The Just Shall Live by Faith

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’” –Romans 1:16-17 (ESV).

In these verses the Apostle Paul expresses the theme of his epistle to the Roman Christians—the revelation of God’s judging and saving righteousness in the gospel of Jesus Christ. He wants to make very clear, to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles, that through the message of salvation in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross God both judges sin and shows His mercy and salvation.  Paul makes himself clear that he is not “ashamed” of the gospel.  Scholars hold that Paul wrote this letter to the church at Rome while he was at Corinth on his third missionary journey about 57 A. D.  As we’ve already seen in a previous devotional (June 16), Phoebe was the likely bearer of this important letter to the church at Rome.

We will remember from church history that Martin Luther put his “95 Theses” on the door of All Saints Church at Wittenburg, Germany on October 31, 1517.  Luther had not intended to cause the world-wide Reformation by his action, but by 1518 the printing press had made possible the printing and distribution of his statements about faith and practice to be known throughout Europe.  The Christian movement we call The Reformation was well on its way.  “Justification is by grace through faith” was Luther’s main contention and the doctrine he strongly upheld.  He was advocating this strong theological stand expressed in Romans 1:17.  And Paul himself was citing from Habakkuk 2:4 which reads: “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”

The gospel proclaimed by Paul, many before him, and many since is powerful, personal, positive and persuasive.  It is powerful in that it has the ability to convince those who hear an believe that salvation is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is personal in that “The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12, KJV).  It is positive in that it accomplishes the purpose for which it was intended:  “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God:  Not of works lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9, NKJV).  It is persuasive in that it gives us security in our faith promising that “we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the tricker of men, in the cunning craftiness by which they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:14-16).

Yes, indeed, the “just shall live by his faith.”  And the gospel—the word of God—has been the means whereby we have come to faith.  We, as Paul and others, should not be ashamed of the gospel, the power of God unto salvation.”  Thank God just now that you have been redeemed by faith and you will be kept against “that day of the Lord” when all of us who believe and are justified shall  “inherit the kingdom prepared for us from the foundation of the world”  (Matthew 25:34).  Amen!

In Awe of the Glory of God

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun, Which is as bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hidden from the heat thereof.” –Psalm 19:1-6 (KJV)

I chose to use the King James Version of these verses because I memorized these a number of years ago in this beautiful version. Oftentimes when I go to the paper box early in the morning, even before the sun has begun to lighten the eastern sky, I quote these verses with a delightful feeling of awe and reverence for Creator God. Psalm 19 has two distinct parts. Verses 1 through 6 describe the glory of God revealed in the excellence of the firmament and the skies. Verses 7-14 describe God’s revelation through the law. We will come back to verses 7-14 later, but for today let us take cognizance of the great truths we can learn from verses 1-6. I ask that you read also Psalm 8. It is a companion psalm to 19:1-6. Verses I have memorized from Psalm 8 are 1, and 3-6: "O Lord our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth! Who hast set Thy glory above the heavens…When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; What is man that Thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet.”

David, attributed as the author of both Psalm 19 and Psalm 8 would have been quite familiar with the broad expanse of the firmament. His days as a youth when he shepherded his father’s flocks gave him opportunities to be in nature, to observe the skies and meadows, to see the changing light from early morning to dusk and into the evening. The sun, myriad stars, the moon--all were his companions. To the Hebrew mind, the sky was conceived of as a solid canopy. As day follows night in rapid succession, this marking of time testifies to God’s glory. Do you say with gratitude each day: “This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will be glad and rejoice in it” (Psalm 118:24)? The heavens and the firmament above, the sun, moon and stars are a testimony to God’s might, power and glory. This testimony extends worldwide, wherever there are people to observe the created order. Paul the Apostle attests that there is “no excuse” (Romans 1:19b-20) for anyone not turning to God, because “God has shown it (the truth) to them. For His invisible attirbutes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.” Paul of course knew that salvation was in believing: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10: 17). But then he immediately returns to the fact that there is enough revelation for anyone to come to faith. He asks a pertinent question and quotes Psalm 19:3 in Romans 10:18: “But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for ‘Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.’” The silent, unrelenting testimony of the skies, the sun, the moon and the stars points us to the greatness, majesty and power of God. David gives an analogy as the sun being the bridegroom coming forth from his chamber. God’s majesty in nature points to the Bridegroom God sent, in due time, to be the Savior of the world. George Washington Carver, the great scientist and Christian of another century wrote: “I like to think of nature as an unlimited broadcasting station through which God speaks to us every hour, if we will only tune in.”