Living By Faith: the Nature of Faith

Romans 4:18-25

Janette and I enjoyed a trip to Chicago. My brother got married. But during our time there, we got into a rather bad fight. I was made at her, she was mad at me. All my theology went out the window. I was just mad. As much as I wanted to blame everything on her, I realized that something is still wrong in my Christian life. Where is God? Isn’t my relationship with Jesus supposed to make a difference?

We’ve been exploring a picture of what the Christian life is supposed to look like. What is the power for Christian living?

It’s not gratitude, that after having received so much from God, we’re not going to live this life for him. Instead, the Christian live is all about a God who doesn’t need anything and sinners who need to constantly receive.

Grace isn’t just at the cross, on our day of salvation [diagram]. Grace is everything. If we have a generous spirit to give, that’s grace. If we have strength to endure our thorns, that’s grace. The Christian lives believing that grace is going to be there.

There is power that comes in believing in this future grace. Christians talk a lot about faith. Let’s explore what this believing means.

Promise Believers

Another way to speak about “believing the grace is going to be there,” is in talking about promises. There are lots of promises in the Bible, and those promises are there for a reason. Promises are big because faith in future grace is big.

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Heb 13:5)

And my God will meet all your needs according to glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil 4:19)

I have come that [my sheep] may have life, and have it to the full. (Jn 10:10)

I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name . . . ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. (Jn 16:23-24)

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Ro 8:28)

God promises future faithfulness, future provisions, future abundance—future grace. We have these wonderful promises, promises of future grace. Living the Christian life is living in the assurance/confidence of these promises.

Christians are Promise Believers.

Testimony: I believed when I put God first, He’d supply (time, finances, academics)

But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Mt 6:33)

God has promised Abraham that he would have a son, and that through this son, God would make Abraham a mighty nation. Abraham had to wait 25 years and at the age of 100, Abraham and Sarah finally had Isaac.

Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead—since he was about a hundred years old—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead. Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. (Romans 4:18-21)

The issue here is that Abraham believed the promise; he is a promise believer. Even though he and Sarah were too old, he believed that if God promised them a son, they would have a son.

Why is this important? Notice that Romans then says that the faith Abraham demonstrated was the faith by which he was considered righteous.

This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.” 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. (Romans 4:22-24)

In other words, promise-believing faith was justifying faith (22). And then we read that we are to be justified by believing in the same way that Abraham believed (23).

Christians are promise believers. Embrace the promises [promises verses], believe the grace is going to be there. Maybe some of us need to remind ourselves of these promises.

The Foundation of Past Grace

What do we do with past grace? Jesus died for us, Jesus has given so much for us. The old understand was that we look at all that and we say Thank You, and then we try to do something for God (debtor’s ethic).

Well then, now what do we do?

We look back on past grace and we gain assurance of future grace. Past grace helps us believe in future grace.

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

When we think of Jesus’ sacrifice and love for us, it’s not that we’re called to thankfulness, we’re called faith, to be assured that God will continue giving us all we need

[diagram: the record of past grace, particular the cross assures us of future grace]

My Dad’s counsel to me: “Paul, God’s been faithful to you for 29 years. . . .” (so why don’t you do something for Him? this “debtor’s ethic” approach is too weak). Rather, “. . . I know He’s faithful to you now.” Herein is strength, power for living. We believe the promises because we’ve seen faithfulness. Past grace assures us of future grace.

Theologically, we’d say that the cross of Jesus purchased for us our complete salvation. Jesus paid for our past, present and future sins, our past, present and future grace. All was paid for at the cross. [diagram]

Driving range: buy a card, and then it gives you the balls. How do you know the next ball is going to come? Because it’s already been paid for.

What gives us assurance that there is grace tomorrow is that we believe it was already paid for at the cross.

A Taste of Spiritual Beauty

There are different kinds of believing.

“I believe that Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865.”

“I believe my mother loves me.”

Demons believe that God exists, Jesus is the Son of God (James 2:19), but that is not saving faith.

Jesus says there will be people who cry, “Lord, lord,” and who perform miracle, and he will say to them, “I never knew you. Away from me.”

Caution for those of us who perhaps too quickly think that we’re children of God. Believing does not guarantee salvation; you have to believe the right way, have the right faith.

For our discussion, let me suggest that there two basis for believing

Testimony: you believe Hawaii [picture] is a great honeymoon spot because your friend went

Experience: you believe Hawaii is a great honeymoon spot because you honeymooned there

It’s not just a difference in degree, it’s a difference in kind (qualitative, not just quantitative)

It’s one thing to hear that Capital Grille has great fillet mignons [picture]; it’s another thing to put a piece in your mouth.

We believe that as fallen creatures, we don’t have the capacity to experience God. We don’t have the spiritual taste buds. He is beyond our abilities to perceive or comprehend. God has to reveal it to us.

When Peter gives his great profession, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God,” Jesus says, “Blessed are you, for this was not revealed by man, but by my Father in heaven. (Mt 16:16)

Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” (Jn 6:44)

We don’t have the ability to see, taste, understand God. God must reveal himself to us.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

We lived in spiritual darkness, we could not see God. But God turned the light on, he shined in our hearts the light of His glory in Christ. We see in the face of Christ, the glory of God.

God gives us spiritual eyes, awakens our spiritual taste buds—and then we experience/taste God.

This is where we get to something about this faith:

Saving faith in the promises of God must include spiritual delight in the God of the promises.

1. We need understanding, cognitive recognition the testimony of Christ.
2. We need to be made able to embrace the spiritual beauty and worth of Christ through the illumination of the HS. Jesus becomes beautiful.

More than loving the promises, we love the Promiser

The Christian is not so taken by the reliability of the Bible or the profound spiritual truths it claims. The Christian fundamentally encounters God. He is given spiritual taste buds and he “tastes” God. And after having tasted God, our hearts are changed.

Trust him [for Romans 8:28] means looking through the promise to the one who promises, and by grace . . . apprehending in him the spiritual worth and beauty that will go on satisfying your heart forever. . . (John Piper, 237)

Faith apprehends and embraces the spiritual beauty and worth of all that God is for us in Jesus.

Let’s go back and try to tie things together.

We are Promise Believers because we see the Promise Keeper

It’s the difference between “You’re in good hands with Allstate” and when your spouse says, “I’ll be there, in joy or in sorrow, in sickness or in health.”

The joy, the assurance, the sweetness is not so much in the promises as it is in the Promiser. It is not just that God will supply all our needs, but that God is my gracious and faithful provider. Not just that God will hear my prayers, but that God is on my side, God is my Father. Faith: God becomes lovely, wonderful, glorious.

Past grace deepens our trust in the person.

Past grace, ultimately the cross, proves to us that we can trust the person.

Suppose you get into a car accident, you get robbed, your boy/girl friend just dumps you, your mom gets sick and is hospitalized, and each time I say, “I’ll be right there.”

It’s no longer, testimony (P. Paul has a reputation for keeping his word), it is experience (you’ve tasted my care).

It’s no longer propositional trust, it is personal trust. Faith embraces the beauty and this Faithful One. Past grace doesn’t just make us thankful, it makes us love Him, trust Him. There is history/relationship. God becomes lovely, wonderful, glorious.

And for the Christian, when we look at the cross, we say, if Jesus would do that for me, I know I can trust Him. Jesus becomes glorious.

God awakens our spiritual buds so that we can “taste” the beauty and delight of Jesus.

Christians are Promise Believers because they’ve tasted that God is a good Promise Keeper, and they’ve tasted it day after day, month after month, year after year.

We believe in future grace: it’s going to be there. [diagram, with “God” above the grace]

What kind of faith is faith in future grace: it more fundamentally boils down to encountering a God so glorious and wonderful that you love Him, you trust Him.

Spiritual Disciplines and “Come and see”

A quick word of application. What can we do?

For those of us who’ve had our spiritual taste buds awakened, who know Jesus and have a relationship with Him, who’ve tasted his beauty and worth:

God must reveal it, but we can receive it. Do whatever you can to keep tasting His beauty.

Meditate on His promises, sing His praises, recount your testimony/past faithfulness, preach the Gospel to yourself, slow down and make space in your day to enjoy Him, meet with brothers and sisters who help you see Him, go on missions.

The role of prayer, reading your bible, coming to worship is not “I’ll do this for Jesus.” It is not about giving, it is about receiving. It is about seeing Jesus.

For those who hear all of this more as testimony than as personal experience, my word is that this is available for you too. Don’t just go on what other people say (testimony).

When the first disciples first met Jesus and were telling their skeptical friends, all they said was, “Come and see.”

Come and see; don’t just take our word for it. We’re glad you’re here and hope you keep coming. And as you do, ask God to reveal Himself to you, ask God to help you see past religious to His glorious beauty and worth. That’s where true faith begins.