From Faith to Faith
(Message delivered by Rev Dr Jeffrey Khoo at the True Life Church 10.30 am Service, Nov 12, 06)
Text: Romans 1:16-17
Romans 1:17, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” What does it mean to live by faith? In the light of God’s Word, living by faith means to put our trust:
In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Not Our Own Goodness
How to get to heaven? “Do good,” “Be a good person” are the answers we often get. All the religions of the world talk about being good or doing good to enter heaven. Only the Christian Faith teaches differently. According to the Holy Scriptures, our goodness or good deeds will only get us to hell. Why are we all on our way to hell? God tells us why: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23). Man is a sinner from day one; he is born in sin and is living in sin (Ps 51:5, Rom 3:10-18). Every human being born into this world is disqualified from heaven and condemned to hell the very day he came into existence. All of us fall infinitely short of God’s perfect standard of holiness, and are woefully lacking in the perfect righteousness God requires of us. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away” (Isa 64:6). Galatians 2:16 says, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”
Proof of this is man’s transgression of the Ten Commandments, every one of them. No one on earth can say he has kept the Ten Commandments perfectly. Consider Jesus’ standards of ethical perfection: “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire” (Matt 5:21-22). “Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matt 5:27-28).
Some might say, “I have broken one or two of the commandments, but not all ten; surely I am better than others.” God says everyone is the same, whether you have broken one, two, or all Ten Commandments, all are equally sinful and stand condemned by the law. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (Jas 2:10).
How then can my sins be forgiven? How can I be saved? How can I get to heaven? There is only one way to truth and life. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Salvation cannot be found in any religion or in any human being, but only in the Lord Jesus Christ who is both God and Man, and the only Saviour of the world. 1 Timothy 2:5 says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” Acts 4:12 says, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” What did Jesus do to save us from our sins? He died for our sins on the cross, shedding His precious blood, was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead (1 Cor 15:1-4).
If we want to be saved, we need to trust in the goodness of Christ, and His good works for us in His life, His death, and His life again. Titus 3:5-6 says, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour.”
Now, how do we know that all this is true, that Jesus died for our sins and rose again from the dead? We know this because God’s Word says so. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says, “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” Note the words, “according to the scriptures.” The Holy Scriptures are not the words of fallible and finite men; they are the infallible and inerrant words of the infinite God our Creator. If we believe in Christ and His words, we live; if we reject His words, we die! John 3:18 says, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
In Divine Revelation, Not Human Reasoning
“[A]s it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Why must we live by faith? We must live by faith simply because God tells us to, “as it is written.” Our faith is not based on tradition, opinion, or experience, but on the Written Word of God. John 20:31 tells us the purpose of God’s written Revelation, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” Our faith is not blind faith or foolish faith, but Biblical faith. Biblical faith is a faith that is based not at all on fallible and depraved human reasoning, but only on the infallible and inerrant words of the Holy Scriptures. Romans 10:17, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
It is significant to note that in the Greek Scriptures, “it is written” (gegraptai), is in the perfect tense. This tells us that the words of the Holy Scriptures stand perfectly written for all time. The words were written in the past, they stand written in the present, and will remain written in the future. God saw to the perfect preservation of His words so that His people in every age might live by faith always and not by sight.
How do we know for sure that Jesus died for us on the cross, was buried, and on the third day rose from the dead? There is a hymn that goes like this, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord? … Were you there when they nailed Him to the tree? … Were you there when they pierced Him in the side? … Were you there when they laid Him in the tomb?” No, we were not there when it all happened. If we were not there and did not see His death, burial and resurrection with our own eyes, then how can we be sure they truly happened? The answer is simple. We know for sure that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose from the dead because the Holy Bible which is God’s Word tells us so. In order to see and know the truth, there is no other way but to believe what the Bible says with all our heart! When we read the four canonical Gospels— Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—which tell us what Jesus did when He was here on earth, it is as good as being there ourselves, witnessing His birth, His works, His death, His burial, and His resurrection with our very own eyes. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17). The Bible says it, that settles it, we believe it. Unless the sinner humbles himself and believes what the almighty and all-wise God says in His forever infallible and inerrant Word, he will remain in darkness and will never see the light.
It is not the wisdom of the world that will convert the sinner, but the power of the gospel of Christ in His Word. That was why Paul testified, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God” (1 Cor 2:1-5). No amount of human reasoning, intelligent rhetoric, or clever arguments can ever convict and convert a sinner or an unbeliever. It is only by the preaching of the cross that sinners are saved: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor 1:18). “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” (Rom 1:16).
Every Christian, young or old, rich or poor, educated or unlearned can preach the gospel of Christ. A Christian need not master all the rules of logic, or know all the answers to questions unbelievers might pose, or possess all the evidences to prove God’s existence, he just needs to preach the gospel of Christ in all its fulness and purity, and pray the Holy Spirit to do His work of soul winning. It is important to realise that God calls us to be gospel preachers, not soul winners. The convicting and converting of a soul to repentance and salvation does not lie with us but the Holy Spirit. So a primary school student can preach the gospel to a university professor, and it will be just as effective for the power lies not in the preacher but in the gospel and the Spirit to make the proudest and mightiest of men to become a humble believer of Jesus Christ. Without a miracle from God, the totally depraved man can never be converted.
Why must we as believers live by faith? We must live by faith because it is the only way to please the Lord. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
It is important for us not only to begin with faith but also to end in faith. As Paul says, “from faith to faith: … The just shall live by faith.” The future tense of the words, “shall live” (zesetai), has the sense of continuity and certainty, and may be rendered, “The just shall keep on living by faith,” or “The just shall always live by faith.” Whether rich or poor, strong or weak, healthy or sickly, promoted or persecuted, in good times or in bad, we must always live by faith and not by sight. In other words, we do not depend on any evidence or experience but purely on the Word of God alone for the certainty and security of our faith. As the hymnwriter says, “My heart is leaning on the Word, the written Word of God. Salvation by my Savior’s name, salvation through His blood. I need no other argument, I need no other plea. It is enough that Jesus died, and that He died for me.” Jesus says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). He also says, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free… If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (John 8:31, 32, 36). We are freed from all uncertainties and all anxieties when we live by faith in the Lord and in His Word. Circumstances, evidences, or experiences do not determine what we believe or do not believe. We just continue in God’s self-authenticating Word of Truth and Life, trusting in every thing it says, as Paul says, “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom 3:4). We begin with God’s Word and we end with God’s Word.
“From faith to faith,… The just shall live by faith,” what does it mean? It means we ought never to trust in our own goodness or intelligence, but always in the gospel of Christ our Lord and His perfect Word. Faith is the victory!
