The Righteous shall live by FAITH part 3
Notes
Transcript
We’ve been talking about Hab 2:4b
We’ve been talking about Hab 2:4b
English Standard Version Chapter 2
the righteous shall live by his faith.
This is the third installment of our trilogy series on this verse. We’ve already talked about the Righteous. Who they are and how they got that way. We learned a new word Imputed which means something being applied to the account. So Christ’s Righteousness was imputed to us. Then we talked about how those Righteous shall Live last week. There we talked about two different extremes that Christians have often fallen into. The legalists which make up a bunch of rules to follow to which help in salvation or at least they think it helps. Then we had our big word of the week there and that was antinomianism which just meant against the law. They claim there was no law at all that applied to Christians. But as we saw, the ceremonial and civil law did not apply to us but still pointed us to Jesus the moral law which is related to the character of God does not ever go away. We saw what not to fall into and covered the rest of living through the four points on Christian liberty.
1 Don’t flaunt it
2 Always welcoming
3 Don’t cause others to stumble
4 Christian liberty isn’t for pleasing ourselves
Each of our three sections have been connected to books in the new testament.
The Righteous were connected in Romans at Rom 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Shall live was connected in Galations at Gal 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Now this week we’re going to finish out by talking about Faith. This is the means, or the ability that has been given to us to be able to go on living in that Christian liberty because we are the ones declared Righteous by God.
Key Verse Hebrews 10:38
Key Verse Hebrews 10:38
but my righteous one shall live by faith,
and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him.”
So our first question is what is faith? I want to cover some common wrong definitions of faith first though.
Faith is not belief in something you don’t or can’t know.
And “belief” isn’t just what some might label as pretending something you was to be true as if it were true.
Faith is not belief in something even when the evidence points the other direction.
Faith is and here’s our big word of the week. Biggest one we’ve had yet in the series. You thought imputation was big or antinomianism was bigger well try this on for size. Faith is TRUST. Yes our big word is trust. It’s a really big word. What does it mean if you trust something? It means you’ve already had evidence, had examples, or have a history with whatever or whoever it is that you are going to trust. That’s BIG.
In big show production events you have a group of people called riggers. They plan out and then attach the steel cables high up in the ceiling that chains with strong motors attach to. Those motors haul up the tons of truss holding speakers, lights, and other theatrical pieces into the air over your head. When we got to Shang Hai and unloaded the steel and motors we need to hang in the air we asked around who the local riggers were that came to work with us. A half dozen men were pointed out and our first question was where are your ropes? It’s a tall ceiling. You need to drop ropes down to the ground for us to attach the steel to. They looked confused and shocked after the message from our head rigger was translated. Speaking mandarin and pointing up a few sets of words were exchanged with the translator and the men walked out of the building leaving us a bit confused. We were told they said something like what are you crazy you want us to go up there!? They had no faith! No faith that they wouldn’t fall to their death. They had never worked as a rigger. They hadn’t seen anyone work as a rigger. They walked away because they didn’t want to die. A reasonable response. So someone else from our show climbed up in the air. He put on a harness got a rope and got the work done. He had been around rigging for years. He’s spent time climbing around at high heights. He knew how this was done and had faith that it wouldn’t collapse and he wouldn’t fall to his death. I had faith that he hooked up all that steel correctly and it wasn’t going to fall on my head the next day because I TRUSTED Gary to get the job done right.
I got to have my faith tested a second time in China. I went out to the Great Wall in Simatai and while we hiked across it we came to a place where we could get back down via zip-line instead of the long walk all the way back. It was amazing but probably not the best example of something to put your faith in.
The common definition from the Bible for Faith is Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Warren Wiersbe has this comment about Faith here.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Ten: Faith—The Greatest Power in the World (Hebrews 11)
This is not a definition of faith but a description of what faith does and how it works. True Bible faith is not blind optimism or a manufactured “hope-so” feeling. Neither is it an intellectual assent to a doctrine. It is certainly not believing in spite of evidence! That would be superstition.
True Bible faith is confident obedience to God’s Word in spite of circumstances and consequences. Read that last sentence again and let it soak into your mind and heart.
Then he goes on to say this.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Ten: Faith—The Greatest Power in the World (Hebrews 11)
This faith operates quite simply. God speaks and we hear His Word. We trust His Word and act on it no matter what the circumstances are or what the consequences may be. The circumstances may be impossible, and the consequences frightening and unknown; but we obey God’s Word just the same and believe Him to do what is right and what is best.
Let’s see how the bible tells similar stories of people who trust God. Start replacing the word for faith with trust as we read these.
Hebrews 11:7
English Standard Version Chapter 11
7 By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
AND Hebrews 11:17-19
English Standard Version Chapter 11
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of offering up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” 19 He considered that God was able even to raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.
AND Hebrews 11.22
English Standard Version Chapter 11
By faith Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.
AND Hebrews 11:24-28
By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
AND Hebrews 11:29
By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned.
AND Hebrews 11:30
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
AND Hebrews 11:31
By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
AND Hebrews 11:13-16
These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.
Faith is trusting God’s word and promises. He promises he has made us righteous, He has freed us from a final death apart from Him. He has promised His word does not come back empty handed.
Now we know that by trusting God we can go through life in His freedom because he has already made us righteous.