Monday March 13, 2017
“The Just Shall live by Faith - 2”
“Behold the proud,
His soul is not upright in him;
But the just shall live by his faith.
– Habakkuk 2:4
Faith in Christ
A. ‘Faith’ in Scripture
In the Old
Testament, faith is often expressed by the ideas of trust and obey.
It is related to the idea of leaning on, and trusting oneself to, or having
confidence in something. So, in many places, particularly in the Psalms, we
find expressions of this saving trust (Psalm 4:5; 9:10; 22:4; 25:2). It is
trust in God’s character and obedience to his living voice expressed in his
Word. Consequently, the object of faith in the Old Testament is the promise of God
which awaits its fulfillment in the coming of Christ. Faith looked forward
then, just as now, it looks backward to its object in Christ. It is interesting
to notice how this is expressed in the teaching of Hebrews, that faith is the assurance of things hoped
for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). In fact, this prospective
characteristic runs through the whole of Hebrews 11 – Noah trusted God’s word
about events yet unseen (verse 7), and along with Abel, Enoch and Abraham did not receive the things promised;
they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance (verse 13). The writer of
the letter pays them this glowing tribute: ‘All
these people were still living by faith when they died’. Even the martyrs
who were commended for their faith did not receive what and been promised (verse
39). Faith for them was hearing the testimony of God, trusting his promise, and
in the light of God’s faithfulness to it.
In the New
Testament, the words for faith and belief each occur about 240 times,
appearing in every book, with the exception of 2 and 3 John.
Memory Verse:
He ‘oku
fakae‘a ‘i ai ha mā‘oni‘oni mei he ‘Otua, ‘oku kamata mei he tui, pea iku ki he
tui; ‘o hangē ko e Folofola, Ko e mā‘oni‘oni te ne mo‘ui mei he tui. – Loma 1:17
For in it
the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,
“The just shall live by faith.” – Romans
1:17
Bible Reading Plan: (52 weeks; 5 days a week)
Week
11 – Numbers 30-33; Psalm 35; Luke 3
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