Works: The Other Side Of Faith

A Writing Meant to Guide You in Understanding Christ's Prophecies

"Note: The Following Is The Opinion Of The Writer And Is Not Intended To Be A Replacement For The Reading And Study Of The Bible"

18 But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS," and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

Even Satan believes in God. For this reason, it is logical that having faith alone with no works or other form of praise and worship is hollow.

There are many forms of works. I am writing a study about works. This, in itself, is a form of works. I have faith in God and like to worship Him by writing about His love for us. I also teach these things to others, which is a form of works. Perhaps another writes a song about these things and performs it to help others praise God’s Holy Name. All of this is another way to show works. Typically, works serve others in helping them to worship and praise the Lord in one way or another. Works may give us a vector to Praise God or works may help you to know God better. There are many forms of works. Faith serves us and God by showing to ourselves, we do believe He is, always has been and will always be.

If you have works, but have no faith, then your works are ill founded and for lack of anything better, you are just giving lip service. I’ve seen this many times with ministries that are out there to make as much money as they can. They seem, at least to me, to have no belief in God and go through all the motions so people will be drawn in to them and donate to the cause. I’ve seen the same thing in people who sit around and claim all this faith in God, but they lose sight quick when it comes time to go to the bars and get drunk or find someone of the opposite gender with whom they would like to get a little too friendly.

I’m not pointing fingers, as I fall short of perfect in my effort to seek God. We all do, no one is righteous, not one:

19 Wisdom strengthens a wise man more than ten rulers who are in a city. 20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

I can’t tell you what works are best for you. Everyone has to decide this for themselves. Perhaps you are best adapted to teaching; maybe you are more at home tending the children and showing them God’s Hand. Others might be more adept at serving the church by doing maintenance on the grounds or the musical equipment, the kitchen or even cooking. All of these and even more help to serve God’s children. God gives each of us gifts and talents that helps us to serve each other and God. We all can’t preach, neither can everybody be a musician in the band. If you try to do tasks for which you are not adapted, it will be like a slow train wreck. Neither can you do a task, just because that is what you want to do. Sure, everybody would like to be a musician or the preacher, but if you are ill talented for these things, you will only confuse the issue and make the whole thing so disorderly that it causes more harm than good.

Your specific gift or talent may not be obvious without a little faith and patience. Make sure you pray to God to help you see your gift. Don’t be afraid to study up on what gift you believe He has given you. No one is perfect at something right up front. It requires study and hard work. Take classes on the subject if needed. Ask the church elders to help you to perfect your gift.

Sometimes, it pays to look for a job that is needed by the church you attend. Ask God to help you and you just might be surprised. Nothing is beyond God’s capability and if there is a need and you are willing He may very well give you talents you never dreamed you could have.

26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.

This is a small replay of the opening Scripture, but it speaks for itself. As God’s child, you need faith and you need to show some form of action that displays your faith. This action is your works. Is one type of works better than another? I don’t believe so. Perhaps one is more colorful than the other and hence, more desirable, but we must bear in mind, we are not doing it to show off or to make ourselves look better than another. We are doing this to praise and help others praise God.

I hope you all find that perfect gift or talent that allows you to accomplish the works you need in your walk with God.

How is it that faith is so powerful? Faith is part of our daily life. When we head out in the morning to go to work, you place a lot of faith on your ability to drive. You have to trust your fellow man not to run you over.

We rarely give mind to the place from which we draw on faith. Actually, we kind of take it for granted. We expect when we wake up in the morning, life as we know it will still be here. How do we know that the next minute won’t be the last minute we ever know?

God did us a little favor. He built into us a buffer zone that lets us exist from one little block to another in our lives. This buffer is faith. It allows you to get through this minute without having a nervous breakdown thinking about what’s in store for us in the next minute. The truth is, the greatness on which we hinge our delicate lives, is a matter of faith.

For those who have not found the Lord, life must be a very scary place. They wish to believe that we are all that there is. If you have truly found the Lord, it should be very obvious that there is a much bigger picture and we are a segment, connected together with all other segments by an all powerful, all knowing, omnipresent Father. We needn’t worry about tomorrow or any other day, because He watches over us and cares for us. He knows each of us better than we know ourselves and takes care of our needs and listens to our every whim.

He only asks of us that we have faith. It seems so simple, but this is the hardest aspect of a faith based religion, having faith. This means we should put all matters into the hands of God and have no worry about the moment or any other time in which we will exist.

We talk of righteousness and look at it to be “having no sin or being ritually clean”. But, the truth is, righteousness is quantized as the faith we have in God. Abraham was considered to be a righteous man, yet the Bible words it very simply:

In order for faith to work, we must have trust. If we trust the Lord, then we know He will see to our every need.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart. This is so simple a statement with all the truth and power of the universe. I look to Jesus for all things; He is my Savior and my Rock.