Thorough Faith

For I am not ashamed of the Gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, he who through faith is righteous shall live.  Romans 1:16-17 RSV

As a follower of Christ, it can be easy to say you know and understand what your role is as a Christian. However, there is a big difference between knowing about Christ and walking in obedience to Him. In order to follow Christ well, we are committed and called to be obedient to his commands. But this is easier said than done.

Galatians 2:20 NET I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.  He keeps the law in and through us.

Of course, we must believe—and also make an effort ourselves.  This effort would get us nowhere without Christ’s help. But if we make no effort at all, He will not just drag us along and force us to do right. We must cooperate in partnership with Him. Only this will produce ongoing obedience to God’s commandments in the full spirit and intent. 

This is living faith—faith accompanied by righteous works, obedience to the prompting, guidance of Holy Spirit.A collaboration exists between faith in God with His way of life and our commitment to doing godly works. Every time we take the leap of faith to obey God and are successful through Christ living in us, the more faith we will have to obey in the future. Its true, nothing succeeds like success!

Maybe you are working through a broken relationship with a family member, spouse or friend. Maybe you’re facing challenges you have no control over, like losing someone you know and love, or a sickness or injury has affected you or someone you know. You may be adapting to a new job or season of life and find it’s more difficult than anticipated. Trials and circumstances like these can cloud our focus and distract us from the Lord and what His Holy Spirit is calling us to.But that’s just it. That is the beauty of the gospel and why we need Jesus. He wants to be part of our lives! And because of that, we simply cannot do life on our own. When we are obedient to the Lord, His love and grace is put on display as we become more like Him. 

Deuteronomy 8:6-10 RSV So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, by walking in His ways and by fearing Him. For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing, a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. And you shall eat and be full, and you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land He has given you.

Active obedience is trusting God at His word. Practically speaking, this means that amid life’s trials, we stay obedient to what His word tells us to do, trusting that His ways are better than ours. It is submission to the Holy Spirit’s work in our life to transform us into the image of Jesus.  When we are obedient, our obedience leads to the miracles of God and displays His faithfulness. The act of obedience is our way of showing God that we fully trust Him and that we are giving Him full control of our circumstances and lives. And at the same time we have a responsibility to develop the talent and gifts God has given us to use in our time here. 

If we are going to fulfill our calling, while remaining faithful to God, we must refuse to be distracted and strive to give God our very best. He doesn't demand perfection, He requires us to boldly go forth as Holy Spirit leads.