The most popular scripture on faith in the book of Hebrews states, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.” But I ask you: Is merely the profession of faith enough to be a Christian? Or is there more required when you are truly in “possession” of a living faith? James, the brother of Jesus, once proclaimed that we, as a body of Christ, must display a living spirit that is willing to work through Faith. The book of James then became the pinnacle doctrine to teach Christians and expose hypocritical practices.
A hypocritical practice we see on a daily basis is through television advertisements. Many of them claim that a certain product or person will quickly and automatically change our lives. We all see commercials that state you can lose 30lbs in just 30 days by taking 1 simple pill, and those so called “get rich quick” schemes that say in less than 1 year you can be out of debt, simply by calling the number on the screen. One of my favorites is that you can have whiter teeth in just 4-6 weeks by using a certain product, but the commercial hides the fact that the viewer would have to pay a pretty penny first. I notice in all of these advertisements that they never tell you or express how much work, dedication, or pain it takes to get that whiter smile, lose the extra weight, or get out of debt. They make everything sound so enticing, and more importantly so easy. So easy in fact that many viewers assume that progress just happens over night by solely believing in a product.
One cannot simply believe in a product in order for the product to work, no matter how much we want it to. This concept also applies to spirituality and our relationship with God. In the bible, James says, “Faith without works is dead”; the key word in this text is works. Faith alone is just not good enough. It is not enough to talk about the Christian faith, or to display an overzealous religious personality when others are around. Actions always speak louder than words; we must live and truly work for our Faith as a practice of self discipline.
Faith alone is just blind trust, and will not lead you to progress. If you blindly wander into the woods, you will never emerge on the other side, because going into the woods unprepared will leave you without direction. The work put in in preparing a map and retracing your steps, guides you in the right direction on your journey into the woods. The journey changes from one of blindness to a clear path. Without work, you will fail to achieve the progress you desire, and thus get no result. Likewise, faith cannot fully save the Soul. The results ultimately manifest in the choices that you make as a disciple of God, and the work you put into those choices.
“What good is it my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it in your actions, can this kind of faith save anyone?”
James 2:14
In order to act on words of faith, you must first understand the difference between faith and belief. Faith is expecting God to do what he says he will do, while belief is acting on what God has said. The word “faith” is a noun which means no action to it; but the word, “believe” is a verb, signifying action. Yet, It is both the asset of the mind and consent of the heart, consisting of both belief (which is work) and trust (faith), that fully connects and strengthens our relationship with God.
We see faith and action evident in a person that we least likely expect; the harlot Rahab. In the book of Joshua, Rahab made 3 choices that ultimately changed her life.
- She chose to help the spies who entered Jericho rather than turn them over
- She chose to believe the spies, and
- She chose to secure and act on a promise
Rahab took an incredible risk, a leap of faith one might say, by helping her nation’s enemies. Her life was on the line. What she did was considered an act of treason and would result in death if caught. Rahab not only believed what she heard about God, but she then acted and made a choice to take a risk and work to save the spies. This choice was a viable one that would save her and her family, and because of both her faith and belief in action, her life was transformed for the better.
It took more than just her faith to bring her closer to God. The bottom line is that by her works, her faith and relationship with God was made perfect. Our works are also guided by our choices. We, like Rahab, must choose to help and act towards God’s people with kindness and courage. We as Christians must not only make the right choices, but propel our own actions towards change. For the choices that we make will affect our lives and our path.
We must relearn our concept of Faith by making the choice to curb our expectation, and evolve our faith into belief and good actions. God is able to deliver you because his word says so, but unless you believe and CHOOSE to act on it, you will never see His full blessings. What choice will you make today? Will you choose to trust, or have faith in, the word of God? Will you choose to act upon it? Today, make the right choice, and put your faith into action by doing something good!