Faith To Live By

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17

Four times the Scripture declares to us that the just or righteous shall live by his faith (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:38). For it to be repeated practically word for word that many times shows that the subject of faith must really be important. In fact, by the proclamation of this truth alone, a tiny minority managed to change the course of world history.

In 300 years, it brought the whole of the Roman Empire to its knees. Another 1,200 years later, this same revelation empowered Martin Luther to dislodge the power of Roman Catholicism and started the Protestant Reformation. Likewise, if we can comprehend and apply this simple truth by faith today, it can revolutionize our individual lives and our ministry in the kingdom. Let’s look at Romans 1:17 again. In the original text, the word “live” connotes the idea of a sustaining force. As such, faith is the sustaining force that keeps your entire life going in the Lord. Faith is what makes life a never-dull adventure. The word “live” covers all areas of the human experience-the spiritual, mental, physical and material. It even covers basic activities like breathing, thinking, speaking, working, sleeping, etc. For any person to be accepted as righteous by God, all these activities must be motivated and controlled by the one great principle of faith.

Consider the trivial matter of eating. “But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin” (Rom. 14:23). God expects you to have faith to the extent that even your eating must proceed from faith. But what does it mean to eat from faith? 

(1) You acknowledge that God is the one who provided you with the food that you eat. 

(2) You thank God that your food is now blessed and sanctified. 

(3) You acknowledge that the health and strength you receive through your food will be used for God’s service and glory. 

Imagine that God expects faith in you even for such a trivial activity like eating! The converse of eating in faith is to “eat in darkness” which will result in sorrow, sickness and frustration (Eccl. 5:17).

Consider another trivial matter-sleeping. Many people struggle with sleep because of fear, worry and anxiety. David was a man who went through many troubles and dangers, but in the midst of them all, his faith in God sustained him: “I lay down and slept; I awoke, for the LORD sustained me . . . I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Ps. 3:5; 4:8). If God expects such trivial matters like eating and sleeping to be done in faith, what about the rest of life’s activities? Start living by faith in every area of your daily existence!