My Faith For All To See (August 10, 2025)

We are living in a time of Consumeristic Christianity. This is defined as “a perspective where faith is approached as a consumer good, with individuals selecting churches and religious practices based on personal preferences and perceived benefits, rather than a commitment to a broader spiritual community or mission. This viewpoint often prioritizes personal needs and desires, viewing God as a resource to fulfill those needs.”

Psalm 40:10 ~ “10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.”

When God’s Word is in our hearts, we cannot help but declare it to the world. David joyfully proclaimed God’s righteousness and the good news of His salvation to the entire congregation of Israel. Great congregation refers to the largest assemblies of Israelites, those who gathered at Jerusalem for the celebration of the feasts.

Here also, David foreshadowed the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not keep God’s righteousness hidden in His heart, but freely preached it throughout His earthly ministry. With great power, Jesus proclaimed God’s faithfulness, salvation, lovingkindness (steadfast, covenant love), and truth.

GOD’S RIGHTEOUSNESS PROCLAIMED

Romans 1:17 ~ “17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.””

Paul is not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the revelation of God’s righteousness.

• Man has a serious problem – that of thinking he is righteous. The problem is easily seen by picturing the following:
  • Man thinks that he is good enough and that he does enough good to be acceptable to God.
  • Man thinks he is righteous and that he walks righteously enough to be acceptable to God.

• However, there is one problem with man’s thinking: man is not perfect. But God is perfect, and He is perfectly righteous. Therefore, He cannot allow an unrighteous and imperfect being to live in His presence, not even man. Man just cannot live with God, not in his imperfect and unrighteous condition. He would pollute the perfect world of God, the very ground, atmosphere, and nature of heaven, the entire spiritual world and dimension.

• The only way man can live with God is to be made righteous, perfectly righteous. How can man be made perfectly righteous? The gospel gives the answer. The gospel is the revelation of God’s righteousness and reveals how man can be made righteous and reconciled to God.

• The answer to man’s problem is faith. When a person believes the gospel—really believes that Christ saves him—God takes that person’s faith and counts it for righteousness. The person is not righteous; he is still imperfect, still corruptible, and still short of God’s glory as a sinful human being. But he does believe that Jesus Christ saves him. Such belief honors God’s Son, and because of that, God accepts and counts that person’s faith as righteousness. Therefore, he becomes acceptable to God. This is justification; this is what is meant by being justified before God.

• But note a most critical point: a person must continue to believe. A person must continue to live by faith from the very first moment of belief to the last moment of life on this earth, for it is his faith that God takes and counts as righteousness.

• What is meant by the two statements …
  • “faith to faith,”
  • and, “the just shall live by faith”?

• Very simply, the whole life of the believer is to be a life of faith, from beginning faith to ending faith, from faith to faith. Therefore, the righteousness of God is revealed continuously through all of life, from the beginning of a person’s faith to the ending of a person’s faith.

GOD’S SALVATION DECLARED

Acts 28:28 ~ “28 Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.””

GOD’S LOVING-KINDNESS MANIFESTED

Isaiah 63:7 ~ “7 I will recount the steadfast love of the Lord, the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel that he has granted them according to his compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.”

• Faith receives God’s righteousness.

Romans 1:16 ~ “16 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.”

• Confession is made of His salvation.

Romans 10:9 ~ “9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

• Testimony is given of His kindness.

Titus 3:4 ~ “4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,”