Thank you for the biblical question, “What does the Apostle Paul mean by writing “The righteous shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17b)?”
Christians often declare that one is saved by faith and faith alone, but one is left wondering how does one live after one come to faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. How does a Christian live one’s faith?
Here are some thoughts for one’s consideration:
A. God has declared/revealed himself and his words in the Scriptures.
The statements by God are propositional truths that quite often contains promises by God as God’s statement to Abraham and what he will do for him and his descendants.
Gen. 12 says this, “The LORD had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.[a] 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”[b] (NIV).
God made a declaration to Abram and in that declaration he promised to give him a land, make him a great nation, a great name, be blessed and be a blessing to all the peoples on earth.
B. The person has come to a belief in God.
The Scripture is silent about the earlier life of Abram and Sarai before they came to a new land that God will show him. It is likely through his parents and grandparents that he heard about the God who created the world and the Flood that came upon the earth.
It is a conjecture on my part that while in Ur of the Chaldean, Abram had a belief in God. His heart was incline to God but he didn’t know God. God reveals himself to Abram. He comes to a personal belief in God, but will he come to believe in the promises of God. That is the test.
C. The person has to come to a decision about what he believes about the unseen promises of God and what he sees about his possessions and property.
Abram can say, “No” to God for he has too much to lose in his hometown. He will be going to a strange country whom he doesn’t know anyone or anything about the culture of that country. God doesn’t reveal the place to him. God asks him to leave his parent’s household and to go. That is asking a lot from Abram and Sarai, and yet he had the blessing of God’s presence and promises for him.
Abram stands at a crossroad. Does he believe the unseen promise of God or does he belief the seen possessions of his land? He needs to make a choice, living by sight or living by faith in the promises of God.
D. Abram chooses to believe God for he has an encounter with God.
The reality of God becomes true for Abram when God reveals himself to him. Without that revelation or experience with God, Abram would be hard pressed to take that journey. God was not a theory to Abram, but he encountered the living God.
It is my opinion that as one reflects one’s life, one has to consider how has God being directing my life. Can I or have I seen God work in and through my life? All of life’s experience takes us to the point of whether to believe in Christ or not to believe in him. Can that person see the hand of God even in the most difficult circumstances of life or is just all an coincidence or accident in life? That is a personal decision that one will make.
For a person who “encounters” or “experiences” God, God is real to him/her. It more than an illusion or delusion. That person believes that God has intervene into his life. It is that intervention of God into that person life that causes the transformation of new life in Christ. And as that person continues to experience that transformation of character and action, it affirms that God is real for him.
Saul of Tarsus experienced that encountered with God on the Road to Damascus that changed his life forever. His conclusion that all that he had previous attain was considered rubbish in comparison in knowing and experiencing Jesus Christ.
Philippians 3 says this, “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead” (NIV).
This word, knowing, is not more biblical facts, but reflects more of a personal interaction with Jesus and experiencing the life of Christ in him. Paul didn’t want to know more about the facts of the Law, but he wanted to know the Lawgiver. Paul didn’t want to read about the power of God in the Old Testament, but he wanted to experience the power of God in his own life.
E. Abram as well as every believer aligns one’s life in the light of God’s promises believing that God who is faithful will keep his promise to them in this life and in the life to come.
A person who takes that step of faith and aligns his/her life in accordance to the Scriptures walks by faith. God views that person as a righteous person for s/he believes the words that God has spoken. That person uses his position, possession, property to build the Kingdom of God rather than his own little kingdom on earth. That person is unafraid to lose it all for Christ for he knows that he can take nothing on earth with him, but he can lay up treasures in heaven. This walk of faith is not just at salvation but throughout one’s life on earth. It is running his/race to the end, not quitting the race. Yes, believers will stumble along one’s journey on earth and who hasn’t, but one gets up and continues onward knowing that there is something greater and better in heaven than anything on earth.
Believers are called to fix their eyes on the Author and Finisher of their faith, Jesus Christ.
SUMMARY: To walk by faith is to accept and to align one’s life with the promises of God, believing that God will fulfill what he has promised to his people.
For more perspectives: