My Righteous One Will Live By Faith

Hebrews 10:37-11:1 - For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.” But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.


Habakkuk 2:4 - “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

Hebrews 6:9 - Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation.

Hebrews 3:5-6 - Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 – For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Application:

· Am I continuing to trust in God? Am I clinging to God’s promises?
· Does my life give evidence of genuine spiritual renewal?
· Am I holding fast to God? Am I enduring with Him?
· Am I losing heart by fixing my eyes on visible things? Or am I looking up and away at eternal and imperishable realities?

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Hold Firmly To The Faith We Profess

Hebrews 4:13-14 – And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.


Psalm 110:4 - The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 3:5-6,14 - Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope…For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.

Application:

· Jesus, the now-reigning heir of David, is also the ultimate priest
· Given this hope in Jesus Christ, I need to endure
· I need to examine myself carefully. If there is no evidence of perseverance in faith and obedience, then my salvation is in doubt.

All Scripture verses taken from ESV

Faith Expressing Itself Through Love

Galatians 5:5-6 - But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

1 Thessalonians 1:3 - We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Galatians 2:21 - I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Galatians 6:15 - Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Conclusions:

• The righteousness for which we hope is a reference to God's final verdict of not guilty, assured presently to the believer by faith and by the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit
• The righteousness for which we hope is one of the few eschatological statements in Galatians
• Faith is not mere intellectual assent, but a living trust in God's grace that expresses itself in acts of love
• The triad of faith, hope and love is found often in the New Testament
• Faith produces action
• Hope is not unfounded wishful thinking, but firm confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ and His return
• To mingle legalism with grace distorts grace and makes a mockery of the cross
• In Christ man undergoes a transformation that results in an entirely new being
• Creation again takes place

Application:

• Do you have a living trust in God's grace that expresses itself in acts of love?
• Do you have firm confidence in our Lord Jesus Christ and His return?
• Do you mingle legalism with grace?
• Are you an entirely new being in Christ?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Scripture Foresaw

Galatians 3:8-9 - The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.

1 Timothy 5:18 - For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."

Romans 4:18 - Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, "So shall your offspring be."

Hebrews 11:19 - Abraham reasoned that God could raise the dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death.

Conclusions:

• Scripture foresaw is a personification of Scripture that calls attention to its divine origin
• The use of Scripture for both an Old Testament and a New Testament passage shows that by the time of 1 Timothy portions of the New Testament were considered to be equal in authority to the Old Testament Scriptures
• Paul develops Abraham as a man of faith at length
• When all hope, as a human possibility, failed, Abraham placed his hope in God
• So strong was Abraham's faith that he actually believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead if necessary, an event that did occur figuratively when the substitute ram was provided

Application:

• Do you see Scripture as divinely inspired?
• Do you place your hope in God?
• Is your faith strong enough to believe that God can do anything?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Myths

1 Timothy 1:3-7 - As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God's work—which is by faith. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Some have wandered away from these and turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

1 Timothy 4:7 - Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.

Galatians 5:6 - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Job 38:2 - "Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge?

Conclusions:

• Godliness requires self-discipline
• Faith is not mere intellectual assent but a living trust in God’s grace that expresses itself in acts of love
• God states that Job’s complaining and raging against Him are unjustified and proceed from limited understanding

Application:

• Do you train yourself to be godly?
• Do you express yourself through love?
• Do you complain and rage against God?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Be Found In Him

Philippians 3:3-6,8-9 - For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless…What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

Philippians 2:1-2 - If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

Galatians 2:15-16 - "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

Conclusions:

• Being found in Him is a union with Christ—not simply an experience in the past, but a present, continuing relationship
• Righteousness by faith is a principle benefit of union with Christ
• Legalistic righteousness is righteousness produced by using the law as an attempt to merit God’s approval and blessing—a use of the law strongly opposed by Paul as contrary to the gospel itself
• Paul was faultless in terms of legalistic standards of scrupulous external conformity to the law
• In Paul’s teaching, this personal union is the basic reality of salvation
• To be in Christ is to be saved
• It is to be in intimate personal relationship with Christ the Savior
• From this relationship flow all the particular benefits and fruits of salvation, like encouragement
• Comfort from His love is the comforting knowledge and assurance that come from God’s love in Christ, demonstrated especially in Christ’s death for the forgiveness of sins and eternal life
• Fellowship with the Spirit is the fellowship among believers, produced by the Spirit, who indwells each of them
• Christians are to have intense care and deep sympathy for each other
• All these benefits—encouragement, comfort, fellowship, tenderness and compassion—are viewed by Paul as present realities for the Philippians
• Paul is not depreciating the law itself, for he clearly maintained that God’s law is holy, righteous and good
• Paul is arguing against an illegitimate use of the Old Testament law that made the observance of that law the grounds of acceptance with God
• Justified by faith is the essence of the gospel message

Application:

• Do you have a present, continuing relationship with Christ?
• Do you use the law to merit God's approval and blessing?
• Do you have intense care and deep sympathy for others?
• Are you placing your faith in Christ rather than trying to be justified by observing the law?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Not By Faith Alone

James 2:24-3:1 - You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

James 2:21 - Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar?

Hebrews 11:31 - By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

Luke 20:47 - They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."

Conclusions:

• Apart from its context, James 2:21 might seem to contradict the Biblical teaching that people are saved by faith and not by good deeds
• But James means only that righteous action is evidence of genuine faith—not that it saves, for the verse that he cites to substantiate his point says, “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness”
• Furthermore, Abraham’s act of faith recorded in Genesis 15:6 occurred before he offered up Isaac, which was only a proof of the genuineness of his faith
• As Paul wrote, “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
• Faith that saves produces deeds
• The prostitute Rahab is a designation describing her way of life prior to her newly found faith; also a testimony to God’s boundless grace that can reach down and redeem and raise any sinner to eternal dignity
• Because a teacher has great influence, he will be held more accountable
• The teachers of the law took advantage of widows by fraud and schemes for selfish gain
• The higher the esteem of men, the more severe the demands of true justice; and the more hypocrisy, the greater the condemnation

Application:

• Does your faith produce deeds?
• Have you been redeemed and raised to eternal dignity?
• As a teacher, you will be held more accountable.
• Do you take advantage of people for selfish gain?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible

Dead

James 2:15-19 - Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

Galatians 5:6 - For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

Romans 3:28 - For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

1 Corinthians 8:5-6 - For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"), yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.

Conclusions:

• Faith is not mere intellectual agreement but a living trust in God’s grace that expresses itself in acts of love
• When Luther translated Romans 3:28, he added the word alone, which, though not in the Greek, accurately reflects the meaning
• God the Father is the ultimate source of all creation
• God the Son is the dynamic one through whom, with the Father, all things came into existence

Application:

• Do you have faith expressing itself through love?
• Are you justified by faith?
• Do you live for God (the Father) and through Jesus Christ (the Son)?

All Scripture verses taken from NIV

Conclusions derived from NIV Study Bible