THE NORTHERN KENTUCKY SEARCHER
"Search the scriptures: for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. " (John 5:39)

VOLUME 3, NUMBER 20, JUNE 15, 2003

THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH

            In Roman 1:16 & 17, the Apostle Paul wrote these words, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.  For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.”

            The point of verse 17 is that within the gospel God’s plan to make man righteous by faith is revealed, in order to produce faith in those who hear it.  Thus, the one who is justified in God’s sight is the individual who “lives by faith.”  It is upon that last phrase that I want us to focus in this article.  “The just shall live by faith”.  What does that mean and how is it practically manifested in our lives?

            Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the Hall of Fame of Faith.   It tells us what faith is and shows us how it was demonstrated in the lives of certain Old Testament characters.  It shows us what it means to “walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).  I would like to look at just one example set forth in Hebrews 11, and that is the example of Moses.  Hebrews 11:24-27, tells us, “By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.  By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.”

            I want us to notice first of all that these things Moses did are said to have been done “by faith”.  Remember that “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).  Therefore to do something “by faith” is to do it according to the Word of God.  It is to do something according to what God has revealed.

            “By faith” Moses refused the call of the world.  He refused to be called the “son of Pharaoh’s daughter”.  There is much in the world that is attractive and enticing.  For Moses it meant all that being a member of the royal family would have offered.  All that Egypt had to offer from a material, physical standpoint could have been his.  It took a tremendous amount of conviction and fortitude on his part to say no to such temptation, but he listened to a greater call.

            Having refused the call of the world, Moses chose to do the right things.  He chose, “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season.”  It is not enough to refuse the temptations of the world.  It is not enough just to say “no” to sin.  It is necessary to fill that void with what is good and right.  Moses did this.  He cast his lot with Jehovah and chose to serve Him from that day forward.

            Moses placed a proper emphasis upon spiritual things.  I guess we could say that he had his priorities straight.  We are told that he esteemed “the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.”  Moses demonstrated the wisdom to look beyond the here and now.  He showed the wisdom of one who knew that this world and its pleasures are not what life is all about.  I truly believe that Moses looked beyond the grace and knew that there was more to come, just as Abraham years before him had desired “a better country, that is, an heavenly” (Hebrews 11:16).  All of these things were part of whatl is meant by “living by faith.”

            It is no different today.  The call of the world is as strong now as it ever has been, and we must all follow the example of Moses and refuse it.  We must all recognize that we are not to love the world or the things of it.  Having refused the call of the world, we must accept the call of the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:14), and that involves doing what is right.  And we must all place the proper emphasis upon spiritual things, recognizing that the most important aspect of life is spiritual; and that our ultimate home is that “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God”  (Hebrews 11:10).

                                                           Greg Litmer

WHAT TO CALL “SIN”

Man calls it an accident;
God calls it an abomination.

Man calls it a blunder;
God calls it blindness.

Man calls it a defect;
God calls it deadly.

Man calls it a chance;
God calls it a choice.

Man calls it an error;
God calls it enmity.

Man calls it a fascination;
God calls it a fatality.

Man calls it an infirmity;
God calls it an iniquity.

Man calls it a luxury;
God calls it leprosy.

Man calls it a liberty;
God calls it lawlessness.

Man calls it a trifle;
God calls it a tragedy.

Man calls it a mistake;
God calls it madness.

Man calls it a weakness;
God calls it willfulness.