Habakkuk 2, verse 4. Habakkuk
2, verse 4. Behold, Paul's and look carefully at this his
soul which is lifted up his soul which is lifted up is
not upright in him God says to this man will I look
to him that is of a meek and contrite heart. He dwells with
the brokenhearted. Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for they shall see God. Blessed are the hungry, for they
shall be filled. But his soul that is lifted up
in him is not upright in him. You who think well of yourselves, You who have learned to think
highly of yourselves. You who imagine that you are
holier than another. You who think you are more godly
than your neighbor. You who presume that you are
more spiritual than another. Behold His soul, which is lifted
up, is not upright in Him. God didn't teach you to think
like that. Grace doesn't cause people to think themselves holy. The knowledge of Christ doesn't
cause men and women to presume that they have in themselves
or can do for themselves anything that will give them acceptance
with God. Behold, his soul, which is lifted up, is not upright
in him. But the just shall live by his
faith. The just shall live by his faith. That's my subject. The just shall
live by faith. The just shall live by faith. This word from God, the Holy
Spirit, given by God's prophet Habakkuk, is found four times
in the word of God. Four times it is stated, the
just shall live by faith. Here in Habakkuk 2.4, Romans
1.17, Galatians 3.11, and Hebrews 10.38. It is found four times
in the word of God. I presume that God intends for
us to learn what it means. The just shall live by faith. God's people in this world live
by faith. Now, we hear much talk these
days about people of faith. Men in both sides of the political
spectrum call themselves people of faith. Most everybody thinks
it's commendable to say, I am a man of faith. I am a woman
of faith. Most everybody thinks that somehow
that makes you something. Faith. Well, the fellow who rubs
a good luck charm before he gets on an airplane is a man of faith.
The fellow who makes sure that he doesn't turn a horseshoe upside
down is a man of faith. No. No. No. When the scripture talks about
faith, it is never talking about simply believing something. It is never merely talking about
having religion. God's people live by faith. That is, they live believing
God, believing his word. That has always been the case.
That is the case now, and that will continue to be the case
for all time to come. Trusting Christ is what it is
to live by faith. Trusting Christ as our Savior,
we trust him as our Lord. Living by faith in him, we bow
to him. We commit ourselves to him. You
remember in John chapter 2, there were folks who saw the miracle
our Lord performed, and they believed on the Lord. But the
Lord Jesus did not commit himself to them. Do you know the words
believed and commit are the same words? They believed in him,
but he didn't commit himself to them. He didn't believe in
them. There are multitudes who live as people of faith who have
no idea what it is to live by faith in the Son of God. We who
are his live trusting Christ, committing our lives to him,
not something we did yesterday or 20 years ago, but day by day,
hour by hour, trusting the Son of God. Benjamin Bedham has captured
the meaning of these words, the just shall live by faith in one
of his great hymns. Listen to this. Tis faith supports
my feeble soul in times of deep distress. When storms arise and
biddles roll, great God, I trust thy grace. Thy powerful arm still
bears me up. Whatever griefs befall, thou
art my life, my joy, my hope, and thou my all in all. Bereft of friends, beset with
foes, with dangers all around, to thee I all my fears disclose. In thee my help is found. In every want, in every strait,
To thee alone I fly when other comforters depart. Thou art forever
nigh. The Spirit of God here and throughout
the scriptures teaches us that faith is the distinctive principle
of the believer's life. By faith, we embrace our Savior,
the Lord Jesus. We live upon him by faith. In the first chapter of Habakkuk,
verses 2 and 3, the prophet cried out to God beneath the heavy
weight of the burden the Lord had placed upon him. And he said,
O Lord, how long shall I cry and thou wilt not hear? Why dost
thou show me iniquity and cause me to behold grievance? And then
at the end of the chapter, verses 13 through 17, he asked the Lord
to explain himself to him, to explain to him why he would choose
to use the Chaldeans to chastise, judge, and correct his people,
the children of Israel and of Judah. He asked the Lord, how
is it that you, oh Lord God, God, who is of pure eyes than
to behold iniquity. How is it that you will execute
judgment upon Judah by a people even worse than we are? These
are not questions of a rebel. They're not the questions of
a reprobate, unbelieving man. These are the questions of a
faithful servant of God. Questions from the heart of a
man who believes God serves his interest and seeks his glory.
Questions of a man perplexed by what he saw in God's providence. Disturbed by the ascendancy of
the proud and the wicked and the oppression of God's chosen. We might not be honest enough
to put these things in verbal expression before God, but they're
questions that frequently disturb us too. I'm sure that is true of you
because I know it's true of me. How often I find myself perplexed
how that God raises up wicked men. gives them power, power
with which to inflict great pain upon his own, but he does. Habakkuk's question, remind me
of David's great struggle in Psalm 73 when he saw the prosperity
of the wicked. saw the wicked, the man who has
no fear of God, his eyes bugging out with fatness, his family
all at peace. You get together at Thanksgiving
and they're all at the table. They all live close by. He used
to see his grandchildren and his great-grandchildren and his
great-great-grandchildren all in peace, never having any trouble,
never has difficulty meeting his bills and obligations, never
has difficulty in his family. Everything prospers for him.
David said, these things, were so painful to me, so confusing
to me, my steps had well and I had gone, my feet had just
about slipped. I was envious at the prosperity
of the wicked until I went into the house of God. And then reading
God's word, hearing God's word spoken, I understood therein. Don't ever envy the wicked. Oh, my soul, why envy a man who
doesn't know God? Why envy someone who doesn't
have Christ and knows nothing of the grace of God? Oh, he has
so much what? Clay. Dust. Oh, but he's so famous. I wonder
what good that will do in hell. And yet, we are often perplexed
and confused by the prosperity of the wicked. We got to admit
that we struggle with the same questions that Habakkuk did or
we won't understand that which Habakkuk here teaches us and
God teaches us by him. The fact is the earth is filled
with glaring iniquity. The wicked do seem almost always
to prosper while the righteous suffer. After raising these questions,
Habakkuk resolves to put his hand over his mouth and wait
on God. Lord, show me what you're doing.
Show me so that I can understand what you're doing. Here in chapter
two, he stands upon his watchtower awaiting God's answer. He doesn't
tell us what he saw, but it must be assumed that what he saw has
something to do with the rest of his prophecy. That which comes
after the vision that God gave him is the result of the vision
he saw God telling him what he was doing, explaining to him
how he was working and why he was working as he was. God commanded
him to write the vision and make it plain. And the declaration
of God's vision was first and foremost this word of instruction,
reproof and assurance to Habakkuk and to us. Behold, he whose soul
is lifted up is not upright in him. But the just shall live
by his faith. The just shall live by his faith. God teach us now the meaning
of those words. The first thing we learn is that
God is running things. God is running things exactly
according to his purpose, exactly according to his decree, exactly
according to his will. But Nebuchadnezzar coming, God's
still on his throne. But the Babylonians are ferocious,
wicked people. God's still on his throne. But
the Babylonians are mighty people. We can't stand against them.
God is still on his throne. He's still in heaven, sitting
in the holy place, and nothing moves him. It oughtn't to move
you. But they have such wicked ways.
God's still on his throne. But they will influence people
to evil. God is still on his throne. The
just shall live trusting God who's in his holy place. God
who is undisturbed, unrattled, unmoved, but rather always accomplishing
his purpose. For the vision is yet for an
appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie. Though it tarry, wait for it. because it will surely come and
will not tarry. Our time and God's time are never
measured by the same clock. Israel offered sacrifices for
centuries in anticipation of the coming of Christ of whom
this vision speaks. They offered sacrifices in anticipation
of him who was coming to be our sacrifice by whom sin would be
put away. The Jews in unbelief, while they're
offering sacrifices in God's temple at God's altar, while
they're going through the prescribed motions of religion in the ceremonial
services of the law, the Jews in unbelief fell into idolatry. Therefore, God cast them off.
Cast them off because they refused to believe him. They refused
to believe God. They would not live by faith. Paul explains it to us this way.
They stumbled over that stumbling stone and going about to establish
their own righteousness. They would not submit themselves
to the righteousness of God. not knowing that Christ is the
end, the fulfillment, the finish, the completion of the law for
righteousness to everyone that believeth. The just shall live
by faith. But they would not believe. Yet
when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his son
made of a woman made under the law to redeem them that were
under the law. Now you can count on it. You
can count on it. Though the Jews did not believe
God, though they abused the law that was given them, though they
abused the priesthood and the prophets, though they despised
God's word, yet when the fullness of time was come, at exactly
the time God ordained, when God had appointed the vision, the
vision came. God sent forth his son, made
of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under
the law. God Almighty always does things precisely as he ordained
it before the world was. God doesn't respond. God doesn't react. God does what
he willed from eternity. He doesn't respond to what man
does. He doesn't react to what hell
does. He doesn't respond to what goes on in Washington or in Moscow
or in Baghdad. God everywhere performs his will
through a thousand years in God's sight to one day. And for us,
sometimes one day seems like a thousand years, but God's never
in a hurry. He never gets pushed. He's never
in a bind, and he's never late. This is God's answer to all Habakkuk's
questions. And this is God's answer to all
our questions. The just shall live by faith. But I want to see. If you see,
James, you can't walk by faith. But I want to understand. If
you understand, you can't walk by faith. Which is it you want? Which is it you really want?
I want to know what tomorrow brings. If so, you can't face
tomorrow believing God. Can't do it. You either have
sight for the eye or sight for the soul. And sight for the soul
is always faith looking to God. The just shall live by faith. Now I mentioned earlier, this
statement is found three more times in the word of God. All
three times, it is the apostle Paul, that one who is distinctly
the apostle to the Gentiles, that's you and me. The Apostle
to the heathen, those who were not part of Abraham's physical
seed, those who were not part of that physical covenant with
that physical nation, but these who are chosen of God from among
the uncircumcision to be circumcised in heart. All three references
are given by the Apostle Paul as he writes to Gentiles except
for one. And that one, he's specifically
writing to Jews. So as to say that all this is
addressed to you who are God's elect throughout the earth, Jew
and Gentile, the just shall live by faith. Let's look at the first
reference, Romans chapter one. Romans chapter one. This is the first New Testament
quotation. Found in Romans 1 17 Paul declared in verse 16 I'm
not ashamed of the gospel of Christ For it is the power of
God and the salvation to everyone that believeth We preach the
gospel We're not ashamed of the gospel. That is, we don't hide
it. We don't cover it up. We don't
shave off the rough edges. We proclaim Jesus Christ crucified
everywhere to everybody because this is the power of God by which
God saves his elect. Then he says, verse 17, for therein,
that is in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith
to faith. I believe God. I believe the
gospel of his free grace. And as I proclaim the gospel
of God's grace, as he gives you faith to believe it, the gospel,
the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus is revealed from my faith
to your faith. It is revealed from those who
believe to those who believe by the power of God's grace,
the righteousness of God. not the righteous character of
God. Everybody knows that by birth. Everybody has an image
of God, a God consciousness stamped upon them in their consciences
by creation so that all men know that God is righteous in his
character. This is talking about the righteousness
of God, finished by and performed by, accomplished by and brought
in by Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, through his obedience and his
sacrifice. Here in Romans chapter one, Paul
is standing as it were on the threshold of his great epistle
on justification. In this book of Romans, he shows
us how sinners are made righteous before God, how sinners are made
just before God, not by works, but by grace alone. How is it that men attain righteousness
with God. How can you be righteous before
God? I'm talking about so righteous,
so perfectly righteous, so completely righteous that you can go to
bed tonight and that conscience that's been screaming at you is now silent. so thoroughly righteous that
you're no longer guilty before God, and your conscience says
so. Oh, I'd give anything for that. I'd give anything for that. Would
you give nothing? I'd do anything. Oh, God, if
I could just, if I could just stop this screaming, damning
conscience. I'd do anything. Would you do
nothing? What do you mean? Nothing. You
see, you can't make a sacrifice by which to satisfy your conscience.
You can't perform a work by which to silence your screaming conscience. You can't do something by which
to make yourself right before God, so thoroughly right before
God that your conscience agrees with God and says not guilty. But believing God, we receive
righteousness. Well, the Bob Ponce read Romans
chapter four back in the office a minute ago, right down through
chapter five, verse one. And I noticed you read it right.
Therefore, being justified. Therefore, being justified since
Christ bore our sins on the tree, and he was quickened in the spirit,
accomplishing justification for us, now being justified by what
he has done by faith. We have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ. Cease from your works. Cast your
deadly doings down, down at Jesus' feet. Believe on the Son of God,
and you'll walk out of those doors tonight with peace in your
soul that passeth understanding. Peace that nobody on this earth
can explain. Peace with God. Peace with God. And I'm telling you, Bill Raleigh,
if you've got peace with God, it doesn't matter if we have
peace with anybody else or not. Peace with God without works. Well, if the law, obedience,
doesn't bring righteousness, how are folks justified in the
Old Testament? The same way we are, trust in
Christ. Abraham believed God. Do you
know that was 400 years before the law was given? 400 years before God ever said,
keep the Sabbath day. 400 years before God ever gave
the Ten Commandments. 400 years before there was a
Passover. 400 years with no law. But Abraham
believed God and it was imputed to him for righteousness. Because
he believed God. He believed God. How was Abel
justified? How was Abel made righteous?
He believed God. How is it that Enoch obtained
this testimony that he was righteous? He believed God. Abel, believing
God, we're told, obtained testimony that he was righteous. Now, you
read that statement in Hebrews chapter 11. And you will hear
or read about preachers trying to explain it. And it's really
strange to listen to preachers. Other men try to explain the
book of God who don't know God. They will. He obtained the testimony. He was righteous. Oh, Brother
Abel. He didn't have long hair, and
he didn't wear shorts, and he didn't go to the movies, and
he didn't go to the store where they sold alcohol, and he didn't
smoke and chew. He obtained testimony. He was
righteous. All of you do know better than
that, don't you? You do know better than that,
don't you? Oh, his neighbor looked at him and said, he's a righteous
man. His mama looked at him and said he was a righteous man.
His sons and daughters looked at him and said, Abel, all I've
got is a righteous man. He's so good. He's so holy. He acts so good. No, no. Mark Abel obtained testimony
from God that he was righteous. What a difference. Testimony
in his conscience because he believed God. You know what he
did? He brought God what God provided. He brought God the
blood of a lamb, a blood of a lamb anticipating the lamb that he
heard his daddy tell him would come, by whom the serpent's head
would be crushed and sin put away and redemption accomplished.
And he believed God, trusting Christ portrayed in that lamb. And God said to Abel, I'm pleased
with you. I'm pleased with you. I have
no fury against you. I have no reason to execute my
wrath upon you because you're just. You're righteous. My son
has made you so. Now, faith does not make you
righteous. Don't misunderstand me. Oh no,
our faith does not add one thing to the work of Christ. But without
faith, you will never know the righteousness of God. By faith,
Romans chapter 5 verse 11, we receive the atonement for free
justification. By faith in Christ, we receive
the atonement. That doesn't mean we accomplish
it. We receive it. Salvation, in the experience of it, involves
these two things. A passive work and an active
work. A work in which we are passive,
it's God's work. And a work in which we are active,
which also is God's work. That glass there received some
water about an hour ago. You see it? What do you reckon
it did? Nothing. Nothing. It was just poured into the glass
by somebody else. That's how we receive Christ
in the new birth. God opens up our souls and enters
in. You don't do anything. You don't
do anything. But there's something else involved.
When God puts Christ in the center, that which comes out is faith. Now, watch me receive some water. Would you like to do this, Doc?
Would you like to have a sip of this? Watch how I receive
it. That's good. That's good. That's the word that's used in
John chapter one. As many as received him. Would you have him? Would you
have him? Oh, no, I don't want any of that.
I understand you're not thirsty. Would you have him? Would you
have him? Would you take a drink? He said,
if any man thirst, let him come to me and he will find my spirit
in him, swelling up in him like rivers of living water, bubbling
up from within unto eternal life. Both are God's words. Faith is
the gift of God. It is the operation of God. It
is that which is performed in us by the power of God. And yet,
it is something very active in all who believe. You now, who
would not have Christ, want Christ more than life itself. All right,
look in Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. Here's Paul's second reference
to Habakkuk. He's writing to the Galatians, Gentile believers
to whom Judaizers had come. Now, Judaizers is a term you
might not be familiar with. That's teachers of works, teachers
of law. The Judaizers were folks who
they had been converted to Christianity. I use those terms about as loosely
as I can. They had been converted from
Judaism to Christianity. They believed that Christianity
was the true religion, that Christ is the true Messiah, but... Now,
that doesn't mean you don't have to live by the law. That doesn't mean that you don't
have to keep the law. Just because you're Christians,
now, that doesn't mean that Moses is dead. Just because you're
Christians, that doesn't mean you don't keep the Sabbath day.
Just because you're Christians, that doesn't mean you don't have
to be circumcised. Just because you're Christians, that doesn't
mean that you don't have to live by the Ten Commandments. Just
because you're Christians, that doesn't mean that you don't have
to keep the services of the law. And they came teaching these
Galatians this, subtly mixing works with grace. Now we believe,
we believe you're saved by grace, but that doesn't mean grace alone. That doesn't mean grace alone.
So in the first two chapters of Galatians, Paul deals with
the matter of justification by grace through faith alone. He
tells us a man is justified by faith and not by the deeds of
the law. By the deeds of the law shall
no flesh be justified. But that wasn't the only problem.
He comes to chapter three. And he said. Who's bewitched
you? Who bewitched you? You came to
know the Lord. You came to experience God's
grace. You received free justification
by faith in Christ. And now somebody's come and they've
cast a spell on you. A bewitching spell. And taught
you that you must be made perfect by the works of the law. He's
now talking about sanctification. Sanctification. Now, we're not
like those Judaizers. I can't tell you how many times
I've heard this. No, no. No, no. We're not Judaizers.
We're not legalists. We don't believe that a man's justified
by the law. But now, sanctification is another story. That's another
story. The Lord justified us, but you
can't confuse justification and sanctification. You're exactly
right. You can't. You can't divide them,
and you can't confuse them. For sanctification is but the
experience of justification. Sanctification is being made
holy, God creating a new nature in you, causing you to live before
him. Justification is God declaring
you holy in his law. We experience justification believing
on Christ. And so, too, we experience sanctification
believing on Christ. In chapter three of Galatians,
Paul tells us that cursed is everyone that continueth not
in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them. He said, you who would live by the law, don't you hear
what the law says? Don't you hear what the law says? Next time you run across somebody
who tries to tell you you ought to keep the Sabbath day, ask
him, do you? Do you? Well, I try. That's not what I ask, do you?
Next time you run across somebody that says you ought to live by
the law, just ask him, do you? Oh, yes, sir. You're a liar.
You're a liar and you know it. You know it. Nobody keeps a Sabbath
day, they just pretend. Nobody lives by the law, they
just pretend. So as to sue their guilty consciences
with false religion. The law says, cursed is everyone
that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law
to do them. But, do you see it? Verse 11.
that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is
evident, for the just shall live by faith. We're justified by the law? No,
we're justified by grace. By faith in Christ Jesus, receiving
the grace of God to send him, we're justified. Sanctified by
law? No, we're sanctified by grace. Believing on the Son of God is
the evidence that we're sanctified as well. Paul speaks so plainly
concerning this. If we carefully read the context
from which this quotation is taken, and the context in which
God inspired the apostle Paul to use it here in Galatians.
It's obvious that the Holy Spirit's intent is to teach us that we
experience justification by faith. And as we experience justification,
so too we experience sanctification by faith in Christ Jesus. Justification is not accomplished
by our faith. and sanctification not accomplished
by our faith, but rather we receive justification by faith. And faith
is the fruit of sanctification, not the root, the fruit. In the
springtime, you'll go outside and you'll see some flowers popping
up and you'll see the beautiful blossoms and you'll smell the
fragrance. And nobody would ever imagine
that the blossom and the fragrance were the cause of the flower
living. Oh no, the reason the blossoms
and the fragrance come is because there's life deep in the root
of the matter in the ground. So Job says, the root of the
matter is in me. And that root blossoms forth
with faith and love toward God and toward the brethren, faith
that works by love. But the faith and the love doesn't
cause God to justify us and doesn't cause God to sanctify us. Rather,
it's the fruit, the fruit of the spirit, the result of God's
work in us, the gift of his grace. All right, turn to Hebrews chapter
10. Hebrews chapter 10. Here's the
third reference. Here again, Paul is writing using
Habakkuk's words, but he's writing this time not to Gentiles, but
to Jewish believers. That is, men and women who were
of the seed of Abraham physically and also spiritually. Let's begin
in verse 37. For yet a little while, And he
that shall come will come and will not tarry. Well, that's
right in front of what we had in our text, wasn't it? The vision's
for the appointed time. Wait for it, it will not tarry.
It's talking about the coming of Christ. That's what this whole
thing's all about. The vision will come, or he that
shall come will come, will not tarry. Now, the just shall live
by faith. But if any man draw back, My
soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them that draw
back unto perdition. But of them that believe unto
the saving of the soul. Paul's talking about perseverance
in faith. When the night is darkest. When the night is darkest. Faith
pierces the darkness, and seeing the light of God's promise and
grace in Christ, refuses to quit. And faith embraces Christ. Faith believes Christ. Now back
to the book of Habakkuk, Habakkuk chapter 2, 3. In verse 14 of chapter 2, verse 20, we're told the glory
of the Lord shall, or the earth shall be filled with the knowledge
of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Certainly that's talking about
the second coming of Christ, no question about that. We saw
that right here in Hebrews chapter 10. But it's also talking about
this present gospel day as the gospel is preached in all the
earth But still there's more If you have a marginal reference,
I showed this to Merle back in the office for anybody else got
here tonight Look at the marginal reference in Habakkuk 2 14 It might be better translated
this way the earth shall be filled by knowing the glory of the lord What's that mean? It means that
we who believe God, living by faith in Christ, knowing the
glory of God in Christ, see the fullness of God's purpose in
all things through all the earth. Now, I can't tell you how that
sustains my soul. How do you explain what's going
on over yonder? God did it. How do you explain
what's going on here? God did it. How do you explain
what's going on back yonder? God did it. God did it. And to
be honest with you, that's all the explanation I need and all
I really want. My father did it. My father did
it. Well, how can you explain that
cruel Babylonian monarch coming in here? Habakkuk says, pay attention,
you'll understand. These are the chariots of God. God's chariots of salvation.
This is how God saves his people. This is how God raises up monarchs
and treads monarchs down. This is how God raises up kingdoms
and disposes of kingdoms. This is how God calls out his
elect from among the four corners of the earth. These things that
look like judgment are God's chariots of salvation, drawing
his grace through the mountains of brass to the chosen objects
of his mercy, giving eternal life. As it was on Mount Sinai, the
whole earth was full of the glory of God. So it is now, if we had
eyes to see it. The earth is full of God's praise. The Lord opened his eyes. Remember
Elisha asked the Lord for Gehazi. He said, open his eyes that he
might see. And the Lord opened his eyes.
The mountains were filled with chariots of fire. Everywhere. Oh, Elijah, did you know God's
got us surrounded? Yeah, I knew that, son. Yeah,
I knew that. God's got us surrounded. Now,
let me show you one last thing. Here is faith by which a man
lives. Habakkuk 3. Verse 17, Habakkuk closes his song and
his prophecy with this marvelous declaration of determined faith,
bowing to God's wisdom, goodness, and grace, bowing to his adorable
providence, even when it appeared darkest. Although the fig tree
shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines. The labor
of the olives shall fail. The field shall yield no meat.
The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be
no herd in the stalls. Yet will I rejoice in the Lord. I will join the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength,
and he will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make
me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief musician, to the
chief singer on stringed instruments, he says, now, go to God's house
and sing his praise. He does everything exactly as
it ought to be done. Everything. All the time. According to His will. For the
glory of His name and the good of our souls. The just shall
live by faith. Amen.