The Just Shall Live By Faith

Q: What does the Bible say about living by faith?

The Bible teaches that the just shall live by faith, specifically faith in Christ. The phrase 'the just shall live by faith' appears in Scripture four times, emphasizing its significance. In Romans 1:17, Paul explains that this faith is rooted in the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel of Christ. This means that the justified are those who have placed their faith in Christ for salvation, living not by their works but solely by their trust in His finished work. The essence of this teaching is that our faith allows us to access the grace and righteousness found in Christ, which sustains our spiritual lives.

Q: How do we know the gospel is true?

The gospel is affirmed through the personal witness of believers and the transformative power it holds. The truth of the gospel is evidenced by both historical accounts and transformative experiences in the lives of believers. Paul, in Romans 1:16, states he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone that believes. The gospel reveals God's righteousness and justice through Christ's sacrifice, and it continues to change lives today. The personal testimonies of faith, alongside the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in Christ, serve as powerful confirmations of the gospel’s truth.

Q: Why is faith important for Christians?

Faith is crucial because it is how Christians receive salvation and live their daily lives. Faith is the means by which believers are justified and sustained in their relationship with God. In Romans 5:1, we are told that being justified by faith gives us peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This faith is not merely intellectual assent; it is a deep trust and reliance on Christ and His righteousness. Furthermore, faith is the avenue through which we engage with the grace of God, allowing us to grow and endure through various challenges. Living by faith means daily relying on Christ for wisdom, righteousness, and strength.

Q: What does it mean to be justified by faith?

To be justified by faith means being declared righteous before God solely based on faith in Christ. Justification by faith signifies that a person is declared righteous in God's sight through faith in Jesus Christ, not through their own works or merit. Romans 3:28 states that we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. This justification is a foundational truth in the Reformed faith and is intrinsically linked to the believer's acceptance of Christ's sacrifice and righteousness. It offers peace with God and assurance of eternal life, freeing believers from the condemnation of sin and affirming their status as God's children.

The title for my message today
is The Just Shall Live by Faith. Now this one statement occurs
in the Word of God four times. The just shall live by faith. And I want you to open your Bibles
to Romans chapter 1. I receive mail occasionally in
which people tell me they like to follow in the scripture when
I'm preaching. So I'll give you a moment to
find the text. It's Romans chapter 1, verse
16 and 17. Now, the apostle Paul is the
writer, and he boldly states in verse 16, I am not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ. I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ, though it be foolishness to the world. And though it be
a stumbling block to the religious, Paul says, I'm not ashamed. I'm
not ashamed to believe it. I'm not ashamed to profess it.
I'm not ashamed to preach it. I'm not ashamed to die for it.
The gospel of Jesus Christ. What is this gospel of Jesus
Christ? Well, God was manifest in the
flesh. God became a man and dwelt among
us and we beheld his glory, the almighty God, Born of a virgin,
made under the law, made of a woman, came into this world and lived
in human flesh. God was manifest in the flesh. God was made under His own law. God became obedient to His own
law on behalf of His people. God in Christ took our sins in
His body on the tree and died to reconcile us to Himself. God became a man an obedient,
submissive servant, made in the form of a servant in the likeness
of sinful flesh, and became obedient unto death, even, even the death
of the cross. And he died on that cross and
was buried and rose again for our justification." That's right.
That's the gospel we preach. And he ascended back to heaven.
where he ever lives to make intercession for us. Peter summed it up this
way. He died just for the unjust that
he might bring us, sinners, to God. And Paul in the book of
Hebrews put it this way. He, Christ Jesus, thought it
not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation,
became a man by himself, purged our sins, paid for them, put
them away, purged our sins, and sat down on the right hand of
the majesty on high." And this is what Paul is saying, I am
not ashamed of this gospel. It's foolishness to the world,
but it's a stumbling block to the Jew, to the religious, but
I'm not ashamed of it. I'm not ashamed to preach it,
not ashamed to profess it, to believe it, to rest in And yea,
even, and he did, die for it. And notice the next line in verse
16. For he says, For the gospel,
I'm not ashamed of this gospel of Christ. For this gospel of
Christ is the power of God, the power of God unto salvation to
everyone that believeth, to the Jew first and also to the Greeks. Sinners are not saved and justified
and redeemed by their works or by their merit. They're redeemed
and justified by faith in Christ Jesus. He that believeth, he
that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life. And he that believeth not the
Son of God hath not life, shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abideth on him. Paul said to the Philippian jailer,
not work, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved. And Abraham, who's an example,
who's a pattern, who's the father of all believers, the scripture
says, Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. And then Paul wrote in Ephesians,
for by grace are you saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. It's the
gift of God. It's not of works. lest any man
should boast. And to the Roman centurion our
Lord said, If you can believe, if you can believe. This gospel
is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. If
you can believe. All things are possible to them
that believe. As Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
that whosoever believeth in him. should not perish but have everlasting
life. For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him
should not perish but have everlasting life." All right. Now, verse
17, Romans 1, 17. Verse 16, Paul said, I'm not
ashamed of the gospel. I'm not ashamed of it. I won't
take away from it. I won't add to it. I'm not ashamed
of it. I preach it as it is to men as they are for the glory
of God. I'm not ashamed of it because
this gospel of Christ, incarnate Christ, crucified Christ, risen
Christ, ascended Christ, seated Christ, exalted Christ, this
gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. For, now watch this, verse 17,
In this gospel, in this gospel of Christ, is the righteousness
of God revealed. In this gospel, what's revealed? The holiness of God, the righteousness
of God, the justice of God, the love of God, the covenant of
grace. All of these things are revealed
in this gospel. are understood and made known
by this gospel. All of the mercy and grace of
God to sinners in Christ is revealed in this gospel from faith to
faith. What does that mean, from faith
to faith? From one degree of faith to another. The more we
read this gospel and hear this gospel, the more we know of the
righteousness of God, the more we know of the holiness of God,
the more we understand the justice of God. The more we understand
the character and attributes of God, the more we see the love
of God, the more we see the mercy of God, and the more we see that
covenant of grace that David talked about, God hath made with
me a covenant, ordered in all things, ensured. And the more
we hear this gospel, read this gospel, the more we understand
how God can be just and justify the ungodly. And then watch this
verse, this phrase here. Because, now Paul says, I'm not
ashamed of this gospel, this gospel of Christ. It's the power
of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the Jew first
and also to the Greek, because in this gospel, in this message,
we see how God can be just and justified. We see how His righteousness
can be satisfied and His law honored and His character honored. because the just shall live by
faith." By faith, the just. Who are these people, the just? Well, they're those who are justified
in Christ. They're those who have believed.
They're those who have received the Son of God. They're justified
by the obedience and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He of
God is made unto them wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. That's who the just No, they're
not just in themselves. They're not righteous in themselves.
They'll be quick to tell you that. They're not perfect in
themselves. They're not worthy. They don't
deserve any of the mercy and grace in favor of God, not the
least of His mercies. But they're just in Christ. Justified,
therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. These justified ones are those
who are justified in Christ, not guilty, forgiven, pardoned. Their sins have been put away.
And this statement, as I told you before, the just shall live
by faith, is in the Word of God four times. For your information,
if you want to write this down, it's found in Habakkuk chapter
2, verse 4. It's found in Galatians 3, verse
11. It's found in Hebrews 10, verse
38. And it's found here in our text,
Romans 1, 17. The just, the just, the justified,
the believer shall live, shall live. He begins life, he continues
life, and he goes on to eternal life by faith, by faith. And that must be of some importance
because it occurs again and again and again in God's Word four
times. The just shall live by faith. What does it mean? Well,
now, here's the key. Now, you got to, you have to
get this. You just have to get this. This is the key. We don't
live upon faith. Faith is not our strength. Faith
is not our foundation. We live by faith upon Christ. Now, that's the key. The just
shall live not upon faith. It doesn't say the just shall
live upon faith, but the just shall live by faith upon Christ. Now, that's very, very important.
We believe Him. We receive Him. We live by faith,
by faith upon our Lord. You see that? In other words,
I don't find peace in faith. I don't have peace because I
believe. Christ is my peace. He made peace
by the blood of His cross. You understand that? He is our
peace. I believe in Him. I receive Him, but He's my peace. And I do not rest in my faith.
I rest in Christ. But by faith, I came to Christ.
He said, You come to Me, and I'll give you rest. You come
to Me. That's faith, coming to Christ.
But the rest is that which He gives. The rest is found in Him,
not in my faith. You've got to understand this
now. Faith is not my wisdom, nor my righteousness, nor my
sanctification. Christ is my wisdom and my righteousness
and my sanctification. But by faith, I look to Christ. And my hope is not in my faith.
Somebody says, how do you know you're saved? Well, I believe.
No, my hope's not in the fact I believe. My hope's in Christ. whom I believe, in whom I rest,
in whom I trust, upon whom I cast myself, in whose arms I rest."
Do you see that? So we don't find peace in faith. We find peace in Christ and rest
and wisdom and righteousness and hope. Paul said, I am crucified
with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not
I, but Christ lives in me. Christ lives in me, and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son
of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. The just shall
live, not upon faith, but by faith upon Christ." Now, here
are seven things. And, of course, you can get this
tape by writing for it. It's called, The Just Shall Live
by Faith. But if you want to write down these things that
I'm going to give you and the Scripture references, Please
do so. But here are seven things I'm
going to give you on this subject, the just shall live by faith.
First of all, how do we live by faith upon Christ? The just
shall live by faith upon Christ. First of all, we live upon the
name of Christ, the name of Christ. The Scripture says, "...whatsoever
you shall ask the Father in My name, it shall be forgiven you. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. Did you ever
have a door open to you in the name of someone else? We just
came up to this television station to make this program and we came
to the door and the door's locked. They have a security system here
and you push a button and the man's voice comes down over the
speaker and said, who is it? And the people who are with me
give my name." And that opens the door. They say, Henry Mahan,
we're here to make a program with Henry Mahan. And that lets
everybody in. They come in on that name. One
time several years ago when the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World's
Championship, the National League pennant and the World's Championship,
79 I believe, I had a good friend who played on that ball team
and I went to Pittsburgh And I was in a meeting with a dear
friend up near the Pittsburgh area, and we called Phil Garner,
who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he said, come down
to the game. And I'm a nobody. Pittsburgh,
nobody knows me in Pittsburgh. Nobody knows me at Three River
Stadium. My name get me nowhere at Three River Stadium or Pittsburgh,
either one. But we went down and gave his
name, and they opened the door. And with His name, I even went
into the dressing room. And on another occasion, I went
into the dugout using His name. You see that? My entrance, everything
was open for me. A nobody. Nobody. They don't know me, but it's
all open to me using the name of my friend who played on that
team. And that's what God is saying.
There's none other name under heaven given among men whereby
we must be saved. Entrance into God's presence.
entrance into heaven, entrance into eternal life is in the name
of Christ Jesus our Lord. Whatsoever you ask the Father
in my name, not in your name, not in the name of an apostle,
not in the name of Mary, not in the name of your church, not
in the name of your pastor, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Now, faith, the believer, the justified live on that name. That name gets us into the presence
of God. And then secondly, faith lives
upon the blood of Christ. When the high priest of old went
into the Holy of Holies, came into the presence of God, you
remember that's where the ark was and the mercy seat and the
Shekinah glory, the presence of God. But when that high priest
came into that Holy of Holies, he came not without blood. He didn't dare go into that place
without blood. There was a lamb slain out there
and roasted on the altar and its blood brought into the Holy
of Holies. The blood maketh atonement for
the soul. It's the blood. I've given you
the blood upon the altar, God said, and that high priest did
not dare come into the Holy of Holies without blood or he too
would have been slain. Dare I go into the presence of
God, of a holy God? There I stand in the holy place.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand
in His holy place? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart, who's never lifted up his soul to vanity, who's
never sworn deceitfully. That's not me. Well, how can
we come into God's presence? The blood of Jesus Christ, God's
Son, cleanseth us from all sin. And the same way that that great
high priest back in Old Testament days under the tabernacle, went
into the Holy of Holies under the veil, right in front of the
mercy seat, he took the blood. He took the blood. And that blood
made atonement. And it was only representative
blood. It was only the blood of an animal. And yet it allowed
him to come till Christ came, the Lamb of God, and shed His
blood. And now we go not into the holy
place made with hands, but we'll someday go into the very presence
of God. by the blood of Jesus, a new
and living way, His blood. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus. Now then, thirdly, faith lives
on the flesh of Christ, the flesh and blood. Now, I've read this
scripture so many times, and I imagine many of you have. John
6, 51. Listen. I am the bread of heaven. I'm
the bread from heaven, the living bread. I came down from heaven. If any man eat this bread and
drink my blood, he'll live forever. Whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh
my blood hath eternal life." And the Jews said, can this man
give us his flesh and blood to eat? No. What does this mean? Well, here's the best explanation
I can find. Israel in the wilderness is a
picture of true Israel. Israel in the wilderness is a
picture of the church in the world. How did Israel survive
40 years in the desert? The desert didn't provide them
with any food. The desert didn't provide them
with anything but heat and bugs and dirt and sand and wearisome
ways. They ate bread that came from
heaven. And they drank water out of the
rock. And that's the way that we survive
in this world, believers, spiritually. Oh, I know we physically, we're
taken care of in the world. We have a good place to live
and sleep and eat and so forth. But spiritually, and that's what
truest really is spiritual, this world makes no contribution to
us spiritually. This world really is detrimental
to us spiritually. So how do we survive? How do
we live? How do we survive spiritually?
Christ is our bread and Christ is our drink. Everything here
is dead and dying and yet we live. We live on Christ. We eat His flesh and drink His
blood. The same way He's the bread from
heaven and He's the smitten rock that followed them. Bread of
heaven on thee I feed, thy flesh is meat indeed. ever may my soul
be fed with its true and living bread." So faith, the just shall
live by faith upon Christ, feeding upon Christ, living upon Christ,
resting upon Christ, taking all of your strength and nourishment,
not from the world, but from Him. And then faith lives fourthly
on the righteousness of Christ. Now, every one of us know this.
If you know anything about the Bible at all, if you know anything
about yourself at all, you know of your identification with Adam
in the fall, don't you? They call it original sin. As
by one man sin entered the world and death by sin, so death passed
upon all men. By one man's disobedience, we
were made sinners. As in Adam, all die. You understand
that? You know anything about that?
That's original sin. That's representation. God created
one man. His name was Adam. Red earth.
The first man. We all came out of his loins.
When he stood, we stood. When he fell, we fell. When he
sinned, we sinned. When he died spiritually, we
died. The whole human race. That's
our nature. We're born that way. David said,
in sin, my mother conceived me. I was brought forth speaking
lies. We know that. We know that our nature is sinful.
We know there's no difference. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. We know that even our goodness
and our works are not without sin. Nothing we do is perfect. Not God perfect. There's none
good but God. Christ said that Himself. And
Isaiah wrote, Our righteousnesses, our goodnesses in God's sight
are filthy rags. The plowing, even the plowing
of the wicked is sin. Oh, wretched man that I am, Paul
moaned and groaned. My sins are ever before me, David
said. Then how can we be righteous,
which God demands and requires? How can we be accepted of God?
How can we walk with God? How can we fellowship with God?
I'll tell you how, in Christ. He's our righteousness. He's
our holiness. In the Lord have our righteousness.
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. In plain, simple language, substitution. As in Adam we die, in Christ
we're made alive. We're born in the image of the
earthy, we bear the image of the heavenly. By one man's disobedience
we were made sinners, by another man's obedience we were made
righteous. You understand that? Substitution. Satisfaction. That's the heart of the gospel.
All right. Fifthly, faith lives on the Word
of God. The just shall live by faith
on the name of Christ, on the righteousness of Christ, and
now on the Word of Christ. You know, the Bible talks about
many precious things. You hear about precious things
in the Bible. Under you that believe, He is
precious. We're redeemed with the precious
blood. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of His saints. Those things are precious, precious,
valuable. But also, Peter said, it is given
unto us exceeding great and precious promises. In other words, to
the believer, to the justified, God's Word is precious. His Word
is precious and we live on that Word. How do we live on it? Faith
comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God. Comfort, he
said, comfort one another with these words. spiritual growth,
desire the sincere milk of the word that you may grow thereby.
Thy word, O Lord, is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.
In thy word you have caused me to hope. How firm a foundation,
you saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in his excellent
word." Faith lives, the just live upon the word of God. Peter one day was standing down
by the by the seashore. They'd been fishing all night
and caught nothing. And they were cleaning their
nets and the Lord Jesus walked up and said, have you caught
anything? And they said, nothing. We've toiled all night and caught
nothing. He said, just put your nets back in the boat and cast
your boat out there and put the net over the side. And Peter
said, Lord, we've toiled all night. We're tired. We've caught
nothing. Nevertheless, nevertheless, at your word, we let down the
net. And my friend, that's the believers.
That's the believers daily meet the Word of God, daily strength.
And then faith lives on the intercession of Christ, the intercession of
Christ. John wrote in 1 John 2, my little
children, I write unto you that you sin not, but if any man sin,
we have an advocate. We have an advocate. I may be
condemned by the world. I may be condemned by the law.
I may be condemned by my own And yet I have an advocate. I
have a lawyer. I have one who intercedes. I
have one who pleads for me. I have one who's never lost a
case. I have one who has the Father's ear. I have one who
is the Father's son. I have one pleading for me who
has somewhat to offer his own blood, his own scars, his own
suffering for my justification. So I live on the intercession
of Christ. He pleads for me and prays for
me. And then last of all, number
seven, faith lives on the offices of Christ. You mean the Lord
Jesus has offices? Yes. He's our prophet, priest,
and king. He's the captain of our salvation.
He's our mediator. He's the Lord, our righteousness.
He is our banner. He is all these things. David
said, the Lord is my shepherd, my shepherd. He has assumed responsibility
for me. and I shall not walk. He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still
waters. He restores my soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness
for His name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for He's with
me. His rod and staff comfort me. He prepares a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I'll dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. for I live by faith on Christ."
If you'd like to have this tape, write for it, The Just Shall
Live by Faith. And there'll be another sermon
on it, which I'll preach next week, Preaching the Gospel. Till next week, may God bless
you.

The Just Shall Live By Faith

What does the Bible say about living by faith?

How do we know the gospel is true?

Why is faith important for Christians?

What does it mean to be justified by faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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The Just Shall Live By Faith

What does the Bible say about living by faith?

How do we know the gospel is true?

Why is faith important for Christians?

What does it mean to be justified by faith?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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