Triumphant Faith - Message 4 - The Just Shall Live by Faith. Habakkuk questioned God and finally God answered. He answers with a vision that Habakkuk begins to record in chapter 2. In Habakkuk 2:3 we see that the vision was for an appointed time, though that time was still off in the future. The fulfillment in the judging of Judah and the consequential judgment of Babylon for its own wickedness was sure to come, but was still something that was a ways off. The people needed to take hope in God's sovereignty, and in His promises of grace and mercy should they repent. Overall we see in the introduction to this vision an admonition to be patient while enduring suffering. So what is this vision? What is the Word that came from the Lord to Habakkuk? It begins with a contrast of the proud and the righteous. The proud are puffed up. In fact the very word used here in Habakkuk 2:4 means “bloated.” The proud, no matter what he thinks or believes about himself, is not upright in his soul. While he may depend upon himself, his own inherent goodness, and his own ability to do what is right and to be right with God, he has been fooled by his fallen nature. The proud cannot be righteous. The proud, depending upon himself, cannot justify himself before God. He cannot be right with God in any way, shape, or form. However, in contrast to the proud man we see that the just man lives by faith. This tells us that the justified man is a man who is guiltless before God. He is just, right, good, and in God's eyes, free from sin. By his faith he has been declared righteous. We are justified by faith, and we also live by faith. The man who is right with God continuously lives by faith. |
