Short Thoughts for Today

Hebrews 11:6 will be the passage of scripture for today's short thoughts. It is here where the Hebrew author writes as follows; "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." Throughout scripture we find instances where specific word meanings are necessary to rightly understand a particular passage. In the present case, I doubt that one would need to explore the Greek or Hebrew language to understand the truth of the passage.

"Without faith it is impossible to please Him" declares the Lord through the Hebrew writer. The word of God establishes this as both a positional and experiential truth for the believer in Christ. Positionally and once for all time I have been found pleasing to the Father as He has clothed me in the righteousness of His Son Jesus by grace and through faith for salvation. As Peter spoke of Christ to the religious leaders in Jerusalem; "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved"

We are often prone to make the same mistake as the Galatian believers, having begun in the Spirit through faith and then taking on the task of being perfected by the flesh. But "without faith it is impossible to please Him" the scripture echos. At the time of our salvation we "obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand." We may continue to live by faith as there is more grace! Salvation itself was only our introduction to it. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians, "Therefore as you have receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him". By faith we received Him and by faith we are to walk in Him.

Through Paul's letter to the Galatians, the Lord graciously gave us these words describing the Christian life of faith; "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."