Day 3 - Week 78 - Romans 1:17 "For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."

"Faith is all in all, both in the beginning and progress of Christian life. It is not from faith to works, as if faith put us into a justified state, and then works kept us in it; but it is all along from faith to faith; it is faith pressing forward, and gaining the victory over unbelief."
- Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible

I love this explanation of "faith to faith."  I love that it portrays faith as a progressive, on-going process.  And affirming that once there is faith, it is not immune from the attacks of the enemy.  But that faith presses forward, and gains the victory.

Encamped along the hills of light,
Ye Christian soldiers, rise,
And press the battle ere the night
Shall veil the glowing skies.
Against the foe in vales below,
Let all our strength be hurled;
Faith is the victory, we know,
That overcomes the world.

Faith is the victory!
Faith is the victory!
Oh, glorious victory
That overcomes the world.

It is not our mighty strength that wins the battle, it is not our great works...it is our faith in the righteousness of God, given to us through the gospel of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  Faith is the victory!

The faith in knowing that Genesis 1:1 is truth, and that Revelation 22:20-21 is truth, and everything in between.  Faith as small as a mustard seed, faith that is able to move mountains.  Start to finish...faith to faith. 

 

Day 2 - Week 78 - "For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."

"I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."  Romans 1:16-17

"In memorizing Romans 1:16-17, you have the whole book of Romans in digest form.  These verses, coming at the end of Paul's magnificent prologue to Romans, summarize the theme and thesis of this book.  Verses 16 & 17 provide the essential vocabulary of the Christian dictionary.  As you read these two verses, underline these words:

• Gospel - The good news of Jesus Christ
• God - The source of life, hope, forgiveness and justification
• Power - The omnipotence of heaven is packed into this message
• Salvation - Deliverance from sin, death, despair and hell
• Everyone - The scope of the gospel is universal in its offer
• Believes - The condition and requirement for justification
• Righteousness - The state of being made right with God
• Revealed - This message can't be discovered from below; it had to be revealed from above
• Faith - This term occurs three times in verse 17, explaining the word believes in verse 16."

                                               - Robert J. Morgan, 100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart

I appreciated Mr. Morgan's very straightforward analysis of these two verses and all that they cover.  He states it so well, that I felt compelled to share completely.   What a lot of great, basic Christian theology is packed into these two verses.  For in these two verses we learn of the saving news of Jesus, sent by God to deliver us from our sin and resulting death.  We come to understand that this offer is extended to all peoples, presented to us as a gift from God and revealed by His Spirit, and our acceptance of this beautiful gift is expressed by our belief, and belief then takes form as lives subsequently lived by faith.

Two short verses - lots of power!  Lots of truth!  God has laid out such a wonderful plan for us to be redeemed.  It is not a complicated plan, but it does take faith.  "Faith to faith"...it is all about faith, start to finish, first to last.  It is revealed to us through faith, and that revelation adds to our faith.  Faith builds on faith.

I cannot imagine traveling through this life, through its peaks, and especially through its valleys, without this life-sustaining faith. "The righteous will live by faith."  I can only claim righteousness through the work of Christ, but I know that I do live by faith.  I know that without my faith in an all-knowing, completely loving God, who I can place all my confidence in when otherwise I am totally shaken, my life would be empty and pointless.   I would pray that if you do not share this faith, that you find it now...for when you're in the middle of the valley, it is truly your only source of sustenance.


 

Day 1 - Week 78 - A new week begins, a new verse to hide in our hearts...

Another week begins...life goes on, even when you think the world should stop, it doesn't.  You continue to grieve, but through the days, knowing that God is walking with us and feeling His love along with the love of family and friends, we some how continue on.  You realize that you are still here, in the land of the living, for a reason...a reason that is hard to determine at times, but you know that if you are here, you are to be of purpose.  That is what I think I am feeling now...still dazed, still confused, still heartbroken...but understanding that while I am here on this earth, I am to seek God's purpose for my days. 

Part of God's purpose for me seems to be this blog...it directs me to His Word, and it allows me to proclaim my faith.  There have been so many faith-affirming verses through these weeks.  I wish I truly had all 77 to date at my ready recall...I am sorry to say that I don't at this point.  I have determined that when we reach the end of our 100 week journey, that I will have to go back and retrace my steps and focus again on memorization, having the luxury of not leaving a verse until I have it down pat....that process may take me another 200 weeks!  And if it does, so be it!  What better way to travel through life than with God's word as your travel companion!

At the beginning of this 78th week, let's review our most recent verses:


The Holy Spirit's Role in our Lives (6)
Ephesians 5:18 "And don't get drunk with wine, which leads to reckless actions, but be filled with the Spirit."
Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making music in to the Lord in your hearts."
Ephesians 5:20 "Giving thanks always for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Ephesians 5:21 "Submitting to one another in the fear of Christ."
Galatians 5:22 "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control."
2 Timothy 1:14 "Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you...guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit living in us."

Joy: God's Kind of Happiness (12)
Psalm 118:24 "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:5 "Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near."
Philippians 4:6 "Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."
Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."
Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit."
James 1:2 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds."
James 1:3-4 "Knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. But endurance must do its complete work, so that you will be mature and complete, lacking nothing."
1 Thessalonians 5:16 "Rejoice always."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray constantly."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Give thanks in everything, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."


Faith: Trusting God and Resting in His Word (12)
Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God's gift."
Ephesians 2:9 "Not by works, so that no one can boast."
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Colossians 3:15 "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."
Colossians 3:16 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."
Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

We follow with Romans 1:17 "For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."

You almost have to recite Romans 1:16-17 together, for if you just state verse 17 by itself, you don't know what "it" is.  "It" is the gospel...and the gospel reveals God's righteousness, or as Robert J. Morgan puts it, "That is, He tells us how we can share His righteousness and be restored into good standing with Him."

Apart from Jesus, we have no hope to be seen as righteous before God.  But through His atoning death and the power of His resurrection (the gospel), we can now stand before our Father clothed in His righteousness, all of our sinfulness removed.  And what does that miraculous cleansing require from us?  Faith.  Faith, beginning to end...faith to faith.  That's how we come to life, and that's how we live forever.