The Just Shall Live By Faith

†CALL TO WORSHIP Hebrews 11:6

Paul Mulner, Elder

Minister: We are here to worship God!

Congregation: We come in faith, because without faith it is impossible to please him. We come seeking an audience with God, because he is a rewarder of those who seek him.

†PRAYER OF ADORATION AND INVOCATION

†OPENING PSALM OF PRAISE #54

“By Your Name, O God, Now Save Me”

†CONFESSION OF SIN based on Exodus 20

Minister: “God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make idolatrous images; to have or to worship.

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

Honor your father and your mother.

You shall not murder.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness.

You shall not covet.

Congregation: Almighty God, we confess that we have sinned against your holy law in thought, word and deed. We have not loved you with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. We have not loved our neighbor as we love ourselves. By grace through faith, you made us righteous in Christ. Yet we have not lived with the perfect purity of our savior.

Forgive us, for his sake. Purify us, by his blood. Wrap us in his love and righteousness, that we might stand before you on the day of judgment, and find favor. We thank you that the promises of forgiveness we find in your word are true. Give us the Holy Spirit, that we might live before you more faithfully. Make us glad for our salvation, and eager to serve your holy will. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

†ASSURANCE OF PARDON

CONTINUAL READING OF SCRIPTURE James 2:1-13 Pastor Austin Prince

James 2:1–13 ESV

1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

THE OFFERING OF TITHES AND OUR GIFTS

“Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them.” (Hebrews 13:9, ESV)

CONGREGATIONAL PRAYERS

THE LORD’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

†HYMN OF PREPARATION #395

“O Breath of Life”

SERMON Habakkuk 2:4-5 // The Righteous Live By Faith

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

We pray, that we, as those who Paul charged, may be filled with the knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so that we may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please you in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all the power, according to His glorious might, for the affirming of all steadfastness and patience. Amen.

TEXT Habakkuk 2:2-5

Habakkuk 2:2–5 ESV

2 And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. 3 For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. 4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. 5 “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.”

AFTER SCRIPTURE

The ordinances of the Lord are sure, and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold.

Intro

Have you ever wondered why there are different names for God’s people in the Bible? If you trace them back, the name changes tell a bit of a story. In some places, they are simply called the Hebrews. This name, derived from a genealogy in Genesis 11, tells us that Abraham and his people are descendents of a man named Eber. It is a name attached to a forefather. As Abraham is called by God and enters into a covenant relationship of faith, His descendant, Jacob, produces the twelve tribes of Israel, Jacob’s other name. The Israelites, as they are then called, are now not only named by ancestry, but by covenant relationship to God. Yet, as they exodus from Egyptian slavery and inhabit the promised land of Caanan, they establish a land of their own, taking on the names of their individual tribes — the peoples of Manasseh, the peoples of Judah, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and so forth.

But after the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdoms of Israel in 722 BC the only house still standing was the southern kingdom of Judah. And as they are stripped of their land and brought into Babylonian captivity, they are no longer called the peoples of Judah, because they no longer live there.

They had a choice, they could integrate into the life of Babylon or they could remain obstinate. But as the Babylonian king announced in Daniel 3, “You are commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace.”” (Daniel 3:4–6, ESV). And so was the fate of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. It was the same fate as their friend Daniel when he refused to offer prayers to the new king, Darius, and was thrown to the lions. The question among the kingdom became, who are these people who will not worship Marduk and honor our king? Who are these captives who hold onto the worship of their God? Where did they come from, again? A shorthand was created for such a people. It referred back to their homeland of Judah, but it wasn’t about their geography so much as it was about their beliefs — they maintained a faith that they refused to leave behind. The name was Jew.

Now, this tale of a name shines a light on our text today. Much more important than geography or genealogy as that which defines God’s people, it was to be what they believed. This very text and Habakkuk’s context of exile and judgment are challenging the very heart and identity of these people.

Last week, we left off with Habakkuk on the watchtower. He has raised his questions to the Lord: God, where are you in judgment of those who deny your law? And, where are you when the righteous are oppressed? Where is the victory in this sin and brokenness? Why are you silent?

And he has wisely stationed himself in a place to wait upon the Lord —to humble himself and to listen.

Our text today is the Lord’s answer. It’s the thesis statement of the book of Habakkuk and it is a fundamental truth that is picked up many times in the New Testament.

Let’s note three things about God’s response:

Outline:

The importance of the message (v.2)

The timing of the message (v.3)

The message (vv.4-5)

The Importance of The Message (v.2)

“And the Lord answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.” (Habakkuk 2:2, ESV)

The vision that the Lord is about to give to Habakkuk is so important that he should do two things: 1) Inscribe the message on tablets and 2) Make the message plain.

Inscribing the message on tablets is a callback to the law, the ten commandments. Other prophets were called to preserve their messages in various ways (Isa. 8:1; 30:8; Jer. 30:2), but Habakkuk was to carve this vision into stone. In essence, this message will be permanent and fundamental, like the law.

And Habakkuk was to make it plain so that “he may run who reads it”. Now, this either means that the message is so plain that the prophet can run through town proclaiming it quickly, or that the message is made so plain that even someone who is running by can’t miss it, sort of like a flashing neon sign written in all caps.

The point is that the message is crucial, it is enduring, and it should be broadcast clearly. It is a message that is still to be etched into our theology. It is where we, too, should look when we have questions and doubts and the silence of God.

But before God gives the message to Habakkuk, He makes a qualifier about its timing. Look at verse three:

The Timing of The Message (v.3)

“For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” (Habakkuk 2:3, ESV)

We are told that the vision both awaits its appointed time and hastens to the end. It will delay, and it will not delay. What’s that about?

From our perspective God’s timing looks like delay and silence, but that isn’t what’s happening from God’s perspective. He encourages us and says, “if it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”

God will deliver on His promises completely and in the timing He ordains. It may seem slow to us, but it is hastening His commands whenever He gives them. He isn’t raising funds or gathering his strength; He is upholding the universe by the word of His power and directing our days.

Peter encourages the church on this front in 2 Peter 3: 8-9

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Our observable experiences often seem to contradict God’s promises.

Abraham didn’t see his wife become pregnant for years. The prophets didn’t see the messiah come in their lifetimes. Many of these who were about to be exiled to Babylon would die there. God’s goodness isn’t determined by our calendar. God’s faithfulness isn’t determined understanding.

John Calvin writes,

“It is hence the trial of faith to acquiesce in God’s word, when its accomplishment does in no way appear. As then the Prophet teaches us, that the vision is yet for a time, he reminds us that we have no faith, except we are satisfied with God’s word alone”

let it (God’s word) be deemed worthy of credit, so that the word of God may on its own account be believed; and let it not be tried according to the common rule; for men charge God with falsehood, except he immediately yields to their desires. Let then the vision itself be counted sufficiently solid and firm, until the suitable time shall come.” — Calvin

Part of God’s answer to Habakkuk is that He should be trusted. God acknowledges that it will seem delayed and will bring a strain — a temptation to lose heart. But He has not left us or forsaken us. It will surely come. There should be credit to God’s name. Has he ever dropped the ball before? Has he ever used calamity before to bring about good and His ends? Does He really love you and care about you? How has He proven that? Is He cold and austere and distant?No, we pray that His kingdom would come and His will would be done, for His is the kingdom, and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

One element of that plain inscription is that God is faithful and worthy to be trusted.

We’ve been called to wait a few times over in Habakkuk so far, but this word from God puts some qualifications on our waiting. We are to endure patiently, not like the kid who is asking “are we there yet, are we there yet” on a long journey, but as those who know that God is paying attention.

We are not to wait anxiously, as if God isn’t there. Added to the waiting, worry is the burden of stress along with the false testimony of God’s abandonment or frailty. This shouldn’t be how we wait.

But we shouldn’t wait stoically, either — acting indifferent to God’s timing. We are people of prayer and of hope. We are to “Rejoice in the Lord always. Letting our reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. We are not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving letting our requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4–7, ESV)

And that brings us to the message itself in vv.4-5

The Message (vv.4-5)

““Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith. “Moreover, wine is a traitor, an arrogant man who is never at rest. His greed is as wide as Sheol; like death he has never enough. He gathers for himself all nations and collects as his own all peoples.”” (Habakkuk 2:4–5, ESV)

This message to be made plain and inscribed in stone is that the righteous shall live by his faith.

And it stands in direct confrontation to the prideful. The prideful place their hopes in themselves. They place their trust in kings, or wealth, or the peace of their circumstances. They place their trust in their own understanding and their own sense of timing. They trust in their own strength and wisdom. But that is not the way of the righteous. The righteous are humbled. Every moment and everything is a gift from God to be received with gratitude and trust. Every breath is grace. Every pulse of the heart.

Earlier, in Habakkuk 1:12, Habakkuk says, ““Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die.” God’s answer here is the key to Habakkuk’s quandary. How is it that the people of God will not be abandoned and wiped out, even when circumstances look so dire? The answer, the righteous live not because their circumstances always work out the way they want. No, the righteous live because of their faith. They were to live by faith in Judah, but they weren’t. They are to live by faith, even in Babylon. The righteous are able to live even in Babylon, that’s the message. Righteousness comes by faith. It’s all grace. It’s all a gift from God. We are to embrace that and abide in Him in all seasons.

Righteousness isn’t earned or bought; it isn’t learned over time. It’s trusting God. We trust Him in our days and in our nights. We trust His words. We trust Him to save us from our sins. We trust Him with our futures. We trust Him in the good times and the hard. God doesn’t demand some ridiculous payment or journey or task from us to earn His stamp of righteousness, but the irony of that is that we would prefer that. Our pride would prefer the ability to prove ourselves and take hold of security for ourselves. What God does demand is our trust of Him. There is no cost, but we are to come and eat, says Isaiah. And that seems to be the hardest part because it is an affront to our prideful self-sufficiency.

Grace is handed to us with nail-pierced hands and we are reluctant to take it. How much more should he have to prove himself to you?

The New Testament picks up this message and recalls the vision etched in stone in at least three places:

Romans 1:17 ESV

17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Paul, taking Habakkuk 2:4 for his thesis in the book of Romans highlights that we are justified by faith and that we continue our lives by faith. From “faith for faith”, as he puts it. That is, the Christian starts out by faith but doesn’t progress on by himself. We are not saved by faith but live by works. We live by steadfast faith. Our lives are in dependence upon God — every moment of them.

In Galatians, Paul again writes,

Galatians 3:11 ESV

11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Our justification before God doesn’t come by our obedience to the law, although obedience is of course a good thing. Righteousness comes by faith. Faith brings freedom. Who can boast before the throne in themselves? The only boast we have is Christ. God provided — we believe Him.

Again this thesis is picked up in Hebrews 10 and 11:

Hebrews 10:38 ESV

38 but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

Hebrews perhaps recalls the text closest to our context in Habakkuk. Though life be difficult and though dark days seem to come, we endure by faith. The author moves on to Hebrews 11 and the famous “hall of faith” chapter, recalling the very difficult lives of God’s people, yet they are to be emulated in their faith.

When we’re in Babylon, we don’t bow down to their gods. We keep our eyes fixed on Christ and serve Him alone.

There will be days and season when faith is all you have. But He who promised is faithful.

We are called to faith in the large scale and the longterm, but what serves to bolster our faith is to see God’s faithfulness in the daily tasks — the tasting and seeing that He is good. When God calls us to believe that He is more satisfying than our lusts or our addictions and He proves himself true. When He calls us to love others as we have been loved or to forgive as we have been forgiven. We are to believe that it is better to let love cover a multitude of sins than to turn to bitterness and resentment. We are to believe that he knowns our frame, the hairs on our heads, and the needs we have. We are to trust that our identities and validation comes not from our works and not even from our sinful past, but that we are who He says we are. We trust him when we lay our heads to rest at night, that it is God who sustains us. We trust him in singleness, engagement, and marriage. We trust Him through job loss and tough diagnoses. We trust Him in the school years with our whole lives ahead of us. We trust him in our age with life behind us. The righteous live by faith. And without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6).

And our faith isn’t in our faith. Our rest isn’t in how we feel — either how strong or weak our trust seems to be. Our faith is in God. He is from everlasting and will hasten to do His will in His timing and in His ways — we are to be still, receive, and believe.

Conclusion

The last line in the book of Habakkuk reads this way:

“God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” (Habakkuk 3:19, ESV)

Living by faith often means treading on the high places, but he gives us the feet of a deer that can stand secure even on some pretty tough terrain.

And in our faith we take on another name. A name that identifies exactly where our faith lies. It’s not in our genealogy or a geography, but it is in the name which literally embodies the faithfulness of our covenant-keeping God. Those who live by faith are called Christians.

†HYMN OF RESPONSE #159

“Abide With Me”

THE MINISTRY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

Leader: Lift up your hearts!

Congregation: We lift them up to the Lord.

Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.

Congregation: It is right for us to give thanks and praise!

CONFESSION OF FAITH - The Nicene Creed (p.852)

INVITATION TO THE LORD’S TABLE

Beloved in the Lord Jesus, the meal which we are about to celebrate is a feast of remembrance, communion, and hope.

We come to remember that Jesus was sent into the world to assume our flesh and blood, to become God with us, that we might be redeemed. We come to have communion with this same Christ who has promised to be with us even to the end of the world.

We come in hope, believing that this bread and this cup are a pledge and a foretaste of a new heaven and a new earth, where we shall behold God.

In his earthly ministry Jesus praised those who provided for him, saying, I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave me drink. Now here, for us, is the bread of life given; let all who hunger come and eat. Here is the fruit of the vine, poured out for us. It is for all who belong to Christ through repentance, faith, baptism, and continuing union with his church. Let all who thirst come and drink.

Let’s pray this prayer all together

PRAYER

Congregation: Most righteous God, we remember in this meal the perfect sacrifice offered once on the cross by our Lord Jesus Christ for the sin of the whole world. United with Christ in his suffering, strengthened by the Holy Spirit, trusting in the power of God to triumph over evil, we wait in joyful hope for the fullness of God’s reign. Send your Holy Spirit upon us, we pray, that the bread which we break and the cup which we bless may be to us the communion of the body and blood of Christ.

Grant that, being joined together in him, we may attain to the unity of the faith and grow up in all things into Christ our Lord. And as this grain has been gathered from many fields into one loaf, and these grapes from many hills into one cup, grant, O Lord, that your whole Church may soon be gathered from the ends of the earth into your kingdom. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Amen.

Congregation is seated.

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE ELEMENTS

THE WORDS OF INSTITUTION AND SHARING OF THE SUPPER

“Eat and drink.”

Mark 14:22-25

And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

†OUR RESPONSE #248

Let all things their Creator bless,

and worship him in humbleness,

O praise him, alleluia!

Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son,

and praise the Spirit, three in one,

O praise him, O praise him,

alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!

†BENEDICTION: GOD’S BLESSING FOR HIS PEOPLE

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God and of God’s son, Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God almighty, the father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit remain with you always. Phil. 4:7