1. “THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY HIS FAITH” (HAB. 2:4) (By Ron Halbrook)

2. “THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY HIS FAITH” Intro. 1. Habakkuk Puzzled by the Ways of God  1:1-2 Not Understand God’s Patience  1:6,13 Not Understand God’s Action 2. Fellowship with God Based on Total Faith in God, Not Ability to Understand All His Ways  2:1-4 God Knew Babylon Wicked  2:19-20 God Would Punish in His Own Time 3. 3:17-19 Learned Total Faith in God 4. Jews Had to Learn This Faith—Hope of Savior 5. All Must Learn & Apply This Faith!

3. I. Faith in God’s Promise of the Savior A. True Faith: Obedience to God’s Word 1. Gen. 12:1-3 Some Jews Trusted in Lineage, Not Obey Christ 1. Gen. 12:1-3 Some Jews Trusted in Lineage, Not Obey Christ 2. Jn. 3 Jesus Taught Nicodemus: 2. Jn. 3 Jesus Taught Nicodemus:  Vv. 1-5 Enter God’s Kingdom by Spiritual Birth: Water Baptism & Message of Holy Spirit  Vs. 16 Faith Points to Obedience in Vs. 5  Vv. 31-36 United Message of Godhead: Faith (Obey) VS Disobey (Unbelief)

4. I. Faith in God’s Promise of the Savior 3. Joseph Henry Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Defines the Verb “To Believe” (PISTEUO): “To think to be true; to be persuaded of; to credit, place confidence in”—“used especially of the faith by which a man embraces Jesus, i.e. a conviction, full of joyful trust, that Jesus is the Messiah—the divinely appointed author of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God, conjoined with obedience to Christ”—Jn. 1:12; 3:16, 36; Mk. 16:16; thruout Romans as 1:16; 10:10

5. I. Faith in God’s Promise of the Savior B. Gospel Reveals God’s Plan of Salvation 1. Rom. 1:16-17 Believe Gospel=Saved, Live 2. Rom. 1:5; 10:16; 16:25-26 True, Saving, Comprehensive Faith Includes Obedience 3. Rom. 6:3-4, 16-18 Baptism: Act of Faith in Christ, Death of Old Man, Begin New Life 4. Hab. 2:4 “The Just Shall Live by His Faith”

6. I. Faith in God’s Promise of the Savior C. Faith in Gospel of Christ, Not Law of Moses 1. Gal. 3:8-11 Abraham Believed Promise  Vs. 10 Curse of Law: No Perfect Sacrifice  Vv. 24-27 Obedient Faith in Christ, Not Moses 2. Hab. 2:4 “The Just Shall Live by His Faith” D. Faith Steadfast to the End 1. Heb. 10:36-39 Patient Faith Rewarded 2. Hab. 2:4 “The Just Shall Live by His Faith”

7. I. Faith in God’s Promise of the Savior E. Faith Stays with Truth, No Compromise 1. 2 Cor. 5:7 Not Understand Why God Revealed Some Things, But Trust Him 2. Rom. 3:4 Not Shaken If Prominent Men Waver 3. 2 Tim. 2:14-19 Some Snared by “Words to No Profit,” Some Stand for Truth, Some Embrace False Doctrine 4. Scruples & Judgments Test Faith, False Doctrines Test Faith

8. II. Faith in God’s Rule Over Nations A. True Faith Includes Faith in God’s Rule B. Acts 17:26-27 God Rules So That Men Can Find Him C. Prov. 14:34 God Takes Account of Sin D. Jer. 25:31; Rom. 13:1-4 God Restrains Evil & Protects the Good E. Dan. 4:25 Raises Up, Brings Down Nations F. 1 Tim. 2:1-4 Advance Cause of Truth G. Hab. 2:20; 3:17-19 Trust God’s Perfect Rule H. Hab. 2:4 “The Just Shall Live by His Faith”

9. III. Faith in God’s Care as We Face Personal Needs & Trials A. The Lord Was with Joseph in Many Trials 1. Gen. 37:22 God Delivered Him from Death 1. Gen. 37:22 God Delivered Him from Death 2. Gen. 39:1-2 God Blessed Him Under Potiphar 2. Gen. 39:1-2 God Blessed Him Under Potiphar 3. Gen. 39:20-21 God Blessed Him in Prison 3. Gen. 39:20-21 God Blessed Him in Prison 4. Gen. 50:19-20 Joseph Trusted in God, Then Understood Better Later in Life 4. Gen. 50:19-20 Joseph Trusted in God, Then Understood Better Later in Life

10. III. Faith in God’s Care as We Face Personal Needs & Trials B. Matt. 6:24-34 God Provides Our Daily Needs 1. Great Fear & Anxiety=Little Faith C. 2 Cor. 12:7-10 Grace of Christ Sustained Paul as Struggled with a Thorn 1. God Greater than All Our Thorns 2. Faith Looks at Problems thru God 3. Total Trust: God Knows Our Problems, Does What is Best 4. Hab. 2:4 “The Just Shall Live by His Faith”

11. THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY HIS FAITH Christ Invites the Weary Sinner: 1.To the Fallen Christian: “Confess your faults one to another” (Ja. 5:16). 2.To the Sinner in the World: “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:5).