2010-01-13 - Holy Trust

Habakkuk 2:4, “But the righteous will live by his faith.”

It is essential to believe that God is true. If we do not believe that God is true, we have no starting point for faith. Does God deserve to be believed? I assert that He should be. When has the Lord ever failed? When has the Lord ever lied? Is it not much more true, that we have found Him, His Word, His promises and threatenings, to be always true? I submit to you that you always find what God says in His Word to be true. When you sin, you feel far from God. When you follow Him, you are in the best frame of mind. His Word says that this will be the case, and we have found it so. We must believe that God is true. It is the first step of faith.

Remember that God has no reason to be untrue. What need has God to ever reveal Himself to sinful creatures? Do you ever pull aside a cricket, and try to explain to the cricket how much more wonderful you are, and how much more wonderful the opportunities you have in your life are, then the cricket has? Why then does God ever reveal Himself to us? It is because He loves us and desires to be in fellowship with us. But we can be certain that He has no reason to lie to us. He has nothing to gain. He is complete in Himself. He reveals truth to us, truth in His Word, and it is essential for us to believe what He says.

Faith is a revealer of our hearts. If we don’t believe God, then we cannot but conclude that we hate God. If we do not believe God, we are revealing our hearts. When we believe God, it shows that our hearts and minds have been changed, and we live differently. To believe God is to follow His way. It is to live in purity rather than rebellious sin. How do we know someone has faith? I submit that we know a man or woman of faith, to the extent that sin is a burden to them. Believing will kill your sinning, or sinning will kill your faith. Faith leads to holiness. The surest way to know that you have no faith in the God of Scripture, is to lead an unholy life. Holiness is a necessary mark of true faith.

Faith also leads to prayer. If you have faith in the Living God, then you will pray. And consider this: How could you pray, if you had not faith? I know so-and-so is out of the country on vacation, thus I do not go over and knock on his door, expecting him to answer. However, when we go to the Lord in prayer, then we do expect an answer, or we would not be going. Faith is essential to prayer.

Faith is not so insignificant as many think. Without faith, it is impossible to please God, Hebrews 11:6. It is through faith that kingdoms are conquered, Hebrews 11:33. Faith is the foundation of all essential godliness. “The righteous will live by his faith,” Habakkuk 2:4.

Soli Deo Gloria,
T-

GodRulesTB@aol.com
http://www.cfdevotionals.org