Live by Faith


In his letter to the Romans, the apostle Paul meticulously and carefully makes his argument for the gospel of Jesus Christ. He describes the gospel as the power of salvation for all who believe, and that the righteous shall live by faith.

What does Paul mean when he says that the "righteous shall live by faith?"

To be righteous before God means to be justified before him, to be declared right with Him. This righteousness gives us peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and access to the grace in which we now stand. For sinful human beings who fail time and time again to keep God's perfect law and therefore cannot draw near to God because of His infinite holiness, this peace and access is an amazing gift of God's grace! For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but now the righteousness of Christ has been made manifest for all of us who believe.

How do we live by faith?

Paul immediately cites the example of Abraham, who is the "father" of all who are righteous by faith. In Genesis, God promises Abraham that he will be the father of many nations. Despite the fact that Abraham was almost 100 years old, and that his wife Sarah had been barren her whole life, God promised Abraham that he would have a son and that through his son, all the families on earth would be blessed. To believe that requires some serious faith, and Abraham believed God.

 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him as righteousness. (Genesis 15:4-6 ESV)

The apostle Paul writes that Abraham believed the God who "gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist." (Romans 4:17) Abraham believed God to bring life and call into existence things that did not exist. Abraham by faith trusted God's promise to bring life through his barren wife's womb, and he believed God would truly make him the father of many nations.

He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah's womb.
(Romans 4:19 ESV)

Abraham believed God according to His Word. Abraham believed in the faithfulness and power of God. He believed that God was able to do what He promised, and that God would fulfill on His promise. Because Abraham believed God, he didn't weaken in faith even when he considered his own unlikely circumstances.
Rather, Paul tells us of the beauty of Abraham's faith:

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:20-21 ESV)

Have more beautiful words ever been spoken to describe faith? This was Abraham's faith in God, and this is why it was counted to him as righteousness. Abraham believed God, and nothing would change that. Nothing made him waver from his faith.

 Rather than weaken in his faith because of his dire circumstances, Abraham grew stronger in his faith. Abraham was a man who was fully convinced that God was able to do what He had promised. 

Those who have a saving faith in Jesus Christ are those who follow in the footsteps of the faith of Abraham.

When we put our faith in Christ, we are trusting like Abraham that God is able to do what He has promised, and that He will fulfill His promise. This faith in Christ is counted to us as righteousness.

In the same way, all of us who trust in Christ become righteous by our faith. We believe that we are dead in our sin until God calls us to life in Christ. We believe that God raised Jesus from death to life. We believe that when we put our faith in Christ, that our sins are forgiven and we receive Christ's perfect righteousness and that we are justified, like Abraham, before God. We trust in the promise and power of God to redeem us and to raise us to eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

When we have faith like that, we do not weaken in our faith even when we consider our lowly and changing circumstances. This kind of faith does not pin it's hopes on something in this world that could weaken us, but rather this faith puts it's hope in the promise and power of God.We continue in our hope that rests on the promise of God in Christ. We grow stronger in our faith in Christ, and we give glory to God because we are fully convinced that He is able to do what He has promised. Therefore, we continue to give God glory and we hope in the word of His promise.

Do you follow in Abraham's footsteps of faith?

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