Romans 1:17 "For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
Galatians 3:11 "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith."
Hebrews 10:38 "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him."
Anytime the Bible says something, it is important. I don't believe God wastes words like some of us do. So, if there is something that is repeated four times in the Bible, it is of vital importance.
God keeps bringing various writers back to this phrase, "The just shall live by faith." So, we can readily see that faith isn't just a concept, or a belief, it is a way of life. For the believer, faith is the way we are to live!
We have gotten too loose with what faith means in our modern society. People often will say something like, "I have faith in God," or interchange that with, "I believe in God." Well, that's great. What about Him gives you faith? What about Him causes you to believe? The Word says that even the devil's believe and tremble (James 2:19), so there has to be a piece that we're missing. I believe we have mixed up "faith", and "belief", and when you are done with this series, not only will you be able to tell the difference between the two, you will know how to use your faith to get results.
I looked up the word "live", and I came across this definition, "To conduct one's life in a particular manner; to pursue a positive, satisfying experience; enjoy life." So, we could say it this way, "The just (that's you if you're born again) shall conduct their life in a particular manner, (that is a positive, satisfying and enjoyable manner) by faith."
That means that our lives, as believer's, are meant to be enjoyable! How do we get to enjoy life? We live by faith. Doesn't that fit with what Jesus said in John 10:10, "I am come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly,"? An abundant life is a good life. An abundant life means, I'm prospering in every area of my life, in my spiritual life, in my finances, in my family, in my physical body, in my mind. Total prosperity then, is the same thing as the Hebrew word "shalom", which means, "nothing missing, nothing broken."
So, if enjoying total prosperity (shalom), is the way believer's are to live (and an evangelistic tool to reach the world), how do we get there? How do i enjoy prosperity in my body, in my finances, in my marriage? By faith!
You see, we live in a faith controlled system. What you say, you will have. God didn't set out to create the heavens and the earth, and say, "Man, it sure is dark out. I hope we can light this place up somehow. What are we gonna do Jesus? Holy Ghost, you got any ideas?" No, He spoke the end result before He could see it. He said, "Light, be!" and light was. He was putting into practice the faith principles that Jesus taught us in Mark 11:23-24. But, before we get there, we have to understand what faith is.
Since this universe is a faith controlled system, God created the universe by faith (Hebrews 11 talks about God creating the seen things of the World by things which can not be seen, referring to faith.) So then, it stands to reason that we must learn what exactly faith is.
Well, the number one rule of Bible interpretation is to interpret the Bible in light of the Bible. So, let's look to the Word for a definition of faith. Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Don't let that word "hope" throw you off there. Bible hope isn't like our modern usage of the word hope. It doesn't mean, "Well, I hope it will happen." The word hope means, "a confident expectation." So, faith is the substance of things confidently expected. We could also say that hope is the goal-setter to faith.
What do I mean by that? Well, look at the thermostat in your house. By itself, that little old unit wont do anything, just like hope wont, but, when it's tied to a heating or cooling system, it tells the system the goal temperature, and doesn't release your heat or air conditioning until it reaches it's goal! That's what real, Bible hope does. It finds out what God has said about your situation, and it stands on it, and it refuses to back to down, and it refuses to quit! (Remember, we have to find what God said about the situation, because faith begins where the will of God is known!)
We find that scripture the the Lord has revealed to us, and then our hope holds fast to it, like the thermostat holds fast to the temperature it was set to, and no matter what happens, hope refuses to quit. We find in Romans, it tells us that Abraham, against all (natural) hope, believed in hope. He refused to quit, even though it was impossible in the natural.
That's how we have to be, Bless God! We refuse to quit, no matter what comes against us. Your thermostat doesn't care if it's -30 degrees outside! As long as it has power, it will hold to it's setting of 68, and it will fight, and keep working, and keep working, and not give up, and not quit until it reaches the goal it has established for itself. That's how your hope is designed to work! Your hope, based and established on the Word of the Living God, will give substance to what it you have been believing for!
Tomorrow or Thursday, we will take a look at Pt 2 - Giving evidence to the unseen
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