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Living The Christian Life
Life by faith: "The just will live by faith"
1. Justification
2. Service and witness
3. Obedience
4. Perseverance
5. Renunciation and commitment
6. Firmness
7. Deliverance
8. Victory
For Further Study: Summary table of the effects of faith
The statement " The righteous will live by faith " ( Galatians 3:11 ) expresses a double fundamental truth. First, man is accepted before God and saved from eternal condemnation only by faith: " He who is just by faith will live " (another translation of Ha 2: 4). Second, the whole life of him whom God saved must be governed by faith, that is, by his trust in God: "And my righteous will live by faith" ( Heb 10:38 ). Indeed, one can please God only by an attitude of faith ( Heb 11: 6 ).
Chapter 11 of the epistle to the Hebrews demonstrates that faith leads to action . It highlights the effects or consequences of faith. The particular situations experienced by the people mentioned in this chapter of the Bible illustrate more general situations specific to believers of all times. (This lesson is deliberately limited to a few areas touched by Hebrew 11, but it is evident that faith concerns all aspects of existence.)
The one who lives by faith reacts, in the face of circumstances, to invisible realities, without stopping at visible data, even if they seem to be adverse or contradict the promises of God (cf. Heb 11: 1 , Heb 11: 27 ).
The effects of faith are either acts of God in favor of the believer, or acts that the believer can perform because he is looking to God and not to himself or the circumstances.
In particular, faith has the following effects:
1. The justification
Example: Abel / Hebrews 11: 4
The revelation of the state of sin and the remedy for sin led Abel to offer a sacrifice. Aware of his guilt before God and his need for forgiveness, Abel believed in the grace of God and he had access to this grace through his offering.
Likewise, today the sinner is justified when he recognizes his sin and puts his trust (his faith) in the effectiveness of the sacrifice of Christ ( Ro 3: 23-25a ; Ac 13:39 ).
2. Service and testimony
Example: Noah / Hebrews 11: 7
Noah believed in the proximity of the judgment of which he had been informed; he set to work despite the carelessness of all those around him (cf. Mt 24: 37-39 ). He believed in the reality of the announced judgment and he testified of his faith by building the ark.
Today's believers feel a call to service and to witness in the coming judgment. The reality of the judgment "that we do not yet see" pushes those who walk by faith to sanctification and action ( 2 Pi 3: 10-14 ; 1 Pi 4: 7 ; cf. Mt 24: 33- 46 ; Jn 9: 4 ).
3. Obedience
Example: Abraham / Hey 11: 8, Hey 11: 17-19
When Abraham received orders from God (leaving Ur, offering his son Isaac), he trusted Him who spoke to him completely. Convinced that God had plans (a new homeland, the survival of Isaac), he relied on his promises; it was by virtue of this faith that he was able to obey. Abraham agreed to leave a known situation (a homeland, a posterity in Isaac) to face the unknown, knowing that it could cause great upheaval for him.
The believer's obedience stems from his faith in the love and wisdom of God. Faith being in essence the act of surrendering to God, it necessarily implies obedience to his directives ( Ro 1: 5 and Ro 16:16 ; litt. "Obedience that is faith"; cf. . 1 Jn 5: 3-5 ).
4. Perseverance
Example: Abraham and Sara / Hey 11: 11-12
God's promise (numerous posterity) was slow to come true; nevertheless Abraham and Sara remained awaiting the fulfillment of this promise, despite the sterility and advanced age of Sara. They looked to God's faithfulness in fulfilling his promises and his ability to fulfill them ( Ro 4: 17-21 ). Their faith gave them perseverance to wait for the moment that God had chosen to intervene.
All believers are called to persevere by relying by faith on the faithfulness and power of God ( Heb 6: 11-12 ; Heb 10: 36-38 ; Acts 14:22 ).
5. Renunciation and commitment
Example: Moses / Hey 11: 24-26
Moses would have been able to enjoy a comfortable situation by staying at the court of Egypt, but in return he should have denied his God and his people. He knew of the mistreatment that the Egyptians inflicted on the Israelites, but his faith made him look at the reward promised by God. He chooses to sign up for him. He gave up personal and temporal advantages (high social rank, wealth) and preferred a difficult situation and communion with God to an easy situation but without this communion.
The believer is called to renounce everything that is acquired at the cost of denying God, everything that takes the place of God and that which hinders his availability for God ( Mt 6:24 ; Lu 9: 23 ; Phil 3: 7-8 ; cf. 2 Cor 6: 14-18 ). The believer's renunciation is motivated by his attachment to God; by faith he looks to the value of what God has in store for him in the present and in eternity ( Mk 10: 28-30 ). He engages with the people of God ( Heb 10:33 ; cf. Acts 2:44 , Acts 2:46 ) even if this may expose him to temporary afflictions ( 2 Cor 4: 17-18 ; Ro 8: 18 ).
6. Firmness
Example: Moses / Hey 11:27
Faced with opposition from the king of Egypt who wanted to prevent the exit of the people of Israel, Moses remained firm and refused any compromise with Pharaoh. He did not allow himself to be stopped by the power of the king, but he placed his confidence (his faith) in the supremacy of the invisible God.
The New Testament contains many calls for firmness:
• within the opposition ( 1 Th 3: 2-3 );
• facing the devil's attacks ( 1 Pi 5: 8-9 ; Ep 6: 11-13 );
• in attachment to biblical teachings ( 2 Thess 2:15 );
• in the testimony ( Phil 1:27 ).
This firmness is based on faith ( 1 Cor 16:13 ) which is based on God, who is "greater than he who is in the world" ( 1 Jn 4: 4 ).
7. Issuance
Example: Moses and the people of Israel / Hey 11:29
Stuck between the Red Sea and the Egyptian army, the people of Israel were in a dead end. The faith of Moses in the omnipotence of God prompted the whole people to trust God and to cross the dry Sea to know deliverance.
God, who is all-powerful, can intervene when the believer finds himself in a hopeless situation; he does so in response to the believer's call and the faith he manifests ( Ps 34: 18-20 ; 2 Pi 2: 9a ; cf. Da 3:17 ; Acts 28: 3-6 ).
8. The victory
Example: Joshua and the people of Israel / Hebrews 11:30
In a situation of war and before the obstacle of the walls of Jericho, Joshua and the people of Israel awaited by faith the intervention of God in their favor; they were convinced that God was fighting for them (cf. De 1: 29-31 ; De 3:22 ) and they persevered seven days until victory.
Every believer is engaged in a fight ( Romans 15:30 ; Ephesians 6:12 ; 1 Timothy 1:18 ); to be victorious, he must above all keep the faith ( 1 Timothy 1:19 ; 1 Timothy 6: 11-12 ; 2 Timothy 4: 7 ) and expect God's intervention in his favor.
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For Further Study:
| EFFECT OF FAITH | TYPICAL SITUATION | CHARACTER (S)
TYPICAL (S) |
HEBRREWS chap. 11 | VISIBLE REALITY | INVISIBLE REALITY |
| 1. justification | need forgiveness | Abel | v. 4 | state of sin | Grace of God |
| 2. service and testimony | proximity to judgment | Noah | v. 7 | carelessness of those around | reality of judgment |
| 3. obedience | order of god | Abraham | v. 8, 17-19 | old homeland, absence of lamb | God's plans: new homeland, survival of Isaac |
| 4. perseverance | waiting for the fulfillment of a promise | Abraham and Sara | v. 11-16 | Sara's infertility and age | faithfulness of God to his promise and God's capacity to fulfill it (numerous posterity) |
| 5. renunciation and commitment | possibility of enjoying a comfortable situation by denying God and his people | Moses | v. 24-26 | loss of social standing and wealth, prospect of mistreatment with God's people | reward from god |
| 6. firmness | opposition | Moses | v. 27 | power of the pharaoh | superiority of god |
| 7. issuance | dead end | Moses and the people of Israel | v. 29 | encirclement between the Sea and the Egyptian army | omnipotence of God |
| 8. victory | war | Joshua and the people of Israel | v. 30 | obstacle of the walls of Jericho | intervention of God in the fight |