“The just shall live by his faith.” This weighty statement occurs in Habakkuk 2:44Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4), and it is quoted in three epistles, namely, Romans, Galatians and Hebrews, with a distinct application in each.
In Romans it is applied to the great question of righteousness. The Apostle declares himself not ashamed of the gospel, “for it is God’s power to salvation, to every one that believes, both to Jew first and to Greek: for righteousness of God is revealed therein, on the principle of faith, to faith: according as it is written, But the just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-1716For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. (Romans 1:16‑17) JND).
Then in Galatians, where the Apostle is seeking to recall those erring assemblies to the foundations of Christianity, he says, “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith” (Gal. 3:1111But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. (Galatians 3:11)).
Finally, in Hebrews, where the object is to exhort believers to hold fast their confidence, we read, “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith” (Heb. 10:35-3735Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. 36For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. (Hebrews 10:35‑37)). Here we have faith presented not only as the ground of righteousness, but as the vital principle by which we are to live, day by day, from the starting-post to the goal of the Christian course. There is no other way of righteousness, no other way of living, but by faith. It is by faith we are justified, and by faith we live. By faith we stand, and by faith we walk.
For All Christians
Now this is true of all Christians, and all should seek to enter into it fully. Every child of God is called to live by faith. It is a very grave mistake indeed to single out certain individuals who happen to have no visible source of temporal supplies and speak of them as though they alone lived by faith. According to this view of the question, ninety-nine out of every hundred Christians would be deprived of the precious privilege of living by faith. If a man has a settled income, if he has a certain salary, if he has what is termed a secular calling by which he earns bread for himself and his family, is he not privileged to live by faith? Do none live by faith save those who have no visible means of support? Is the life of faith to be confined to the matter of trusting God for food and clothing?
What a lowering of the life of faith it is to confine it to the question of temporal supplies! No doubt it is a very blessed and a very real thing to trust God for everything, but the life of faith has a far higher and wider range than mere bodily wants. It embraces all that in any way concerns us, in body, soul and spirit. To live by faith is to walk with God — to cling to Him, to lean on Him, to draw from His exhaustless springs. It is to find our resources in Him — to know Him as our only resource in all difficulties and in all our trials. It is to be absolutely, completely and continually shut up to Him, to be undividedly dependent upon Him, apart from and above every creature confidence, every human hope and every earthly expectation.
Such is the life of faith. Let us see that we understand it. It must be a reality, or nothing at all. It will not do simply to talk about the life of faith. We must live it, and in order to live it, we must know God practically — know Him intimately, in the deep secret of our own souls. It is utterly vain and delusive to profess to be living by faith and looking to the Lord, while in reality our hearts are looking to some creature resource.
Human Props
How often do people speak and write about their dependence upon God to meet certain wants, and by the very fact of their making them known to a fellow-mortal they are, in principle, departing from the life of faith! If I write to a friend or publish to the local assembly the fact that I am looking to the Lord to meet a certain need, I am virtually off the ground of faith in that matter. The language of faith is this: “My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him” (Psa. 62:55My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. (Psalm 62:5)). To make known my wants, directly or indirectly, to a human being, is departure from the life of faith and a positive dishonor to God. It is actually betraying Him. It is tantamount to saying that God has failed me, and I must look to my fellow for help. It is placing the creature between my soul and God, thus robbing my soul of rich blessing, and God of the glory due to Him.
This is serious work, and it demands our most solemn attention. God deals in realities. He can never fail a trusting heart. But then, He must be trusted. It is of no use to talk about trusting Him when our hearts are really looking to other avenues of help. “What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith?” (James 2:1414What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? (James 2:14)). Empty profession is but a delusion to the soul and a dishonor to God. The true life of faith is a grand reality. God delights in it, and He is glorified by it. There is nothing in this world that so gratifies and glorifies God as the life of faith.
Do we know what it is to have the living God filling the whole range of our soul’s vision? Is He enough for us? Can we trust Him for everything —for time and eternity? Or are we in the habit of making known our wants to man in any way? Is it the habit of our heart to turn to the creature for sympathy, help or counsel? These are searching questions, but let us not turn away from them. Be assured that it is morally healthful for our souls to be tested faithfully, as in the very presence of God. Our hearts are so treacherous that when we imagine we are leaning upon God, we may really be leaning upon some human prop. Thus God is shut out, and we are left in barrenness and desolation.
Gratefulness for Human Agents
And yet God does use the creature to help and bless us, for He does so constantly. The man of faith will be deeply conscious of this fact and truly grateful to every human agent that God uses to help him. God comforted Paul by the coming of Titus, but had Paul been looking to Titus, he would have had but little comfort. God used the poor widow to feed Elijah, but Elijah’s dependence was not upon the widow but upon God. Thus it is in every case. Let us have our complete trust in God, and then our hearts will go on in peace. Then we will gladly accept what God gives us through others, but God will continually be between us and the creature, instead of the creature subtly getting between ourselves and God.
C. H. Mackintosh, adapted
from Living by Faith