Faith Toward God: The Just Shall Live by Faith
SERIES TEXT - Hebrews 6:1-2
SERMON TEXT - Romans 1:17
For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
A lifestyle of faith transforms us from being just a man into a just man because it allows the Holy Ghost to lead us and choreograph our lives to always have us in the right place at the right time (even when it seems like everything is going wrong).
Psalm 37:23
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.
Ephesians 6:15
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; - You’ll live a life of peace if you let faith guide your feet!
Psalm 23:3
He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. He’ll put you back on the right track if you learn to live by faith.
Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. He’ll take you from good to better to best, 30, 60, 100 fold increase if you learn to live by faith. There are 5 things we will do if we live by faith:
1. We’ll get Saved by Grace through Faith –Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Romans 3:23 All have sinned and come short...
Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
Ephesians 2:3
Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. We all had our conversation, our lifestyle, and our background in sin but the good new is:
Romans 12:3 - God has dealt to every man the measure of faith we need to get saved.
Romans 10:17 – The faith we needed came by the word we heard. God makes sure we hear what we need to hear so we can believe what we need to believe.
2. We Stand by Faith - Take a stand and say something by faith. If you believe it, you’ll say it!
2 Corinthians 4:13
We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
The word of God is your uniform for prayer and it is armor and ammunition for taking a stand by faith against the devil.
Eph 6:10-17
10Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
No armor for the back because we don’t surrender and we don’t retreat. We don’t give in. We don’t give up. We don’t bend. We don’t bow. We don’t break. We don’t back down. We don’t back up. We are to take a stand and speak up for what we believe.
3. We Walk by Faith – 2 Cor 5:7 For we walk by faith, not by sight:
Step out and do something by faith (It takes two steps to make a walk. When you take a step, you will meet opposition from the adversary because you are stepping into the devil’s camp and taking everything the he’s stolen from you and is withholding from you. It becomes a walk when you don’t back up but you step up by stepping again. Don’t let the devil convince you that you can’t do what you are already doing! If he brings opposition to what you are doing, do it again! Step two is what makes is a walk of faith instead of just a step of faith. Step two is what makes it trusting God instead of just trying God. Step to the devil and walk by faith, not by sight:
4. We Fight by Faith –
1 Tim 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
The good fight of faith is the fight lay hold on eternal life and to preach the gospel to as many people as possible! There is a revelation of a difference between eternal life and everlasting life. Everlasting life starts after you did. Eternal life is living while you are alive. In John 10:10, Jesus Christ said he came that we might have life and life more abundantly. That is a description of eternal life. The bible says the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is Eternal life. The same way we can experience the effects of sin and start dying before we die, we can experience the effects of faith and start living before we die. Eternal life is living this life for the everlasting life. Eternal life is also making this life more and more like everlasting life by flooding the earth with the influence of heaven. It’s making a difference in this life so somebody can make it into the next life. By living the eternal life and preaching the gospel before many witnesses, we are fighting the good fight of faith.
2 Tim 4:7 I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
I have to live it according to 1 Tim 6:12 and I have to give it according to 2 Tim 4:7. It’s called the good fight because the devil doesn’t know how to stop you from doing either one so, the outcome is you win. It’s not fighting to keep your faith. It’s fighting to be a keeper of the faith. As a keeper of the faith, I keep the faith by sharing it. When you preach the gospel, you hear it. And, since faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God, the more you give the faith the more you get it! Paul kept the faith because he kept on preaching the faith. Also, everyone you share the gospel with, they win. God’s word will not return void so even if someone doesn’t receive the gospel that you preach, a seed has been planted or water for God to give the increase. We win! It’s a win/win situation. If I share the faith, I keep it. If I give the faith I get it. And if only one person gets saved, that’s one person Satan has lost. We win! (The story of the boy on the beach – There were thousands of starfish that had been washed onto the shore and there was a little boy trying frantically to toss as many back into the sea as he could. Someone said to him, there are too many of them. There is no way you can make a difference. And the little boy’s response as he tossed another starfish into the sea was, It made a difference to that one!) WE WIN!!!
5. We Overcome by Faith -
1 Jn 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Hebrews 10:23-25
23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
A lifestyle of faith will make you come to church, overcome your issues, and become more and more like Jesus. Jesus Christ is what pleases the Father.
Hebrews 10:38
Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.
We come to church to get faith-filled. If we are faith-filled, we will be faithful. Faith will be a lifestyle. Unfortunately, most Christians don’t allow faith to be their lifestyle. Instead, they use faith like a parachute in a plane or a spare tire in the trunk of their car. They only pull it out when something goes wrong and they hope it still works when they need it. It reminds me of the way we take a prescribed antibiotic. The doctor says take it until it’s all gone. We don’t take it until it’s gone. We take it until we feel better. If you don’t fulfill the prescription, you’ll end up with the same infection over and over again. The prescription God has given us is forsake not the assembling of yourselves. We take it until we feel better then quit so instead of living a victorious life, we live from crisis to crisis. Most Christians only live by faith when something is going wrong, then as soon as God fixes the problem, they stop praying, they stop fasting, they stop coming to church. We don’t come to church consistently to be provoked to love and good works so don’t overcome and become more and more like Jesus Christ. If you don’t come, you won’t move from faith to faith, strength to strength, glory to glory or grace to grace. You will live from crisis to crisis. If you struggle to come to church consistently, mark it down! You will struggle in life consistently. If you don’t come, you won’t overcome. 10 years from now, you’ll have the same vises, the same habits, the same demons, the same devils, the same struggles that you have right now. If you don’t come, you won’t overcome because you won’t change. A lifestyle of faith will make you change. Faith is Forward Action In Trusting Him. If you learn to trust Him consistently, you’ll get to know Him. If you know Him, you’ll love Him. If you love Him, you’ll serve Him. If you serve Him, you become more and more like Him. We come to overcome and become more and more like Jesus Christ. This is a lifestyle of faith. The just shall live by faith.
