Based on Exodus 20:1-17 (New King James Version)
“And God spoke all these words, saying: ‘I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.’”
What is a living faith? Many have turned God’s things into something that is not God’s will. Many have converted what is His into a system of rules that go way beyond what the Bible teaches, turning things into regulations and standards. Others have done the opposite, and have made things into something so liberal that they teach you to just live your life any way you want because God loves you, and He is going to forgive everything, and like that, they incite you to abuse God’s grace. And there are others that center everything on a church, and that the all of a Christian is to be in church and do religious things. I think that what the majority have in common is that you should always tithe and give offerings, because when it comes to money, all of the above ask for it in some way, either soft or subtly, or directly. It’s not that tithing, and offerings are bad, but each one of us are able to see if something is used legitimately for good or for other things (logic helps a lot here). The issue is that a living faith consists of fulfilling and living the Word of God. But let’s explore a bit more to be able to understand better.
The first thing we understand is that everything is based on the Word of God because the Lord Himself said this, as it is written: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” Matthew 5:17. So then, if the Lord Himself did not come to destroy the Law and the Prophets, then we should not do it either. The Word of God exists so that it can be fulfilled all around us and within us. But it is necessary to understand it so we can fulfill it, and here is where many don’t get it right. The issue is that faith in Christ needs to come in first so that you can understand and do what He wants you to do, because then, what would be the reason for doing things? The Lord always has to be the reason for why we do things, in one way or another, or else, all is in vain.
But, in the end, this is what the Word of God teaches regarding faith and works (because a living faith can be seen through works): “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.” James 2:14-26. The Ten Commandments (what we read today) have two directions: the first set of commandments consist of our relationship with God, and the ones that come after have to do with how we treat our neighbor. That’s why the Lord explained things even more simply when He said: “…the first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:29-31. All of the law and the prophets consist of what the Lord said, and the New Testament is simply the work and the fulfillment of the Word of God through Christ’s universal church. That is the reason for why the Gospel has been spread throughout the whole world, because it is about fulfilling what God wants: sharing the Gospel with every person. That was the Apostle’s motivation, and the motivation of those of us that follow after. And all of this is action, not just talk. We have what we have today because of those faithful people of God, people that had a living faith, that dedicated themselves to spreading the Word of God and helping their neighbor, and it cost them hard work, and sacrifice, and their own lives.
So then, you need to live faith. It is necessary to do those things that please God. All of those that teach that works do not matter usually cling on to the following passage, but magically forget the verse that follows: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:8-10. The Word of God also teaches this: “Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:9-10.
So, if you are convinced that Christ has saved and redeemed you, do you then have a living faith? Lord bless! John