Title: The Path of Perfect Faith
Contents
♡♥♡ The perfect path of faith / James 2:14-26
*** Introduction
Every religion in the world has its own unique ideas and systems. But even if everything is different, they have one thing in common. do you know what It requires 'faith'. All religious people have beliefs about the religion they follow. Without this belief, you would not be a true religious person.
Even for us Christians who serve the Triune God, the most fundamental of faith is ‘faith’. This faith is the belief that Jesus, who came in human form, is God, and that He came as a sacrifice for the salvation of mankind. Not only that, it is believing that the salvation of Jesus is for me, and believing that the kingdom of God with eternal life is given as an inheritance.
In this way, we can see that a life without “faith” in Jesus Christ, no matter how good, righteous, and sincere, cannot lead to salvation. Therefore, all Christian life must be built on faith in Jesus Christ. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” A life without faith cannot please God. Also, in Romans 14:23, “… Anything that is not of faith is sin.”
However, even such an important faith is dead without works. Verse 26 says, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.” In other words, it means that the way to perfect your faith is to put it into practice in your life. Does this mean that there is a living faith and a dead faith in faith?
First, what is dead faith?
God shows the dead faith through James. There was a family of poor saints who were naked and had no food to eat. His appearance is shabby and he looks emaciated because he cannot eat. Family members of the same faith seemed sorry for the poor saint, and said, “You look so bad. Please dress warmly and hold it firmly.” And then it just passes. That poor saint is reassured by many words of comfort. But in real life, nothing has changed. Still cold and hungry and have nothing to wear. To this poor saint, a meal and a pair of clothes are more comforting than countless words of comfort. That is why 1 John 3:18 says, “Children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth.”
God said that faith without works is dead faith. If you truly believe that Jesus died for you and give you eternal life, that faith is bound to be accompanied by acts of love. A faith that does not follow the practice of love is a false faith, a dead faith. Why? Let's look at 1 John 4:9-12. “In this was manifested in us the love of God, that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Here is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent his Son as a propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.” For those who truly believe in God in this way, acts of love will appear.
Dear saints, isn't my own heart that says I believe in God dry? Don't you just think of yourself and your family? If you do not feel any emotion when you look at the decaying society, the poor and marginalized neighbors, and the people without spiritual life, you should check whether your own faith is a dead faith that remains only a form of death. If so, we must change our lives while we still have the opportunity. That's why the Apostle Paul said in 2 Corinthians 13:5, "Test yourselves, and prove yourselves whether ye are in the faith. Do you not know for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you? Otherwise, you are rejected.”
A faithful Christian climbed a steep mountain and accidentally slipped and fell onto a cliff. As he slipped and fell, he instinctively struggled with his hands, grabbing a branch growing out of a crevice of the rock and barely saving his life. Looking up, it was a steep cliff that was impossible to climb, and looking down, it was a steep rocky valley. It was truly a setback.
He looked up and shouted with all his might. "Help me. No one up there?” There was no sound for a long time, and then a small voice came through the clouds. “Don’t be afraid.” The person in this crisis asks, “Who are you? Please help me quickly,” he shouted urgently. Then another voice came through the clouds. “I am the God you believe in. You trust me and let go of the branches that hold you. Then you will live.” But now, this man was not willing to let go. For him, letting go of the branch he was holding was death.
He could never obey the voice he had heard. Even if it was God's voice, I couldn't just follow this moment. So he looked up and shouted again. “Is there anyone else up there?”
This is the reality of dead faith. When life is peaceful and safe, even a person who seems like a good believer will show the true form of faith when life is in jeopardy. That is why it is said that true faith appears in difficult times. What would you do when faced with an environment like the example above? Can you trust God and let go of your hand?
Next, what is living faith?
In this text, two examples appearing in the Old Testament are given to prove living faith. This is the story of Abraham and the prostitute Rahab.
Abram had long since left Haran at God's call and was staying in Hebron. Abram had no children yet. One day, God appeared and promised Abram that he would make his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky. Abram and Sarah were already over 80 and had no chance of having children. Nevertheless, Abram believed the word of God. This is Genesis 15:6. “Abram believed in the Lord, and the Lord counted it to him as righteousness.” Abram's faith was followed by practical action.
Another story is about Rahab, a prostitute from Jericho in Joshua chapter 2. Before the Israelites took the city of Jericho, they sent two spies. But then I stopped getting distracted. The city of Jericho was turned upside down, and an army was mobilized to capture the two spies. At that time, Rahab the prostitute believed that God had given the city of Jericho to Israel and hid the spies. And he begged them to spare his family when they took Jericho. Rahab's faith and actions not only saved her family, but also gave her the honor of being included in the genealogy of Jesus. Rahab's faith entailed actions that risked her life.
Taking these two examples, the text concludes, “As the body without the soul is dead, so faith without works is dead.” In other words, ‘belief without action is absolutely dead’. In other words, a living faith is a faith in action.
When we hear the word or read it, we say, 'Ah! This is God's will!' Or, more directly, the Holy Spirit makes you realize, 'God is telling me to do this!' To believe in this is ‘faith’. But this belief alone will accomplish nothing. When you put that faith into action in your life, your faith will become perfect.
In a world flooded with words like today, how can we show our sincere faith? As Christians, we put our faith into practice through acts of love in our lives. Let's not only love words or theories alone, but serve a hungry person a bread and a glass of water, be a friend to an underprivileged neighbor, share the gospel with a dead person in the spirit, and build a living faith that puts into practice what He tells us to understand.
One day, the Russian writer Tolstoy was talking with many of his followers. Then someone asked a question.
“Teacher, when is the most important time in a person’s life, and what is the most important thing?”
Tolstoy, after thinking about this question for a long time, answered:
“The most important time in a person’s life is ‘now’, and the most important thing is ‘to cherish the person who is standing in front of you right now’.”
Tolstoy's simple answer, a staunch Christian, says, "It is important to put love into practice and in reality." Tolstoy is a great man who is considered to have practiced what he said and taught. That's why so many people follow his words and teachings.
That's right. Today's world is overflowing with information. People, corporations, political parties, countries, and even religious circles are putting all their effort into introducing and expressing themselves. There are literally words, words, words. It's time to make the lie so smooth that it's hard to tell which is true or which is false. In this reality, there is only one way to reveal the truth. That is, putting your faith into action in your life. In other words, words, faith, and actions become one.
Today, let's unite our Daebok Church with this sincere faith. Let's do our best to gather together, do our best to pray, do our best to serve and evangelize. Now is the time for the church to rise. Although the number of saints is small and the strength is weak, collecting these will be a great strength. Let's be zealous by exhorting each other. God will never turn away from you or forsake you, who are the foundation for building a church in this barren land. But don't be discouraged, but let's run the race of living faith until the end while comforting and encouraging each other.
For this reason, I pray that the spiritual grace that God has prepared will fill our lives both in spirit and body.