Faith Believes and Trusts God

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