Day 4 - 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...such an intangible...so hard to define...what does faith mean to you?

I guess the verse that comes to my mind the most when I think of faith is the one found in Hebrews...."Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1 NIV)

How can you be sure of a hope...how can you be certain of what you do not see?  It is only through faith.  And faith of that magnitude has to be confirmed to you by a supernatural means...and we are promised that, that is the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  He is our confirmation.  He is the voice that reassures us that what we believe is true.

Some will say that we all have our belief systems, and that one person's belief is as good as another's.  I'll go along with that.  But what I won't go along with is that a faith that is grounded in the Word of God and affirmed in a believer by the Holy Spirit (Romans 9:1) is comparable to anything else available to mankind.  There is a difference between belief and faith.  Believing something, to me, is thinking that in all probability it is true.  Faith, oh faith, faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Does that mean that Christians never have a moment of doubt?  Nope.  We do.  Because we are still human, with human minds that are vulnerable to outside influence.  But when we ask God to affirm truth, to kindle in us His Spirit so that we are able to see clearly through our eyes that have reborn through belief in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, He is faithful to do so.  Doubts are replaced with confirmation through the Holy Spirit that our faith is solid, our faith is true, what we hope for is sure, what we know will come but we cannot see, is still very certain.

I hope for a life beyond this that is eternal and perfect, where there is no pain or death, where there is no rebellion against God's will and no temptation to do so; a place where we will live in complete and perfect relationship with our Father, forever. This hope is a surety for me; and even though I cannot see this place, I am certain of it.  When I have doubts, I pray for God to confirm His truth again to me, and He is faithful to do so. 

This is how the righteous live by faith...we live because of God's grace and mercy...we live righteously because of Christ...we live by faith because of the Holy Spirit. 

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. 

Day 4 - Week 77 - Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek."

Do you ever have doubts regarding salvation?  Do you ever wonder if you really qualify?  If you may be the one person whose God's grace will not cover? 

When we have those doubts (and most believers do at some point), remind yourself of this verse and counter the lie that Satan is trying to have you dwell on.  Here Scripture tells us that the gospel, the good news of the saving work of Jesus Christ on our behalf, is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes.  Everyone --- if you believe, you cannot be omitted from the "everyone" that this verse applies to. 

Just as in John 3:16 we are told, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him, shall not perish but have eternal life."  Just as you are one of the "everyone", as a believer, you are also a "who" in "whoever."

The gospel, God's power for salvation, is not a narrow plan, it is not a limited plan, it is made available to ALL, and it is our responsibility, as believers, to share this good news with everyone we can, to not be ashamed of this gospel, but to eagerly share it with those who have not yet heard.

Now Paul does include his closing statement on this verse that some could argue does show some preferential treatment..."first to the Jew, and also to the Greek."  But when you study this verse and these closing words, what you see is that this is actually additional reinforcement to the idea that God's power for salvation is available to all mankind.

Many translations use the word "Gentile" instead of "Greek."  The meaning is the same either way...that the gospel was presented first to the Jewish people, and then to everyone who wasn't Jewish.  And the gospel was presented first to Jews...Jesus was a Jew and His ministry on earth was among the Jewish people.  But at this point in time, Paul has also presented the gospel to the "Greeks", and to multitudes of peoples outside of his own Jewish heritage.

Now, as stated in Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, "Jews and Gentiles now stand upon the same level, both equally miserable without a Saviour, and both equally welcome to the Saviour."

Yes, God had a plan...and He made it available to everyone...believe and receive His power for salvation, and then be assured that His promises are true, and that He is faithful. 

Day 3 - Week 77 - Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew and also to the Greek."

"The gospel will save the lost.  Nothing else can do it.  Nothing else is doing it.  Nothing else has done it.  Nothing else shall do it.  The gospel convicts of sin, the gospel converts the soul.  It is by the foolishness of preaching the gospel that men, women, and children are brought out of darkness into light, out of damnation into salvation, out of death into life, out of hell into heaven."  Hyman Appelman

Every time I include a quote from a Christian who I have no knowledge of, I have to look them up and read their story.  Such is the case with Hyman Appelman.  Prior to reading the quote above, I had never heard of Dr. Appelman.  But here's his story:

Hyman Appelman was a major evangelist of the 20th century, preaching all over the United States and throughout the world.  Billy Graham has said, "Dr. Appelman is one of the greatest and most powerful preachers of the Gospel I have ever listened to. Twenty years ago I used to listen to him preach night after night and made notes on his sermons. Some of my own knowledge and inspiration concerning mass evangelism came from his ministry. Thousands of names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life because Dr. Appelman passed their way."

But the more astounding details of Dr. Appelman's life include the fact that he was born in Russia in 1902 to Orthodox Jewish parents.  He arrived in the United States in 1914 as a young boy who, although speaking Hebrew, Russian, Polish, German and Yiddish, did not know English.  As a 13 year old, he had to start school as a first-grader, and then proceeded through the next eight grades in two years, and went on to prep school, university, and law school.  A tremendous amount of drive led him to work fervently, to the point of breaking down in 1924.  He felt empty and
discontent.  He went west for a vacation, and while in Denver, was converted to Christianity.  Romans 10:9 was his verse of conversion, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

His new found joy was countered with absolute rejection by his Jewish family back in Chicago and the dissolution of his engagement to a nice Jewish girl back home.

Dr. Appelman refused to be ashamed of the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Even at the price of knowing that he would never be welcomed back into his family home as long as he proclaimed the saving work of Jesus in his life.  But proclaim he did, and untold numbers owe their introduction to the saving power of Jesus to him.

It is easy to say, "I am not ashamed" when it costs us nothing...would we be so bold if it cost us our family?  Would we be so bold if  we were to spend years in prison for our proclamation of faith as many Christians do around the world today?  Would we be so bold if our statement of faith cost us our life?  It has for many throughout the years, throughout the world, and still does today.

I pray we will be bold, I pray we will not be ashamed --- no matter the cost.


 

Day 2 - Week 77 - Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek."

In the middle of pain and dark times, you get little glimpses of light.  Returning to my Bible study group tonight was a ray of light in a dark time of life.  Seeing friends' faces full of sympathy, full of God's love extended toward me, brought His light into my soul.  Much needed and much appreciated...both from God, the source of all love, and from sweet friends who allowed Him to shine through them.

Our study tonight focused on the story of Noah, and the grace of God extended to Noah and his family.  Just as the ark was their vessel of salvation from God's judgment against evil, God has offered to us the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ, as our vessel of salvation.  Just as Noah was not ashamed to follow God's instruction and build an ark of gargantuan proportions in a seemingly arid environment, I will not be ashamed to proclaim that I believe, yes I most assuredly believe, in the gospel of Jesus Christ...it is the power of salvation to all who believe...it is our ark, delivering us from judgment to a new beginning. 

When hard times come, beliefs are tested.  I am clinging to the power that God gives to me through faith...a faith that has felt shaken, but then confirmed by reading the words of His eternal plan, from start (Adam and Eve), through the almost-but-not-quite destruction of creation through the flood, but culminated in the gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

I am not ashamed...but I pray to be even less concerned about people's reaction to my statement of faith.  If I truly love them as Christ instructs us to love others, then I truly want them on the boat!