WALKING BY FAITH

Walking by Faith
by Don Walker basileia08@yahoo.com

 
“For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith.’” (Romans 1:17) 
 
When Paul says that the righteousness of God is revealed “from faith to faith” what is he referring to? I believe that Paul is speaking about the faith of Christ and our faith. As a man Jesus had perfect faith in the Father (Heb.2:13). He was given the Spirit without measure (John 3:34) which is why He had perfect faith. While we have only a measure of faith (Rom. 12:3), this was not true of Jesus. His faith is what lay behind His perfect obedience. He stood in our place not only in death, but also in life. He was our substitute. He believed perfectly on our behalf, which is why He was the only one who could fulfill the Law (Matt. 5:17). Our imperfect faith is covered by His righteousness – resulting from a perfect faith – which is put to our credit (Rom. 4:5) We are not required to produce a perfect faith to be saved, only faith in a perfect Savior.
 
The faith of Christ is of no value until it is ratified by our faith. Galatians 2:16 states: “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ.” (The Greek phrase is pistis christou, which means the “faith of Christ,” contrary to translations that choose to render it as “faith in Christ.”) Paul uses the same phrase when he says in Galatians 2:20 that, “I live by the faith of the Son of God.” (The KJV translates it correctly.) Paul is showing that he continues to trust not his own faith but that of Jesus. This perfect faith of Christ continues to the present because Jesus intercedes for us at God’s right hand without doubt or unbelief. This is why Paul could make such a statement. He lived by the faith of Christ, demonstrated by His obedience during His earthly life, and His “intercessory faith” in heaven now. If Christ does not pray to the Father with a perfect faith, there is no hope for any of us. But Paul did not worry about Christ having less than perfect faith. He knew that Christ’s faith was sufficient and complete – his faith was in Jesus’ faith..
 
It is a daily choice to see God working in us and every situation. It's a daily choice to believe we are kings, priests, holy, accepted, loved, one Spirit with the Lord. We can choose to not believe God, and so focus on the stress, guilt, worry, anxiety and doubt. But what we take by faith takes us. If we take stress as the reality, it stays real to us and usually intensifies.

Our souls are imprinted with the pathways of our history of choices. These are ruts in our psychology, and when the chips are down we go into the old rut of self-pity, anger, rage, self-righteousness, or whatever apparently used to make us feel better. This is the root of addictive behavior. I'm finding that despite wrong choices, I'm to stand up again, thank God for the cleansing Blood of Jesus that has washed away all of my sins from God's consciousness, and start walking in faith again.
 
The story is told about a young man who went through the wedding ceremony, coming out of the chapel he turned to his new bride and said, “Honey, I don’t feel married.” To which his bride replied, “Dear, you had better adjust your feelings to fit the facts.”

My contrary feelings give me the choice. When I feel guilt over a past, confessed sin, I stand on the Blood. I can walk as though I never committed the sin.. If I sin against someone I first confess it to God, then go to the other person and ask for forgiveness. After that I am free; I can get walking again as if I'd never done it. This is a choice, an internal choice to believe 1John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and cleanse us of all unrighteousness." And then I can believe Psalm 103:12, "As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." My sins are literally right out of God's consciousness, so I can shove them out of mine in agreement with God, rather than be plagued by guilt. He sees me as a son, a pure, holy son who is on the path to deeper and better expression of Christ. This does not mean that there are not sometimes consequences to my sin, but in terms of my relationship to the Father, I am restored.

Faith is mostly about courage. It's about Moses being opposed by Pharaoh and not backing down. It's about Joshua and Caleb seeing the giants and fierce inhabitants of the Promised Land and pushing back fear, saying, "Let us go up and possess the land, for we are well able to overcome it" simply because God had promised them the Land. We see that courage in Abraham leaving his home because God said "Leave Haran and go to a land I will show thee." The same courage operated in David, who was persecuted and hunted by Saul and yet chose not to kill Saul when he had the perfect chance. He knew God would perform His promises to make David the king.

We have to face our Pharaohs, our giants, fierce inhabitants, our Sauls, that face us on the battlefield of our mind, or in physical reality. And the answer is the same for us as it was for the biblical patriarchs from Adam and Eve all the way to the disciples of Jesus Christ. "Will I trust God, or will I trust my own feelings and thoughts?" That's where the rubber meets the road.