#FAITH LIFESTYLE - Part 2 Text Galatians 3:11
TOYE OGUNGBE·SUNDAY, AUGUST 6, 2017·
The just, the righteous shall live by faith! How are you living?
The faith of the righteous should be in God first and then in oneself. We need
to acknowledge God in all we do. It is very easy for man to forget God, our
provider and source of life after achieving outstanding success in life. Pride
goes before destruction! In Daniel 4:30, Nebuchadnezzer, King of Babylon said,
“Is not this great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty
power and for the glory of my majesty”. Heaven’s court heard and promptly
replied, “O King Nebuchadnezzer, to thee it is spoken; the kingdom is departed
from thee”. Within an hour of his utterance he lost his mind, crawled out of his
palace and made his residence amongst the beasts of the forest! It is noteworthy
to say that in that day Babylon was the superpower and King Nebuchadnezzer was
the President! The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10) The
just shall acknowledge God’s sovereignty!
“But 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) Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of
the law (Matthew 5:17) So why choose to live under a law that you cannot fulfil?
The scripture says “cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which
are written in the book of the law, to do them”. Why not live by faith in Christ
the fulfilment of the law?
In Luke 10:25-29, we read about a Lawyer who came to Jesus asking what to do to
inherit eternal life. In verse 29, the scripture says he wanted to “justify”
himself. By doing this he was trying to make himself righteous. But the bible
teaches us that righteousness is a gift we receive through faith in God through
Lord Jesus Christ. Many people mistakenly equate their good deeds with
righteousness. Our self righteousness is as filthy rags before God. Paying your
tithe, giving to the poor, praying 3 times a day does not make you righteous!
It is either we live unto ourselves as is written in 2 Corinthians 5:15 “And
that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto
themselves....or we live unto righteousness as in 1 Peter 2:24 “who his own self
bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should
live unto righteousness.
The faith lifestyle acknowledges that self righteousness is unacceptable to God.
Self must die in order for righteousness to be revealed. The “New Man” created
in God’s righteousness lives by faith (has confidence in God’s promises). Even
though he has nothing physical to prove them, he believes in them and acts on
them.