So, faith comes into the first and foremost place in the
lives of believers in Christ. God the Father has redeemed us through the Son’s
blood and liberated from the bondage of sin and death. The reality of humanity is
that they have been lost and fallen in Adam. The restoration of humanity has
been made and done through the death Jesus Christ with his blood. The process
of realization of both truths can be done only through the lens of faith and no
other. By faith, we come to see that we have fatally and critically been fallen
and put into complete darkness and confusion. It is the realization of the need
of redemptive salvation through the eye of the gift of faith given from heaven
above. At the same time, by faith we come to see that Jesus Christ has already
and fully paid the ransom price for the sin of the world on a cross with his
blood. Exercising the faith in Christ, we believe and experience the marvelous
deliberation and redemption from the power of sin and death. By faith, we
believe that we have indeed been made free in Christ. What’s next? It follows
the continual exercise of our faith in Christ Jesus the Lord. Apostle James says
a staggering statement that faith without deeds is dead, which is urging every
believers to examine their faith whether it is genuine or not. It is not saying
of going back to the works of the law, because we have not saved by works but
by grace through faith. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through
faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so
that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) So, what is faith? Why is ‘faith
without deeds’ dead?
“What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims
to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or
a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in
peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs,
what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by
action, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me
your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. You believe
that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. You
foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was
not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his
son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working
together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was
fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness,’ and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is
considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. In the same way,
was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when
she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As
the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.” (James
2:14-26)
We are born to exercise faith naturally in every way. Without
exercising faith, we cannot even take a single breath of air. If we have to
examine first whether or not air is poisoned, no one can breathe. If we have to
examine whether the car engine would function properly or not, we would not
able to drive it at all. If we have to examine whether the electricity would be
supported or not, we would not able to utilize it. But, we keep on breathing
constantly, starting the car, and turning the switch on without even thinking. It
shows how much we are automatically practicing faith, simply relying on the
works of others. Why is it so? Because we have been made that way by the
infinite wisdom and glory of God. It is a way of God’s teaching and revelation
through the plain things we exercise every moment in our midst. In short, the
God of all creations is saying that we can never live without relying and
depending on the works of others. To breathe, we must rely on the air in which
we take oxygen into our body. The air is made by the invisible hand of God. So,
we are relying on him every second, believe it or not. It may be called the old
knowledge or in-born knowledge that all man exercises even without being taught
how to do.
But here comes a catch! Since the nature is so predictively
and faithfully running all the time without betrayal like we breathe so easily,
humans unwittingly think that they can run the world by tail. They bump
troubles and difficulties over and over again, but still they think they can
fix and manage all problems. Like people who were building the tower of Babel
in the plain of Shinar to make their names great, reaching to the heaven,
humanity is resistant and stubborn to fold their pride despite of one blunder
after another. Mankind in Adam is fatally blind and darkened, not even knowing
that they breathe freely because they depend on the invisible God who is
lavishly and liberally giving, giving, and giving. So, humanity desperately
needs to learn the new knowledge that man in Adam is lost and fallen and Jesus
Christ came to restore the lost race and died in our place as the atoning
sacrifice. Whoever believes in the Son Jesus Christ shall not perish but have
eternal life, says the Scripture. Through the faith in Christ we have been
redeemed from the bondage of darkness and died to sin and made alive to God.
This is the new knowledge for all humanity and has been already fulfilled for
those who are in Christ.
What is then living by faith? It means to live on that new knowledge
with obedience. Faith should be exercised with both knowledge and obedience.
Jesus Christ is the example as the pioneer and the perfecter of faith. “For the
joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2b) Jesus knew the will of
God that he must die for the sin of the world. He also knew that there was no
other way but the cross in order to meet the holy law requirement set by the
Father and thus voluntarily obeyed him to the point of death. Yes, faith cannot
be an authentic faith with obedient deeds. All the deeds exercised within the
act of faith are inherently related with the cross of Christ. Abraham obeyed
God even if it would mean to kill his son Isaac. In fact, the Scripture says
that he received his son back from death. “Abraham reasoned that God could even
raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from
death.” (Hebrews 11:19) Rahab risked her life in hiding the spies of the enemy
because she feared the Lord God of heaven and the earth more than the king of
Jericho. “By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was
not killed with those who were disobedient.” (Hebrews 11:31) By welcoming the
spices she was immediately branded as a traitor who could be condemned to death.
To help the needy it is impossible to do without sacrificing the fortune monetarily.
The owner has the right to dispense or withhold the fortune. But how can it be
helpful without dispensing money?
So, how does it work in living by faith in God and the Son
Jesus Christ? It is always a two step process—first, put off our old self and
second, put on the new self. This is the new covenant living based on the new
revelation in Christ. “Everything coming from God and nothing coming from us.” Without
going through the first step, it is impossible to enter into the second. The first
step is essentially to be selfless by denying ourselves and taking up our cross
of shame and guilt. It is possible because we died to sin and death with Christ.
It is necessary because there is nothing to depend upon our old self, the
flesh. Then, we put on the new self in Christ and follow him. This is the only
way of following Christ Jesus in perfection. That is the act of faith in
Christ. The first step is in fact our death with Christ in the cross of
Calvary. The death is immediately followed by the resurrection with Christ. “I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.
The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) This way, we are empowered and
strengthened with a power far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one
to come (Ephesians 1:21). This is the new knowledge in Christ. A new life in
Christ does not come naturally but only through the faith in him.
“That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you
heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is
in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off
your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made
new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:20-24)
June 28, 2017
© 2015-2017 David
Lee Ministries – All Rights Reserved.
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