“Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” – (Hebrews 10:38 – NKJV)

In Part I of this article series, we found out God’s answer to the pertinent question – “What should Christians be doing in the end times?” Here is God’s answer – “the just shall live by faith.”

Now, you may ask, what faith? Faith in whom? You know, when you say that you have faith on your friend, what you really mean is that your friend is faithful – that means he will keep his word. He is reliable and he will do what he says he will do. It is the same with faith in God. Having faith in God means to believe that God is faithful and he will keep His word. He will do everything He said He will do.

Often times we proclaim our faith and say that yes, we believe in God and we know He will do all that He says He will do. But our actions betray the true state of our faith. If Jesus is going to really come back soon and He is going to judge the earth, are we really expecting him? Are we really preparing ourselves every day to be taken up with Him when the rapture happens? Are we living holy lives to escape judgment? We are in fact, so engrossed in our lives that we do not have the time to even think about rapture or judgment. But yes, we will nevertheless proclaim our faith, once in a while; just to be sure we have not lost it all.

Definition of Faith

I know you are all so familiar with the definition of faith that you can recite it without second thought. But I urge you to hold on for a second and give some thought to these verses below.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

“By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.” – (Heb 11: 1,3 -NKJV)

What is this verse trying to say? Faith is the evidence of things unseen. By faith we understand that the visible creation by done by invisible things. In plain language, it means that the physical world that we see is not the end of the road for everything. There is a spiritual world, a spiritual source behind everything physical – behind everything that we can see with our naked eyes. Oh, how we forget this important truth!

If you as a Christian want to survive the perilous end times and want to be found in heaven, you have be able to see the spiritual world which is working behind this physical world. See the unseen which is behind what is seen. See the hand of God moving through the times of human history. In simple words, you need to develop a spiritual vision and a heavenly understanding to see God at work in your world and how you can partner him in his divine plan.

And that my dear friends, is called FAITH – believing that God was, is and will be – His sovereignty extends over all times.

“But 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 that diligently seek Him.” (Heb 11:6 – NKJV)

In Hebrews 11, the author goes on to describe the heroes of faith, who had developed a spiritual vision in that they looked for things that are heavenly and eternal over those things which are earthly and transient. They chose to obtain heavenly treasures at the cost of the seemingly invaluable treasures on earth.

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” (v.13)

“But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” (v. 16)

The heroes of faith did not receive the promises (of heavenly riches) of God. But they had faith in God that He would keep His word and so they lived on earth without being too attached as if they were strangers and pilgrims. God is going to keep His word – He has prepared an eternal city for them and they will receive their heavenly treasures for which they sacrificed their comforts on earth.

Dear Friend,

• Do you have faith?
• Do you believe that God is faithful and He will keep His word?
• Have you developed a spiritual vision whereby you can see the invisible spiritual world constantly impacting the physical world?
• Are you too attached to the transient treasures on earth or have you set your eyes on the riches in heaven?

Are you still worried about how you can survive as a godly person in such deplorable moral and social circumstances? Are you still wondering, “What should Christians be doing in the end times?”

Here is God’s answer once again for you – “The just shall live by faith.”