Hundreds of years after Habakkuk, wickedness and injustice still flourished in Jerusalem. The temple, now personified by Jesus, was threatened once again. While some accepted the man from Nazareth as the Son of God, most rejected him as a rebel. Betrayed by one of his closest friends, publicly ridiculed as a drunk and glutton, falsely accused by the religious authorities, beaten, broken, and ultimately killed, from all appearances, evil had triumphed. The disciples wondered why God was silent as they hid. Where was God? How could he let the wicked prosper and the righteous suffer?
Three days later, the tomb was empty. The resurrection of Jesus is God’s own proclamation that he is not far, that he is always in control, and that evil will never triumph. At Pentecost, the people of God are gathered as the church. As more churches are planted throughout the world, the apostle Paul writes letters to admonish and encourage. At the heart of his letters is a call to live a life of faith, not works. Paul appeals to the 600 year old book of Habakkuk , arguing that righteousness—from Abraham to Habakkuk— has always been from faith.
(Click Here to read the Book of Habakkuk)
"For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
- Romans 1:17
"...who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father..."
- Galatians 1:4
"Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God,
because “the righteous will live by faith.”
- Galatians 3:11
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see."
- Hebrews 11:1
"For we live by faith, not by sight."
- 2 Corinthians 5:7
“The righteous will live by faith.”
- Romans 1:17b
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for your comments!