My Righteous One Will Live By Faith

[GracePeace]

I wonder about "abiding in Christ" in my walk, and it seems the way to do that is by faith (both faith in God's Son AND then reflecting that love of God to others by walking in my convictions generated/authored/powered by God's love received through faith in Christ), so that if I walk by the convictions of God's love in my heart, I am remaining in Christ--but I think there may also be a trap in this regard, that we may think we are accomplishing, by doing what we are convicted is right and loving, what only Christ could accomplish (peace and reconciliation with God).

This is puzzling to me.

Romans 1
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.”
Romans 14
5Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
...
23for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.

Galatians 5
6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
...
13For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.”
...
25If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.

Hebrews 10
38But My righteous one will live by faith; and if [My righteous one] shrinks back, I will take no pleasure in him.” 39But we are not of those [righteous ones] who shrink back, and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

1 John 2
28Now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
1 John 3
23And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us. 24Whoever keeps His commandments remains in God, and God in him. And by this we know that He remains in us: by the Spirit He has given us.
1 John 5
21Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

 

[GracePeace]

Maybe instead of thinking "Christ saved me... but now I'm saving myself by doing the good I know to do," doing good/walking after the spirit should be viewed not as having discontinuity with the profession, "Christ redeemed me, because God loved me, now I know God," but my relating to the world is to be a continuation of the confession, an expression of the knowledge of God's glory (Heb 1:3 "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person") I was given as a gift through faith in the Name of God's Son.

So, walking in faith doesn't earn that knowledge, it's supposed to reflect that knowledge I already have through "faith in the Name of God's Son"... but couldn't we lose that "gift" of the knowledge of God's glory by sinning/not walking after the spirit/not loving others?
What else would the penalty be, since, for instance, the "immoral", Paul warns, risk God withholding His Spirit (1 Th 4:8)--and that only happens to people who are not abiding in Christ, and that only happens on account of not obeying?

But, I guess, then, the question should be, "What do you do if you sin after you believe in Christ?" How do you re-establish the relationship? I guess the obvious answer is you confess how you brought yourself shame, and "the blood of His Son cleanses us of all our sins". But I have done that, and, still, I feel ashamed, and I cannot reconnect to that same level of relationship with God, so what am I doing wrong?

 

[Lambano]

But, I guess, then, the question should be, "What do you do if you sin after you believe in Christ?" How do you re-establish the relationship? I guess the obvious answer is you confess how you brought yourself shame, and "the blood of His Son cleanses us of all our sins". But I have done that, and, still, I feel ashamed, and I cannot reconnect to that same level of relationship with God, so what am I doing wrong?

I don't see that you're doing anything wrong. You'll just have to trust God that you really are cleansed like the verse says - even if you feel dirty.

Like the title says, "My righteous one shall live by TRUST".

 

[GracePeace]

I don't see that you're doing anything wrong. You'll just have to trust God that you really are cleansed like the verse says - even if you feel dirty.

Like the title says, "My righteous one shall live by TRUST".

Yeah, I think actually telling you guys about it has helped me tell the Lord about it and that has helped. Makes sense since we're supposed to have fellowship with Christ, and we are Christ's body.

 

[GracePeace]

This is a YouTube reply I made, and it encompasses this topic, so I want to add it here :

Christ says we abide in Him if we keep the "Law of Faith" (Ro 3:27), and if we abide in Him, He supplies us with the Spirit (1 Jn 3:23,24), because the eternal life is in His Son (1 Jn 5:11), but the *singular* Law of Faith is *twofold* :
1) Believe in the Name of God's Son, and
2) Love one another.

"Love one another" is the same as saying "walk by faith", and "walk after the Spirit", because "faith... works by love": infracting "let every man be fully convinced in his own mind" (Ro 14:5) is "sin" (Ro 14:23), but what we do in faith is "God's righteousness revealed from faith to faith" (Ro 1:16,17), like "footsteps of faith" (Ro 4:12), which is what James 2 is talking about, and is just as Paul says, "if we live by the spirit let us also walk by the spirit", so that Christians who do not "walk after the spirit" die and do not live (Ro 8:12,13), whereas even Gentile Christians, who do not have the Law, but who are under Grace and walk after the Spirit, are qualified as "doers of the Law" who will be "justified" when they are "judged" and "repaid... eternal life" (Ro 2:6-16, 26,27; Gal 6:6-10).

This explanation is how Paul can warn the immoral that God will withhold His Spirit if they live that way (1 Th 4:8)--like King David, who said, after his own commission of immorality, "do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me" (the presence is by the Spirit (Acts 3:19,20), and *only* God's people have His presence (Ex 33:15,16), the marker they are His people--so this is actually an issue and threat of being "cut off from among his people" (Ex 31:14; Ro 11:17-23), or "blotted out" (Ex 32:32; Rv 3:2-6)).

This perspective is also the only way to reconcile "no condemnation for those in Christ [in Whom there is no sin (1 Jn 3:5)]" (Ro 8:1) with the fact that there is "condemnation" for the believer who "sins" by doing what he doubts (Ro 14:5,23): by infracting the second table of the *singular twofold* "Law of Faith", the believer isn't "abiding" in Christ (1 Jn 2:28), but is led away by some form of idolatry (1 Jn 5:21), whether it is the "Galatian" idolatry ("this persuasion doesn't come from Him Who calls you" (Gal 5:8) means the "false Gospel" is a "doctrine of demons" (1 Ti 4:1), and "the idols the nations worship are demons" (Dt 32:16,17; 1 Co 10:20), resulting in them "deserting Him Who calls you in the grace of Christ" (Gal 1:6; 1 Jn 2:28)) or any other form of idolatry (ie, selfishness--"no covetous man, who is an idolater" (Ep 5:5)).

This perspective also explains how the person who doesn't provide for his family can be said to be "worse than an unbeliever", and be said to have "denied the faith": the command is a twofold but singular command, sinning against one part is like sinning against the other part, so that the practical sin against his family has a double effect of functioning as a denial of the Lord, a violation against the first table of the Law of Faith, which is why it stipulates, "The one who overcomes will be clothed the same way, in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels".
Question: Why would Christ even raise the issue of "confessing them before His Father"?
Answer: "Whoever denies Me before men I will deny before My Father" (Mt 10:33)--the one who sins also is denying the Lord by not representing the Lord before men, since, if he was walking by faith, he would be revealing the Lord in his deeds. As James says, "I will show you my faith *by my works* --walking after the spirit, sowing to the Spirit, doing good, is the second table of the singular twofold "Law of Faith", "confessing Christ" with one's deeds, but to fail to do this, to not walk in faith, but in doubt, is like a denial of Christ, and this "unrighteousness" "suppresses God's truth" (Ro 1:18), and does not reveal His righteousness (even if you may appear "blameless" to men, if you are not walking in faith you're not revealing His righteousness (Ro 1:16,17), but, at best, a righteousness of your own based on the knowledge of Good and Evil (the Law (Pp 3:9) being only one form of the knowledge of good and evil, under which all had generally had been since Adam)), and it is to "defile" of one's "garments" (Rv 3:4), and, as God, Who does not change, says, "the one who sinned against Me I will blot out of My Book" (Ex 32:32).

Protestants tend to overemphasize the first table of the Law of Faith, so that the Bible cannot make sense, whereas the Old World believers (Catholics, Eastern Orthodox) tend to overemphasize the second table of the Law of Faith, so that there is no stability in the finished works of Christ (and this has been my error, and weakness, as well--but I received the grace of prayer through fellowship with other believers, and I have received answers to my prayers), but there is a middle way of emphasizing Christ's finished works, and also recognizing the imperative of not only living by the Spirit but also walking by the Spirit, so that we are not believing in some man's insane nonsensical hole-filled interpretation of the Scriptures, but believing ALL of the Scriptures, believing God, Himself.

 

[Jim C]

Maybe instead of thinking "Christ saved me... but now I'm saving myself by doing the good I know to do," doing good/walking after the spirit should be viewed not as having discontinuity with the profession, "Christ redeemed me, because God loved me, now I know God," but my relating to the world is to be a continuation of the confession, an expression of the knowledge of God's glory (Heb 1:3 "Who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person") I was given as a gift through faith in the Name of God's Son.

So, walking in faith doesn't earn that knowledge, it's supposed to reflect that knowledge I already have through "faith in the Name of God's Son"... but couldn't we lose that "gift" of the knowledge of God's glory by sinning/not walking after the spirit/not loving others?
What else would the penalty be, since, for instance, the "immoral", Paul warns, risk God withholding His Spirit (1 Th 4:8)--and that only happens to people who are not abiding in Christ, and that only happens on account of not obeying?

But, I guess, then, the question should be, "What do you do if you sin after you believe in Christ?" How do you re-establish the relationship? I guess the obvious answer is you confess how you brought yourself shame, and "the blood of His Son cleanses us of all our sins". But I have done that, and, still, I feel ashamed, and I cannot reconnect to that same level of relationship with God, so what am I doing wrong?

1 John 1: 8-10
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

A few comments:

8) "...claim to be without..." in the present tense. Being saved does not make one incapable of sinning.
9) God does not break His word. If we confess, He forgives us and cleanses us. Period.
10) "...claim we have not..." past tense -- claiming we have never sinned ever.

An important thing here is while this is not a license to sin, we can be assured that if we slip up and do sin that it is not the end of our salvation and that God provides us a way to get right with Him.

 

[GracePeace]

1 John 1: 8-10
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

A few comments:

8) "...claim to be without..." in the present tense. Being saved does not make one incapable of sinning.
9) God does not break His word. If we confess, He forgives us and cleanses us. Period.
10) "...claim we have not..." past tense -- claiming we have never sinned ever.

An important thing here is while this is not a license to sin, we can be assured that if we slip up and do sin that it is not the end of our salvation and that God provides us a way to get right with Him.

I absolutely agree with this, but I wanted to understand Christianity--it's parameters, the dangers, the terms and conditions, and I never could get a straight answer. I have received the grace of prayer from other Christians, and prayed, and received the answer.

 

[GracePeace]

1 John 1: 8-10
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

A few comments:

8) "...claim to be without..." in the present tense. Being saved does not make one incapable of sinning.
9) God does not break His word. If we confess, He forgives us and cleanses us. Period.
10) "...claim we have not..." past tense -- claiming we have never sinned ever.

An important thing here is while this is not a license to sin, we can be assured that if we slip up and do sin that it is not the end of our salvation and that God provides us a way to get right with Him.

To your point, I like v7

1 John 1
7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

This is all in the ongoing present-tense--we need to walk in the light, we need to have fellowship with Him (this is eternal life (John 17:3)), and we also need the blood of His Son to cleanse us, and this must be because we are sinning (albeit to lesser and lesser extents--as we decrease and Christ increases).