Living By Faith

Sermon Transcript:

(transcribed with AI)

Promontory Community Church exists to make disciples of Jesus who know, live, and share the gospel for the glory of God.

Well, good morning everyone. It is good to be here with you all. We are going to be continuing a series we began last week, so if you have a Bible with you, let me invite you to find your way to the Book of Habakkuk. As you find your way there, I want to tell you about what is perhaps one of the worst ad campaigns in history.

In the 1970s and the 1980s, there was a company that was making baby formula and they decided it would be a good idea to try and market into developing countries. What they did is they sent people in to give away free samples. In one sense that all sounds good, there's no real problem with that. However, there were quite a few massive problems with what they were doing. In fact, their marketing was seemingly aimed to provide a free sample long enough so that mothers would actually stop lactating and therefore be dependent on their formula that maybe they could afford, but often they could not. It also became quite problematic for another even more serious reason — the formula was often marketed in areas where access to clean water was not available, and so it would be mixed with water that had contaminants and actually became a huge problem as children were getting sick and even dying.

As word began to get out about what was actually going on in these countries, people started to get very upset. Not surprisingly, they started boycotting and protesting this company, and so finally they were actually brought to a lawsuit. The US government sued this company and it was ordered by a judge that they would have to pay a fine in the amount of $400. In terms of a slap on the wrist, I'm not even sure they made contact. It was so paltry after what had happened that most people were still furious. In fact, the protests and boycotts did far more damage to that company than any ruling or court case that could be brought against them.

Now I bring that up not because this is isolated. In fact, we could go back through history and find countless examples of exactly the same thing happening over and over again — some company does something horrible and seemingly gets away with it. There's no real justice done. You read this over and over again, even in our day. How many scandals have you heard where it seems like absolutely nothing is happening, and you just turn away frustrated. Is there no justice? God, don't you care?

As we open our Bibles this morning, that's exactly what we are reading. If you were with us last week, you'll remember we began this book, which is really just a record of a conversation between the prophet Habakkuk and God. Last week we saw Habakkuk began by complaining to God — God, there is so much evil going on around me. In his own country, Judah, at the time, there's so much evil. God, aren't you going to do anything? And God actually responds. He says, Habakkuk, I am going to do something. In fact, I'm already doing it. I've been raising up the Babylonians. They're going to come and wipe you out.

So now Habakkuk, having heard that, is going, now I have a new question, God. Are they just gonna get away with it? Because it seems like that continually happens, so what is going on? This morning we're going to work through this passage — not only Habakkuk's complaint, but also God's answer. What is going on around us?

So if you found your way to the book of Habakkuk, let me invite you to follow along with me in chapter one, starting in verse 12. It's our tradition here to stand as we read God's word. If you're able to, would you stand with me?

Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die, O Lord. You have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong — why do you idly look at traitors, remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He brings them up with a hook and drags them out with his net. He gathers them in his dragnet so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore, he sacrifices to his nets and makes offering to his dragnet, for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?

I will take up my stand at my watch post and station myself on the tower and look out to see what he will say to me and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

The Lord answered me: Write the vision. Make it plain on tablets so he may run who reads it, for still the vision awaits its appointed time. It hastens to its end. It will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay. Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.

You may be seated.

This morning we are looking at the second of Habakkuk's complaints to God, and we're going to look at just the beginning of God's answer. We'll pick it up again next week to get the full answer. We remember last week Habakkuk is complaining — God, so much evil around, aren't you going to do something? And God says yes. In fact, I'm doing more than you can imagine about this problem. God says, I am raising up the Babylonians, and they are going to come and wipe you out.

That's God's answer. But Habakkuk then is responding and says, but God — they're worse than we are. You're sending Babylon? Babylon is awful. Yeah, I know it's bad here, but they're even worse. God, what are you doing here? You're allowing the more wicked nation to live. And what we find is God's ultimate answer is, well, actually, those who live will be those who have faith. Faith is ultimately what will save.

In this passage, we're going to see Habakkuk's faith on display very clearly, even as he is questioning God about what he is doing. I want us to see Habakkuk's example of faith even in his questioning of God, and the confidence he has that ultimately God will do what is right.

Let's start back in verse 12 — this is Habakkuk's confidence in God. God has just said judgment is coming. Habakkuk responds:

Are you not from everlasting, O Lord, my God, my holy one?

Now this is a rhetorical question — we're meant to answer yes. God is eternal, he is everlasting. He knows the end from the beginning, and so Habakkuk therefore says, we shall not die. That seems like it comes kind of out of nowhere. God has just said an army is going to come down against you. In fact, Habakkuk recognizes that — he says, O Lord, you have ordained them, the Babylonians, as a judgment. And you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. They are for correcting and judging us. Habakkuk recognizes that.

Maybe we need to stop and say, OK, Habakkuk, what are you talking about? It seems like he has almost three entirely separate, unrelated ideas here — God is eternal, we're not gonna die, Babylon's coming. But let me suggest this is actually Habakkuk processing through what God has just told him. He's verbally processing for us everything that he is thinking.

He begins with what he knows of God. Here's his beginning point: God is eternal. He has always existed, in fact he always will exist. God knows everything that is going to happen — he knows what the end is going to be like right from the beginning. So Habakkuk says, well, if that is true of God, it is. That means that when God gave us promises, he knew this day was going to come. Because actually God had given them quite a lot of promises. God made a promise to David — David, one of your offspring is going to sit on the throne as a king forever. Or all the way back to Abraham — Abraham, one of your children is going to bring a blessing for the entire world. So if God knew about this judgment that was coming when he made those promises, Habakkuk rightly concludes: we will not die. As in, we're not going to be entirely wiped out. Yes, a judgment is coming — he's very clear, I understand — but God is not going to go back on his promises. We shall not die.

Added to that is that Habakkuk recognizes it's God who is in control of all the nations. God has ordained them as a judgment, meaning the Babylonians, as awful as they are, they're not outside of God's control. He will allow them to go as far as God deems necessary and no further. In fact, maybe he's even thinking back to Isaiah and what happened with the nation of Assyria. Assyria came and attacked them, and as soon as God said that's enough, God turned them back.

As Habakkuk is processing through this news, he starts with what he knows of God, the promises that God has made, and his sovereignty over all things — therefore, we're not going to die.

Let me suggest this is how we ought to approach things in our own life. Whenever you turn on the news, you hear this cacophony of horrific events that have happened in the last 24 hours. Instead of either just ignoring them or becoming overly depressed, we should actually begin to process things the way Habakkuk does. Begin with what we know of God. He is eternal, he is good, gracious, merciful, loving. Remind yourself of who God is and that his promises are still good. God has promised not to abandon us. He has promised not to leave us, that in Jesus we are secure, that God dwells in our hearts through faith, that he cares for us. All of those things are still true.

In fact, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians:

For all the promises of God find their yes in Him — that is Jesus. That is why through him we utter our amen to God for His glory.

In Jesus, all of God's promises are true, and so we can trust in all of the promises that we have in Jesus. Every once in a while, some news comes out that seems to threaten the church, and people will come and say, are you worried about this? My answer is, well, no, not really. Because Jesus promised that the gates of hell itself will not prevail against the church, so the church is just fine. We have a promise from Jesus that it will continue.

Remind yourself of what you know of God, remind yourself of his promises, and remind yourself that God is the one in control. We so often see just chaos going on around us, but ultimately God is the one in control. In fact, God has given us these promises, these reminders, so that we would actually have assurance. Hebrews chapter 6:

We desire each one of you to show the same earnestness and have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

God has given us promises so that we might actually have hope, that we could have an assurance that God is the one in control, and so that we can imitate the faith of those who've gone before us. Habakkuk shows us such an excellent example of what it looks like to trust in God even as it seems like the world is in chaos, even patiently waiting for God.

If you jump down to the end of Habakkuk's speech in chapter 2, verse 1, he says:

I will take my stand at my watch post, station myself on the tower — like a soldier going up onto the battlements — and I will look out to see what God will say to me and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

Habakkuk is waiting not only for God's answer, but then he goes, I'm curious to see what I'm going to say after I hear it. We're so used to the instant gratification of our day that we forget that actually learning to wait patiently on God is a good thing. James reminds us:

Be patient therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.

We're going to get to God's response in just a moment, and he's going to remind Habakkuk that it's not that he has forgotten or is slow. We can trust in him and the call is to wait patiently for God. Habakkuk is this great example of what it looks like to be confident in God — reminding himself of God's character, his promises, his sovereignty — even as he still has questions.

Despite having this confidence in God, Habakkuk is still wrestling with God and saying, but I don't understand what's going on. As we continue on, we see that is exactly what Habakkuk does. He begins to question God. Look back with me at verse 13:

You, God, who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong — why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?

Here is his next complaint. God, his first complaint was that God wasn't doing anything. Now God is doing too much, and he's asking, but are they just gonna get away with it? Why are you using the Babylonians? Once again he starts with what he knows of God — that God is pure. He is holy. God is holy and separated from all evil and all wrong. In fact, I'm sure he's even thinking back to the stories of Exodus as the people are traveling with God. They can't even go near God — he is so holy. When they come to the mountain to meet with God, only Moses is even able to get up there. The priests can maybe get a little bit closer, but no one else. It's hard to approach a holy God as a sinful people.

So he is looking and saying, God, if you are so holy, why are you allowing this evil? Why are you using these awful people? Yeah, there's a lot of problems in Judah, but Babylon is worse. In fact, he says, you're letting them get away with it. Verse 14:

You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler.

Habakkuk is saying, God, you're almost treating us like animals — just letting us get taken away, not watching over us, but letting us literally get fished out of the sea. He keeps going with his metaphor. Verse 15:

He brings all of them up with a hook and drags them out with his net and gathers them in his dragnet so that he rejoices and is glad.

God, you're allowing the Babylonians to treat us like fish. They're just going fishing and hauling in nations and people groups and everything else, and they are enjoying it. Not only are they enjoying it, they're getting rich off of it. Verse 16:

Therefore he sacrifices to his net, makes an offering to his dragnet, for by them he lives in luxury and his food is rich.

They're treating us like animals. They are worshiping their own accomplishments, and they are living in luxury at our expense. How many times have you heard things like this happen? You can go back in history and see entire empires doing exactly what the Babylonians are doing — just conquering all over the world and enriching themselves more and more as they conquer. We see it in terms of massive companies and CEOs who just lay off thousands of employees only to give themselves a raise. We see it even in police seeming to get away with things and not be held accountable. Even in our own personal relationships, we see people treat us terribly and then get away with it.

Habakkuk is going, God, are you just gonna let this happen? In fact, Jeremiah the prophet — he's living at the same time as Habakkuk — he's actually complaining almost in the same way:

Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you. Yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? And why do all who are treacherous thrive?

How are they getting away with this — and not even just getting away with it, they're thriving. Verse 17 in our passage:

Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?

Is this just gonna keep on happening? Same thing over and over — this is just the way things are now, the wicked get away with it and the righteous are suffering. God, how is that fair?

Once again, we need to recognize that it's actually good to bring this to God. In fact, we're invited — come to God with our prayers, bring these things. It is Habakkuk's faith in God that calls him to prayer, and even to wait for God's answer. Habakkuk's questioning God for a reason. God has promised to deal with and judge sin, but Habakkuk just keeps watching the wicked get away with it. God, are you gonna do anything?

So God now responds to him. This is the part I love about this book — God is going to respond back to Habakkuk's questions. Once again, God is going to show Habakkuk that he hasn't actually seen the whole picture — that the righteous will be saved by faith, they will live by faith. Look back at verse 2:

And the Lord answered me: Write the vision, make it plain on tablets so that he may run who reads it.

God says, I want everyone to hear my answer. You're gonna write it on a tablet, you're gonna make sure everyone can see what I have said, so that they can even respond. He says so that they may run — the message of judgment is, you should run. Verse 3:

For still the vision awaits its appointed time. It hastens to its end. It will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it. It will surely come. It will not delay.

God actually tells Habakkuk, just because you don't see something happening right now doesn't mean it will not happen. We're so focused on immediate gratification or the immediate effects of our actions that we so often forget that actually greater things are yet to come. Just because something is happening now does not mean it will stay that way forever. Habakkuk wrongly assumes the wicked are always going to get away with it, and God's answer is actually no. They will not ultimately get away with it. In fact, God's judgment against sin is going to come. It will come exactly when God appoints it to happen — not a moment before or a moment late.

And so in verse 4, God begins to answer him more directly:

Behold, his soul is puffed up. It is not upright within him. But the righteous shall live by his faith.

God actually does recognize the wickedness of Babylon. He knows exactly how evil they are — in fact, far more than Habakkuk recognizes, God knows the Babylonians are wicked. The first half of God's answer is, well, they're not going to get away with it. Babylon's not going to simply get away with all that they are doing. God will hold them accountable. We'll see that more next week.

But it's the second part of this verse I want us to focus on: but the righteous shall live by his faith. I'm going to argue this is the most important verse in this entire book. If you want to understand anything else that is going on, we need to understand this verse. This is God's response to Habakkuk's complaint. Here is God's response to the problem of evil.

Habakkuk has been complaining — they're all getting away with it — and God's answer is no. Actually the only ones who will ultimately live are those who have faith. God's answer is they're not escaping it. They're not getting away with it. In fact, the only ones who will escape are those who have faith. While it seems as though there is no hope, God is very clear: there is an incredible amount of hope. Those who are rescued from the judgment against sin are those who place their faith in God.

That might sound almost a little strange to you. You might say, well, that sounds like something God would say in the New Testament, not the Old Testament. Because we sometimes get this weird dichotomy between the Old Testament and the New — that in the Old Testament, people had to do the law, they had to do the sacrifices, they had to do all these different things to be saved, whereas in the New Testament, God kind of changes his mind, says, yeah, that was too hard, nobody can do that, let's try faith now.

Actually, what God is showing us here is no — that was always the plan. People are saved by faith. In fact, notice the wording of what he says: the righteous will be saved by their faith — meaning it's not simply that those who are good enough can work and do enough good things in order to save themselves. No, that's never going to happen. God doesn't say if you try really hard to be a good person, you will be saved. We need to remember that because so often we can assume, well, I'm a good person, I'm pretty sure I'll make it into heaven. No one was ever saved that way. We vastly overestimate how good we are and we vastly underestimate how sinful we are. The only way that anyone will be saved is by faith. That was true in the Old Testament. It's true in the New Testament.

In fact, this is why Paul is going to pick up this very verse as he begins to write the book of Romans. Romans 1:16–17, which is really his thesis statement for the whole book:

For 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. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith.

Paul here is quoting exactly what we've just read. He's quoting Habakkuk because in the New Testament they are really just applying what God had already taught them, now in Jesus. Salvation is by faith, and now in Jesus we can see the reason why.

Why is it that faith would save us from God's judgment? Imagine for a moment you get pulled over for a speeding ticket, and in this scenario you end up going to court for it. You stand in front of the judge and the judge says, well, we have you very clearly — you did break the law, you broke the speed limit, and now you have to pay, let's say, a $500 fine. And you say to the judge, well, hold on — I have faith. What's that judge gonna say? That really doesn't matter in this situation at all. Why would that help you? Sometimes we think that if we just have faith, if we're just spiritual people, maybe that's really what God wants — maybe he's so impressed by our spirituality that that would be what he is looking for. No. It doesn't do anything. You need faith in something, in someone.

So you stand in front of the judge and you say, well, I have faith in my friend Joe. OK, well, what's Joe gonna do? That doesn't mean anything unless Joe is willing to come and actually pay that fine. All of your faith in him means nothing unless he acts. And therein lies the point. It's not simply that God has said salvation is by faith because you just need to be a very good spiritual person. No, it's faith in Jesus that actually saves because Jesus is the one who actually went to that court and paid that fine in our place — not for a speeding fine, but actually for our sin. Jesus went to the cross to pay the punishment for our sin so that when it comes to the judgment of God against sin, our faith is trust that Jesus has paid it in our place.

That is why salvation is by faith and by faith alone — because it is only what Jesus has done that will save us. It's not our ability to work and get everything right in our lives. It is because Jesus has done all that work in our place. Our faith in Christ is what saves because Jesus has already accomplished our salvation. We are saved by faith in Jesus alone. And it's not our faith plus a bunch of other things, but faith alone.

In fact, Galatians 3, Paul writes:

Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for the righteous shall live by faith.

Again, he's quoting here from Habakkuk to show that it's not about what we can do that will make us right before God, but that we are justified — literally declared righteous — by faith. So not only are we saved by faith in Jesus, but it's by our faith that we are now declared righteous.

While Habakkuk doesn't necessarily clarify this exactly for us, we see it more clearly in the New Testament — those who are saved are the righteous who have faith, and it is those who have faith that are made righteous. And let me suggest this is the best news for us. If salvation is by faith, it means no one is excluded on the basis of what you've done, who you are, your background, or anything else. If salvation is by faith, it is open to all who would believe. In fact, Paul says this in Romans 3:

For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the Gentiles also? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since God is one who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

It is faith in Jesus that makes us right before God — not our lineage, not our works. There is one way of salvation. It is through faith in Jesus, open to all who would believe. And that means if we are saved by faith alone, no one can claim that they have earned it. And actually it means our salvation is secure. Romans 4, Paul goes on:

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring — not only to the inheritor of the law, but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, the father of us all.

Just as Abraham is declared righteous by God through faith, so is everyone else declared righteous by faith in Jesus. That means our salvation is all a gift. It is grace. It is God's mercy. It is his love being poured out on us. That means that we are saved not because we have done enough good, but because God is so good. And secondly, it means our salvation is secure — it's not based on what we have done, but on what Jesus has done.

So that was a lot of theology. Let me be a bit more practical. God's answer to the complaint that people are getting away with evil is — well, actually they won't. In fact, there is only one way to escape the judgment of sin, and it is through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Therefore, we are called to trust in him, rest in him, and share this good news.

We are actually called to trust in Jesus. It's not simply enough to know facts or information, any more than it helps you to drive your car when you just know where your keys are. That's a helpful piece of information, but unless you actually go get the keys, you're not going anywhere. You can know all about what Jesus has done, you can know all the facts, but unless you actually trust in him and place your faith in him, none of it will matter. The call is to place your trust in Jesus because he and he alone can deal with our sin before God.

It means if salvation is by faith in Jesus, it is open for everyone. I don't know what brought all of us here today. I don't know how or why God has been working in your life, but please know that this offer of salvation is open to you. If God is speaking in your heart, I want to invite you — place your trust in him. Come talk to me, come talk with one of the prayer team afterwards, we'd love to help you take that step.

And for those of you who have trusted in Jesus, rest in him. If we are saved by faith and faith alone, it means God is not up in heaven with a clipboard counting all of our works. Our full salvation has been accomplished by Jesus — that is the only thing that counts. It means we can rest. God has given us so much to do to serve him, but it's not to earn our place before him — it is to enjoy his presence and participate in his kingdom. We can rest because our salvation is by faith.

And thirdly, we can share this good news. What God has required is that we would trust in Jesus, and that means no one is excluded. Your neighbor, your friends, your coworkers, your family — God has placed you there so that you could be a witness to this good news of Jesus. The person you meet on the bus, walking in the park, or in line at the grocery store — they're not excluded. We have an unlimited opportunity to speak this good news to those around us. I don't care if it's the drug dealer on the corner or the guy sitting in a jail cell — no one is excluded because we are saved by faith.

God in his mercy, grace, and love has provided a means of salvation that is open to all who would believe. So let us be bold and courageous to share this good news. Yeah, it's scary — I feel it too. But let's be courageous in sharing what Jesus has done in a world that is overwhelmingly full of bad news. We have the greatest news in the world. Not only is there true justice that God will bring, but there is salvation for everyone who believes.

Salvation is by faith. While we sit in a world that is full of evil, we are to remember God has provided a way in which redemption is possible. Evil does not have the last say. This cycle will not continue forever, but one day God will reconcile all things, and it is on that day that we have this incredible hope in Jesus Christ for all who would believe. Let us patiently wait for God's timing, trusting in him. As we see the chaos of our world, God has not let go. While we may still have questions about how things unfold, we can trust in his mercy and grace that God has given to us in Jesus Christ.

Let's pray together. Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for the good news of Jesus Christ. Thank you that it is not up to us to earn our way, to try and strive and in our own efforts live as a perfect person. Father, we cannot do it. But what we have failed to do, Jesus has accomplished in our place. Thank you for this good news of Jesus. Thank you for the hope that we have of forgiveness, of redemption, that we can be with you. Thank you that it is not up to our efforts, but it is completely by your grace that we are saved. Father, may we praise you. May we respond in gladness, in joy, sharing what you have done as we rest in the promise of Jesus Christ. We ask all this in your name. Amen.