DT READING IX: FAITH AND WORK

 Dear brothers and sisters,

The Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). We might ask then, what does it mean without faith? And are we supposed to do everything by faith? Furthermore, the Bible also tells us that salvation is by faith, healing is by faith, and relationship with God is by faith, etc. So why is faith central to our existence as disciples of Jesus? Another important theme that people sometimes get puzzled about is the relation between faith and work. They asked: how do faith and work go together? This week, we will briefly look at these important questions.

READING IX learning objectives

-          Biblical faith

-          Faith is absolutely necessary

-          Faith and evidence

-          Salvation: Faith and Work (A clarification) 

-          Healing: Faith in action

Biblical Faith

We need to make a distinction between Biblical faith and faith in other things (or gods/people). As one servant of God rightly said, Biblical faith is solely based on the word of God. It means having faith in what God says and His Words recorded in the Scripture.

Any kind of faith that is not based on the Word of God is not Biblical faith. For example, Muslims have faith in their prophet or Allah, or Hindus have faith in their holy books, or their gods/goddesses, or someone might say, I have faith in doctors, etc. these are also a valid way of using the word faith, but such faith is not Biblical faith.

Faith is based on reality or truth that a person believes or trusts (put his or her confidence), and it is in such an act of faith a person acknowledges the reality or truth that he or she believes to be the case. So when Christians, for example, have faith in Jesus, it means they are putting their confidence/trust in Jesus, and in such confidence or confession they acknowledge Jesus as the reality or the truth.  

One of the distinctions between Biblical faith and faith in other things (other gods, doctors, or machines) is the role of faith. In Biblical faith, faith is indispensable or absolutely necessary. Without faith there is no salvation, there is no forgiveness, or there is no healing. The Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God.

On the other hand, a person’s faith in other things (other gods, doctors, or a machine) can be irrelevant in the outworking of a reality he or she professes faith. For example, a person may never have faith in a surgeon to remove a stone in his or her kidney, yet a surgeon can certainly remove a stone in a person’s kidney. In this case, a person’s faith in a doctor can be irrelevant. Furthermore, even if a doctor is a murderer, or an adulterer, or abuses children and has no faith in anyone, he still can do his job successfully. However, Biblical faith is entirely different. Biblical faith is a response to God and His Word; it is an act of obedience and therefore a person’s participation (having faith) is absolutely necessary for the working of God.

Another important thing to understand is that Biblical faith is holistic. It includes the entirety of one’s life. Our behaviors, characters, thought life, relationship with God and people, attitudes, etc. all these aspects in one’s life matter. A person cannot live nor do anything he or she wants (adultery, addiction to drugs, loss of character, corruption, disobeying God’s word, etc.) and claim to have faith in God, for such faith is not genuine faith. A person who has faith (Biblical faith) will live a life of obedience to God and his or her life will be a demonstration of God’s love, characters, and words.

Biblical faith is based on the Word of God; to have faith is to believe God, to seek and obey God’s Word.

“And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 6:11).

Faith and evidence

One of the criticisms/clichés atheists often throw at Christians goes something like this: “You Christians believe in God without evidence (scientific evidence?); your faith is blind faith.” This I believe is a faulty charge and a huge theme in itself requiring a lengthy discussion. One may also ask questions like; do we need evidence to have faith? Do we followers of Jesus have good evidence for our faith? Is our faith really blind as theists claim (or accuse)?

Like I mentioned above, a lengthy discussion can be done on such charges/criticisms/questions, but we will look at just one example of evidence for our faith that Apostle Paul pointed out in his letter to Romans. To the men of unrighteousness, ungodliness, who suppress the truth, Paul wrote, “For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown to them. For God’s invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine attributes have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse (Romans 1:18-20).

The evidence of our faith in God that Paul stated in Romans 1 is the creation of the world, the universe, and the things God has made. The air we breathe; the skies above us; the sea below us; all that God made in the universe and in our world are the evidence of God whom we believe. From nothing comes nothing! The universe exists, our beautiful world came into existence, and they didn’t come out of nothing, but God who is the only self-existing, eternal, and perfect being made them all.

Salvation: Faith and work (A clarification)

One of the roles of faith as we learned is to receive salvation which is given to us by God’s grace. Apostle Paul stated this truth clearly in Ephesians 2, that salvation is by grace through faith, and salvation is a free gift of God, and not by our own works. On the other hand, James wrote to his readers that faith without work is death (James 2:14f).

Many have claimed that Paul and James differed in the question of faith versus works (and that they are contradicting each other), however, in reality, the spiritual fruit that James talks about simply demonstrates the true faith that Paul wrote as such their writing are complementary and not contradictory.

For more discussion on faith and work (on justification), please click this link to read… (Faith and Work, an essay by Thomas Schreiner) https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/faith-and-works/

Healing: Faith and prayer

Another role of faith is receiving healing from God. We learn from the Bible that God is a healer and we can read numerous examples of God’s healing various people of all kinds of sicknesses.

In the Gospel, Luke tells us a story of Jesus healing a leper wrote, “While he (Jesus) was in one of the cities, there came a man full of leprosy. And when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged him, “Lord if you will, you can make me clean.” And Jesus stretched his hand and touched him, saying, “I will, be clean.” And immediately leprosy left him. (Luke 5:12,13).

Now, suppose the leper never came to Jesus or ask Jesus to heal his leprosy, will the leper receive healing? I don’t think so. A person claims to have faith, but if he or she never prayed or if someone never prayed on his behalf (asking and trusting God for healing/ coming to God in faith) he will not receive healing. Prayer is faith in action. We believe in God so we pray.

Conclusion

As disciples of Jesus, faith is absolutely necessary. The Bible tells us without faith it is impossible to please God. From this week’s lesson, we have learned what faith is and the need to know the distinction between Biblical faith and faith on other things. As we continue our walk with Jesus, may we continue to gladly read, study, and learn His words to obey Him, and may we continue to listen and hear His Word as faith comes from hearing His Word (see Romans 10:17).

God bless you!