Is your faith active?

 What is faith if it doesn’t affect your life, character and behaviour? 

‘faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead’(James 2:17).

If you believe in God and trust that the death of his son, Jesus releases you from sin, then you may well have faith. Yet, if it does not impact your behaviour and result in doing good things then James is telling you that the faith you have has no life. It is useless, dead. Faith is evidenced by how you live your life. What you really believe about yourself and your relationship with God impacts your character, speech and actions. How you treat others and what you do with your life is proof of what you believe. What do you think your life shows about what you believe? 

If you are someone that says they follow God, then are you demonstrating this by doing good things for others? It could be; talking to the lonely, feeding the hungry, helping those on the edge of society. If you think that taking part in these things is unimportant, then James asks you this,‘Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless’? (James 2:20). James is challenging you to consider the impact your life through faith has on others. Faith in God is not just about salvation for your soul. If you have really begun to understand who you are and who God is then you should be spurred onto doing good works in order to demonstrate and outpour the love you have for God. An alive and active faith is one that does something about the distresses they see in the world, that loves the poor, lonely and unlovely, that cheerfully gives without the expectation of receiving. Does the faith you have sound at all like that? Or do you need to be shown that faith with works is useful, and without them is useless?

Reading the Bible and hearing of others adventures of faith is inspiring. Not one of the Old Testament or New Testament followers of God led lives that were devoid of ‘good works’. They all made mistakes, like we do, but they all put their faith into practice by being obedient and doing things beyond the ordinary, spurred on by the faith they had. Peter was a passionate disciple of Jesus, and he got it wrong sometimes, but he also got it right when he went out and told people who this Jesus was, when he prayed for and healed people. Jonah was a man of faith, and even though he tried to run away from God, he was eventually, begrudgingly obedient - even when he didn’t want to, he put his faith into action. Would we have considered these men, or any other characters in the Bible people of faith if they hadn’t done something to show how much they trusted God rather than themselves? What if Jonah had just kept on running away? Or Peter had got disappointed with the correction and gone back to fishing for the rest of his life keeping his head down? Faith is demonstrated through your actions - so what do people see of yours? 

‘Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works’ James 2:21–22.

Abraham took the journey of sacrificing his son because he knew God was faithful, and he, Abraham was acting in faithful obedience to the word of God. He walked the journey by faith as well as in heartache. If he hadn’t of done, what would have happened? There would have been no story of a miraculous provision and survival, Abraham and Isaac’s story would have been very different and so would ours. As a result of Abraham’s willingness to give his son’s life into the hands of God, Abraham is promised that he will be blessed and there will be a blessing for the generations to come because of his act of obedience! Even, ‘all nations on earth will be blessed because you have obeyed me’! (Genesis 22:18) Wow! 

What could be the impact of your obedience to God? 

Abraham put his faith into action by following the call of God, even though it was heartbreaking, tiring, difficult and confusing. He still did it because he knew above his own understanding that God is good and faithful, therefore Abraham trusted Him. Abraham’s faith was tested and we can, ‘see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.’  (James 2:24).  Abraham’s life and obedience in word and action is just one of the many examples in scripture and history that you can learn about putting faith into action. Would you have admired and respected Abraham as much if he had turned around to God and said no? Have you said no to God? How long will it be before you turn round and say yes? The impact of your yes in obedience to God will not only bless your life, test and stretch your faith but will bless others even for generations to come. Let your faith live. Give the faith you have a chance to grow, it will be uncomfortable, confusing and painful, but do you want a living faith or a dead one?

‘For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.’ James 2:26 

The Bible is alive!

‘the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. *13*And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.’ 
Hebrews 4:12–13.

The Word of God is ‘living and active’ - what does that mean to you, and does it effect the way you approach the Bible?

The fact is that the very words you read within the Bible are alive. They are the active words of God; The printed out words that we see on a page, or glowing from a screen, are actually alive, they have breath in them. That seems strange, doesn’t it?
The fact that these words are ‘living and active’ shows me that they are; constantly applicable, relevant, able to bring life, change, challenge and a new perspective. These words can; inspire, direct, convict, comfort and grow new life in you. Isn’t that incredibly powerful?!

Not all printed words have life, only the words of scripture do because they are the very words of God himself. God who is living and active right now has given us His living and active revelation throughout the Bible.
What a privilege it is then to be able to hold these words  in our hands, to have access to these God-breathed utterances and read them! Do you feel the privilege and weight of what you are accessing when you read God’s words?
These words can actually breathe life into your life, they can bring refreshment, comfort, restoration, conviction. In short, these words can alter your life - and you have free and easy access to this.

I think, really, the Bible should come with a warning. Something like, ‘open at your peril, are you prepared for your life to change?’!
The Bible is a living work. It contains God’s words, which we all know are powerful - I mean, they separated the light from darkness, created the world, speak life and death, bring healing, separate seas, transform minds, I could go on…. And you can find out for yourself many more incredible things God’s word achieves when you read it.
Bearing this in mind - when you are reading your Bible; are you prepared?
Are you prepared to meet Jesus?
To hear from God?
Be convicted by the Holy Spirit?

God’s words have the propensity to change you. They can pierce your heart and mind and interpret your innermost thoughts and intentions, and no matter your excuses -  your true nature will be revealed. As you read God’s words, it’s like you are laid bare before Him. Nothing hidden. All of your; bumps, bruises, wounds, pain, comfort, passions, lies, responsibilities, strengths, sins and weaknesses are laid open. Completely exposed.
Does that scare you?
In some ways it should - if you have something you want to hide, then yes, be aware that the living and active word of God will highlight it - He is good at separating light and darkness! But in the most part being exposed before God shouldn’t scare you. God is a loving, nurturing Father. He wants to heal your wounds and diseases, to remove the pain and discomfort, to revel in your passions and your strengths. He wants to be your strength in your weakness, to be with you in the difficulties and reveal truth in your life.

So, next time you take hold of this living word in your hands - take a moment to prepare yourself.
Beware when you open your Bible - there’s no hiding from God when you do, He is ready to talk to you and He’s ready to; transform, challenge, renew, energise and cleanse you - are you prepared for that?