During this time of Busyness, don’t neglect to pause and consider just Whose Birthday this is!
Merry Christ from WOGF a DBA of BRBC 🙂
Month: December 2024
Last Sunday we were talking about Faith in the light of catastrophe: “Though the fig trees should not blossom…” But time got away and we didn’t talk as much about just everyday living by faith as I had intended. This “got questions” article is a good thought provoker in that direction! – Pastor Scott
What does it mean to walk by faith and not by sight? (2 Corinthians 5:7)
Second Corinthians 5:6–7 says, “So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight” (ESV, emphasis added). Other versions use the word live, rather than walk. The “walk” here is a metaphorical reference to the way a person conducts his or her life. We still use the phrase “all walks of life” to mean a variety of lifestyles or cultures.
The apostle Paul reminds his readers that followers of Christ must not build their lives around things that have no eternal significance. Rather than pursuing the same things the world pursues, a Christian should focus on the unseen realities such as Jesus and heaven. Paul goes on to say, “So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:9–10). Jesus instructed us to store up treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19–20; Luke 12:33). He promised rewards to everyone who does His will (Matthew 16:27; 1 Peter 1:17; Revelation 22:12) and punishment for those who reject Him (Matthew 25:24–46; John 3:16–18).
Walking by faith means living life in light of eternal consequences. To walk by faith is to fear God more than man; to obey the Bible even when it conflicts with man’s commands; to choose righteousness over sin, no matter what the cost; to trust God in every circumstance; and to believe God rewards those who seek Him, regardless of who says otherwise (Hebrews 11:6).
Rather than loving the things of this world (1 John 2:15–16), Christians should spend their lives glorifying God in everything they do (1 Corinthians 10:31). It requires faith to live this way because we cannot see, hear, or touch anything spiritual. When we base our lives on the truth of God’s Word, rather than on the popular philosophy of our day, we are going against our natural inclinations. Our natural instinct may be to hoard money, but walking by faith says we should give to those in need (Luke 11:41; Ephesians 4:28). Society may say that sexual immorality is acceptable, but those who walk by faith base their standards on God’s unchanging Word, which says any sex outside of marriage is sin (1 Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 5:3; Galatians 5:19). To walk by faith requires that we tune our hearts to the voice of the Holy Spirit and the truth of His Word (John 10:27; 16:13). We choose to live according to what God reveals to us, rather than trust our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5–6).
On Sunday December 1, I (Pastor Scott) preached on the book of Hosea. As you may remember, God asked Hosea to marry a woman who would go on to cheat on him, thus allowing God’s prophet to experience adultery in his marital relationship just as God was experiencing in His relationship with Israel.
Hosea also went and bought her back after she had run off “for good;” illustrating God’s covenant-keeping love which is the point of the book. That said, there was another application I had wanted to stress and did not:
The command that Gomer repeatedly broke was “thou shalt not commit adultery.” Jesus famously said in the Sermon on the Mount that we can break that command in our minds, which lines up nicely with the tenth commandment – “Thou shalt not covet”.
Maybe we all listened to the message on Hosea and thought, “Nope, I’m not cheating on God!” I’m not “doing” anything that would constitute spiritual adultery! It’s not like daydreaming about a bigger house, younger wife or a faster car is really a sin! Or is it?
Aspirations for which we can work are excellent! (1 Timothy 3:1; Colossians 3:22-25); lustful discontent leads to sin; always (James 1:12-18; cf. Hebrews 13:5-6).
If putting other passions on the throne of our life is akin to adultery against our Lord and Savior, then daydreaming about different circumstances is akin to ungratefulness for the very gifts our Lord and Savior has bestowed!
Just a thought,
Pastor Scott
Grace Notes 