Faith Believes and Trusts God
Minister: |
Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: |
9/11/2016 PM
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Text:
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Habakkuk 2:4-20
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Psalters: |
48, 115, 147, 403 |
- Faith knows God is.
- It is “faith” which holds God’s Word to be true resting on the bond which unites one to Christ.
- Faith believes that “God is in His holy temple” (20).
- Faith sees God’s names and attributes as describing His relationship to His chosen and undeserving people (1:12).
- Habakkuk had asked “Why is God going to use the extremely wicked Chaldeans to punish Judah?” (1:12 – 2:3)
- Faith’s knowledge enables us to wait on and for Jehovah (2:1).
- And God tells Habakkuk to write the vision in very large letters what God will do.
- Faith knows what God promises to do.
- Faith also knows that there is an appointed time (2:3) when the wicked will perish under God’s five woes (6,9,12,15,19).
- God will use the Chaldeans even as they fill up the cup of iniquity.
- God promises a woeful punishment which would bring them to a certain end.
- And faith knows that the glory of Jehovah will fill the earth (new earth and heaven) (14).
- This speaks of time when Satan is no longer able to deceive the Gentiles and the gospel goes into all the earth.
- And this speaks of the ultimate triumph of God in the new heavens and earth.
- Two clear implications.
- Verse 4b is quoted three times in the New Testament.
- The text is quoted to prove that salvation is by faith alone, without works (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11).
- And it is quoted to prove that faith responds to present afflictions by looking ahead to the promised reward (Hebrews 10:38).
- Notice that faith is contrasted with being “lifted up” (4), i.e., with pride, implying that faith is humble.