DO YOU LIVE “BY FAITH”? – Introduction to Lesson 1 – January 12 – 19

Would you agree that all of us live most of our life “by faith”?  We trust that the lights will go on when we turn on the switch.  We assume that our water will be safe to drink today just as it was yesterday.  We expect that our good friends will answer our questions truthfully.  We have a set of assumptions and beliefs that help to guide our thinking and affect our choices and actions throughout each day.  Yet, we have to acknowledge that while it seems logical and experientially sound to put our confidence in what we know in this world to be true and to put our trust in people who have earned that kind of respect, we all know that there is frailty and weakness, disappointment and unfaithfulness everywhere.  There are no guarantees that are totally trustworthy and the future cannot accurately be predicted.

There is, however, a person in whom we can have absolute confidence.  In whom we can put our total trust.  When we choose to take the Lord Jesus Christ at His Word we do not need to have any doubts that He will disappoint us or change His mind because He is not only the Son of Man but He is the Son of God.  When Paul wrote his letter to the Roman believers, whom he had never met, he wanted them to understand exactly why he was so excited about sharing the Gospel with them and with people everywhere.   He wanted them to know that by God’s grace they could absolutely count on God not only for their salvation but also for the power to live out their lives with His strength.

Do you want to live a life of faith and to experience all the joy and contentment that God has prepared for you?  That’s exactly why Paul wrote the letter to the new believers in Rome. who “knew God’s love and were called to be saints”.  He wanted them to understand that “The righteous will live by faith – from first to last.”   That’s exactly why we have this letter in our Bibles today.  You’re invited to read it and to study it with us in the coming weeks.  Are you willing to join us on this adventure? 

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