The
Righteous Shall Live By Faith
Introduction:
Salvation from sin is based upon
faith – Rom. 1:16-17; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 3:7-11. This was a hard lesson for
many to learn in New Testament times. The apostles were charged with teaching
people who had for centuries, lived inside a heritage of being works focused
and procedure focused. What about us? Certainly we have faith – but there
is always a danger of misplacing it. While obedience and the correct form of
worship is necessary, we must never forget the basis for these things: our
faith. Today we are going to look at a passage that is used in two places
– once in the OT and once in the NT. It is very simple: The
righteous shall live by his faith.
I.
Habakkuk 2:4
A.
Habakkuk written between 609-606 BC. Babylon is pressing itself
upon Judah.
1.
1:1 – God opened the eyes of Habakkuk to see/understand what
was happening in Judah. Habakkuk was able to see things as God saw them.
2.
1:2-4 – things were not pleasant.
B.
1:5-11 – God answers Habakkuk.
1.
1:12-17 – Habakkuk responds. Habakkuk was even more
confused.
2.
1:15-16 – Judah would be an easy catch for Babylon.
C.
2:1 – Habakkuk knew he had not correctly understood the
situation.
D.
2:2-4 – God’s answer. 2:4b – the righteous would
survive because of their faith.
E.
2:4 is significant. The righteous in Judah would survive.
II.
Romans 1:16-17
A.
1:17 – Righteousness is a product of faith.
1.
A righteous person’s life will be filled with obedience. See
Romans 12-16.
2.
But…just being obedient and doing good things does not make a
person righteous.
3.
It is faith that makes the difference.
a)
One will not be saved without faith. One will not be saved without
obedience. Js. 2:19-24 – faith w/o
works is dead.
B.
We do have a tendency to elevate obedience over faith, however.
And that had led to:
1.
Fear…fear that we are not doing enough to be saved.
2.
A great emphasis should be placed upon faith!
C.
Phil. 3 – Paul makes a similar point here.
1.
3:4-6 – Paul had impressive Jewish credentials and
connections.
2.
3:7-8 – he left his credentials and achievements behind.
3.
3:9-11 – why?
a)
3:9 – not having a righteousness of his own derived from the
law.
b)
3:9 – wanted righteousness through faith in Jesus –
righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.
4.
3:12-14 – he pressed on – got busy. Moving
forward…living for Jesus.
D.
We are not righteous because we just obey commands or do good
things.
1.
Because we are righteous – we obey anything and everything
God commands.
E.
Salvation is not a matter of compensation.
1.
We are righteous because we trust God, not ourselves & not our
own deeds.
2.
Christians should be filled with excitement; anticipation;
optimism; hope!
Conclusion:
A.
The same thing that justified persons during OT times, justifies
people today: Faith.
B.
Only through faith will we be made righteous before God.
1.
Will you truly trust Him – if so, there will be no
hesitation to repent, confess, and be baptized into Christ.