In the early 1500’s, a young man named Martin Luther felt a great burden of his sin before a holy God; he knew he was not right with Him. So he went to some of his church leaders for counsel, and they prescribed to him: do the works of the church as a cure, and so he went about doing all the works he could, with a fervor that few could rival: 

— he fasted until he was so weak he could hardly move 

— he spent hours on the cold floor before the altar at church in prayer 

— when he could find no relief through these works of prayer and fasting, his superiors told him: teach theology, thinking that through the good works of studying and teaching, Luther would be relieved — but although he attained a doctorate in religious studies, and taught theology to others, his own sense of sin was still not relieved. 

— Finally, Luther rejoiced to take a trip to Rome itself; the capital of the Church, for he was told that by visiting there, seeing the holy sites, and performing all the rituals available there, it would give him release from many sins. So he visited the catacombs, and climbed the marble stairs that supposedly belonged to Pilate, which he was told would grant him a year’s indulgence from purgatory for every step he climbed on his knees. 

But even as he climbed those steps, he knew that his guilt was not eased, and these prescribed rituals were not making him right with God. But as he climbed those “holy stairs” in Rome, the words of Romans 1:17, which he had read, began to echo in his mind: “The righteous shall live by his FAITH”. All of the sudden, Luther stood up from those stairs, and he walked back down, for the first time in his life realizing from that scripture that it is FAITH that would make him right with God. At that moment Luther finally had the peace with God he had been looking for all of his life! And he began to teach others this doctrine of Justification by Faith alone, which kicked off what we call today the Protestant Reformation. 

So this verse, “The righteous shall live by his faith” takes its place as one of the single most important verses in all history. All the Protestant churches that exist today, came from Luther’s conversion through this verse; all of the churches today that adhere to the Biblical doctrine of salvation by grace through faith are in the lineage of Martin Luther and owe a debt to this verse in Habakkuk 2:4. Many think of this verse as being in Romans 1:17 in the New Testament, but they don’t realize that Romans quotes it from the book of Habakkuk! One could argue that this verse is the single most important verse in all of history — as it has led to the salvation of multiplied millions over the last several centuries, and all of the missions efforts that have sprung from Protestant churches all over the world! 

So Habakkuk 2:4 is a vital verse, not only in history, but also for each of us personally too. How can we be saved? How can we persevere through the most difficult times in life? Habakkuk 2:4 tells us, it is by faith: “The righteous shall live by his faith.” So let’s look briefly at what this verse means, and then look at two primary applications for us today: one on how it teaches that we’re saved by faith, and second, the importance of living by faith in our times of trial.

I. THE MEANING OF THE VERSE

“But the righteous will live by his faith.”

As I said, this verse is one of the most important verses in all of the word of God. It is quoted three different times in the New Testament:

— The Apostle Paul, clarifying to the Romans and Galatians how we are saved by faith alone, quoted this verse twice, in Romans 1:17 and in Galatians 3:11. 

— Then Hebrews, speaking to those who were enduring some difficult times, quotes it in 10:38 to remind them of how they were to persevere, and live by the faith that had saved them. 

Understanding this verse is crucial both for anyone seeking how to be saved, and for anyone who wants to successfully live the Christian life. So let’s look first at the meaning of the key words of this verse. It says: “The righteous will live by his faith.” 

— the “righteous” – this is an important word. To be “righteous” means to meet the demands of a relationship; to do everything you should in a relationship. To be “righteous” before God means to be right with Him; to stand in a good relationship with Him, and do everything you should before Him. But who can do that? How can we really be righteous before God? The rest of this verse tells us: 

— “will live”. The word “live” here doesn’t just mean life here on earth, but having eternal life. It is like when Romans 6:23 says: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal LIFE through Jesus Christ our Lord.” That’s not just talking about death and life, but eternal death, and eternal life. But again, HOW do you get this eternal life? The next words tell us:

— “by faith”. Faith is a confidence in God’s promises. This same Hebrew word is used in Genesis 15:6 of Abram, where it says that he “believed God.” “Faith” means to “believe, to put your trust in.” So we are made right with God, and we are to live as His followers, by FAITH. “The righteous will live by his faith.” 

— But there is one more very important word here. Sometimes “little words can make a big difference.” There is one of those; the word “HIS.” The righteous will live by HIS faith. That word emphasizes the personal nature of faith. In other words, it’s not just that you are part of a “group” that has faith in God; it is not that you are part of a “Christian nation” or a “Christian Church” or a “Christian Family” — YOU must have faith yourself. “The righteous will live by HIS faith.” If you’re going to be right with God, it will be because of YOUR own faith. If you are going to live for God in difficult days, you must have personal faith. The faith that saves you and the faith that sustains you in life, must be a personal faith. “The righteous will live by HIS OWN faith.” So one of the most important questions any of us needs to consider today is, do I personally have this faith? 

Understanding that, let’s look at two specific applications of this verse, one for salvation, and the other for living the Christian life in times of trial: 

II. Faith & Salvation: Justification by Faith

As we just saw, the same Bible word for “faith” that’s used in Habakkuk 2:4 is also used in Genesis 15:6. In the opening verses of that chapter, God told Abraham (whose name was Abram at the time) that although he was childless, he was going to have a son who would be his heir. God told Abram to go outside, and count the stars, if he could — and then He said “so shall your descendants be.” And in the very next verse, it says, “Then (Abram) believed in the Lord, and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” This is a great picture of salvation by faith. The Bible says that God “reckoned” or “counted” Abram as righteous — in other words, he was right with God, what we would call “saved.” But what did Abraham “do” to get this salvation? NOTHING! HE didn’t “do” a thing; all he did was believe in his heart and the moment he did, it was “reckoned”, counted to him as righteousness. 

This is exactly what happens with us in salvation too. You “do” anything to be saved; you don’t get baptized; you don’t walk down an aisle; you don’t join a church. It happens in your heart, the moment you believe in Jesus as your Lord & Savior. 

One of the greatest illustrations that is found in Numbers 21, when the people of Israel were in the wilderness, and they grumbled against God, and Moses. Verse 6 says that the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and many of them were bitten and died. In the next verse, the people came to Moses and apologized, saying, we have sinned against God and against you, please intercede for us; so Moses prayed to God for them. And God told Moses: take a bronze image of a serpent, and put it up on a pole, and He said, “everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, he shall live.” And Moses put a bronze image of a serpent on a pole, and everyone who believed that message, and looked at that serpent, lived. They didn’t “do” anything; they didn’t take any medicine; they didn’t go wash anywhere; they didn’t do any religious rituals. All they did was believe enough to look — and they would live! 

But that is not the end of the story. In John Chapter 3, Jesus is talking about salvation with Nicodemus, the teacher of Israel who’d come to him by night. In :14 Jesus made reference to the story we just shared from Numbers 21. He said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes may in Him have eternal life.” In other words, Jesus said, in the Old Testament, they put that image of the serpent up on a pole, that whoever just believed enough to look at it would be saved. And He said, in the same way, HE would be lifted up on a cross, dying for our sins that whoever believed in HIM would be saved. Just as it was in the days of Moses, it would be with Jesus. It’s not any great deeds that’ll save us; it’s just “look and live”! “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.” And it was then that Jesus shared that great :16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”  HOW are you saved? Just like in the days of Moses: BELIEVE! By faith look at what Jesus did on the cross and trust Him to save you, That is all there is to it! 

The great thing is, this can happen in your heart right now! You may be thinking: “You mean I don’t have to walk down the aisle? You mean I don’t have to be baptized? I don’t have to do a bunch of religious works and deeds; I don’t have to take Communion; I don’t have to give any money?” NO! You don’t even have to pray the exact words of a certain prayer. It is “look and live”! By faith, look to Jesus, who died on the cross for your sins. Put your trust in what He did for you. The MOMENT you believe in your heart, without “doing” anything else, you are saved! You may be being saved this very moment, as you believe in your heart! Salvation is entirely by faith. “The righteous shall live by his FAITH”! 

The moment you believe in your heart, you are saved. This is why the thief on the cross could be saved. He had NO opportunity to “do” anything to save himself: he had no time to do any religious works; he couldn’t get baptized; he couldn’t go to church, nothing! He was about to die!. But he just believed in his heart, and that moment Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, this day you shall be with Me in Paradise.” That thief “lived” by his faith; the instant he believed in his heart, he was saved. 

And you can be too. The moment you believe in your heart, you will be saved. This is why salvation is absolutely personal, because no one else can do that for you. No one else can believe in your heart for you. You have to believe for yourself. That is why the verse says, “The righteous shall live by HIS faith.” No one else’s faith or works can save you.

In Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, the central character, Pip, says of his sister, who was married to the kind blacksmith Joe Gargery, “My sister having so much to do, was going to church vicariously; that is to say, Joe and I were going”.  Dickens was speaking sarcastically, of course but what he describes is pretty much what some people really do try to do. Some men say, “Well, my wife takes care of the faith for both of us.” No sir, she can’t! You have to take care of your own faith. “The righteous will live by HIS faith.” Your wife’s faith can’t save you. Your parents’ faith can’t save you. Your grandma who loves you so much and wants you to be saved; her faith can’t save you. You must make your own decision. YOU YOURSELF must believe in your own heart. It is the only way you can be saved. “The righteous will live by HIS faith.” 

— This is why we can’t baptize babies like some denominations do, and hope they’ll be saved by our faith. There is NO example in the scripture of this kind of thing. It only says: “the righteous will live by HIS faith.” Each child must grow up and be saved by his or her own faith, no one else’s.

— This is why the Mormon practice of baptizing for the dead is a false doctrine. Baptizing someone in the name of a dead person can’t save them. “The righteous shall live by HIS faith.” 

This is one of THE single most important verses in all of the word of God, because it teaches us how to be saved: NOT by anything we can “do,” or by anything that anyone else can do for us. Each of us must put our own personal faith in what Jesus did for US on the cross. “The righteous shall live by His faith.” 

III. Faith & Trials

For this point I want us to think again about the historical context in which God gave these words to Habakkuk. The fierce Babylonian army was coming as the arm of God to judge Judah for their sins, and godly people, like Habakkuk, who was still faithful to the Lord, were about to endure that tribulation when it came. How could they survive those incredibly difficult days? This verse was given in that context: in those tough days that were coming, ”The righteous will live by his faith.” 

— even as they saw violence swallow up their country, they were to live by faith. 

— even if they personally suffered, they were to live by faith. 

— even when they couldn’t understand why God was doing what He did, they were to live by faith. 

So Habakkuk 2:4 was given not only to teach us how to live forever, but to teach us how to live NOW — how to live in times of difficulty and pain and trouble. How? ”The righteous will live by his faith.”

This is how believers persevere in troubled times: despite the hurt they feel, despite the pain they endure, despite the opposition they face, despite the pressure to compromise, despite all the evidence to the contrary, the person of faith continues to say: YET I WILL BELIEVE! “The righteous will live by his faith.” 

This attitude of faith under trial is what we see from oppressed saints of God all through His word: 

— In Psalm 22, David cried out: “my God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” He was crying from the depths of his suffering soul, such a suffering that Jesus Himself wouId quote those same words from the cross. But in the midst of that unparalleled suffering, He goes on in verse 3 to say: “YET You are holy….” and then in :9. “YET You are He who brought me forth from the womb …”. In the midst of his anguish, he says, “YET … YET I still look to You.” In his darkest hour, David still clung to his faith. 

— Job had that same commitment; in the depth of his trials, when he didn’t understand God, he cried out: “Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him” (Job 13:15) In the darkest hour of his despair, Job still “lived by his faith.” 

— I mentioned earlier that the Apostle Paul quoted Habakkuk 2:4 twice as he taught salvation by faith alone. The third quotation of this verse in the New Testament is in Hebrews 10:38, but it’s in a different context. There it speaks of how a believer’s faith must persevere in difficult times. Speaking to Christians, :36 says, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” 

Here Hebrews speaks about the importance of persevering in faith through trying times — and then it goes on in the next chapter in Hebrews 11 to say that some of people of faith experienced “mockings and scourgings, yes also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy ), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.” Hebrews say these people of faith endured the most difficult persecutions. How could they do it? How can WE? Chapter 12 gives us the answer: “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith”!

These verses tell us, when times get hard for the people of God, we must “fix our eyes on Jesus.” It is the same answer as it was for salvation, isn’t it? To be saved: look to Jesus. Believe in Him. It’s exactly the same in your most difficult hour: Look to Jesus. Keep your eyes fixed on Him. “The righteous will live (in his most trying hour) by his faith.”

And again, that must be PERSONAL faith. “The righteous will live by HIS faith.” In your most trying times, your faith gets very personal. No one else can believe for you. When you’re walking alone through the valley of the shadow of death, through the battles with your own personal giants in life, nobody else can believe for you. Some of you know by experience: faith gets real and personal in your most difficult hours: do you really believe, or do you not? You find out a lot about your faith in “the dark hours of your soul.”

One of the verses I love to share at the graveside of funeral services is John 11:24-25, when Martha’s brother Lazarus had died. Despite her request for Jesus to come and heal him before he died, Jesus did NOT come, and Lazarus died. When Jesus did finally arrive several days later, Martha went out to meet Him. She was hurt. She didn’t understand why He hadn’t answered her request; she didn’t know why, when He’d healed so many other people, even from long distances, He hadn’t healed her brother. She didn’t know why she had to experience this pain. It was in this context that Jesus spoke those famous words to her: “I am the resurrection and the life… he who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” Those are some of the most famous words in all Christendom. But many people don’t realize that is NOT the end of the verse. Then Jesus turned to Martha and said: “Do YOU believe this?” This was a crucial question. In the midst of her hurt and pair and confusion, she was faced with the promise Jesus gave her, of who He was, and what He would do. The question of her lifetime was in front of her: “Do YOU believe this?” And from her inmost being came her reply, “Yes, Lord, I have believed.” The Greek word here isn’t just the present tense “I believe”, but what’s called the Greek “perfect tense”, a past action that has present, abiding results:  “I have believed in the past, with the present, abiding, settled conviction that I now do believe.” Faith was a settled matter for Martha. She was going to believe no matter what: though her brother died, though Jesus didn’t come, though her prayers weren’t answered, though she didn’t understand, she is going to believe! And that’s just what Habakkuk 2:4 says: “The righteous will live by his faith”! 

That’s what people of God do, in their trials. When they’re hurt, when they’re sick, when their prayers aren’t answered, when the loved one is lost, when they don’t understand, when they’re in “the dark night of the soul,” the answer of the righteous is “YES Lord, I have believed!” I have looked to You for salvation, and now, in my most difficult hour, I look to You again. I may not understand everything, but the one thing I DO understand is that You are my God, and You are in charge; You have a plan, and You are my only hope! The banner that the righteous wave high in their times of trial is: “Yes, Lord, I believe!”

Maybe you’re in that kind of situation right now: you hurt, you fear, you don’t understand; you doubt. Maybe you find yourself saying with the boy’s father in Mark 9, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” Maybe you’re wrestling with everything. That’s ok; that’s what you do in your most difficult hours. Habakkuk did the same thing. We all do at times. I’ve been saying for the past weeks, that we as a nation may be about to enter into a time of God’s judgment. And just like in the days of Habakkuk, the people of God in our country may not necessarily be spared all of the suffering. Some of us may lose jobs, or homes, face persecution or suffer physically. Your prayers for deliverance and help may not be answered, because God may have other purposes that He’s working out in this world. But in your darkest hour, if you truly belong to God, there will be something inside of you that just says: though I don’t “like” this, though I don’t understand it, though I hurt so much, though my prayers aren’t answered; at the very core of your being:

— like Job your heart will whisper: “though He slay me, YET I will trust Him.”

— like David, in agony you’ll cry: “YET You are my God.”

— like Mary, you’ll stand and say, “YES Lord, I believe.”

In the darkest, most difficult hours they face, “the righteous will live by his faith.” 

INVITATION:

“The righteous will live by his faith.” How do you need to apply that in your life today?

— Are you one of those being refined in the “fire” of life’s circumstances right now, and your faith is being tested? Pray that prayer to the Lord right now: “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief”! Ask Him to help you hold on to your faith no matter how hard it is to believe. “Live by faith” in your circumstances today, just like this verse says.

— Maybe it’s not you, but somebody you know who’s having a hard time holding on to their faith in some tough circumstances right now. Pray for them during this time of invitation.

— Or maybe you’ve never really nailed down that YOU are saved by faith in Jesus alone. Maybe you’ve been like Martin Luther: trying to do enough, be good enough, but you can’t!  Today God’s saying to you: just trust what Jesus did; put your faith in HIM! “The righteous will live — be saved/go to heaven — by FAITH.  Put your faith in Jesus right now …