This may be a shock to some, to tie faith and works together. In some
quarters it is strictly a no-no. Faith without works is dead. So we have to
put them together. It does not say that the believer is dead. It is the faith.
Faith is not wishing. Too many think of it that way. Have heard of folks
who were stranded, in dangerous situations, and the like, but that they had
faith and were delivered. And this gets to be a serious problem.
Scriptural faith is simply believing God and acting on it. And that is
the correct order. We must not get the cart before the horse. If we do, there
is the danger that the hub nuts will come off and then the wheels drop off.
To get the point across, we need an example. And in Hebrews 11:8 it starts
out, By faith Abraham. God told him some things, and he believed what God
said. And he proved it. God had said that his son would become a great man,
and be the father of many people, among other things. So then, when God asked
him to offer his son as a sacrifice, he did not hesitate. For in that same
chapter, we read, he reckoned that God was able to raise him up to fulfill
the promise. In fact, Abraham realized that it would have to be that way.
So he did not hesitate and his faith was rewarded. Isaac lived!
God made that promise to Abraham face to face. But we have many promises
in the Word which Abraham did not have. In fact Moses wrote the first of the
Bible about 450 years after the time of Abraham.
Following the original Koine Greek, Hebrews 11 would begin, "Now faith
is the title deeds of things hoped for, the evidence (in any court) of things
not seen." It is so simple, that we miss the whole thing. God has promised
so many good things, and all we have to do is to go right in and possess
them by faith.
But human nature being what it is, most folks just cannot do this. They
are afraid that there are strings attached, that if they reach out to take
the best that God has to offer, there might be a chain on it or that God was
only fooling.
Now if God has promised all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places,
why don't more folks take these by faith and claim them as their own? They
are afraid God might be "kidding."
And then why should the great and glorious God be fooling folks? Is He
fickle like the gods of the heathen? Will He trick you? Will He tease and
torment you with things that He does not mean and which do not exist? Is
that your estimate of God?
Think it over a while. How would you like to be treated that way by your
own family? Or are you one of those parents that the children cannot believe?
If you do believe God as did Abraham, do your works prove it? There is another
aspect of faith, and that is that we trust Him to take care of us, His children.
FAITH AND LOVE
These words are especially common in Paul's last 7 epistles.
Charity is used in a couple of occasions instead of love, but back in 1611,
charity did mean love.
Faith is belief in action. And it is faith toward God.
It comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith cannot be controlled by the will.
One does not believe by willing to do so. It is the accepting of facts presented.
Nothing hinders faith like self-will. Satan cannot exercise faith for the
simple reason that he is entirely self-centered and has no regard for any
others, including God. Note Paul's words in Eph 1:15, Wherefore I also, after
I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints. you
can just imagine the shine on their faces and their tender regard for each
other.
Love cannot be exercised except by knowledge. When we get
to know a person, there is a chance that we may then love that person. How
can one love the Lord unless he knows the Lord? The first commandment to
Israel was to love God with every faculty and strength (wealth). Then the
second was to love the neighbor as one's self. This is the correct sequence.
One cannot love a neighbor unless first loving God.
In Philippians 1:9 Paul prays that their love may abound.
He does not mention faith in connection with these people, but one can read
it between the lines in several occasions. It is very evident that these
Philippians had faith toward God because of the fact they had so much love
for Paul. They even contributed!
In Colossians 1:4 Paul commends the saints for their faith
in Christ Jesus and love to all saints. Almost the same words he used of the
Ephesians. Can they have faith here without love?
In 1 Timothy we find the word faith several times repeated,
and then in 4:12 we find charity. We might add that Paul does not seem to
come outright and say that he loves the people to whom he writes. But it
seems that we can surmise that fact from every word he writes.
In 2 Timothy Paul does speak of Timothy as his beloved
son. And no doubt, as we have written before, Timothy was indeed Paul's adopted
son. So there would be a special love for him. In 1:7 love is a part of a
gift from God, or rather a spirit of love. Faith and love are mentioned in
1:13.
In Titus 2:2, Paul desires that the aged men be sober,
grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Note in Philemon 1:5, Hearing of thy love and faith, which
thou hast toward the Lord Jesus, and toward all saints. This is not only to
Philemon, but to the church in his house.
Search these 7 epistles for these 2 words.
