Introduction to Faith, Part One

But the just shall live by his faith (Habakkuk 2:4).

Just as you cannot physically live without breathing oxygen, you cannot spiritually live without exercising faith. Faith is breathing in the oxygen of God’s grace, giving life to my once-dead heart. What could be more important than that? “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is . . .” (Hebrews 11:6). You and I will never be what we were designed to be and live as we have been called to live without faith. It is faith that propels us to live in a way that is pleasing to the Lord. What could be more important than this?

Here is why faith is so essential in God’s redemptive plan. Sin has rendered us incapable of pleasing God on our own. On our best day, with our best intentions and exercising our best efforts, we fall horribly short of God’s holy and wise standard. We can’t even keep our own laws, let alone His. That is why God sent His Son. Jesus measured up to God’s standard in all the ways that we are unable to and He paid our penalty with His own life. So God doesn’t ask us to perfectly obey His law in order to please Him. No, what God asks of us is this one simple thing: faith.

Faith is more than intellectual assent to God’s existence. It is more than committing yourself to a community of faith and a regular set of religious habits. Faith is more than developing biblical literacy and doctrinal knowledge. Faith is not saying, “I believe that,” when it makes little difference in the way you think about yourself, the way you relate to God, and the way you live your life. Faith is something that shatters you and rebuilds you. Faith is a transaction of your heart that will radically alter the way you live your life.

Adapted and modified excerpts from Paul David Tripp, 40 Days of Faith
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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