The Life of Faith

I often hear people say, ‘If all I have to do is believe God… If I'm saved by grace alone, through faith in what Christ has accomplished for me on the cross then what about the way we live? Doesn’t that kind of preaching lead to loose living?’ I don't believe so. Because the Scriptures are going to show us how those who have been saved by grace alone through faith alone always go on to live radically different lives. Because they realize they are not just saved by faith, they live by faith. Genuine faith is always expressed in radical obedience.

Hebrews 11 is this great chapter and its all about these men and women who did extraordinary things and lived extraordinary lives because they lived by faith… ‘Who through faith subdued kingdoms worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of aliens. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword…’ I could go on.

The point is, people who live by grace through faith live radically different lives then the rest of the world. Completely different lives. Why? Because they believe God. They know they don’t need the stuff so many of us try so desperately to hold on to. Because they know God is better and they know God is all satisfying. And so the trinkets and toys this world has offered to them are no longer precious to them because God is precious to them and they want God. And they believe God that He’s enough for them. So their not saying, ‘Well I’ve been saved by grace so I can just live in sin and indulge in the things of this world and live however I want.’ No. That’s not living by grace through faith. People who live like that know so little of grace and so little of faith.

The reason we don’t live radical lives like Hebrews 11 talks about, is because we lack faith. We need to believe God. To believe that he is good and that He is better then all that this world has to offer and that He is worth risking everything for. That He’s worth risking our lives for. Like the Psalmist we should be able to say, 'Because Your loving kindness is better then life, my lips will praise you.' {Psalm 63:3} You see, to many of us serve God because we think He can give us a better life. The Psalmist had it right. His lovingkindness is better then life. When we believe that, it leads us to lead lives of reckless abandon for the sake of the gospel. We need to be delivered from a lie that says, ‘I’ve received grace from God so I can live how I want and indulge in the things of this world.’ That’s not grace and that’s not faith. It misses the whole point. May God give us grace to live by faith!

Daniel

Holding All Things Together

Colossians 1:17 says that 'in Him all things are held together.'

By Him all things are held together. By Him all things consist. You see, here’s how this plays out in my life. I’ve found that when Jesus gets pushed off the throne in my heart and other things become more important than Him, my life seems to unravel. It begins to spin out of control. Do you know what I mean? I get short tempered. I find myself being dominated by my flesh. I become irritable. There’s a reason for that. The scriptures say that in Him all things hold together. So when I get away from Him or neglect my time with Him, things just start to unravel. But the opposite of that is also true. When I’m in the word and Jesus has the place of priority and preeminence that He ought to have in my life, it doesn’t really matter what’s going on around me, I can be at peace. My whole world could be falling apart at the seems, but if Jesus is center in my life, then it doesn’t matter. He holds me together.

I’ve seen it happen over and over again. I’ve observed Christians going through the hardest trials. I mean really difficult stuff. And in the midst of those trying times, I’ve seen the Lord sustain them and hold them together. That’s not to say that they don’t struggle or experience pain, but in the midst of that pain, their life doesn’t come apart at the seams. The Scriptures say, ‘He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Him.’

One more thought on this verse … How does He hold all things together? Hebrews 1:3 says, ‘He upholds all things by the word of His power.’ It’s His word that upholds us. When you’re overwhelmed. When you feel like you’re about to unravel. When life seems to be falling apart, it’s God’s word that comes to you and upholds you. His promises are brought to bear on your life and on your circumstances. This is why it’s so important that we memorize scripture. Because it’s through His word that He upholds all things.

--Daniel