The Life Of Faith

The Life of Faith

The righteous shall live by faith. Romans 1:17, ESV

PERHAPS THE MOST FOUNDATIONAL and oft-quoted verse of the Reformation can look quite different in its various iterations in Scripture. Depending on the translation, Romans 1:17 can mean that those who are righteous live by faith; that those who by faith are righteous will live; or that those who have faith will live righteously (or be counted as righteous). The order of the words can emphasize either faith, righteousness, or living, and in the various places in Scripture—Habakkuk 2:4, Galatians 3:11, Hebrews 10:38, and here in Romans 1:17—we suspect that God has in mind an entire way of life. Righteousness, faith, and life are all part of the same package.

The New Testament speaks of faith as our big-picture entrance into the Kingdom of God and our day-to-day relationship with God concerning guidance, prayer, promises, and responding to trials and temptations. We can be sure that God means for us to begin in faith, continue in faith, and be consummated in faith, with every aspect of our eternal hope and daily lives saturated with our belief that he is present, powerful, wise, loving, and always working for us, in us, and through us. In other words, no matter how much is going on in this verse and its interpretations, regardless of whether we are applying it to big-picture salvation or today’s needs, faith is not just an attitude. It’s a lifestyle.

A lifestyle of believing is continuous. We don’t take breaks from faith. We have it at home with our families or friends, take it with us to school or to work, carry it along on vacation, apply it in the community, see the world through its lenses, incorporate it into our speech, and allow it to infiltrate every aspect of our lives. Faith is not something we do or say. It becomes who we are. It’s why we call ourselves believers. We believe.

In all our talk in Christian circles about faith, it’s easy to see it as a commodity. Resist that urge. Make it part of every breath, every thankful thought, every longing, every relationship, every word. In so doing, you will be righteous. And you will truly live.

There is no more blessed way of living than the life of faith upon a covenant-keeping God.