Monday, May 18, 2015
Faith - Living By
Bible Questions Answered:
“What does it mean living by
faith?...”
Courtney/ San Diego, California U.S.A.
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Habakkuk 2:4 KJV
Behold, his soul which is lifted up
is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Romans 1:17 KJV
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
KJV
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
KJV
Now the just shall live by faith:
but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Faith: Unquestioning belief that
does not require proof or evidence.
(New World Dictionary)
John 20:24-29 KJV
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve,
called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore
said unto him, We have seen The Lord. But he said unto them, Except I
shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into
the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not
believe.
26 And after eight days again His
disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the
doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto
you.
27 Then saith He to Thomas, Reach
hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand,
and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.
28 And Thomas answered and said unto
Him, My Lord and my God.
29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that
have not seen, and yet have believed.
The Apostle Paul
stated:
Hebrews 11:1-40
NLT
1 Faith is the confidence that what
we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things
we cannot see.
2 Through their faith, the people in
days of old earned a good reputation.
3 By faith we understand that the
entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see
did not come from anything that can be seen.
4 It was by faith that Abel brought
a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering
gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed His
approval of his gifts. Although Abel is long dead, he still speaks to
us by his example of faith.
5 It was by faith that Enoch was
taken up to heaven without dying—“he disappeared, because God
took him.” For before he was taken up, he was known as a person who
pleased God.
6 And it is impossible to please God
without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God
exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.
7 It was by faith that Noah built a
large boat to save his family from the flood. He obeyed God, who
warned him about things that had never happened before. By his faith
Noah condemned the rest of the world, and he received the
righteousness that comes by faith.
8 It was by faith that Abraham
obeyed when God called him to leave home and go to another land that
God would give him as his inheritance. He went without knowing where
he was going.
9 And even when he reached the land
God promised him, he lived there by faith—for he was like a
foreigner, living in tents. And so did Isaac and Jacob, who inherited
the same promise.
10 Abraham was confidently looking
forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built
by God.
11 It was by faith that even Sarah
was able to have a child, though she was barren and was too old. She
believed that God would keep His promise.
12 And so a whole nation came from
this one man who was as good as dead—a nation with so many people
that, like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, there
is no way to count them.
13 All these people died still
believing what God had promised them. They did not receive what was
promised, but they saw it all from a distance and welcomed it. They
agreed that they were foreigners and nomads here on earth.
14 Obviously people who say such
things are looking forward to a country they can call their own.
15 If they had longed for the
country they came from, they could have gone back.
16 But they were looking for a
better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to
be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.
17 It was by faith that Abraham
offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who
had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son,
Isaac,
18 even though God had told him,
“Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted."
19 Abraham reasoned that if Isaac
died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense,
Abraham did receive his son back from the dead.
20 It was by faith that Isaac
promised blessings for the future to his sons, Jacob and Esau.
21 It was by faith that Jacob, when
he was old and dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and bowed in
worship as he leaned on his staff.
22 It was by faith that Joseph, when
he was about to die, said confidently that the people of Israel would
leave Egypt. He even commanded them to take his bones with them when
they left.
23 It was by faith that Moses’
parents hid him for three months when he was born. They saw that God
had given them an unusual child, and they were not afraid to disobey
the king’s command.
24 It was by faith that Moses, when
he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter.
25 He chose to share the oppression
of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin.
26 He thought it was better to suffer for the sake of Christ than to
own the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking ahead to his great
reward.
27 It was by faith that Moses left
the land of Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger. He kept right on
going because he kept his eyes on The One Who Is Invisible.
28 It was by faith that Moses
commanded the people of Israel to keep the Passover and to sprinkle
blood on the doorposts so that the angel of death would not kill
their firstborn sons.
29 It was by faith that the people
of Israel went right through the Red Sea as though they were on dry
ground. But when the Egyptians tried to follow, they were all
drowned.
30 It was by faith that the people
of Israel marched around Jericho for seven days, and the walls came
crashing down.
31 It was by faith that Rahab the
prostitute was not destroyed with the people in her city who refused
to obey God. For she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
32 How much more do I need to say?
It would take too long to recount the stories of the faith of Gideon,
Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and all the prophets.
33 By faith these people overthrew
kingdoms, ruled with justice, and received what God had promised
them. They shut the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the flames of fire, and
escaped death by the edge of the sword. Their weakness was turned to
strength. They became strong in battle and put whole armies to
flight.
35 Women received their loved ones
back again from death. But others were tortured, refusing to turn
from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better
life after the resurrection.
36 Some were jeered at, and their
backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons.
37 Some died by stoning, some were
sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about
wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and
mistreated.
38 They were too good for this
world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and
holes in the ground.
39 All these people earned a good
reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that
God had promised.
40 For God had something better in
mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.
Adam Clarke
Commentary:
Habakkuk 2:4 KJV
“...the just shall live by his
faith.
The just shall live
by faith - This has been understood two ways:
1. That the just or
righteous man cannot live a holy and useful life without exercising
continual faith in our Lord Jesus: which is strictly true; for He
only who has brought him into that state of salvation can preserve
him in it; and he stands by faith.
2. It is contended
by some able critics that the words of the original text should be
pointed thus: 'ο δε δικαιος εκ πιστεως, ζησεται
. The just by faith, shall live; (that is, he alone that is justified
by faith shall be saved:) which is also true; as it is impossible to
get salvation in any other way.
This last meaning
is probably the true one, as the original text in Habakkuk 2:4,
speaks of those who believed the declarations of God when the
Chaldeans besieged Jerusalem, and, having acted conformably to them,
escaped with their lives.
Hebrews 10:38
KJV
Now the just shall live by faith:
but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
Hebrews 11:6 KJV
But without faith it is impossible
to please Him: for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and
that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Faith: Unquestioning belief that
does not require proof or evidence.
(New World Dictionary)
Not saved by
(religious) works, but by ones faith in the finished work of Jesus
Christ.
Isaiah 64:6 KJV
But we are all
as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy
rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the
wind, have taken us away.
Romans 3:24 KJV
Being justified
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus:
Ephesians 2:7-9
KJV
7 That in the ages to come He might
shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us
through Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is The Gift Of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should
boast.
Titus 3:5 KJV
Not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us,
by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of The Holy Ghost;
Living by faith, is
living in unquestioning belief, that God is, and that He has sent
His love Gift, of pardon and life into the world..."that whosoever believeth in Him (The Lord Jesus Christ) should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Delivered, kept,
and saved, by the precious blood of Christ, God's Son.
II Corinthians
5:21 KJV
For He hath made Him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God
in Him.
Dear friend, are
you living by faith?