Steven A. Bush - August 18, 2024
Genuine, Honest-to-Goodness, Faith
Jesus' brother, James, has much to say about genuine faith and accompanying works. In James 1:22-25 he writes: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (ESV) In James 2:14-17 he says more: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, be warmed and filled,' without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (ESV) When we declare we've been saved by grace alone, through FAITH alone, in Christ alone, for the glory of God alone, the FAITH we're talking about is not mere mental assent. The FAITH we're talking about is one that affects our minds as well as our hearts. True FAITH, which God grants as a gift, affects not only our hearts but also our hands and feet. It has substance. It not only acknowledges what God has said but acts upon it. When a meteorologist says rain is coming, our FAITH in his forecast is proved genuine when we leave the house with an umbrella. Hebrews 11:1 affirms: "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." (ESV)
Scripture References: Matthew 7:24-27, James 1:22-25, James 2:14-19, Hebrews 11:1, Romans 3:21-26