THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

The gospel is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. In this gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed, in the sense that it is given to anyone who receives salvation by their faith in Christ. This also means that the just shall live by his faith in Christ.

Reference: Romans 1:16-17 New King James Version (NKJV) 'For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "The just shall live by faith."'

The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. In the glorious gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. In the above verse, the Word says, "The just shall live by faith". Live by faith in what? Faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. And now the righteousness we have, which is of God manifests from faith to faith as we respond to what God says in His Word.

Sometimes, many Christians think this way: I faithfully attend church, tithe, fast at least once a week, pray for at least an hour every day, confess the Word, and never smokes or drinks. Therefore, compared to others, I'm definitely just and righteous before God. From human point of view, none of these actions are wrong but from the standpoint of finished work of Christ, the actions can be wrong based on this reason: they focus on the individual's performance rather than on what Jesus accomplished in our behalf.

If you have confessed with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you are saved and righteous. You now stand upright as the righteous; holy and blameless before God. If you do any of these acts listed above, you do them, not to become righteous, but because you're driven by the love of truth, which is the Word of God. Already you have the gift and nature of righteousness which causes you to do right and respond to the finished work of Christ.

Understand this truth: our good works and ritual obedience are not qualified to make us right with God. If we are not saved by confessing Jesus as the Lord with our mouth, we cannot be declared righteous in God's eyes, a condition referred to as being justified. God sees us and treats us according to Jesus' perfect performance, not our own performance. Therefore, as a child of God, your role is to know the Word of God, so you can stand on it and live by faith in Christ because of what He's done for us.

Apostle Paul expressed the same idea in Philippians 3:8-9 (NIV), where he said, '...that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.' This is the glorious gospel of Christ, known as the "Good News". And living by faith is claiming and possessing your inheritance in the Word because the just shall possess their inheritance through the knowledge of the Word (see Proverbs 11:9). This is the very life of the Christian, afforded by the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Scripture Reading - Habakkuk 2:4; 2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 3:11; Hebrews 10:38.

Guided Prayer: Glorious Father in heaven, I thank and honour you today for the glorious gospel which has brought salvation and justification to me through the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. I live by faith in the finished work of Christ and walk in the light of my inheritance in the Word. Hence the righteousness of God is revealed in my life from faith to faith and from glory to glory in Jesus' Name, Amen!