The Righteous Shall Live by Faith

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray opened in Habakkuk 2:4, a verse he first preached in seminary and has been studying ever since. Working slowly through one short phrase, he showed how it holds together two things that sound like they might pull apart: the faith we place in God, and the faithfulness God has already shown us. The sermon picked up where the previous week left off, in the second cycle of God's reply to...

Read together

1. Philippians 4:6-7 opening reading: don't worry about anything, pray about everything, tell God what you need, and the peace of God will guard your hearts
2. John 8:12 Jesus says He is the light of the world and those who follow Him will not walk in darkness
3. Psalm 84:10 a single day in God's courts is better than a thousand elsewhere
4. Psalm 92:1-2 it is good to give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His faithfulness
5. Habakkuk 2:4 central text: the soul of the proud is not right within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith
6. Romans 1:17 New Testament restatement of the righteous by faith shall live
7. Galatians 3:11 New Testament restatement of the righteous by faith shall live
8. Hebrews 10:38 New Testament restatement: but my righteous one by faith shall live
9. Psalm 14:3 there is no one righteous, not even one
10. Isaiah 64:6 Lord, there is no one found to be righteous
11. Romans 3:23 Paul repeats that there is no one righteous, not even one
12. Romans 4:3 Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness
13. Galatians 3 Paul argues that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness
14. Romans 4 Paul argues that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness
15. James 2:23 scripture was fulfilled: Abraham believed God, it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God
16. 1 John 3:7 the one who practices righteousness is righteous just as God is righteous
17. Hebrews 11:1 faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen
18. Ephesians 2:8-10 benediction: saved by grace through faith, not of works, created as God's handiwork to do good works prepared in advance

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray prayed that God's faithfulness is what 'inspires and brings about faith, period.' What does it mean to you that faith itself is something God produces in us rather than something we manufacture on our own?
2. Habakkuk complained that God was sitting idly by while senseless violence raged, and God answered that He was already at work in ways Habakkuk would not even believe. Where in your own life has it been hardest to trust that God is doing something even when you cannot see it?
3. The sermon walked through many translations of Habakkuk 2:4 and showed that 'pistis' can mean both the faith we place in God and the faithfulness of God toward us. How does holding both of those ideas together change the way you think about your own trust in God day to day?
4. The sermon drew a distinction between justification, being declared righteous because you believe God, and sanctification, actually walking out a righteous life. How do you see those two things working together in your own experience as a follower of Christ?
5. The sermon closed with Ephesians 2:8-10, pointing out that we are God's 'poiema,' his masterpiece, created to do good works He prepared in advance for us. What does it mean practically for you to live out your faith between now and eternity, as the sermon put it, 'writing part of that story by the way that we live'?