Professer Boaz: A Life of FaithShembull

Living a Life of Faith

For in it (the Gospel) the justice of God is revealed. It begins with faith and ends with faith, as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)

This verse is very central to the main thesis statement of the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Church in Rome. The centrality of the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah is found in two words - justice and faith. He writes that these two virtues are intrinsically woven together. God is a God of Justice. He seeks to bring about justice throughout the history of humanity. The Apostle Paul urges us to understand the main message of the Prophet Habakkuk, “...the just shall live by his faith.” (Hab. 2:4). This is the main message of the whole Old Testament. Justice is built on faith. Faith is the beginning and the end. Faith is the fount of the river called justice, and the delta of the river called justice. There can be no justice without faith in God.

The Torah, or the first five books of the Bible, are primarily the narratives of two people - Abraham and Moses. Of Abraham, the Torah says, “Abraham had faith in God, and so became a just person.” (Genesis 15:6). The Apostle Paul underlines this crucial virtue of the Patriarch Abraham.

Sadly, Moses, the great law giver, in the end, did not have faith to finally lead the people into the promised land. (Numbers 20:12)

This is quite a sobering thought!

A Prayer:

Lord, help me to live a life that always, and in all circumstances, may be a life of faith in You.