Living By Faith

The key to success in life is "living by faith"!  The Bible is constantly encouraging us in this, with the assurance that the children of God "live by their faith"!  Galations 3:7 and Romans 1:17 to name a few, ensure us that we are only truly the children of Abraham if we "live by our faith". 

Galations 3:7  [Living Bible] 
You can see from this that the real children of Abraham are all the men of faith who truly trust in God.

Galations 3:7  [Amplified Bible]
Know and understand that it is really the people who live by faith who are the true sons of Abraham. z

Romans 1:16-17  [New American Standard Bible] 
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (17) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."

  
New Thinking is Required! 
When you were a sinner, as an unborn-again man (or woman), you had no idea about how you lived.  But your thoughts and your motives were based on fear.  Fear is the opposite of faith.  When you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, however, you were "born-again" through "faith".  The Bible says it by grace (God's free gift) through "faith" that you are saved!  And with this new life you now have to practice "new thinking"! 

Ephesians 2:8-9  [New American Standard Bible] 
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast.

 
But salvation is not just a "one-time" event!  It is a "way of life".  You are to be "living" that life ... of faith, working out your salvation, as Paul puts it in Philipians 2:12.  Here Paul says that we are to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling"!  That means we have a "life" that we have to live ... a "walk" ... a "way of life" that we are to follow!  That way is the way of living the life of "faith"! 

Philippians 2:12  [Amplified Bible] 
... work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).

I know this blows holes in many of folks "I can live like I please now" theory, but it's true!  You have to "walk" the talk!  Paul said in fact that "faith without works is dead"!  If you are not living and "working" your faith, then you're not living the life of faith.  Your faith is "dead"!  Don't jump on me about this, Paul said it!  But wouldn't you rather know now, so that you can do something about it?  (rather than later, when it's too late!) 

So, we have learned about our "Now faith" in Hebrews 11, that it is the evidence of things hoped for, the assurance of things that are not yet seen! We have also discussed the fact that your faith has to be "activated".  You have to put it into motion, or into action!  This is done with a "firm & quality decision", of which there is no turning back!  It's a decision "already made". 

If you remember about faith, you know that faith works just like "seeds" and everything works on the seed principle where faith is concerned.  So we know that we must apply and live by our "now faith", with a singleness of purpose ... a decision by which there is no turning back.  And we have to practice that life ... daily!   

Spend the rest of this week considering your life, and your daily actions.  Ask yourself, "What can I do to apply 'faith' in my life today?"  Make this a practice!  Challenge areas of your life where 'fear' still exists, and replace it with firm & quality Bible-believing 'faith'!