The verse above is the final New Testament statement of the famous sentence.

The eleventh chapter of Hebrews, the "faith" chapter, is one long definition of what it means to live by faith in God. You may notice that nowhere in this chapter is faith viewed as belief in the facts of God. Rather, faith is humble obedience and trust in God rather than in one's own prideful wisdom and strength.

Of interest is the expression in Hebrews 10:38: "And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him." This tells us living by faith is a continual, courageous pressing forward against numerous obstacles and pressures. It is not a static belief in facts of theology. It is the same idea as, "He who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom."

Sometimes we are tempted to slack off, to retreat from the battle. If we do, God will take no pleasure in us. We must keep pressing on, fighting the good fight of faith.

Belief that works out in obedience has a lot to do with the way the righteous live.

So the issue is, is God leading us in paths of righteousness or are we blindly attempting to gain favor with the Lord in our own wisdom and strength? This is the idea of "the righteous shall live by faith."

Perhaps no one would disagree with our concept of how the righteous are to live.

However, something has gone terribly, terribly wrong with our interpretation of the battle cry of the Reformation. We are interpreting "the just shall live by faith" to mean we as a believer, having put our trust in the atonement made by the Lord Jesus, have nothing further to do. "Believe in Jesus and you will go to Heaven. Any effort you make to live righteously is filthy rags, legalism, pharisaism."

No intelligent reading of the New Testament would reveal anything close to such an idea in the writings of the Apostles. Just the opposite is true. We are exhorted to give our body on the altar of God in order to prove the will of God in our life. We are advised to lay aside all of our hopes and dreams and concentrate on seeking the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, to give our life for the Gospel, to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

We Evangelicals have been greatly deceived and the moral condition of America reveals this fact.

Recently we watched a video tape portraying missionary work among a primitive tribe. Hundreds were brought to Christ by the dedicated labors of two families of missionaries over a period of several years.

Having brought the tribal members to the knowledge of salvation the missionaries then baptized them in water. One of the natives, emerging from the water, asked: "Is there anything more we are to do?"

The answer of the missionary was, "Absolutely nothing."

Absolutely nothing? There is nothing we are to do after we are baptized in water?

To be continued.