Just Live By Faith

The Just shall live by faith The just live by ‘it’, the just walk by ‘it’ and the just stand by ‘it’. Hence it is plain enough to see that the just cannot live without ‘it’, indeed they cannot walk without ‘it’ and they certainly cannot stand without ‘it’. The Scriptures go so far as to say that without ‘it’ it is impossible to please God. For whatsoever is not of ‘it’ is sin! (Rom 1:17; Heb 2:4; 2 Cor 5:7; 1:24; Heb 11:6; Rom 14:23) Does not this make this subject we are hereafter to discuss a knowledge that is more essential than any other knowledge that can be acquired? Would you like to know what ‘it’ is? (Let us pray…) (Read through account of the 10 lepers – “11And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.” Luke 17:11-19) What was it that healed the leper? What did Jesus say it was? “…Thy faith hath made thee whole.” (verse 19) Is not this the thing that made it possible for countless people to be healed of their infirmities? Mat 9:22 – When Jesus healed the woman of her issue of blood he said, “…Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.” Mat 15:28 – When Jesus cast out the devil from the Canaanitish woman’s daughter, Jesus said, “O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.” Mk 10:51,52 – When Jesus was with the blind men, he said, “Go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his sight, and followed Jesus in the way.” So important it is for us to have faith in God, that this is precisely the reason why such healings were recorded in the bible. For it is written,

“And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:30, 31) The whole of the Gospels were written that we might have faith. Indeed the whole of the Scriptures was written for that very same purpose for so the Apostle Paul tells us, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime (beforehand) were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Rom 15:4) Hope is faith for “…faith is the substance of things hoped for…” (Heb 11:1) So we may read the text as given by the Apostle thus, “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have faith!” The whole Bible comes to us as an illustration of how we are to have faith, that by thus believing, “we might have life” through Jesus Christ our Lord! How then do we have faith? “…faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom 10:17) If faith comes by the Word of God then it is to the Word then we must look for it. (Read Matthew 8:6-10 - 6And saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented. 7And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. 8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 10When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”) Where was the faith? Well the Centurion wanted a certain thing done. The healing of his servant. He besought the Lord and Jesus said, “I will come” but the centurion checked him with “speak the word only” and it shall be done. Now what did the centurion expect would do the work of healing? “The word ONLY” and upon what did the centurion depend for the healing of his servant? “The word ONLY”. Therefore faith is expecting the word only to do what it says and depending upon the word only to do it. This is what Jesus pronounces faith, yea even great faith! As that is faith and as faith comes by the word of God, then the word of God in order to teach faith must teach that it is imbued with power of itself to accomplish that which itself speaks. And such is precisely what the word of God teaches. (Read Psa 33:6,9 - By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of

them by the breath of his mouth… For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. Note: Another Example is Isa 55:9-11) This is how God operates. If He desires a thing to be done He simply has to speak it, and His word itself creates that thing spoken. Just as in Creation. God desired that there should be light and what did He do that He might have it? “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.” (Gen 1:3) (Read a few more examples of these form genesis…) To be justified by faith means to be made righteous by faith. Who is the one making any righteous by faith? It is God. Hence the righteousness that He gives to all through faith is the only type He has and that is His – the Righteousness of God! To be made righteous by faith is to be made righteousness with the righteousness of God by expecting the word only to do what it says and depending upon that word only to accomplish it. Now is there an instance in the word of God where it speaks righteousness, even the righteousness of God, that we may expect it to do what it says and depend upon it to only to accomplish it? “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” (Rom 3:24-26) To declare means to speak, and Christ speaks His righteousness now, at this time. We cannot live tomorrow or yesterday but only now, and Christ speaks His righteousness now to every soul who believes or has faith. Will you at this time expect His word only to do what it says and depend upon it only to accomplish that which it speaks? Will not the righteousness of Jesus Christ keep you from falling from now, at this time, till the close of probation? Is God righteousness not strong enough to fight all of your habits and cover all your mistakes? Then believe His word only, expect it only to do that which itself speaks and depend upon it wholly to do in you that which it is spoken for! The lepers came to Christ, as they were – LEPROUS. And He spoke “GO” and as they went – as they depended upon the Word only – they were made whole. So to we are sinners and we must come to Christ, as we are – WRETCHED, POOR, MISERABLE, BLIND, AND NAKED. And Jesus will ‘declare’ to us His righteousness – and as we depend upon His Word to do what it says – we shall be made whole. (Appeal)