Life's Daily Challenge Devotional

Living by faith

“But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘the just shall live by faith,’” Galatians 3:11.

Read Romans 1:16-17; Heb. 10:38

To those who are just through the blood of Christ,

"The just shall live by faith." This is one of the most often quoted verses in the Bible. It has been recorded by no less than four different scripture writers. This must mean it has unusual importance.

There is a tremendous difference between having something and living by something. God does not want us to simply have faith. He wants us to mature to the point that we live by it. Living by something means that it becomes our sole means of nourishment, strength, protection, etc. In order to lean wholly on the Lord, we must be willing to cooperate with Him as He allows (or causes) other temporary support systems to be removed (at least long enough that we are delivered from our dependency on them).

How important is this? Most of us are satisfied at the end of the day if we achieved a few things relatively free from the "hassles" of the enemy. We try to avoid any confrontations with satan for fear of injury. We have the subconscious mentality that the armor of God was given to us so that we could live our lives defensively. How far from scriptural truth this is!

In Matthew 16:18,19, speaking of the church, Jesus said, "... The gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Christ was echoing a promise that His Father had made to Abraham centuries before, "By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son, blessing I will bless you, and multiplying, I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore and your descendants shall possess the gates of their enemies." (Gen. 22:16-17) God sealed this covenant with His very blood.

The new testament makes it very clear that we become partakers of the Abrahamic covenant, only by faith. "...That no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for 'the just shall live by faith.' Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree') that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Gal. 3:11-14) Christ desires to be our only hiding place from satan and the circumstances of this world. This is the only truly secure place to live. To be “in Christ” you must not be "hidden in" anything else. Your faith in His character alone, is sufficient to hold you.

When you are hidden in Christ by faith, the enemy confronts Him instead of you. This changes everything. The one who walks and lives by faith, is not moved by circumstance. He or she becomes proactive and offensive rather than reactive and defensive. This posture moves you from a position where you constantly ask God to repair or restore all that satan has destroyed, to one where you "bomb" and plunder his camp (Read Luke 11:21-22). You can advance so hard, and put so much pressure on him, that he becomes the reactionary one. Satan is scared to death that you will find this place of faith. This is where you discover who you are in Christ, and when that happens, life will never be the same again!