LIVING BY FAITH
Friday, June 17, 2016
“the just shall live by faith” … no one is justified by the Law in the sight of
God is clear, for, "The just shall live by faith." (Hab.2:4;
Rom.1:17; Gal.3:11; Heb.10:38)
“I live by faith.”
Is a fairly common phrase heard. But what does it mean?
It’s not as
though living by faith is a classification of a culturally separatist mass of
people. For the fact is, everyone lives by faith, though not by faith alone,
for faith requires object and subjectiveness thereunto.
Who does not live
by faith? Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Maoists, communists, materialists,
humanists, Darwinists, Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Rosicrucians,
terrorists, pacifists, JW’s, Baptists as
variant as plentiful as snowflakes or sand, Jews, RC’s, Presbyterians,
Lutherans of various stripes, C & E believers, brainiacs, Know Nothings, nerds, jocks, socialists,
Shintoist or shiftiest, et al, and of course agnostics and atheists; All live
by faith. Every person has, does, will live by faith.
Matthew recorded
the words of Jesus speaking of faith and the lack thereof: “O faithless and
perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?
bring him hither to me. [and He cast the demon out of the child, the disciples
wondering why they could not]Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto
you, If ye have faith
as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to
yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
(Mt. chapter 17)
What is this “faith” Jesus refers
to? Πίστις; pistis; pis'-tis; persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction
(of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher),
especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy
in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth
itself: - assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity. (From Strong’s Hebrew
and Greek dictionaries.)
Knowing this I
must ask myself “Professing as a disciple of Christ, what measure of such faith
in Him is obvious in my life?” Credibility, moral conviction (Not guilt &
shame, for they are contrary to beneficial moral conviction.), constancy
(freedom, peace, stability), fidelity – all centered in reliance in Lord Jesus
Christ for salvation in present circumstances and forever more?
I conclude that I
too am one of a multitude, confessing “Lord, I believe; help thou mine
unbelief.“ (Mt.9:24)
EBB4
PS: For those interested further I will provide “faith”
file from International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
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