Galatians 3:16-18: God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his child”—and that, of course, means Christ. This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking His promise. For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

If there was a law of God that we could keep in order to inherit eternal life, then there would be no need for faith. Please take a moment and meditate on that statement. There is no law or no good thing that we can do that would grant us access into heaven. If we really know this to be the truth, why do so many “believers” try to avoid operating by faith? Ignorance isn’t a legitimate excuse in the Kingdom of God. In fact, the prophet Hosea wrote under the leading of God’s Spirit, “The people of God are destroyed from a lack of knowledge.” If we choose to plead ignorance as an excuse for not walking by faith, then we are only deceiving ourselves and opening a door that will allow us to be devoured by the enemy.

The writer of Hebrews tells us in chapter 11, “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Paul teaches us in Romans 10 that faith can only be released in our hearts when we hear God speaking to us through the Holy Spirit or through His Word. Therefore, we can conclude that the only way to please the Father and to inherit the promises of the Kingdom of God is to seek to learn and to obey His will. Some might try to say, “This sounds like you’re adding works to salvation. After all, aren’t we saved by faith in Christ alone?” To this I would ask, “Is there another way that I can walk by faith and be in complete agreement with the Father while I fulfill His purpose for my life on earth?” Paul has already taught us that the inheritance can’t be given by keeping the Law.

We’re told in Romans that the JUST shall live by faith. In Hebrews, we find the same statement. However, it is followed by this verse. “If any man draws back in unbelief, the Lord will have no pleasure in them.” James also teaches us to add action or works to our faith. Well, we can’t just do our own thing and call it God’s will. So we can say then, that walking by faith means we listen for the voice of the Father, and we read His Word to train our spiritual ears to hear and our hearts to obey His commands. Just like there’s only one Way to the Father, there is only one way to live by faith and in agreement with the Father once we accept Jesus as the Christ in our life. We had better understand now, through this principle, that those who continue to walk by faith after their initial commitment to Christ are walking in a relationship with the Father and not operating by works. Christianity is based on a relationship and not on our works. We can’t commit to Christ as our Savior and afterwards live by the Law or do our own thing.

If we are truly saved by grace through faith, then we will add obedience to our faith, and do everything that God commands us to do. This will let the Lord see “through our actions” that we are living by faith. Then He can reward us with the fulfillment of His promises because we have chosen to “live” by faith and not just accept Jesus by faith. The question we must ask ourselves is this. “As God’s child, am I living my life according to God’s will or according to my will?” Allow the Holy Spirit to give you the answer. It’s all based on a relationship by faith.  —submitted by Pastor Asa Dockery, US