I want to... dwell on the passage,
the just shall live by faith. That's going to be our theme
this morning. And I want to spend a little
while just considering that passage as it is presented to us in the
word of God. Once again, it is the just shall
live by faith. Now this little phrase actually
appears four times in scripture. It is spoken, first of all, in
Habakkuk 2, verse 4. It is repeated in Romans 1, verse
17, then again in Galatians 3, verse 11, and finally in Hebrews
10, verse 38. and I want us to note that when
the word just is used in this phrase, the just shall live by
faith, or in Habakkuk it's his faith, the word there that is
just, the word just, it means righteous. And so what it is
saying is that the righteous shall live by faith, or the just
shall live by faith. And when we look at the way in
which these various presentations of this little phrase are given
to us, we can see, for example, that there are different usages
made by the respective writers of this phrase when they are
presenting it to us. So the first one for example
in Habakkuk chapter 2 verse 4 there the prophet is writing about
the coming Messiah and in his reference to the coming Messiah
he is saying that there are some who will believe that the Messiah
will come and they will live by faith. And there are others
who will reject that the Messiah will come and that God will be
involved and engaged in humankind's history. Whereas the Apostle
Paul in Romans chapter 1 verse 17, he is taking that prophecy
from Habakkuk chapter 2 and 4, and he is saying that, because
you'll remember that he is speaking about him not being ashamed of
the gospel of Christ, he says in Romans chapter 1 verse 16,
for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. to the Jew first and also to
the Greek, the Gentile. So he is saying, as he goes on
in verse 17, using this phrase, the just shall live by faith.
He is saying, this is what Habakkuk was talking about. This is what
the old prophet was referring to when he says that the Lord
Jesus Christ will come, that God will be manifested upon earth,
that the Messiah will come, and that faith is still that which
is called for with respect to the Messiah. And this is the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that Paul is preaching. and desires
to preach at Rome. It's lovely when these various
strands come together. So here in Acts, we've just been
told that Paul has been told by Christ that he will witness
in Rome. And of course, Paul had previously written this letter
to Rome saying that he was longing to come to them to preach the
gospel of which he was not ashamed. And this is the gospel that he
preaches, the gospel by which the just shall live by faith. In Galatians chapter 3 verse
11 we find that faith and not law is being stressed and again
the Apostle Paul uses the same reference, the just shall live
by faith, to prove his point that it is faith that we live
by and not law. And then finally in Hebrews chapter
10 verse 38, the apostle there writes with reference to this
phrase that it is a picture of the ground and the means and
the vehicle, if you like, the process by which believers have
a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. and how we go to
him in that lively faith and that spiritual life that we have
received from him. So this little phrase is repeated
multiple times and yet there is, as it were, a strand of truth
connects them all. Now what I want to point out
by way of introduction is that the Lord Jesus Christ is himself
the only truly, inherently righteous man ever to grace this earth. He is the one who is called the
Father's holy child. He was, again, God's beloved
son. He was the perfect man. These are biblical phrases that
speak to us of the holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that
is a consistent apostolic witness in the New Testament, from first-hand
witnesses to the life of Christ. So that Peter could say in his
little letter in 1 Peter 2, verse 22, that of the Lord he did no
sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. And John, the beloved
disciple, could say in 1 John 2, verse 1, Jesus Christ the
righteous, or the just. And 1 John 3, verse 5, tells
us that in him is no sin. Later in Revelation chapter 15,
John speaking prophetically of those who would glorify God in
that eternal realm, speaks of their song as declaring, And
so we can see here that the Lord Jesus Christ is called that righteous
one, that just one. And indeed, the great condemnation
that came upon the Jews was that they preferred Barabbas, a murderer,
a sinful criminal, to the spotless Son of God. so that Peter could
say in Acts chapter 3 verse 14, But ye denied the Holy One and
the just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you. You killed
the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from the dead. And
Stephen, lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ at his trial before
his accusers, describes the Saviour as the just one of whom ye have
been now the betrayers and murderers. That's in Acts chapter 7 verse
52. What a brave and faithful witness
Stephen was. Ananias, the man that was sent
in Damascus to speak to Saul of Tarsus after his conversion
on the road to Damascus, he speaks of Saul's calling and commission
and says in Acts 22 verse 14, the God of our fathers hath chosen
thee that thou shouldst know his will and see that just one. and should hear the voice of
his mouth. Well, Paul did indeed see that
just one. And we were reminded again in
our reading today that the just one came and stood by Paul in
that night season. So you notice the frequency with
which that title, the just one, or the description just, or righteous
is applied. Just means righteous, not simply
that the person who is just judges fairly, but that he must judge
fairly because he is inherently righteous. and his judgments
and his will and his purpose and his knowledge flow from that
righteous character and that holy nature. And so the only
one who was ever truly just in this world was the Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
just one. because he is the holy God, righteous,
spotless and without sin, though made in a human body and in this
world of sin. And this fact of scripture Christ's
holiness, then leads us on to another fact of Scripture, that
while the Lord Jesus Christ is the only truly righteous man,
There is nevertheless a righteousness which is credited to sinners
by the grace of God through his mercy and because of his love
towards us. Christ was the only truly just
man and yet there is a people in this world who also are credited
with being just or being righteous in the sight of God. And that's
the message of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's the
message of Paul when he writes that just shall live by faith
in Romans and in Galatians. It is the message of the apostles. Peter, James, John, the writer
to the Hebrews, the Old Testament prophets, the New Testament apostles
and preachers, they all gave this consistent message that
there is a just people, a righteous people in this world, not because
of their own works, but because there is a righteousness bestowed
upon them, a righteousness that comes by and through and from
the Lord Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God, a divine righteousness
imputed to them, freely bestowed on those chosen sinners. So let us read Romans chapter
3 and verse 21 just for a moment. I want you to just draw your
attention to the way in which this righteousness that is imputed
is described to us in the Word of God. Look at Romans chapter
3 and verse 21 with me please. But now the righteousness of
God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and
the prophet. So we've seen that, that the
law and the prophet, the Old Testament and the New. have witnessed
to this. Even the righteousness of God,
which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all them that
believe, for there is no difference. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. being justified freely, that's
being made just, being made righteous, being justified freely by his
grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood to
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are
passed through the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at
this time his righteousness, that he might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law
of faith. Therefore we conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. So here
we see in this little passage this subject of righteousness
and justification and the just living by faith is presented
to us here by the Apostle having previously in chapter 1 verse
17 said, the just shall live by faith. And we are told here
that this righteousness comes by grace because of the blood
being shed of Jesus Christ. And in Romans chapter four, verse
six, we would read, if we had gone on a little bit further,
the verse that Paul writes, even as David describeth the blessedness
of the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.
That is what is being described here in chapter three. Now, here's
the point I want to make. As the Lord Jesus Christ is the
only just man, So everyone else is unjust and unrighteous. The Bible attests this. In Psalm 14, verse 2 and 3, we're
told that the Lord looked down from heaven upon the children
of men to see if there were any that did understand and seek
God. And they were all gone astray. They are all together become
filthy. There is none that doeth good,
no, not one. There is none that is righteous.
There is none that is just. So of ourselves, there is no
righteousness. There is no just people. There
are none who are justified until God imputes that righteousness,
until God makes the unjust just, the unrighteous righteous, until
he justifies us in his sight. And here is where the strength
of that little phrase, the just shall live by faith, comes into
focus for us. And we read it in Habakkuk and
in Romans and in Galatians and in Hebrews. And it had reference
there to the man that was coming, the Messiah who would come, Jesus
Christ, to the method by which that righteousness would be revealed
through the preaching of the gospel and the means by which
It would come the blood of Jesus Christ and how it would grant
life to those who drew near to him by faith. Some believe and
reject that prophecy nevertheless was fulfilled. Faith and not
works is what God looks for in his people. And upon that faith,
a relationship and spiritual life with God is formed. And I want you to notice that
from the first reference in Habakkuk, the just or the righteous shall
live by, not because of, but by faith. The just shall live
by faith. Nowhere does the scripture say
the just shall live because of faith. And that is the great
distinction that we make in our sovereign grace preaching. Sovereign
grace is God's free gift to his people. It is the gift of righteousness
to sinners undeserving, upon the basis of his elective love. He does not give righteousness
to those who believe, but he gives faith to those who in Christ
are righteous and justified in his sight. Justification comes
before faith. The reason why that is important
is because it is this one, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, That's
the name of the one who was spoken of by Habakkuk. It is this one
who would come and this one who is spoken of as the Messiah in
the Old Testament. The one of whom Moses and David
and Isaiah and Jeremiah speak. So Jeremiah in chapter 23 verse
6 calls this one Christ, the Messiah. the Lord our righteousness. So what we see here is that the
righteous ones shall live by faith. Those who are just and
those who are justified will have Christ as their righteousness. Now do you understand friends,
brothers, sisters in the Lord this morning, do you understand
that you're standing as righteous and justified Do you understand
that only to be insofar as you are in the Lord Jesus Christ? Nothing that you have done augments
or detracts from that righteousness which is Christ, which is Christ's
righteousness, which is divine righteousness, the righteousness
of God which has been freely bestowed upon individual sinners. Our works do not add to or detract
from that righteousness, but we are just before God, justified
in His sight. Do you understand? Are you clear? Do you see that righteousness
and justification predates, predates your works, your will, Your desires,
even your belief, it predates your whole existence because
it was God's purpose in Christ before the world began in the
eternal councils of grace. That justification, that imputation
of righteousness was done in and through the Lord Jesus Christ.
then you do understand the significance of Paul's emphasis when he writes
to the Corinthians and he says in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30,
but of him, that's God, are ye in Christ Jesus. having been
placed in Christ Jesus in eternal counsel, in the covenant of grace
and peace, having been placed in Christ, of Him are ye in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption. Our life The life we have, the
just shall live by faith, the life we have is a spiritual life. It's an everlasting life. It
is God's gift to those that he has made wise unto salvation. having justified us, having sanctified
us and placed us in Christ and having redeemed us by Christ's
blood, by the blood of that one who was as a lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. That is our justification in
the sight of God. And the Old Testament prophets
and the New Testament writers tell us that this people, the
righteous ones, the justified ones, those who have the righteousness
of God, the righteousness of Christ imputed to them, they
are the ones who shall live by faith. There's so much for, as
it were, the doctrinal aspect of my thoughts this morning,
because that's really what I've been emphasising here. I want
just to leave with you a couple of points that I think should
comfort and strengthen your heart, that we can apply from those
truths in the context of this little phrase, the just shall
live by faith. And I wanna leave three thoughts
with you, and I will be quick. The first one is this. That wisdom
brings blessing. Wisdom brings blessing. The faith
that God gives us is called in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 30, wisdom. Christ has made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. And that wisdom is our faith,
is the faith that we have to understand the things that God
has done for us. So it is that opens the door of our understanding. Nature cannot reveal these things
to us. It has to be spiritually implanted
that we should have a wisdom that discerns the hand and the
work and the purpose of God in the person of Jesus Christ. and
it is faith that opens the door of our understanding. It is faith,
therefore, that brings the wisdom, that brings the blessing of the
knowledge of what God has done and Christ has done. The Bible
says, without faith it is impossible to please Him. That is God. That's
Hebrews 11, 6. Now the only way that we can
please God in this world is by trusting him and by thanking
him. That's the extent of our pleasing
God. and we thank him for what the
Lord Jesus Christ has done. So the faith that he gives enables
us to see and discern the work of Christ and thereby enables
us to thank God for Christ by which means we can please God.
Faith is God's gift of enabling. by which a proper understanding
and knowledge of the divine purpose and the gospel achievements of
Christ are made for us. And faith is essential because
it illuminates God's revelation. Men and women cannot understand
the Bible. Men and women cannot understand
the work of God. Men and women cannot understand
the unfolding revelation of God, except by faith. By faith we
discern the will of God. By faith we believe the promises
of God. By faith we comprehend the accomplishments
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And faith lays hold on God's
gifts of grace and mercy and love. Faith, as it were, goes
and gets these things, appropriates these things. Blood redemption
is meaningless without faith. Now you can teach it, but it
cannot be trusted. We faithfully, if we're believing
parents, we faithfully taught these things to our children,
but we cannot make our children trust in Christ. That is a work
of faith, and faith is a gift of God. Imputed righteousness, We cannot understand that. We
can have no confidence in it without faith to believe it.
We will always be working our own righteousness, always trying
to please God and do things that God will rejoice in and take
pleasure in. If it is not that by faith we
understand imputed righteousness, we'll always be trying to do
more. And grace without works, there's
no comfort in that without faith. Because we will always be thinking
that we still need to do a little bit more. We've not quite done
enough. So faith is the key to our comfort. And that's what it means when
it says, the just, the righteous ones shall live by faith. We
will be comforted because our faith leads us into the wise,
discerning understanding of what God has done for us in Jesus
Christ. And that faith is imperative. We cannot please God without
faith. It's imperative because it is the vehicle of spiritual
life. If we are to enjoy a relationship
with God, we need to have faith because it's faith that takes
us to God. If we are to enjoy the comfort
of the Holy Spirit, if we are to enjoy fellowship with the
Lord Jesus Christ and a knowledge of God's love and mercy, it must
be by faith. Faith, if you like, is the aerial
that receives the spiritual messages from God. It receives the spiritual
life and the blessings. It's the receiver. Another thing that I want to
show you out of this little phrase, the just shall live by faith,
is this, that grace demands faith because no flesh can live in
the presence or indeed in the glory of God without faith. Now most professing Christians
completely get this round the wrong way. They imagine that
their faith gets grace, goes and fetches grace, when actually
it is God's grace that brings faith, because faith demands
a repudiation of our works. Let me try to explain, let me
try to explain that. See, most people think that when
we believe God gives us his grace. But that's not how it works.
That's not how the Bible teaches grace and faith. Rather, the
Bible teaches that faith is a gift from God by which we are able
to comprehend and understand God's gracious activity towards
us. God will not have us live under
a lie or live under an illusion. We shall not now in this life
or indeed in eternity spend it imagining that we did something
to gain that eternal life because then we would glory at God's
expense and that's not going to happen. The foundation, the
beginning, the origin of our salvation is grace. That's where
it begins. The means of our salvation is
the blood of Jesus Christ, the cleansing blood of Christ, wherein
we are forgiven of our sins. And the glory is all God's. So we must be brought in our
nature, in our humanity, in our understanding, we must be brought
to see and to realise that works, our own righteousness, must be
excluded and repudiated and denied. And faith in Christ's death,
is a rejection of our own righteousness and gives God glory. So faith
is not just passively receiving, but it is also purposefully excluding
any concept of our own righteousness because it is taking and receiving
the benefits of Christ's righteousness. So faith is not simply a general
belief in the revelation of God, but the positive rejection of
our human efforts to secure or to obtain salvation. And here's
the third thing that that little phrase, the just shall live by
faith, directs us to think upon. It teaches us dependence on God. dependence on God. And I want
us all just to think about that in the context of some of the
notices that we spoke about a little bit earlier today and the illnesses
and the needs and the circumstances of some of our brothers and sisters.
Listen, I never have to trust God for something. until I've
exhausted all my own avenues and resources for helping myself. That's just the fact of the matter.
We only pray with urgency when we begin to sink. It is only
when the doctor says, I'm sorry, there's nothing more that we
can do, that we truly begin to ask God with urgency. It is only
when the creditor is at the door It's only when the burden is
too great. It's only when the enemy is too
strong. Up until that point, we are programmed
to rely on our own strength, our own wit, our own ingenuity,
our own ability. And it takes the humbling of
the flesh to inspire a genuine cry to God for help. We must be humbled first. We
must be brought to that point where we realise we're empty
of resources. There's nothing that we can do. This has got to come from the
Lord. And only at that point will we
truly be exercising faith and dependence upon the Lord Jesus
Christ and upon our God. God has to humble us for our
spiritual growth. Which one of us do not want to
grow spiritually? But which one of us wants to
be humbled in our flesh? That's the great conflict. That's
our spiritual battle. That's the war in which we are
engaged. And here's the irony. We want
rather the opposite. We want physical well-being. We want health and strength.
We want to enjoy the world's benefits. We build our castle. We protect what we have. But
such fleshy comfort chokes true faith. And God is therefore being
good to our souls when he brings and allows hardship and trials
and challenges and hurt to enter our lives. So when we hear the Bible say
repeatedly, the just shall live by faith, we are being told how
the supports and the props and the comforts and the securities
of this world that we build around ourselves and the families and
our families must be and will be dismantled and taken away. and Christ's people thrown back
upon their God. Let me summarise and conclude
here. The just shall live by faith. The just are those who
are justified by the imputation of God's own righteousness to
us in the Lord Jesus Christ by his shed blood. That is the just. And the Word of God tells us
repeatedly that the just shall. Not perhaps, not maybe, not they
may or they could, but they will and they shall live spiritually,
eternally in communion with God and fellowship with the Lord
Jesus Christ. The just shall live. And we shall
live by faith, a faith that embraces the divine knowledge of God's
will in sovereign grace and the revealed purpose of God in the
gospel. We shall live by a faith that
repudiates our own abilities and strength. and lays hold upon
the ability and strength of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. And we
shall live by a faith that learns, that learns through the hardships
and experiences of this life to trust Christ alone. And thereby, God will be glorified. Thereby, the success of the Lord
Jesus Christ will be honoured in his people. And thereby, the
Holy Spirit will dwell and increase and enlarge and grow spiritual
insight and understanding in the lives of the people of God. Amen.