Faithing
October 9, 2007
Dear Friends,
Everyone in the world operates by faith. Atheists mock Christians for their faith, but they too operate by faith too. Their faith is just not the faith of Abraham – a faith that will save their lives. For example, we all operate by faith in the monetary system. The government prints little pieces of paper which we BELIEVE have more value than other little pieces of paper. Some people’s belief is so strong in the value of these little pieces of paper that they will in fact suffer all sorts of degradation, lie, cheat, steal and even put their lives in jeopardy. When we lose that faith in our currency we have things like hyper-inflation and the devaluation of the currency in question. Atheists believe in money too as they clearly demonstrate by using it. In fact, every action is a matter of faith. We are hungry and believe that will be satisfied by eating. We are tired and believe that can be solved by sleeping. When we believe the things of God – REALLY believe them – it compels us to act. Faith and works are related as cause and effect.
Belief in something can be an abstract like my belief that there are things called atoms. It is something I believe but it has no practical ramifications in my life. However, like the above monetary example, faith as the Bible defines it always results in action. In the New Testament when found as a noun, the Greek word is pistis. Unfortunately for English readers, we do not have an equivalent verb form of the word faith which in the Greek is pisteuo. If we did, perhaps the word would be “faithing.” Rather we switch to word “believing” which carries a similar if not identical meaning.
The concept of faith as a verb is very important. Take love as a similar example. Love can be a noun as in the phrase “God is love.” In this we understand that God is the embodiment of the principle (or thing) we call love. Love is also a verb as in “God so loved the world.” From a Biblical perspective, it is vital that a believer understand that in our lives love must become a verb. Love as a principle (or thing) is great, but it pretty useless until it becomes a verb. God is love, but God also loves.
Likewise, faith must be a verb in the life of a believer. We often use faith as a principle which it is. Yet, true Biblical faith in the life of a believer is useless unless it becomes a verb. This is exactly what James means when he says “faith without works is dead.” If faith is left as a noun (or an intellectual assimilation of facts) without being the cause of action in life, it is useless.
Let us take the Statement of Faith as another example. This is perhaps an unfortunate naming convention for this document. It might more accurately be called a Statement of Doctrines (or Teachings) rather than faith. One can assent to a set of doctrines without being moved by them. It is truly only a Statement of Faith when those principles it contains come off of the page and into action in our lives. We can have a common understanding of the atonement, but it really only matters when that doctrine comes alive in us and transforms us to be like Christ.
More importantly, these values come into action when we have a relationship with the giver of those principles by trusting or faith. We probably all know people who can profess the facts of the Statement of Faith and may even confess to believe them, but on which those principles have no discernable change in lifestyle. When we have someone who desires to get baptized, we have them profess their faith by sharing with us what they believe. Lord willing, the things they will confess to us will match those items listed in the Statement of Faith. Often this process is left there. In our ecclesia, we do not end there, but ask lifestyle or morality questions. The reason for this is that we want to know if the concepts contained in that document have made their way into their lives. If they are still living a life that is inappropriate for a brother or sister in Christ to live, it is for the simple reason that while they may “know” the facts of the Statement of Faith, they are not “faithing” them. True belief is made obvious only in the action of the person who professes it.
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (James 2:20-26 NIV)
Have a great week,
Comments»
Bro. Kyle, I really enjoyed this article on “Faithing”. I agree with your thoughts on this topic completely. I especially like the 5th paragraph in this article. I can say all I want that I believe “in the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” and the “hope of Israel” (as I know is usually my first response to someone who asks what I believe), but if I do not put into action (by “faithing”) those beliefs/docrtines, then my response to them is void and I shouldn’t have waisted my breath in answering their question. We must always remember that we may be the only Bible that someone reads, so we need to put into action our faith, because as we all know, “actions speak louder than words.” Let us remember that we are representing God, not only through the words we speak, but most importantly through how we show his love to others (in or out of the household). Thank you Bro. Kyle for your thoughts.
Sis. Rhonda:
One of my favorite quotes is from Francis of Assisi when he said “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
Thanks for your comments.
Grace and peace,
Kyle