Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
Today we have a very practical Verse of the Day. Let’s spend some time looking at how we can apply this practically to our lives.
It's found in Romans chapter 1, verse 17. "This Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scriptures say, 'It is through faith that a righteous person has life.'"
When it's talking about from the beginning to end, you think all the way back to Adam and Eve and the fall, and there had to be something that repaired this relationship, because now all of a sudden we're talking about we have fallen from our relationship with God and having that unity together with Him.
More Than Just Being Good
Now, the powerful thing about this verse, and especially with so many different things that we may struggle with, or people ask us questions out in the world of, but I'm a good person. Well, wait a second. You're saying a good person can't go to heaven? That's why this verse is very important theologically, doctrinally, but also just in life application. Because for Adam and Eve, they were perfect. Not just good. They were perfect. It took one sin of disobedience to separate us from God and His perfection and saying, okay, now there has to be redemption. We know we have that through Jesus.
But our role in this, for healing that relationship, for playing a part in that relationship, is placing our faith and having faith. In Hebrews chapter 11, verse 2 it talks about that faith. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." There's evidence for that all around us. Romans chapter 1, if you read that chapter, actually talks about that. It says that everywhere we look proclaims the glory of God. We have the evidence before us to place our faith in.
Compartmentalizing Faith
Here’s something that I want to share with you on the life application side, something God powerfully taught me quite a few years ago, but it's continuing to grow me in several areas. First I’ll remind us of Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9: "For by grace are you saved through faith."
We have this faith that we compartmentalize. That's something that God revealed to me about myself, is I had placed my faith that I had for salvation, that Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 and 9 talks about, in this nice, careful box of salvation. I have faith for salvation. Yay! Have it in this box. Yes, there may be doubts that come along, and so I'd spend time and work on, what are these doubts? I'd become a little bit more secure, and I would focus on my faith being secure in this box of salvation.
Everything else in life—I'd worry about that, stress about that. What's going to happen over here? What's going to happen over there? And God finally said, David, where is your trust in Me? Where is your faith in Me? It's like, well, Lord, I have faith in You. You know, I place my faith and trust in You for salvation. That's a powerful thing about this verse because it talks about from start to finish—in most translations, the ESV, NASB, NIV, King James, all use the same verbiage at the end of the verse, saying, "The righteous will live by faith."
Living by Faith in Everything
That's something that God really convicted me about because I had compartmentalized my faith into the salvation. Everything else, it was kind of hit or miss. Well, there I put my faith and trust in Jesus that He was going to do it for me. He was going to resolve this. He was going to fix this. He was going to do this. And God wants to say, I have so much more for you.
What's interesting is we want to place our faith and trust in Jesus to fix our problems so that we don't have to trust Him anymore. We can now be comfortable, and that's not the life that God wants for us. God wants us to live by faith, and we typically think, well, if I'm doing things right and I'm planning, and now I don't have to live by faith anymore in life. I just live by faith for my salvation.
Step Out in Faith
You know what, though? I believe there's someone that's listening to this that God is calling you to step out in faith. There's someone else who's listening to this right now that God is calling you to let go in faith.
No matter what God may be touching your heart about right now, the righteous—we are called to live by faith, and instead of playing it comfortable, instead of playing it safe, God wants to call us to something great so the world can see something supernatural in our life.
I would just encourage you, seek God when you're done listening to this. Seek God. What is He calling you to step out into? What's He calling you to let go of that's going to pull you out of your comfort zone for you to practice, to live by faith? May you take time with Him and seek Him about this today.
