Just By Faith

Martin Luther went to Rome in 1510. He had high expectations for his visit to Rome. When he arrived, he fell to the earth, raised his hands and said, “Hail to thee, holy Rome! Thrice holy for the blood of the martyrs shed here.” Luther wanted a spiritual experience; so he visited the graves of forty-six popes and the cemeteries of 80,000 martyr’s bones.

When good Catholic monks visited Rome, they would often visit a place called Scala Sancta, which means “holy stairs” in the Latin. According to the Christian tradition, these were the very steps that led up to the Praetorium of Pontius Pilate in Jerusalem, which Jesus Christ stood on during his Passion on his way to trial. The stairs were said to be brought to Rome by St. Helena in the 4th Century. They consisted of twenty-eight white marble steps, now encased by wood. They are located next to a church which was built on ground brought from Mount Calvary.

The Catholic Church taught that by ascending these steps on your knees in an appropriate fashion, you can buy an indulgence for someone in purgatory. If you ascended each step reciting “Our Father” (Pater Noster), you could release a soul from purgatory. Luther wanted to free his grandfather – Lindemann Luther – from purgatory.

While Luther was climbing the stairs on his knees, he thought he heard a voice of thunder which cried at the bottom of his heart, ‘The just shall live by faith.’ He was said to rise up in amazement from the steps and began to feel personal horror and shame. He – as legend says – proclaimed “The just shall live by faith!”

It is of vital foundations of the Christian life to live a life founded upon the wonders of faith. We see it in the scriptures over and over again. We are to be full of faith. Trusting in the Lord and His Word to the utmost. We are to be unwavering in our confidence to the Lord. Trust in the Lord always. He is our sure foundation. He is our rock and our shelter. He is our deliverer. He is our shield and our strong tower. He is our very present help in time of need. His word is true. His word is sure. His promises are yes and amen. We are to trust… We are to live by faith. The just shall live by faith.

But one of the main problems with mankind and has been a problem from the beginning and is still rampantly consistent and existent today… we are soooo faithless. I am astounded with our continued struggle with unbelief. And why not… one of the reoccurring statement that Christ makes about us is… Oh ye of little faith. Like I have preach many a time… mankind's greatest problem is the wrath of God and our greatest weakness is unbelief. More specifically, our problem is not that we don’t believe in God. Many times when I say to someone you struggle with unbelief… the first and strong adamant response is… “That’s not true I totally believe in God.” Meaning that they believe that there is a God.

Again, the scriptures will never grant that unbelief is atheistic. The scriptures make it clear that there are no such thing as atheists. Everyone believes in God. What is possible is the wrong belief about God. Look the Israelites when they were delivered out of Egypt, saw the most amazing things that no CGI could ever reproduce in the plagues, the pillar of fire, the cloud, the parting of the red sea, manna from heaven, thunder and fire from the mountain, the glowing face of Moses, and still they were disciplined by the Lord because of their…what was it… their unbelief. It is not that they did not believe God existed, they just did not believe that God was good… it is the unbelief in His Word. Not believing who He says He is, not believing that what He says is really true, and not believing that what He said happened really happened or will happen.

It is mankind’s continued struggle. Our faithlessness. Our unbelief. And if you watch the news, social media, and even the most recent behaviors of many in the church including our church leaders, unbelief is all over the place. Sometime does it not seem that many Christians today just do not believe that Jesus is alive anymore. I mean I was kinds surprised as to how many professing Christians reacted when there was a change in the white house. Many were reacting in such ungodly ways on both sides. Is our confidence in God or in man? Does anybody really trust the Lord anymore? But as Christians, we are not those who just had a moment of faith, but those who live by faith.

Let’s check it out...

Habakkuk 2:4 NLT

“Look at the proud! They trust in themselves, and their lives are crooked. But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever.

The Proud

The Just

The Gospel

The first thing we will look at today is the characteristics and motivation of the proud of those who put confidence in the flesh. Second, we will see the characteristics and motivation of the just and those who do not put confidence in the flesh. Finally, we will see how this answer given by the Lord has and always will be foundational to our understanding of the Gospel and the hope we have in Christ and in Christ alone.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world may cause us to put our trust in self, a person, a place, a thing, or idea, it is the truth of scripture and the power of the Holy Spirit that will cause us to see that life comes by none other than Christ and Christ alone and through nothing but faith and faith alone.

I. The Proud

- Those who put confidence in the flesh.

A. Now remember the Lord is now responding to Habakkuk’s second complaint and He wanted to make sure of some preliminary considerations. We are to see the words of the Lord as precious. Write down the words and put them on tablets. Make it easy for the messenger to spread the words of God.

B. The revelation that God is about to give tells of a time and it will speak of the end. It is abosolutely true and it will not ever be proven false in anyway. It will be some time, but do not worry, hold on to hope for it will happen for sure. It is clear, it is lasting, it is to be spread, it tells of the end it might seem to linger but it will happen. When it comes to the word os God… we gotta trust. We gotta believe. We gotta have faith.

C. What we have here is a contrast between two attitudes toward God and, more specifically, God and His Word. He speaks of the righteous and of the arrogant. The arrogant is first up.

D. The Hebrew is very telling here. The phraseology more specifically suggests … the big headed person or better yet a person who does not have the right view of him or her self. They are not being level headed about themselves. And what we should know is that a person who is in this category self-exaltation and over estimation of self brings about certain grave consequences.

E. First, they will trust themselves. Second, they will be lead by their evil desires. Their confidence and their faith so to speak will be in themselves… they think they are able even without God. They think they can do without the grace of God… they don’t believe that they need it. Woe to us if we ever get to the place where we do not feel the need for God’s grace anymore? Are we overinflated in self confidence? The scriptures talk of presumption.

Numbers 14:44 ESV

But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp.

Deuteronomy 1:43 NLT

“This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the Lord’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight.

F. It is a serious consequence if we believe that we are much more than we think we are. When we are putting confidence in the flesh. Woe to us if we trust in ourselves.

- Wherever human beings rely on something of this earth…a person, a place, a thing, or idea—whether it be our intellectual/pragmatic achievements or our wealth or our military might or aesthetic/extraordinary abilities and appreciation or pride of birth rights and our status or even the ability to hope or cope and solve problems and overcome or even master the complexities of modern life, our life experiences, political party, special interest groups, social constructs, philosophical ideologies—wherever confidence is placed in human power and ingenuity and not in God for the achievement of a satisfying and secure manner of living, there true life cannot be had… instead there will be death.

G. Do we see the implications of this… confidence in the flesh brings death not life. Anything you receive by the powers of humanity and its so called greatness leads us to death not life. The destiny of the proud is death. It will lead to death. It will result in death… even for those who say they follow God.

Luke 18:9–14 NLT

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else: “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

H. And this pride and self-exaltation will show itself by our fruit. They cannot be upright, they cannot live in that manner. They cannot display the both inward and outward requirements in order to do what it is that the Lord considers upright. If you remember in out study of the 10 commandments that it is not just mere outward conformity to the law of God that is required, but the inward heart as well. Inward conformity is a requirement. But in reality, today, those who come under this category, do not care whether there is outward or inward conformity it seems. Today if it feels good do it.

I. We are led by the desires of the heart, which for those in the pride category, are not upright desires. This is why concepts like if it feels good do it, just follow your heart, don’t let anyone tell you what is right and wrong figure it out for yourself, to thine own self be true, trust yourself, trust your instincts, trust your feelings, use the force Luke… all of this kind of thinking and slogans come from a basic belief that humans are by nature inherently Good. This is not what the scriptures teach...

Genesis 6:5 NLT

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

J. The proud will follow their evil desires that have confidence in the belief of an exalted self. They trust themselves and their hearts. They will indeed put confidence in the flesh. Like the apostle Paul says not to do in Philippians. And they do this because they have and over-exalted/inflated view of themselves… that is why scripture says that they are puffed up. It is clearly stated, there is no ambiguity or fogginess in this… if you are one whose trust is in self, you are destined to die.

II. The Just

- Those who do not put confidence in the flesh.

A. But those who live by faith are destined to live and to live life more abundantly. Man there is so much to say about this. The arrogant will trust themselves, but those who will follow the Lord, will put their trust in the Lord.

B. Now there is a-lot to say about the differing translations of the Hebrew here and the countless reasons for the confusion coming from the septuagint and the NT use of this verse. The just shall live by their faithfulness, live by His faithfulness, live by faith. Some suggest that the Apostle Paul distorts what it is that Habakkuk meant. Some suggests that Paul is using Habakkuk to show how one acquires right standing with God by faith and Habakkuk is communicating a person who is characterized by ongoing reliance on God and His promises in the face of the realization that the answer to the ongoing problem of evil in the world is the faith that waits on the Lord.

C. As if this is somehow contradictory? So much is given toward this supposed dilemma. Some say that Paul made a mistake and we just live with it. Some say that it is the right of the Apostle to misquote scripture. It is a taught hermeneutical principle that the NT writers had the God given right to misinterpret scripture, reinterpret scriptures, reapply scriptures in any way the Spirt of God directed them. This is not necessary. There is no contradiction.

Dr. John McKay writes, But the alleged discrepancy between faith and faithfulness is not as substantial as it may appear at first sight. Both look to the active intervention of God to restore what was lost by mankind in the Fall. Paul is not contradicting Habakkuk, but focusing on the presupposition that is integral to the trust to which he refers. Scripture does not know of a true faith that is without subsequent faithfulness, or of a true faithfulness that is not the product of genuine faith. Both look out with mankind to God as the sole resolver of the human predicament, and both involve surrender to his requirements and his way from beginning to end. Faithfulness, that is, constancy throughout the varied circumstances of life, is inextricably linked with faith, that is, an on-going reliance on God and his provision.

D. There is no faithfulness without faith. And if there is faith, there will be faithfulness. The great attribute of a Christian is trust in the Lord. It is by faith that we shall live. The just shall live by faith. It is by our assent to true propositions that is key to life and life more abundant. The best definition of faith is - assent or agreement to true propositions or premises. Remember Hebrews 11:1 is not a definition of faith but a description of what faith does. Mom is the reason I ate broccoli as a kid. Faith is also not a blind shooting in the dark and hoping that we will hit a target. Faith is I know that if I shoot even though I can’t see the target, I know I’m gonna hit it because the Lord said that I would. It is not a hope just cause, but it is a hope cause the Lord said so.

E. Do we trust in what the Lord has to say to us today? Do we believe the promises that He made are really true? Do we really believe that what the Bible says is really true and what is claims to have happened really did happen? This is what Habakkuk is talking about. Do we believe that what the Word of God says is really true and do we trust it?

F. Do we unwaveringly trust the truths of scriptures and rest in its propositions? Some will say Shane… bro. Look He promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us, but where was he when I needed Him most. He promised to provide my needs according to His riches in glory, but I can’t pay my bills right now cause I lost my job. He promised that he would be my defender, but my co-worker lied on me and now I lost my job. He promised that if I delight myself in Him He will give me the desires of my heart, but I have nothing that I asked for. I didn't ask for much, but I got nothing. Nothing.

G. Many times circumstances or lack of desired outcomes can cause us to lose faith in God. I have seen this many many times. People walk away from God because He allegedly did not do what He promised. God let them down.

III. The Gospel

- The just shall live by faith.

A. And that is why we struggle with faith so much. Unbelief clear since the fall. Did God really say??? He just doesn't want you to be like Him. Doubting His Word and doubting His intentions. Unbelief fundamental to sin in our lives. And we have all fallen short of the glory of God. We are all by nature children of wrath. We were sinful from the time we were in our mothers womb. Ecclesiastes says not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.

B. And there lies the dilemma. We got a huge problem. Its called the wrath of God. Punishment is coming for those who have sinned against the Lord. God has promised to punish those who are stained with the guilt of sin. And the scriptures declare that if you break even one of the smallest of the commands of God you are as guilty as one who has broken all of it.

C. Can we be saved from this? Do we have hope? Yes but it is not in climbing the Scala Sancta and reciting the our fathers on every step on our knees. It is not in paying indulgences. It is not because the mother Mary prayed for us. It is not because we received the merit of the saints out of the Holy treasury. It is not because we did our best to make sure we did more good things in life than bad things in life. It is not because we had good church attendance. It is not because we tried really hard and did the best we could. It is not because in the end God will not do anything to judge us cause he’s just not that way its just not his character. It is not because we kept most of the law most of the time. And I could go on and on…

D. But the Apostle Paul made it very clear, by quoting the truth given to the prophet Habakkuk… If we are to live. If we are to have life and life more abundant… it is clear… the just shall live by faith. Like Martin Luther declared on the stairs… the just shall live by faith. The apostle Paul declared in Romans and Galatians the just shall live by faith. The author of the Hebrews declared the just shall live by faith.

E. It is by faith that we have been saved. Faith is the instrument by which we receive the righteousness of Christ put on our account. Because of what Christ has done we are now the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. And what did He do? He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died so that we could have life and life more abundant.

F. Yes Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance…

G. The Just shall live by faith. If we confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God… John wrote his gospel so that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God...

H. There is no amount of stairs to climb to find salvation. It only comes one way. We are saved by grace through faith. This is why today we declare… the just shall live by faith.