May 21,08: Light for the Day (lftd.org) - "The Righteous Lives By Faith" (Viet) 
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-- Romans 1:16-17 = 16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
+ 17 For in the gospel a Righteousness from God is revealed, a Righteousness that is by Faith from first to last, just as it is written:
"The Righteous will live by Faith" (Hab 2:4).


++ Romans 1:16 and 17 -- summarize the thrust of the rest of Paul's letter and give the reason behind Paul's missionary zeal. Paul was ready, even eager (Ro 1:15), to preach. And he was not ashamed of this Good News about Christ, even though the gospel was held in contempt by those who did not believe and even though those who preached it could face humiliation and suffering. Paul was not intimidated by the intellect nor the power. Paul was not ashamed, because he knew from experience that the gospel had the power to save everyone who believes and then to transform their lives.

The Greek word for power (dunamis) is the source for our words dynamite and dynamic. The Good News, as the power of God, can be like spiritual dynamite. Under certain circumstances it has a devastating, even destructive effect, demolishing world views and traditions -- paving the way for new construction. Placed inside a stone-hard heart that is resistant to God, it can shatter the barrier. God's power in the gospel is not only explosive; it also overcomes evil.

The only way to receive salvation is to believe in Christ. This offer is open to all people. The gospel is powerful because the power of God resides in it by nature. The Good News is the inherent power of God that gives salvation to all who accept it. Salvation can only happen when a person believes (John 3:16-17; Ac 4:12; Ro 10; Eph 1:13; 1Pet 1;...).

++ The Jews were given first invitation because they had been God's special people for more than 2,000 years, ever since God chose Abraham and promised great blessings to his descendants (Ge 12:1-3). God did not choose them because they deserved to be chosen (Dt 7:7-8; 9:4-6), but because He wanted to show His love and mercy to them, teach them, and prepare them to welcome His Messiah into the world.

The disciples and Paul were Faithful Jews who recognized in Jesus God's most precious gift to the human race (see Lk 2:25-26,36-38). The Jews were given the first opportunity to receive the Messiah during His ministry on earth (Jn 1:11) and during the days of the early church (Ac 1:8; 3:26). Although Paul was commissioned as the apostle to the Gentiles (Ac 9:15;22:21), even he followed this pattern. Whenever Paul went to a new city, he recognized his obligation to carry the Good News to the Jews first (Ac 13:45-46; 28:25,28).

++ Romans 1:17 -- The message of the Good News tells us how we, sinners as we are, can be made right in God's sight. It tells how God, who is Righteous, can vindicate sinful people. Righteousness is an aspect of God's character, His standard of behavior, and a description of all that He wishes to give to us. Our Righteousness begins because of God's Faithfulness to His promises; it moves on in our response of Faith and is a continuing process through life. Thus it is accomplished from start to finish by Faith. Faith -- unconditional trust -- is the appointed way of receiving God's Righteousness.

Faith in what? Faith in the fact that Jesus Christ took our sins upon Himself, taking the punishment we deserved, and, in exchange, making us Righteous before God. By trusting in Christ, our relationship with God is made right both for now and for eternity.

To nail his point, Paul quoted from Hab 2:4, “It is through Faith that a Righteous person has life.” Righteousness by Faith was not a new idea; it is found in the writings of the prophets, with which the Jewish believers would be familiar. This expression means that Christians will live because of God's Faithfulness and because of their response of Faith in God; as a result, they will have eternal life and experience fullness in life.

•Faith is personal trust in God. / / •Faith is the source of the believer's new life in Christ. / / •Faith justifies us, saves us, and gives us new life and a new lifestyle.

++ Romans 1:18-32 -- God's Anger at Sin.

-- Life Application Bible Note


-- Hebrews 10:35-39 = 35 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. 36 You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. 37 For in just a very little while, "He who is coming will come and will not delay. / / +*+*+ + 38 But my Righteous one will live by Faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him." (Hab 2:4) / / 39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.

++ Hebrews 10:38-39 = The writer encourages his readers not to abandon their faith in times of persecution but to show by their endurance that their faith is real. Faith means resting in what Christ has done for us in the past, but it also means trusting Him for what He will do for us in the present and in the future (see Ro 8:12-25; Ga 3:10-13).

The writer knew that these readers were not like those who turn their backs on God and seal their fate (Heb 6:1-10; 2Pet 2:20). This vote of confidence readies the believers to learn from the examples of faith and perseverance that will be cited in the next chapter (Heb 11). Living by faith is far better than merely fulfilling rituals and rules. The examples of faith in Hebrews 11 can challenge us to grow in faith and to live in obedience to God each day. / / / -- L.A.B.


++ How To Receive Jesus Christ As Your Savior? ++


Bible - Faith and Righteousness:

-- Hebrews 11:1, 6 = 1 Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. + 6 And without Faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
-- Romans 3:19-31 = 19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.
+*+*+ {Christ Took Our Punishment} +*+*+ = 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with Him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our Faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. + 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are Righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when He freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed His life, shedding His blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when He held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for He was looking ahead and including them in what He would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate His Righteousness, for He Himself is fair and just, and He declares sinners to be right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. / / +*+*+ 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on Faith. 28 So we are made right with God through Faith and not by obeying the law. 29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t He also the God of the Gentiles? Of course He is. 30 There is only one God, and He makes people right with Himself only by Faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. ++ 31 Well then, if we emphasize Faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have Faith do we truly fulfill the law. (Mat 5:17; Gal 2:21; Ro 7; 10:4; ...)
-- Galatians 2:16-21 = 16 Yet we know that a person is made right with God by Faith in Jesus Christ, not by obeying the law. And we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be made right with God because of our Faith in Christ, not because we have obeyed the law. For no one will ever be made right with God by obeying the law.” (Gal 3:11-12; 5:4; Ro 3; Philip 3:9; ...). 17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through Faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! 18 Rather, I am a sinner if I rebuild the old system of law I already tore down. 19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law -- I stopped trying to meet all its requirements -- so that I might live for God. 20 My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die.
-- Galatians 3:6-14 = 6 Consider Abraham: "He believed God, and it was credited to him as Righteousness." (Gen. 15:6) 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by Faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: "All nations will be blessed through you." (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18). 9 So those who have Faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of Faith. / / +*+*+ 10 All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law" (Deut. 27:26). 11 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The Righteous will live by Faith" (Hab. 2:4). 12 The law is not based on Faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them" (Lev. 18:5). 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree" (Deut. 21:23). 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by Faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.
-- Matthew 5:17 = Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
-- Mark 8:38 (Luke 9:26) = If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when He comes in His Father’s glory with the holy angels.
-- 1 Peter 4:16 = Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.
-- 2 Timothy 2:15 = Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
-- 2 Timothy 1:5-14 = 5 I remember your genuine Faith, for you share the Faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same Faith continues strong in you. 6 This is why I remind you to fan into flames the spiritual gift God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 8 So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. And don’t be ashamed of me, either, even though I’m in prison for Him. With the strength God gives you, be ready to suffer with me for the sake of the Good News. + 9 For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time -- to show us His grace through Christ Jesus. 10 And now He has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News. 11 And God chose me to be a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of this Good News. 12 That is why I am suffering here in prison. But I am not ashamed of it, for I know the One in Whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until the day of His return. 13 Hold on to the pattern of wholesome teaching you learned from me -- a pattern shaped by the Faith and love that you have in Christ Jesus.
+ 14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious Truth that has been entrusted to you.
-- Psalms 40:10 = I do not hide Your Righteousness in my heart; I speak of Your Faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal Your love and Your truth from the great assembly.
-- Psalms 119:46 = I will speak of Your statutes before kings and will not be put to shame,
-- Isaiah 26:1-4 = 1 On that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: We have a strong city. Its walls and fortifications provide safety. 2 Open the gates, and let the Righteous nation come in, the nation that remains Faithful. 3 With perfect peace You will protect those whose minds cannot be changed, because they trust You. 4 Trust the LORD always, because the LORD, the LORD alone, is an Everlasting Rock.


+*+*+ Wrong does not like Right, and Right never agrees with Wrong. Two Wrongs can never make anything Right. Right never follows Wrong, but Wrong will try and drag you out of Righteousness.
+*+*+ Prayer is the first thing wherewith a Righteous life beginneth, and the last wherewith it doth end. -- Richard Hooker
+*+*+ He hideth our unRighteousness with His Righteousness, He covereth our disobedience with His obedience, He shadoweth our death with His death, that the wrath of God cannot find us. -- Henry Smith
+*+*+ Our peace and confidence are to be found not in our empirical holiness, not in our progress toward perfection, but in the alien Righteousness of Jesus Christ that covers our sinfulness and alone makes us acceptable before a holy God. -- Donald Bloesch
+*+*+ The world, indeed, seems to be weary of the Just, Righteous, Holy Ways of God, and of that exactness in walking according to His Institutions and Commands which it will be one day known that He doth require. But the way to put a stop to this declension is not by accommodating the Commands of God to the corrupt courses and ways of men. The Truths of God and the Holiness of His precepts must be pleaded and defended, though the world dislike them here and perish hereafter. His law must not be made to lackey after the wills of men, nor be dissolved by vain interpretations, because they complain they cannot - indeed, because they will not - comply with it. Our Lord Jesus Christ came not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them (Mat 5:17), and to supply men with spiritual strength to fulfill them also. It is evil to break the least commandment; but there is a great aggravation of that evil in them that shall teach men so to do. -- John Owen (1616-1683),
+*+*+ There are only two kinds of men: the Righteous, who believe themselves sinners; the rest, sinners who believe themselves Righteous. -- Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
+*+*+ This life therefore is not Righteousness but growth in Righteousness; not health but healing, not being but becoming, not rest but exercise. We are not what we shall be but we are growing toward it; the process is not yet finished but it is going on; this is not the end but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory but all is being purified. -- Martin Luther
+*+*+ In ourselves, we are sinners, and yet through Faith we are Righteous by the imputation of God. For we trust Him who promises to deliver us, and in the meantime struggle so that sin may not overwhelm us, but that we may stand up to it until He finally take it away from us. -- Martin Luther


-- Psalms 23:1-3 = 1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. / 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, / He leads me beside quiet waters, / 3 He restores my soul. / He guides me in paths of Righteousness for His name’s sake.
-- Psalms 11:7 = For the LORD is Righteous, He loves Righteousness; / His countenance beholds the upright.