Because the world is near to us, and dear to us, and seemingly at times effective,

we are tempted to put our trust in what man says.

God says that just shall live by faith.

Where do you get faith?

How can you grow in your faith?

The proud one who stands in rebellion and in defiance and in arrogance over against God,

his soul is not right within him.

But says God, the just shall live by faith.

Where have you heard that before?

Did you hear it thundering from the pulpit in Vittenburg?

Did you hear it coming from the writer of the book of Hebrews?

Do you hear it twice from the pen of the Apostle Paul, as he unravels for us the mystery of our own justification in the New Testament?

That which is the thematic statement of the entire Epistle to Romans is called forth from this seemingly obscure, relatively unimportant, small minor prophet of the Old Testament.

In the midst of the blackest hour of Jewish history, God says to his people,

the just shall live by faith.

What does he mean?

Close your eyes, take a deep breath, take a leap of faith, and jump into the dark and maybe Yahweh will catch you or Jesus.

That's not what he's talking about when he says the just shall live by faith.

To live by faith means to live by trusting God.

And that means to your friends by trusting what God says.

That is not intellectual suicide. It's the most intelligent thing you can ever do.

But see, we are so foolish, so stupid as to assume that when there's a difference of an opinion in our midst, God says one thing and the whole world says another,

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