by Dave Hart
Real faith, even as small as a mustard seed, is adequate to give access to God’s marvelous grace. But simple faith in the existence of God is not enough.
REAL FAITH MUST INCLUDE:
- Knowledge: We must know God. His deity and divine power can be known to us by observing His creation, but FAITH comes from hearing His Message as He and His will are revealed to us in Scripture and through Jesus Christ. Jesus is the ultimate revelation of God. John 17:3; Rom.1:20; 10:17; John 1:18; 2 Peter 3:18.
• Action: Belief in the existence of God can and must grow and bring about the obedience of faith. Rom.1:5; 16:26.The WORD must become incarnate in us as we become living epistles. Without appropriate deeds (dynamism) faith is dead! This activity must involve obedience to the message of Christ crucified! Faith becomes alive when it is made complete by deeds of obedience.1 Peter 1:22,23; Luke 17:5,6; Mark 9:24; 2 Cor.3:2,3; James 2:14-26; 1:22-25; Hebrews 5:9. James 2:19. BELIEVING IN THE EXISTENCE OF DEITY, AS DO THE DEMONS, IS NOT LIVING FAITH !!
• Trust: The walk of faith is not one of sight. It does not find roots in empirical proof, but in total confidence in God’s faithfulness. Faith sees the invisible and accepts with complete assurance things that are not seen! Faith knows that God keeps His promise to intervene in our lives, to answer our prayers, to reward us when we seek Him, and to abide with us forever. 2 Cor.5:7; Hebrews 11:1,6,27; Phil.4:6,7,19; 2 Thess.3:3.
• Love: There is a faith dynamic enough to move mountains, but worthless to save when it lacks proper motivation (1 Cor. 13:2). From the beginning God has wanted us to practice real love. Faith without that fundamental element is barren and useless. We must love God, the very object of our faith, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Obedience that is not from the heart can not receive divine approval. What counts is faith working through love. With this faith we can have access to His wonderful grace! Rom. 5:1,2; 6:17,18; Gal .3:24-29; 5:6.
