Faith Works

Hello dear readers, thank you for reading my blog post today. I know you will be blessed.

The topic “Faith Works” is not what you think it is about. I’m not about to give you testimonies of how faith brought things or made things happen. Today’s not that day.

Last week, actually last two weeks, I started to explain how that the word of God works itself in and through us when we do the word. I also explained that this “doing” is not initially (pay attention to this) acting the word out or applying principles. It is the believing of the word and continuous believing. It is the contending for the faith that comes by hearing and hearing by the word and holding on to it until the spirit becomes your life not your act. Amen.

To help you catch up, the post from last two weeks can be read Here and that from last week can be read Here.

Some may read my last two blog posts and think I’m saying we should not obey the word instantly thereby opposing God’s word that commands otherwise.

None of my posts negates the call to obedience it only emphasizes that real obedience is in believing and continuing thence. As a matter of fact, the first point of obedience is to believe. And you cannot believe and not obey…let me say that again… You can’t believe and not obey. The idea that faith exists separately from obedience is, to an extent, a misinterpretation of the letter of James (in which case “works” is used).

Listen, obedience cannot be separated from faith. When we think these are two separate entities, we unconsciously think obeying is more important, meanwhile, they ought to be inseparable. (I don’t want to digress to begin to explain why some obey without believing… But you’ll see that such people fall away when the going gets tough. They were not truly obedient).

I’ll use the letter of James from chapter 2 where he talked about faith to explain the inseparability of these so that you have a proper understanding of what the scriptures actually say about Faith and obedience and to also know that faith works… Literally.

It’s a long read…

James 2:14-26 (KJV)
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?
If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?
Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.“

You may read this passage and may say “Oh! But James separated faith from obedience/works.” I tell you the truth, he didn’t. This letter didn’t cause a separation. He spoke of them separately as though they were separate for the sake of argument. I’ll show you how he used both when he used them together.

If you read carefully you’d have noticed that James didn’t say “…I will shew thee my faith and my works“, he didn’t use the conjunction “And” rather, he used the preposition “By”… There’s a big difference and that will help you get the message in James 2… “…I will shew thee my faith BY my works“… Meaning; this is how my faith which can not be seen can be identified, this is how you know what is the force ruling my heart whether it is faith or unbelief; it is by the things I do, the choices I make, the plans I make, by the way I communicate with people, the things I say when I’m not acting all spiritual.

Oh!!! I really hope you caught that… You’d also notice that James said “faith without works is dead“. It means there’s no faith without obedience. No matter what I claim to believe, it only exists truly if it affects my everyday living and choices. This was the message James was passing across to us. No matter how convincing a person might be, claiming they have faith, if their works are not in accordance with the ways of the Spirit of Truth and love, faith is not existing there. An everyday example, if you told someone you’d send them some money, you wouldn’t know if they believed you or not until you asked them to send their account detail and they don’t. In a case where they send the account detail, you know it’s not an effort to obey an instruction or a show to prove to you that they believe you. It is simply an outpouring of the faith in the heart.

Let me give this final point and wrap it up…

Abraham our father was used as an example and I’ve heard many use that example to support pointless actions taken to show that faith is present. For example, a woman who is waiting for a child from God goes ahead to get baby things to show God that she believes He will give her a child. Let me tell you something, whether she got those things or not, it doesn’t prove anything. Many have gotten baby materials and it was all in unbelief. It is pointless except it is an act of obedience to a word of and from God or following a prompting in the person’s spirit… Read that again

Abraham wasn’t going around thinking of ways to prove he had faith. He had faith in the promise of God and his obedience to the instructions of God was a play out of his faith. He wasn’t trying to prove anything!! Do you know how many years apart it was from when the Lord gave Abraham the promise to when he sacrificed Isaac on the altar? Do you think he was going around with the idea of how he would show God he had faith? No sir!!! Our father Abraham truly believed but how do we know that he truly believed, it is because we read that every word God spoke to him, he seemed to carry it out because he believed… You say “Rowland, How do you know?“… Do you remember that the reason he went on with the sacrifice was because he recalled to himself the promise of God and then reckoned that if the Lord has promised, he’s faithful to do, it means He will have to bring back Isaac from the dead? Listen, everything he did was not a form of faith-show, he lived by faith… In faith is life. You’re not yawning to show us you’re human, you’re yawning because you’re human and your organs are functioning. Glory to God.

Adelphoi, I want you to know that the word is alive. When you hear it, receive and believe it, pray it, continue in it and you will live. Do less and live more. Let him live in you. Let your death to self begin from the believing of the Lord’s counsel.

Thank you for reading from me today. Please share if you can. God bless you. ill write to you next week.

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