Living by Faith, from Genesis 15:1-6

It is a very popular teaching. You hear it broadcast daily. In fact several times a day! The bookstore shelves are loaded with its message. What is this great message? It is that believers are to “walk by faith.” Walking or living in faith is, in many respects, the central issue in many evangelical churches today. The problem is what these teachers often mean when they speak of “walking by faith” bears little or no resemblance to the biblical notion of living by faith. Today’s emphasis includes such things as “calling those things that are not as though they are.” Which seems to me to be a life of denial rather than a life of faith. Or maybe you are familiar with the concept of “your life today is the result of your speaking yesterday.” This idea is that you must speak “faith-filled words” and that your success or failure rides on your ability to stay positive and focus on the Word of God. That sounds more like sorcery and incantations than trust in the Sovereign God.
The issue before us is – what does the Scripture teach? How does the Word of God handle this? What does the Bible say?
What does it mean to walk by faith? How is the life of faith lived out? What is required of me if I am to live by faith? To answer these questions we must go to the Word of God. And I think it would be extremely valuable to examine the life of Abraham – the Father of Faith…