Faith In Action

"No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised"  (Rom. 4:20-21, ESV).  
"By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out ..." (Heb. 11:8, ESV).
"... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love"  (Gal. 5:6, NIV, italics mine).


The theme of James is that "the faith you have is the faith you show!"  You may indeed have faith to move mountains, but don't just brag about it!   You can boast of great faith, but if it accomplishes zilch, what good is it?  James would say to us that he wanted to show his faith by his good deeds or works; Paul, on the other hand, would show us his works by faith--these are two complementary assertions, depending on which side of the coin you see.  James is appealing to do-nothing believers, who won't practice their faith and put it into action;  while Paul sees believers who are trying to justify themselves by the works of the law--no one shall be justified by the works of the law, but by grace through faith in Christ alone--it's not how much faith, but the direction of it per Ephesians 2:8-9.

It has been wisely put by theologians that saving faith is only manifest in obedience:  Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes." Obey wholeheartedly!   We must not legalistically obey out of obligation rather than love, like Amaziah, who did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, but not with a whole heart (cf. 2 Chron. 25:2).  The two are correlated and what God has joined together, let not man put asunder (cf. Mark 10:9).

You can no more separate faith and works than your body and spirit--they are distinguished, but not separated--we are not a soul encased in a body, but a soul and body unified in one being, as distinguished; however, if you separate the soul and body, you're dead--likewise with faith and works. We must translate our creeds into deeds to be alive in the Spirit.  Anyone can say he has faith, and faith is not being credulous, for we don't believe in spite of the evidence--we have sound reasons to believe--but in obey despite the consequences!

Some imagine that great faith necessitates great emotion, but this is not always the case, God may withdraw feelings to see what is on your heart and to test your obedience.  Faith, then, is not walking around on some religious or spiritual "high," or around on cloud nine, but being in fellowship with God, being in touch with reality and the real world, and reacting according to God's will.  We cannot have a religious ecstasy or euphoria and walk around in its glow the rest of our lives; we must learn to grow in our relationship with Christ and in our knowledge of Him and in grace itself, in order to become vessels of honor and to live our lives in glory to Him as our purpose (cf. Isaiah 43:7).

True faith is not accepting our "fate," but walking in obedience to whatever God wills and making no plans without consulting Him.  Even David knew the pits of despair and what being downcast or having the doldrums meant, so much more must we to grow, but our victories will be all the more sweet after we know what defeat is and the price it cost Christ and the discipline it takes.


Martin Luther wondered if James was an epistle "of straw" because he thought it was teaching salvation by faith plus works.  Actually, we are saved by faith alone (though these exact words are not in the Bible, it's taught), according to the teaching of the Reformers, but not by a faith that is alone. Dead faith doesn't save and isn't profitable (cf. James 2:17,20,26), and we need a living faith--a little is a lot with God in it, implying that it grows and thrives. James aptly said that the kind of faith that doesn't produce cannot save, period!  Roman Catholics believe grace, faith, and Christ are necessary, but not sufficient--you must add merit to grace, works to faith, and the Church to Christ, not to mention adding tradition to the authority of the Word as equal validity.

We want to see faith in action in our family of believers, even as we are the ambassadors of Christ in the world, and people want to see the gospel in shoe leather, as it were, and this means the only gospel some will see is the one we live out--that's why it's paramount to practice what we preach and to keep our testimony from becoming jeopardized.

Some say that talk is cheap (we must beware of mere lip service, as in Isaiah 29:13, which Christ condemned, too), but we are called to preach the gospel not only by our lives as a witness, but in our words, and sometimes we are called to listen as the greater gift, but our testimony is fundamental: Actions can speak louder than words!

We must look for the open door to be lead by the Spirit in our witness and then it will be the Lord speaking through us as we are led by the Spirit.  Actions open the door to preaching the Word and usher us into the presence of God and the open door.  We are not to become mere do-gooders or be known as a goody-goody, but to live out the works that Christ has ordained for us that we should walk in them (cf. Eph. 2:10).  Faith, then, is not something you have, but something you show--we say, "Show me your faith!" Remember, Romans 2:6 says we will be judged by our works, not our faith!  If you have no good works, your faith is suspect, because if there's no fruit, there's no faith!

I'm not advocating a "works religion," but one proved by its works; in a works religion you never know how much is enough--we don't do works in order to get saved, but because we are saved out of gratitude.  Our works must be consistent with our talk, as we don't just talk the talk:  "They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works..." (Titus 1:16, ESV).  The point is that faith expresses itself!  In sum, Works are no substitute for faith, but the only evidence that it's there.  We are not saved by works, but unto works, and, though we are not saved by works, we are not saved without them either!  There are works without faith, but not faith without works!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Those Who Know The Truth

"The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever:   ...  I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth...."  (2 John 1-3, ESV).

"For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth.  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth."  (3 John 2-3, ESV).

"Sanctify them in the truth, your word is truth"  (John 17:17, ESV). 

"...as the truth is in Jesus" (Eph. 4:21, ESV).  

By definition:  Truth is what God says is truth (He's the final arbiter), and anything consistent with His nature, "will, mind, character, glory and being," and laws.  "Truth is the self-expression of God," in other words (per John MacArthur).  

It is not only possible to ascertain the truth in this relativistic age, where people think they can decide their private truths, but commanded in the exhortation of Jesus in John 8:32:  "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."  Note that Christ didn't say we would find some truth, or our truth, or relative truth, but THE truth!  No man ever spoke like this:  not by authority, but with authority!  This is not referring to getting a good education as the answer to life's problems, though the Bible isn't anti-intellectual and nowhere demeans learning.

The truth that sets free is knowing Jesus as personal Lord and Savior, who is the embodiment and personification of truth itself:  For he told Pilate that He came to bear witness of the truth, when Pilate didn't know what truth was (saying, "What is truth" in John 18:38)!   If Jesus is the truth, that means you can know it, and we would know nothing for sure without this divine revelation, for truth depends upon the existence of a God, and must be revealed to us as the starting place of all knowledge:  "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..." (Proverbs 1:7, ESV).

Today, in liberal academia, students are taught that they can know nothing for certain and that they can be certain about that one truth (which has no truth value per se, since saying all truth is relative, this means that this statement must also be relative!). When people say truth is relative they usually mean to the situation or to the person's circumstances, situation, or viewpoint, but you must always inquire, "Relative to what?" This is subjective truth.   If there is no God, then the quest for truth is meaningless and vain. Postmodernists say that the only truths that are certain are the truths relating to them, and the ones relating to Christianity are only relative.  Objective truth is true regardless of whether one believes it or not and no matter who says it.  Jesus said that he that is of the truth will hear His voice (cf. John 18:37), and so this is where we throw down the gauntlet.

The word of the year, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is "post-fact," which is when people think that emotional connotation is more valid than the literal meaning or denotation.  Naive students like to say or write what they "feel" rather than think:  they have lost all meaning and understanding of cognition.  Thought precedes feeling and feelings depend on thoughts.  Our mind controls our body, not vice versa. Today, people are not as concerned about the truth as to what's true for them!  They also don't care what something means (and even the Bible), but what it means to them:  "O, that's your interpretation!"  We seem to have lost all basis in knowledge, wisdom, and understanding and resorted to subjectivity.

What makes Christianity so unique is that it's not based on subjective thought, empiricism, or interpretation, but on objective, historical fact of the resurrection of Christ and Christianity is a historical religion, not a myth, nor a catalog of rules or wise sayings of philosophy.   The whole purpose is to not to increase our knowledge but to introduce us to a person (the living God!).  We don't get saved by cognition or Gnosticism (getting in on the scoop), but by a transformed life through a living knowledge of a person.

All knowledge must have a purpose, and not become an end in itself--the end result is getting to know our Lord and live a life of service to Him.

Nonbelievers are those "who reject the truth," according to Romans 2:8 and they "refuse to receive the love of the truth," according to 2 Thess. 2:10.  We are concerned about orthodoxy in our doctrine, of course, but it is much more vital to be concerned with knowing Him, who is Truth incarnate.

In sum, there is "absolute truth" regardless of what academia proclaims, and that means there's Truth with a capital T!  Truth is timeless and that means what was true in antiquity is still true!  What was valid as a principle of morality still holds water.  We are not evolving new truths and standards of right and wrong as we progress in our civilization.  Truth is different from some statement just being true because only Scripture can be called "truth," and Jesus said that we are "sanctified" by the truth and that His Word is Truth--Truth alone transforms; while something may be true, doesn't necessitate it being "truth."  Education can be truth and Shakespeare can be inspiring, but only Scripture and Jesus can transform a life and give life to the dead--Shakespeare doesn't change lives!  Finally, there is no absolute belief, but there is absolute truth that is knowable as a foundation for all knowing.
Soli Deo Gloria!ab

"Let's Just Praise The Lord!"

"Bless [praise] the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless [praise] is holy name!"  (Psalm 103:1, ESV).

"Whoever offers praise glorifies Me..."  (Psalm 50:23, NKJV).  

"O Lord, open my lips, And my mouth shall show forth Your praise" (Psalm 51:15, NKJV).

"You are always on their lips but far from their hearts." (cf. Jer. 12:2, NIV). 

(We may be familiar with the words Alleluia, and Hallelujah, which are interpreted from Greek and Hebrew respectively as "praise the LORD!"  

Do you recall the Bill Gaither Trio singing that anthem in the '70s?  It was ubiquitous on the airwaves and humbled the spirit into just concentrating on praise per se.  I recall repeating that phrase in song over and over again ad infinitum.  The Psalms is a book of praises; therefore, it's called the Psalter. The Jews called Psalms Tehillim, or "praises," presumably because there's praise for all occasions. The last several psalms are just doxologies or praises to God and magnifying Him through any means possible, every instrument in the band, for instance, brings Him praise; ergo everyone can praise God and you don't need to be a musician (instrumentalist nor vocalist) to bring Him praise:  God loves our singing even if we think we can't sing, it brings Him praise and He enjoys it.

Obedience brings God praise and we can do everything to the glory of God and in His name, ultimately bringing Him praise. It has wisely been said that praising God entails much more than uttering the words per se just like giving thanks is more than lip service of saying "thank-you!", because it's an action and we must show our praise by what we do.  Sometimes it's singing, but it's not limited to that, because some people literally cannot sing, and they can still praise God. There's no "one-size-fits-all" for praising God, we all do it differently.  

When we focus on Christ and meditate on Scripture, we are praising God with our minds. We are to love God with all our minds, as well as our hearts, souls, and strength.  When we do the Lord's work we are incorporating our strength, and when we worship, our souls and hearts.  "Let everything that hath breath praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD (Psalm 150:6, ESV)!"

Praise is giving glory to God for who He is, as thanksgiving is giving glory to God for what He's done.  Praise is comely for the upright in heart and "God inhabits the praises of His people," as Psalm 22:3 says in the KJV.  God doesn't need our praise, but we need to praise Him to get into the Spirit.  It may make us feel good, but that is not the goal--God deserves our praise and our duty as servants and creatures is to offer it.  Paul exhorts us to do everything, even our eating and drinking, to the glory of God (cf. 1 Cor. 1:31).  Whatever we do, in all our work, we are to do it heartily as unto the Lord, not unto men (cf. Col. 3:23).

Many Christians utter the phrase "praise the Lord" (known as PTL) as a matter of course and in a perfunctory manner. But just saying the words per se is not necessarily praising the Lord and misses the point.  Indeed we do desire to see God's praise and He lifted up in worship, but it's the same as saying "thanks" when a person really isn't thankful.  The heart must correlate with the lips or it's merely lip service.  Jesus warned about those whose lips honor Him, but their hearts are far from Him (cf. Isaiah 29:13; Jer. 12:2; Mark 7:6-7).  What God seeks is an acknowledgment of His glory, deeds, and presence.  "... There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land"  (Hos. 4:1, NIV).

Who can adequately praise God, for He alone is worthy, and it only behooves us to give Him the recognition He deserves.  God thrives on our praises and everything, in the end, shall bring Him the praise He deserves, for even the wrath of man shall praise Him (cf. Psalm 76:10).

We enter God's dimension when we offer praise and are ushered directly into the throne room (cf. Psalm 100:4).  We must seek God's presence and power to offer Him praise, and this is what glorifies Him in return, as we walk with Him in the fellowship of praise.  "Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him"  (Hos. 6:3, NIV).  Give Him all the credit, to whom the credit is due!  Our obligation doesn't ever end and is never fulfilled; uttering the words without follow-through is vain.   Soli Deo Gloria!