HABAKKUK 2:4 - Reckoned Righteous - Faith is the victory!

TOPIC: Faith; Grace, Imputation, Mercy, Perseverance, Relationship, Salvation

TITLE: RECKONED RIGHTEOUS – Why faith is the victory!
TEXT: Habakkuk 2:4

“Behold, as for the proud one, His soul is not right within him; But the righteous will live by his faith.”

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: Why Must the Righteous Live By Faith?

CONCISE OUTLINE

I. SUPERNATURAL LINK TO GOD NEEDED!
II. DIVINE GIFT NOT WAGES NEEDED!
III. A LASTING RELATIONSHIP NEEDED!

TRUTH CLAIM/CONTEXT: The Old Testament doesn’t specifically mention salvation by grace through faith, as does the New Testament [“For by grace you have been saved through faith.” Ephesians 2:8a].

But scripture does tell us Abraham was reckoned righteous because he believed God when God promised to make his seed a great nation at a time when he was old and childless. And our selected text certainly supports the contention.

No matter how we interpret the salvation of Abraham or translate Habakkuk 2:4, it remains that the whole of Scripture teaches salvation by grace through faith. Whether we use the term faith or trust or belief, it is by the grace of God we are saved ... through faith.

It's not sacrilegious to ask, why through faith? Why not good works? Or love? Or profession [publicly saying we believe in God]? Why has faith been chosen?

Clearly, if God is God, He can do whatever He chooses. If He can have mercy on whom He will have mercy [Romans 9:15], He can likewise choose the vehicle for His saving grace.

God seeks the counsel of no man. If I'm having difficulty with one of my children, seeking the counsel of another is an admission that I'm unable to parent without the help of others. God doesn't have that problem; He needs no ones counsel … He is the perfect parent, etc.

But it's not wrong to seek God's help in understanding His truths.

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: Why Must the Righteous Live By Faith?
EXPANDED OUTLINE

I. SUPERNATURAL LINK TO GOD NEEDED!

Because a supernatural link to God for man is required - faith is that link!

God has ordained faith as the conduit by which man receives His free gift of grace.

[WATER] It never fails but that our little daughter gets thirsty the minute we are too far from the house to get her one; we do not have a conduit from the water source to our car. If we did we could satisfy her thirst.

Problem: how to get the water to her mouth to satisfy her thirst.

Solution: take her to the source of water or build a conduit for the water to flow from the source to her mouth.

Analogy: So too with God's grace; it's in heaven where we can not go at the moment, far from the thirst of our hearts.

However, God, who spoke the heavens and the earth in existence, has said that faith will be His divine conduit for His grace. What the conduit can be to our need for water, faith is to our need of God's grace.

So it makes no sense to seek another route ... there is only one link between heaven and earth and that link is faith in the Son of God.

[PROMISE] A little boy hears his mom offer him a Snickers candy bar from the kitchen window; all he must do is come to the back door and receive what she's promised.

If he believes she will keep her promise and desires the gift, why would he go to the front door or to the neighbor's door? Why would he expect to receive it anywhere but where she promised?

II. DIVINE GIFT NOT WAGES NEEDED!

Because grace is a gift of God and faith is not the basis of that gift!

How is it a gift of God? It is a gift of God in that we are prevented from playing any role in its acquisition lest the gift be seen as something earned, and our sinful, selfish pride vaunts itself.

In the water illustration above, it is necessary to understand that the conduit didn't create the water nor does it improve the water. The conduit is simply used to move the water from its source to its destination.

The conduit is not the basis of satisfied thirst, rather it is the instrument for its delivery.

Faith is the connection between God and man but not the basis of our salvation. The recipient of water doesn't thank the conduit for the water, neither does the born-again believer thank his faith for salvation.

III. A LASTING RELATIONSHIP NEEDED!

Because Christianity is a relationship not a religion; God initiates that relationship!

Faith links man, who is sinking in a sea of sin, to God who is our Anchor and our Hope. Our need for a link is to provide a way of salvation, once that link is established a relationship exists.

[LIFE-LINES] The drowning man does not reject the life-line thrown from a rescue ship in order to grab a pallet floating by … why? Because the pallet offers only temporary deliverance, whereas the line to the ship offers permanent deliverance!

Likewise, God offers a life-line of faith in His Son, promising to reckon us righteous if we'll but trust Him.

[CABLE] Though faith seems a thin thread to many, it is in reality an unbreakable cable, held by the hands of Almighty God, whose infinite power slowly and surely draws all men to His heavenly shore. [paraphrase of Spurgeon]

There must, of necessity, be a relationship between the drowning man and the rescue ship.

However, it cannot just be a life-line, someone must be on board to pull the man from the water.

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: The half brother of Jesus said faith without action is dead.

Now action issues from faith in two ways: first, all action is a function of faith (walking, eating, exploring, employment, athletics, teaching, banking, politics, etc.); second, faith in God is a function of the knowledge of His love for us, such knowledge prompts acts of affection on the part of the recipients of His love.

That heart invaded by God is saved from sin and urged onward to holiness, prayer, sacrifice and service.

[FAITH] "What oil is to the wheels ... what wings are to birds ... faith is to all holy duties and services." [Spurgeon]

“… with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness.”

Romans 10:10a

God knows faith is the result of an understanding of His love which germinates in the heart, this understanding will result in right doing [i.e., righteousness].

Our love of God results in our loving our fellow man ... this, the Bible says, glorifies God and proves that we are disciples of Christ [John 15:8].

This loving faith results in blessings and James says,

"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights."

James 1:1 7

Earlier the same writer says,

"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial, for once he has been approved (i.e., perfected), he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."

James 1:12

In combination, this cycle of trials and blessings, prepares us for glory: strengthening our ability to persevere under testing, on the one hand, and strengthening our ability to resist temptation, on the other.

Faith furnishes us with armor for this life and prepares us for the life to come. We are to walk fearlessly in our relationship with the living Lamb of God knowing what Paul knew:

“For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

2 Timothy 1: 12

Faith does what nothing else can do. Why then would anyone attempt another route into the sheepfold?

[SAFE] It's a foolish man who labors on the door of a safe which holds the secret of eternal life, pounding and pulling, grunting and groaning … when the owner of the safe will provide the combination for free.

Ill-informed sheep and shepherds are leading the lost to the wrong gate to the wrong sheepfold; I fear thousands will not see glory because lazy or careless witnesses did not understand sola fide.

Christianity, Expository, Faith,
Habakkuk, Homiletics,
Outlines, Preaching, Sermons

1 Peter 2:24 The Tapestry of Atonement

...and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.

TOPIC: Atonement [Easter, Guilt, Imputation, Justice, Nature (of God), Propitiation, Reconciliation, Redemption, Retribution, Sacrifice, Substitution]

TITLE: THE TAPESTRY OF ATONEMENT - What it means to us!

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is our condition that it decrees such an atonement?
CONCISE OUTLINE

I. We are dead in our trespasses and sins! [Ephesians 2:1]
II. We are by nature and practice the children of wrath! [v. 3]
III. We are found without hope and without God in the world! [v. 12]
IV. We are strangers and foreigners to the household of God! [v. 19]

SERIES: This is the 3rd in a four-part series paving the way for our Easter Sunday service; two weeks ago we took a hard look at sin "the gravity of depravity" ... its blackness, its pollution ... in "The Pollution Solution."

Last week we gave careful thought to what Christ suffered on the Cross ... in our place ... "Three Hours One Friday," as the Son was separated from the Father.

Last week the agony, this week the ecstasy ... last week the crucifixion, this week the atonement ... last week the work of art, this week the beautiful frame.

TRUTH/CONTEXT: Our text says we were healed. When you accepted the Lord, were you sick? Disabled? Diseased? Injured? Healed of what then? when? Of the debilitating effects of sin!

The sins of man must be atoned for ... God's nature demands it ... perfect justice is required by a perfect God ... holy through and through ... every wrong dealt with! Not even an imperfect yet compassionate human judge would fellowship with criminals who denied their crimes and continued to practice them.

The atonement of sinful man by a merciful God is woven throughout Scripture like a scarlet thread in a brilliant tapestry of the middle ages ... from Genesis to Revelation.

In the Old it's seen in the "bruised heel" of Genesis 3:15; in the offerings of Abel, Noah, Abraham, and Joshua; in the Passover; in the offerings of Leviticus and Numbers. And so on, till we reach the prophetic words of the psalmists and prophets.

In the New it's fulfilled in Christ, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," as viewed in the Gospels. Doctrinally it's explained and applied in many of the Epistles. It's proclaimed in the manifestation of the slain Lamb of Revelation.

And finally - acknowledged as the right and experience of the Apostle's confession of faith: "We joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." [or "reconciliation"; Romans 5:11 ASV]

Peter's words set the stage for the body of this message which comes from the second chapter of Ephesians [1-22].

FOUNDATIONAL INQUIRY: What is our condition that it decrees such an atonement?
EXPANDED OUTLINE

I. We are dead in our trespasses and sins! [v.1]

Before Christ we "... were dead in [our] trespasses and sins," the Apostle says.

II. We are by nature and practice the children of wrath! [3]

He adds, "... we too ... lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath."

Notice immorality is not the sole domain of the flesh; the mind is involved as well. Let those with a lust for pornographic materials take note.

III. We are found without hope and without God in the world! [12]

Paul reminds us we "... were at that time separate from Christ ... having no hope and without God in the world."

IV. We are strangers and foreigners to the household of God! [19]

Though not specifically stated, it is implied in the condition which existed before we were " ... no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."

APPLICATION/CHALLENGE: You can see man's plight ... what if God had said, "No! I will not send my Son as a propitiation for their sins"?

Or what if the Father said, "Go!" but the Son said, "No! I won't go!"?

Where would we be ... still dead in our trespasses and sins, still separated from the love of God, still outside the household of God!

But praise be to God we ... "are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household."

I didn't seek a substitute, rather God offered one!

[SURROGATES] During the Revolutionary and Civil Wars wealthy and powerful men purchased substitutes to fight in their stead or for their sons.

In this Spiritual War no treasury outside of heaven is rich enough to buy a substitute for judgment. Yet, God didn't buy one, He gave one! While we were yet sinners Christ died in our place.

Were it not for the substitutionary atonement of Christ for my sins, they would continue to be an insurmountable barrier for me in the face of a holy and righteous God ... preventing for all time fellowship with Him ... no matter how hard no matter how long I tried to make things right!

The embarrassing biblical ignorance of our people today requires another question be asked and answered: knowledge of which elements of the doctrine of atonement are essential to the believer?

I. THE REASON (for the Doctrine of Atonement) - Sin!

Your Iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you. [Isaiah 69:2]

A. Sin is not bad luck, disease of mind, evil bias, a mistake, result of heredity or environment. Sin is the willful, rebellious breaking of the divine law.

Where no law is, there is no transgression. [Romans 4:15]

Sin is the transgression of The Law. [1 John 3:4]

B. Nor is sin just an offense against man; it is an offense against God:

Joseph said: "How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God." [Genesis 39:9]

David said: "Against Thee have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight." [Psalm 51:4]

C. We must each humbly face the serious subjects of law, guilt, retribution, before the tender meanings of love, grace, redemption, are realized. So sin, which is a manifestly horrible thing, needs to be done away with ... and so -

2. THE MEANING - Covering!

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. [Psalm 32: 1]

Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, Thou shalt purge them away. [Psalm 65:3]

A. Atonement is a "shelter by means of representation." [Girdlestone, Robert Baker, Synonyms of the Old Testament; Eerdmans [Grand Rapids], 1948, p.127.]

He who knew no sin was made sin for you and for me!

B. The very holiness of God demanded He turn His face from our dying Savior at the
moment of His sin-bearing.

"My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" [Mark 15:34]

3. THE SOURCE - Christ Jesus (God)!

"Surely He (Jesus) has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. ... All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord (Jehovah) has laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all. ... Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him: He has put Him to grief." [Isaiah 53:4, 6, 10]

"Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain." [Acts 2:23]

"God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself." [2 Corinthians 5:19]

Thus the very God, whose law man has broken, and against whom he has sinned, Himself provides the Atonement.

4. THE FOUNDATION - Love!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. [John 3:16]

Christ also has loved us, and has given Himself for us ... [He] also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it. [Ephesians 5:2, 25]

Herein Is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation [substitute] for our sins. [1 John 4:10]

God demonstrates His Love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. [Romans 5:8]

5. THE METHOD - Blood!

It is the blood that makes atonement for the soul. [Leviticus 17:11]

Without shedding of blood there is no remission. [Hebrews 9:22]

6. THE RESULT - Forgiveness (Salvation)!

A. The Immediate Result -

1. Healing of sin's disease.

He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. [Isaiah 53:5]

2. Deliverance from sin's power of attraction.

Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world. [Galatians 1: 4]

3. New Life for holiness and service.

Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness. [1 Peter 2:24]

B. Future Result

1. Gain of eternal inheritance.

He is the Mediator ... that they which are called might receive the promise of Eternal Inheritance. [Hebrews 9:15]

2. Glory of the Divine presence.

Unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His Glory with exceeding joy. [Jude 24]

The Atonement is the only means by which God could pardon transgressors of the Divine Law; the INSATIABLE NEED of man met by the INFINITE PROVISION of God.

Theological and biblical considerations were culled from George E. Morgan's "Atonement," in The King's Business, a now defunct monthly periodical of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles (BIOLA); (July 1922) Vol. 13, No. 7, 701-02. Thanks also to Dr. J. Richard Chase; ibid., nd, 11-13, for suggesting the outline to the Ephesians content.

Atonement, Easter, Guilt, Imputation, Justice,
Nature, Outlines, Propitiation, Reconciliation, Redemption,
Retribution, Sacrifice, Sermons, Substitution