“Faith is not belief without proof but
trust without reservation.”
Elton Trueblood

 “Rabbi Simlai in the third century noted that Moses gave us 365 prohibitions and 248 positive commands. David in Psalm 15 reduced them to eleven: Isaiah—in 33:14, 15—made them six: Micah 6:8 binds them into three: and Habakkuk reduces them all to one, namely—‘The just shall live by faith.’” As the prophet, Habakkuk, sought God concerning the judgment that was to come upon the sinful southern kingdom of Judah by a more sinful nation, namely Babylon, God replied:

“Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).

The New Geneva Study Bible, commenting on this passage states: “The Lord now discloses the essential distinction He makes between the wicked, the Babylonians, and the righteous, the remnant of Judah. The wicked take paths that lead to death and defeat; the righteous by faith take a path that leads to life and victory. In brief, this distinction and the promise it contains for the righteous constitute the word of comfort to Habakkuk.”

Not only is comfort given to Habakkuk, but an essential principle is established for all believers. John MacArthur makes the following insightful comment that extends this principle to include practice:

“Two opposing characteristics are here contrasted. The proud trusts in himself; the just lives by his faith… In contrast to the proud, the just will be truly preserved through his faithfulness to God. This is the core of God’s message to/through Habakkuk. Both the aspect of justification by faith, as noted by Paul’s usage in Rom. 1:17 and Gal. 3:11, as well as the aspect of sanctification by faith, as employed by the writer of Hebrews (10:38) reflect the essence of Habakkuk; no conflict exists. The emphasis in both Habakkuk and the NT references goes beyond the act of faith to include the continuity of faith. Faith is not a one-time act, but a way of life. The true believer, declared righteous by God, will persevere in faith as the pattern of his life (cf. Col. 1:22, 23; Heb. 3:12–14).

How remarkable is it that the Holy Spirit would use a brief utterance from a little-known prophet named Habakkuk to emphasize one of the greatest truths of Christianity: “…the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4)? The principle and practice of this great truth are: believers are justified by faith (Romans 1:17); believers are sustained by faith (Galatians 3:11); and believers live to God by faith (Hebrews 10:38).

BELIEVERS ARE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH

Who are “the Just” and how did they come into that standing? Simply speaking, “the Just” are those who have been “justified”. Of course there are various meanings of the words “just” and “justified”. The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition, define “just” variously as: “having a basis in or conforming to fact or reason: reasonable (a just but not a generous decision)” and as “acting or being in conformity with what is morally upright or good (a just war).” The same source defines “justified” as “to prove or show to be just, right, or reasonable”, as “to show to have had a sufficient legal reason”, and “to judge, regard, or treat as righteous and worthy of salvation”. Only the last definition of “justified” approach the Biblical definition which is stated as: that act of God by which He declares the believing sinner righteous through faith in the redeeming work of Christ on Calvary.

However, as we look at the other definitions, we discover that they all are related to some action or accomplishment by the ones who consider themselves as being the “just” or “justified”. All too often, this is the attitude held by many of today’s Christians. They consider themselves to be the just by virtue of their exemplary “Christian” conduct, their church activities and/or their church attendance. There is one and only one way anyone can become one of the biblically “Just”. Just as Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:7 “…Ye must be born again.”

The believer becomes “just” the moment he places his faith in Christ; through the grace of God; and on the basis of the Blood of Christ. Romans 3:22-24 clearly states this for “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”.

In answer to the questions, who are “the Just” and how did they come into that standing? We can confidently answer, the Just are those who have been declared righteous by God through their faith in the redeeming work of Christ. Consequently, as is stated in Romans 1:17:”…the just shall live by faith”.

BELIEVERS ARE SUSTAINED BY FAITH

In the Letter to the Galatians, Paul through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, refutes the erroneous teachings of the legalist and the separatist actions of Peter to drive home the principle, “The just shall live by faith”. He clearly presents the truths that the Galatians had received the Spirit by faith and not by the Law, and they have begun their new life in Christ through the Spirit by faith and not by the Law. Also, he continued that the purpose of the Law was not to make one righteous or to be a way to salvation but to demonstrate man’s hopeless and helpless sinfulness in order that he might be saved through his faith in Christ.

“This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. 5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” (Gal. 3:2-5).

All too often, today’s “church-goers” tend to trust in their own “righteousness” for salvation, sanctification and glorification. They fail to give heed to Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” and Titus 3:5-7 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”

Not only do today’s “church-goers” trust in themselves but they measure their successful “Christian” lives by their financial success, and their positions of prestige. How little do they consider what God says concerning riches – “He that trusteth in his riches shall fall: but the righteous shall flourish as a branch” (Proverbs 11:28). How little do they consider what He says concerning positions of prestige – “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).

The Christian life is not sustained by self-effort, trust in treasures, nor pride of prestige. The Christian life is sustained by faith as is effectively declared in 2 Cor. 5:7 “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” The word translated “walk” is a term often used in a figurative way to mean “way of life” or “behavior” The Apostle Paul attested to the sustaining power of faith as he states in 2 Tim 1:12 “…for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day”

BELIEVERS LIVE TO GOD BY FAITH

Hebrews 10 has been used by some critics of the Bible to erroneously teach that a believer can lose his salvation. Hebrews 10:26-27 is one of the passages that they grossly misinterpret. The English Standard Version renders this passage: “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.” Properly interpreted these passages reveal that there is first of all, a receiving of the knowledge of the truth of Christ; secondly an understanding of the meaning of the Cross; followed by a comprehension of the concept of the plan of salvation; and finally a corresponding profession of acceptance of that plan. However when there is no persevering in such profession it become clearly evident that there was no yielding to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

True believing is receiving Jesus Christ Himself as Savior and Lord; not merely an intellectual agreement to the teachings of Christ as a theory or a philosophy. True believing is the entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord and not merely an attempted adherence to the concepts of His teachings. John 1:12 clearly proclaims this relationship – “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” One who has sincerely and truly received Christ as Savior and Lord will not sincerely and willingly take up the practice of sin as a lifestyle. The true believer is subject to the conviction of the Holy Spirit who dwells within him and the chastening hand of God that corrects him. Anyone who can display such an ungodly contempt towards the love of God, the sacrifice of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit and return to the practice of a sinful lifestyle never gave his heart to Our Savior. The just will not turn from the Savior to a life of sin because as is stated in Hebrews 10:38: “the just shall live by faith”.