"Faith", as originally used in the Bible, was an action verb, so it could be used in the context of "to faith something". When the word was translated into our language from the original Greek text, it somehow lost the impact of the meaning and was somehow reduced to simply mean "to believe" or "to trust".
In James 1:22 and James 2:14-25, faith is described as being dead without works. One could say that faith is non-existent without works.
Most Christians would give the common, and somewhat correct, answer that you are saved by faith alone, which is true, but one must understand the true depth of the word faith as Paul, James and the other early church leaders used it.
In Ephesians 2:8-10 explains, we are saved by grace through faith for the purpose of performing good works that God has planned for us to do. Don't misunderstand for a moment that we are saved by good works...not at all, but for good works. The works will come from a genuine, real, working, saving faith.
Back to James 2:19..."Even the demons believe that(in God)-and shudder!"
The question we must ask ourselves is this. Does our faith cause us to do the good works God has planned for us to do and does our belief and respect for the ultimate sovereignty and power of who God really is cause us to shudder? If not, your faith may be only a "head knowledge" and not a "heart knowledge". Head knowledge is believing certain historical facts such as that Jesus was indeed an actual teacher sent from God to teach a better way of life and to show the way to God. Saving faith goes beyond that.
2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that when we experience "saving faith", we become a new creation...the old man is gone and the new man has come.
True faith can be known only between the believer and God Himself, through His Son, Jesus Christ, by the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, faith can not, under any circumstance, be acted. It must be lived daily.
In Luke 9:23, Jesus said that we must first "deny ourselves", meaning that the things we want to do as mere humans are not the driving force behind our actions anymore...that force is now in the hands of the Holy Spirit. We must then "take up our cross", meaning that just as He did for us when He carried all our burdens and died for them, we must be willing to carry the burden of His namesake and the cares and concerns of our fellow man. The last step outlined by Jesus in this verse is that we must "follow Him". We must give our life to Him and let our actions be in line with His actions. Our way of thinking, speaking and the way we live our lives should be the same as His.
Biblical faith is not just believing a set of facts. It always brings about a response in your life that will be evidence of the new creation that you have been made into. Remember...Jesus doesn't want to improve you. He wants to completely transform who you are and the way you think.
This is all not to say there won't be days that we don't "feel" saved or righteous. We all backslide. We all mess up. We all fall in mud puddles from time to time. But we don't look for mud puddles to jump into. When we fall into them we don't wallow around in them like pigs, but we get out as quickly as we can and let Him clean up the mess that is us and set us back on the right track again.
Romans 3:23 tells us we're all sinners. All of us are...no exceptions. But our penalty has already been paid. Our sin has been fully dealt with. It was finished on the cross, just like Jesus said. There is nothing else we can ever do to merit our salvation, except for accepting, through faith...true faith that brings action, the gift that God gave us through His Son.
In James 1:22 and James 2:14-25, faith is described as being dead without works. One could say that faith is non-existent without works.
Most Christians would give the common, and somewhat correct, answer that you are saved by faith alone, which is true, but one must understand the true depth of the word faith as Paul, James and the other early church leaders used it.
In Ephesians 2:8-10 explains, we are saved by grace through faith for the purpose of performing good works that God has planned for us to do. Don't misunderstand for a moment that we are saved by good works...not at all, but for good works. The works will come from a genuine, real, working, saving faith.
Back to James 2:19..."Even the demons believe that(in God)-and shudder!"
The question we must ask ourselves is this. Does our faith cause us to do the good works God has planned for us to do and does our belief and respect for the ultimate sovereignty and power of who God really is cause us to shudder? If not, your faith may be only a "head knowledge" and not a "heart knowledge". Head knowledge is believing certain historical facts such as that Jesus was indeed an actual teacher sent from God to teach a better way of life and to show the way to God. Saving faith goes beyond that.
2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that when we experience "saving faith", we become a new creation...the old man is gone and the new man has come.
True faith can be known only between the believer and God Himself, through His Son, Jesus Christ, by the work of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, faith can not, under any circumstance, be acted. It must be lived daily.
In Luke 9:23, Jesus said that we must first "deny ourselves", meaning that the things we want to do as mere humans are not the driving force behind our actions anymore...that force is now in the hands of the Holy Spirit. We must then "take up our cross", meaning that just as He did for us when He carried all our burdens and died for them, we must be willing to carry the burden of His namesake and the cares and concerns of our fellow man. The last step outlined by Jesus in this verse is that we must "follow Him". We must give our life to Him and let our actions be in line with His actions. Our way of thinking, speaking and the way we live our lives should be the same as His.
Biblical faith is not just believing a set of facts. It always brings about a response in your life that will be evidence of the new creation that you have been made into. Remember...Jesus doesn't want to improve you. He wants to completely transform who you are and the way you think.
This is all not to say there won't be days that we don't "feel" saved or righteous. We all backslide. We all mess up. We all fall in mud puddles from time to time. But we don't look for mud puddles to jump into. When we fall into them we don't wallow around in them like pigs, but we get out as quickly as we can and let Him clean up the mess that is us and set us back on the right track again.
Romans 3:23 tells us we're all sinners. All of us are...no exceptions. But our penalty has already been paid. Our sin has been fully dealt with. It was finished on the cross, just like Jesus said. There is nothing else we can ever do to merit our salvation, except for accepting, through faith...true faith that brings action, the gift that God gave us through His Son.
