Faith Honors Him Whom It Trusts

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"No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God."   [Romans 4:20]

I long for God to be glorified in our pursuit of holiness and love. But God is not glorified unless our pursuit is empowered by faith in his promises. And the God who revealed himself most fully in Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sins and raised for our justification (Romans 4:25), is most glorified when we embrace his promises with joyful firmness because they are bought by the blood of his Son. God is honored when we are humbled for our feebleness and failure, and when he is trusted for future grace (Rom.4:20). So unless we learn how to live by faith in future grace, we may perform remarkable religious rigors, but not for God’s glory. He is glorified when the power to be holy comes from humble faith in future grace.  Martin Luther said, “[Faith] honors him whom it trusts with the most reverent and highest regard, since it considers him truthful and trustworthy.” The trusted Giver gets the glory. My great desire is that we learn how to live for God’s honor. And that means living by faith in future grace, which, in turn, means battling unbelief in all the ways it rears its head.
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Devotional excerpted from Future Grace, pages (220-221) - John Piper

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