today, as we continue in our study of pursuing righteousness, I would like you to consider Noah. Noah was more like us than you may have once considered – or maybe I should say we are more like him than you may have once considered. 

    Hebrews 1:7 states, “By faith Noah, being divinely warned of the things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir to the righteousness which is according to faith.” (NKJV)

• Noah HEARD God’s words – “being divinely warned…” (see Genesis 6:13-21)
• Noah BELIEVED God’s words – “…of things not yet seen…” (rain or flooding, see Genesis 2:4-6)
• Noah OBEYED God’s words – “…moved with godly fear, prepared an ark…” (see Genesis 6:22-7:1)

    Noah heard, believed, and obeyed – just like the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:29-39 and countless others through the centuries, and just like us - he was separated from the world by water, in a literal sense, just as we are in a spiritual sense, when we are baptized (John 15:18-19, 1 Peter 3:18-22) – we, as Christians, are separated from the world (saved, set apart, seen as different). We now proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9)!

    In doing these things Noah became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith – the righteousness we pursue is according to faith also. We hear God’s words (Romans 10:17), we believe (John 20:29-31), and we obey (Romans 6:1-14, Matthew 28:19-20, James 1:21-25, I could go on and on!). We pursue the righteousness of God whom we have not seen, yet we hear His words, believe His truth, and through faith we obey!

    We are heirs together with Noah! Pursue righteousness just as he did – put your faith into action! Show the world that your trust is in God; that your integrity comes from serving Him first and foremost!

    You have been set apart from the world – flee those youthful lusts that trap the world – pursue righteousness each and every day you are blessed with!

    You can do it! So can I!!