The Just Shall Live by Faith...

 "Behold the proud,

His soul is not upright in him;

But the just shall live by his faith—Habakkuk 2:4

“The just shall live by his faith”.  There is much in this verse to think about.  What jumped off the page for me this morning were the beautiful truths of Romans 5:1-2 and Ephesians 2:8. Grace and faith go together.  Faith is our access to His grace...the proud trust in themselves but the righteous live depending on God.  By grace we are saved, through faith.  

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.—Romans 5:1-2

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.—Ephesians 2:8

The first result of our justification is that we are reconciled to God.  We are no longer His enemies. By grace, God has declared us, the believing sinner, righteous. We stand permanently and securely in God’s favor...in unmerited grace.  Our destiny is to share in the very glory of God.  This hope is certain.  Christ has secured it.  Through faith in Him, we have access to this grace in which we stand. 

We are not only saved through faith but are also to live by faith. 1 John 5:4 tells us our faith is the victory that has overcome the world.  We live, then, moment by moment, believing God’s word and obeying it, receiving. We (as believers) can now come boldly to His throne of grace that we may find mercy and obtain grace to help us in our time of need.  Because we stand securely in His grace, through our faith, we can live in His Presence and experience and exult in the displays of His excellence and power in our lives. 

Warren Wiersbe says this about living by faith.  I found it very helpful. 

“To live by faith means to believe God’s Word and obey it no matter how we feel, what we see, or what the consequences may be. This is illustrated in Hebrews 11, the famous “by faith” chapter of the Bible. The men and women mentioned in that chapter were ordinary people, but they accomplished extraordinary things because they trusted God and did what He told them to do. It has well been said that faith is not believing in spite of evidence; it’s obeying in spite of consequence, resting on God’s faithfulness.”

Ending with a beautiful quote from Spurgeon...

“Faith occupies the position of a channel or conduit pipe. Grace is the fountain and the stream; faith is the aqueduct along which the flood of mercy flows down to refresh the thirsty sons of men. It is a great pity when the aqueduct is broken. It is a sad sight to see around Rome the many noble aqueducts which no longer convey water into the city, because the arches are broken and the marvelous structures are in ruins. The aqueduct must be kept entire to convey the current; and, even so, faith must be true and sound, leading right up to God and coming right down to ourselves, that it may become a serviceable channel of mercy to our souls.”